American Equality Essay

During the American Revolution there was a spread idea of equality, the period after America won independence failed to live up to that ideal especially for blacks. Although forces for slavery ultimately dominated, a focus for freedom gained some ground. Taking the revolutionary thought to heart, New England and the mid-Atlantic states began the process of abolishing slavery, generally petty slowly. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which established a precedent for forbidding slavery in the new territories. In the South, a free black class also began to come out although in small number , as self-purchase laws became more liberal. Forces for slavery, including the U.S. Constitution and increased racism it proved stronger than each

A very few slaves took resistance a step further, using violent resistance to try to rid America of slavery. This violence although mostly stopped by whites, provoked significant fear among Southerners and led to crackdowns on slaves. The violence also hindered black efforts during the War of 1812, and affected life as the country began to divide sectionally over the Missouri Compromise in 1820. This was a time period defined by the early americans defiance towards slavery and what it would mean for the future of america. It talks about the many uprisings and what intellectuals blacks did to further their cause of liberating its people. Many blacks emerged as leaders and would go on to solve a lot of problems that were in the face of people of color this is what began to divide the nation. This was also a time where blacks begin to make their own institutions to provide basic needs for their people. The admission of Missouri in 1819 as a slave state struck fear into the north that this would lead to the further extension of slavery into the unorganized territories of the Louisiana