In 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Lincoln to free slaves. In 1865 the 13th amendment was passed by Congress to abolish slavery in the U.S . By the 1800’s slaves were to be in the North and South of the United States. However, in the South it is known as total slavery and African Americans treated very repugnant. Yet in the north it was said that they abolished slavery and that slaves were free. But were they really free how free were they? Did they have equal rights as any other American in the 1700’s through the 1800’s ?, perhaps but no their rights in the North were very limited for free slaves. Northern of the United States Free African Americans were most certainly not free. They had restrictions in their social status. Suffered economically to be stable. Also, having to confront risk of being …show more content…
slaves again.
The Northern part of the United States it seem to have been like “ If you’re a free slave you’re free but not free”. Since in the lives of free slaves in North they were told what they can and can’t do in their social life. In Charles Mackay Sketches of a Tour in the United States 1857-1858 in his visit to America he wrote,”He shall be free to live, and to thrive ,if
he can, and to pay taxes and perform duties; but he shall not be free to dine and drink at our board…. To attend us at bed of sickness and pain - to mingle with us in the concert-room … We are another race, and he is inferior. Let him know his place - and keep it.”. Charles comes from outside of the United States from his perspective from him being from England , he says they should be free at will however, they should have limited restriction to whom they are with. As this is what happened many of whom were free slaves were to not go to concerts and weren’t able to interact with any other race than themselves. Which this certain seems as they had their social lives controlled by white American Citizens. By the 1800’s there were certain laws called the Black Codes which were passed by Southern states in 1865 and 1866 after the civil war. These laws were mostly to affect African-Americans and their freedom. Such as the Black Codes Restrictions in New York City, 1830,”White rum and other strong liquors shall not be sold to Negroes. Any merchant selling these spirits to a Negro will be fined…”. This was a law that affected African-Americans in multiple ways. As this affected their tradition for certain religions , many religious include the use of alcohol in some way. therefore , when liquor is restricted to be sold to African-American it seems as they are limiting their freedom of Religion . As white American Citizens continued to eliminate their freedom, it took to a point that their voting rights were restricted to. Gateway to Freedom: The Underground Railroad 47, “New York City… North’s single largest free black community ,a development that made it easier for fugitive slaves to blend into the city. By 1820, nearly 11,00 free blacks lived in New York, and by 1830 nearly 14,000….racism became more entrenched in the city’s culture… eliminating property qualifications for whites, the state’s constitutional convention imposed a prohibitive $250 requirement for blacks…. Only sixteen men in the city were able to cast a ballot. Blacks could not serve on juries and often could not ride in street cars.”. As in New York it’s a North “free” slave state in which all slaves are free however, as African-Americans gained power in having churches and literacy clubs
Reconstruction(1865-1877) was the time period in which the US rebuilt after the Civil War. During this time, the question the rights of freed slaves in the United States were highly debated. Freedom, in my terms, is the privilege of doing as you please without restriction as long as it stays within the law. However, in this sense, black Americans during the Reconstruction period were not truly free despite Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. While legally free, black Americans were still viewed through the lens of racism and deeply-rooted social biases/stigmas that prevented them from exercising their legal rights as citizens of the United States. For example, black Americans were unable to wholly participate in the government as a
While the formal abolition of slavery, on the 6th of December 1865 freed black Americans from their slave labour, they were still unequal to and discriminated by white Americans for the next century. This ‘freedom’, meant that black Americans ‘felt like a bird out of a cage’ , but this freedom from slavery did not equate to their complete liberty, rather they were kept in destitute through their economic, social, and political state.
Free blacks from the south were facing many situations from the whites from the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws were to prevent free blacks and other non-whites from being able to vote and have a voice within the government. Laws and statements were established such as the Grandfather Clause, which would prevent anyone whose grandfather could not vote from voting. Since the majority of blacks grandfathers did not vote and was not even free, free blacks in the south were denied the right to vote. Free blacks were now being denied any privilege that non slaves (whites) already had. Their "freedom" was only from slavery, now they realized that they were still a slave to the world. Also during this time blacks were being discriminated against and the lynchings of blacks were occurring. Blacks were becoming endangered and feared for their lives.
Back in the early 1800’s, America was having a hard time accepting others. The Americans did not like having immigrants living in the same area, and they really hated when immigrants took their jobs. Many Americans discriminated against African Americans even if they were only ⅛ African American. Americans were not ready to share their country and some would refuse to give people the rights they deserved. This can be seen in the Plessy vs Ferguson and Yick Wo vs Hopkins. In Plessy vs Ferguson, Plessy was asked to go to the back of the train because he was ⅛ African American.
Up north all blacks were free. The population of blacks in the north was about 1% in 1860 after the American Revolution. The blacks up north had minimal rights. The blacks could not vote, because of stipulations or they were just told that they could not vote by laws of their area. The New York Convention created one stipulation that was created to exclude blacks from voting in 1821; the law stated that blacks could not vote if they did not own property. Most blacks were having a tough time getting jobs in the south. So if a black person could not generate income how were they supposed to buy a home?
Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 during the civil war, as main goal to win the war. Some historians argued that it was based on feelings towards slaves because not only it freed slaves in the South; it was also a huge step for the real abolition of slavery in the United States. While other historians argued that it was a military tactic because it strengthened the Union army, because the emancipated slaves were joining the Union thus providing a larger manpower than the Confederacy . The Emancipation Proclamation emancipated slaves only in the Confederacy and did not apply to the Border-states and the Union states.
During the time of reconstruction, the 13th amendment abolished slavery. As the Nation was attempting to pick up their broken pieces and mend the brokenness of the states, former slaves were getting the opportunity to start their new, free lives. This however, created tension between the Northerners and the Southerners once again. The Southerners hated the fact that their slaves were being freed and did not belong to them anymore. The plantations were suffering without the slaves laboring and the owners were running out of solutions. This created tension between the Southern planation owners and the now freed African Americans. There were many laws throughout the North and the South that were made purposely to discriminate the African Americans.
Lincoln 's decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, was to up the North 's support so they wouldn 't go to the confederate side. Not only a change in North war, but a change in the slavery, like granting the slaves their freedom so they wouldn 't have any more slave revolts which would cause even more chaos in other words another war. "The Emancipation Proclamation granted freedom to the slaves in the Confederate states if the states did not return to the Union by January 1,1863. In addition, under the proclamation, freedom would only come to the slaves if the Union won the war." Abraham Lincoln president at the time, the northerners also known as the Union, the south also known as the confederates, and slave states still in
After the emancipation of slaves in 1862, the status of African-Americans in post civil war America up until the beginning of the twentieth century did not go through a great deal of change. Much legislation was passed to help blacks in this period. The Civil Rights act of 1875 prohibited segregation in public facilities and various government amendments gave African-Americans even more guaranteed rights. Even with this government legislation, the newly dubbed 'freedmen' were still discriminated against by most people and, ironically, they were soon to be restricted and segregated once again under government rulings in important court cases of the era.
when the president had declared the free slavery, but not every single black was free from their master. That what President Lincoln try to do, but nothing happens. the only thing happened was war and so many people die. Alexander tells us about the civil war, she said “ civil war had to be won first, hundreds of thousands of lives lost, and then - only then we 're slaves across the South set free.” why they had to fight to get freedom When “ The contitvtiral amendments guaranteeing African American will have “equal protection of law” and have right to vote.” Did black people really got equal protection from law as white? Not at all black become less power and in the camps that was like worse than where they use to be
The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 issued by President Lincoln was set up to free blacks from slavery. Soon after Congress enacted and the states ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery throughout the nation (Library of Congress). After the Civil War, I feel the biggest problem in the South was labor. To the new African American's freedom meant freedom from white control, autonomy as individuals and as a community. For the most part black people wanted to work for themselves and not for their former masters. But, most black chose to leave the South altogether.
Slavery in the eighteenth century was worst for African Americans. Observers of slaves suggested that slave characteristics like: clumsiness, untidiness, littleness, destructiveness, and inability to learn the white people were “better.” Despite white society's belief that slaves were nothing more than laborers when in fact they were a part of an elaborate and well defined social structure that gave them identity and sustained them in their silent protest.
In 1831 abolitionism and the underground railroad were created because of Nat Turner’s revolt. In 1857 the Dred Scott case occurred and the ruling was that all northerners were called to capture African Americans and return them to the South. In 1859 John Brown raided the federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia. In 1861 the Civil War began and Lincoln gave the Emancipation Proclamation. After the Civil War African Americans started earning their freedoms back. Before the Civil War live was tough for African Americans, they were used as slaves working long hours a day without rest, they were bid on and sold like cattle, Wives and Husbands were separated and if they had children they were most of the time separated from them. They had little rest throughout the day, they had horrible living conditions and had little to no food. They had to do what the plantation owner said if not, then they would be whipped or put to
Often many people think that citizens are granted liberties no matter what social factors are involved. But that's not always the case. In some of the articles I read such as ‘A Forgotten Piece of African- American History of The Great Plains’, ‘Evanston cops change policy in wake of ‘problematic’ arrest video’, ‘To Any Would-Be Terrorists’, ‘Blink Your Eyes’, and To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee the people are not granted liberty because of race and culture. Some people may argue America does administer liberty for all its citizens due to race and culture. Due to Race and culture peoples rights are restricted/limited because America does not administer liberty for all its citizens.
Diversity, we define this term today as one of our nation’s most dynamic characteristics in American history. The United States thrives through the means of diversity. However, diversity has not always been a positive component in America; in fact, it took many years for our nation to become accustomed to this broad variety of mixed cultures and social groups. One of the leading groups that were most commonly affected by this, were African American citizens, who were victimized because of their color and race. It wasn’t easy being an African American, back then they had to fight in order to achieve where they are today, from slavery and discrimination, there was a very slim chance of hope for freedom or even citizenship. This longing for hope began to shift around the 1950’s during the Civil Rights Movement, where discrimination still took place yet, it is the time when African Americans started to defend their rights and honor to become freemen like every other citizen of the United States. African Americans were beginning to gain recognition after the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, which declared all people born natural in the United States and included the slaves that were previously declared free. However, this didn’t prevent the people from disputing against the constitutional law, especially the people in the South who continued to retaliate against African Americans and the idea of integration in white schools. Integration in white schools played a major role in the battle for Civil Rights in the South, upon the coming of independence for all African American people in the United States after a series of tribulations and loss of hope.