Throughout the history of the United States there have been many
reform movements that have molded the culture we live in today. The
rights that we as Americans enjoy today can be credited to the people
who fought for more rights and a better way of life. Two reform
movements that have changed America for the better are the
Abolitionist Movement and the Civil Rights Movement.
Around the 1820’s the feeling of legal slavery was changing in the
United States. The south depended on slaves to harvest their crops,
and the north felt that slavery was unconstitutional, unethical, and
cruel. The nation was divided and tension started mounting. The goal
of the abolitionist movement was to abolish slavery. Abolitionists
wanted equal rights for all African Americans. One historical action
taken by abolitionist was the Underground Railroad. After the Fugitive
Slave Act was passed by Congress abolitionist united and created an
underground railroad. This railroad was constructed to get slaves out
of the south by using underground tunnels and safe houses. The slaves
were provided with shelter and food during there passage. The goal was
to get as many slaves out of the south and into the north. Even
thought fugitive slaves who entered free states were still not granted
freedom the idea was to get them out of slavery and hopefully they
either were not caught or most of the time they went to Canada.
Harriet Tubman was one of the most famous “conductors” of the railroad
system. Another major historical bill passed was the Emancipation
Proclamation. During the Civil War President Abraham Lincoln took the
boldest step in ending slavery by instating th...
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States Constitution. They were given the same rights and segregation
was abolished. Reform Movements have been an important part of United
States history.
Work Cited
Arendt, Hannah. The Abolitionist Movement. Chicago: U of Chicago, 2008. Print.
Arendt, Hannah. “What Is Freedom?” Eight Exercises in Political Thought. New York: Penguin Group, 2012. 142-69. Print.
Harrison, Robert Pogue. “America: The Struggle to Be Reborn.” The New York Review of Books. NYREV, 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.
Harrison, Robert Pogue. “The Civil Rights Movement” . Chicago: U of Chicago, 2014. 98-111. Print.
King, Martin L., Jr. “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” Memphis. 3 Apr. 1968. Speech.
In 1955, C. Vann Woodward published the first edition of his book, The Strange Career of Jim Crow. The book garnered immediate recognition and success with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. eventually calling it, “the historical Bible of the civil rights movement.” An endorsement like this one from such a prominent and respect figure in American history makes one wonder if they will find anything in the book to criticize or any faults to point out. However, with two subsequent editions of the book, one in August 1965 and another in October 1973—each adding new chapters as the Civil Rights movement progressed—one wonders if Dr. King’s assessment still holds up, if indeed The Strange Career of Jim Crow is still the historical bible of the civil rights movement. In addition, one questions the objectivity of the book considering that it gained endorsements from figures who were promoting a cause and because Woodward had also promoted that same cause.
Tindall, George, and David Shi. America: A Narrative History. Ed. 9, Vol. 1. New York: WW. Norton & Company, 2013. 185,193. Print.
The antislavery movement before 1830s was menial, partially slow and not well supported. The antislavery movement before the 1830s was the spark of fire that led to the abolitionist acts after the 1830s. Abolitionism of the 1830s and on led to a great movement in America. The division of a country came at hand, leading up to various riots white men themselves killing each other over the freeing of slaves. The subjugated Negros fighting for a true place in American society under the hands of various abolitionist leaders who gave it all to stand up for the African Americans. They were to be heard all over the union causing divisions and discomfort throughout a close to dividing nation. Abolitionist movement after the 1830s had a greater impact on the nation as a whole with a spark of the antislavery acts before the 1830s and the failure of this movement, the very well spoken and praised leaders, and the well spoken and touching propaganda against slavery.
Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States Volume 1: American Beginnings to Reconstruction. New York: The New Press, 2003. Book.
Carter G. Woodson: Negro Orators ansd Their Orations (New York, NY, 1925) and The Mind of the Negro (Washington, DC., 1926).
Henretta, James A., Rebecca Edwards, and Robert Self. America: A Concise History.( Boston: Bedford, St. Martin's, 2006),
Divine, Robert A. America past and Present. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education/Longman, 2013. 245. Print.
Lawson, Steven F., and Charles M. Payne. Debating the Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1968. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. 140. Print.
ProQuest Staff. "Civil Rights Timeline." Leading Issues Timelines. 2014: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. .
...War and the Civil Rights Movements in order to illustrate how the 1960s was a time of “tumult and change.” To Anderson, it is these events, which sparked the demand for recognition of social and economic fairness. He makes prominent the idea that the 1960s served as the origin of activism and the birth of the civil rights movement, forever changing ideals that embody America. The book overall is comprehensive and a definite attention grabber. It shows how the decade had the effect of drastically transforming life in America and challenging the unequal status quo that has characterized most of the nation's history. Despite the violence and conflict that was provoked by these changes, the activism and the liberation movements that took place have left a permanent imprint upon the country.
Shaskolsky, Leon. “The Negro Protest Movement- Revolt or Reform?.” Phylon 29 (1963): 156-166. JSTOR. U of Illinois Lib., Urbana. 11 Apr. 2004 .
New World Encyclopedia (2009) African-american civil rights movement (1955-1968), Retrieved on March 16, 2012 from
Recently you have received a letter from Martin Luther King Jr. entitled “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In Dr. King’s letter he illustrates the motives and reasoning for the extremist action of the Civil Rights movement throughout the 1960’s. In the course of Dr. King’s letter to you, he uses rhetorical questioning and logistical reasoning, imagery and metaphors, and many other rhetorical devices to broaden your perspectives. I am writing this analysis in hopes you might reconsider the current stance you have taken up regarding the issues at hand.
Garrow, David J. Protest at Selma: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. New York: New Haven and London Yale University Press. 1978
The term slave is defined as a person held in servitude as the chattel of another, or one that is completely passive to a dominating influence. The most well known cases of slavery occurred during the settling of the United States of America. From 1619 until July 1st 1928 slavery was allowed within our country. Slavery abolitionists attempted to end slavery, which at some point; they were successful at doing so. This paper will take the reader a lot of different directions, it will look at slavery in a legal aspect along the lines of the constitution and the thirteenth amendment, and it will also discuss how abolitionists tried to end slavery. This paper will also discuss how slaves were being taken away from their families and how their lives were affected after.