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Struggles and freedom for african americans
What was the main implication behind Black Codes
Struggles and freedom for african americans
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was a world transformed. Gone were the brutalities and indignities of slave life, the whippings and sexual assaults, the selling and forcible relocation of family members, the denial of education, wages, legal marriage, homeownership, and more. African Americans celebrated their newfound freedom both privately and in public jubilees,” (Khan Academy). A man by the name of Marcus Garvey suggested an idea for all of the people of color to migrate back to Africa since that’s what it seemed like the caucasians wanted since they were no longer useful. “Although slavery was over, the brutalities of white race prejudice persisted. After slavery, government across the South instituted laws known as Black Codes. These laws granted certain legal rights
Slavery in America was a terrible thing, but no one knows about the laws that went along with slavery called slave codes. Slave codes were laws that were designated by each southern slave state (including Delaware even though it is considered a northern state) that were to be followed by slaves and their owners. Slave codes were closely associated with black codes. Black codes were in place for the free black people living in America, which was after the abolishment of slavery in 1865. Slave codes were laws that were inhumane and were in favor of the white slave owners. Slave codes were also the foundation of the Jim Crow laws of the south which furthered the oppression of black people.
Marcus Garvey had a huge influence on the African Diaspora and where it connected with the black men and women. Ethiopia, in Garvey’s perspective, was seen as the home of all African’s in exile in the African Diaspora. (McMurray 48) See now what Garvey was influencing, yet not the initiator of, was on how the African Diaspora connected with the idea or dream of returning home to Africa. With that movement already going on and established, he was able to feed off other ideas and goals and incorporate them into his own. Garvey began to wonder who was the voice for the African’s and why the black men and women didn’t have the opportunities that other people, not African, did.
The Black Codes were legal statutes and constitutional amendments enacted by the ex Confederate states following the Civil War that sought to restrict the liberties of newly free slaves, to ensure a supply of inexpensive agricultural labor, and maintain a white dominated hierachy. (paragraph 1) In southern states, prior to the Civil War they enacted Slave Codes to regulate the institution of slavery. And northern non-slave holding states enacted laws to limit the black political power and social mobility. (paragraph 2) Black Codes were adopted after the Civil War and borrowed points from the antebellum slave laws as well as laws in the northern states used to regulate free blacks. (paragraph 3) Eventually, the Black Codes were extinguished when Radical Republican Reconstruction efforts began in 1866-67 along with the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment and civil rights legislation. The lives of the Black Codes did not have longevity but were significant. (paragraph 3)
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.
During 1910-1970 the great migration was taking place, which was the movement of southern African American’s to the north/northern cities. The great migration was an event that seemed as if it was unstoppable and that it was going to happen. In the South African American’s faced racial discrimination, sharecropping, bad working conditions, low wages, racial segregation and political detriments. This is all supported by documents 1-4. The great migration was an event which helped improve the conditions for African Americans in America.
Although many laws were passed that recognized African Americans as equals, the liberties they had been promised were not being upheld. Hoffman, Blum, and Gjerde state that “Union League members in a North Carolina county, upon learning of three or four black men who ‘didn’t mean to vote,’ threatened to ‘whip them’ and ‘made them go.’ In another country, ‘some few colored men who declined voting’ were, in the words of a white conservative, ‘bitterly persecute[ed]” (22). Black codes were also made to control African Americans. Norton et al. states that “the new black codes compelled former slaves to carry passes, observe a curfew, live in housing provided by a landowner, and give up hope of entering many desirable occupations” (476). The discrimination and violence towards African Americans during this era and the laws passed that were not being enforced were very disgraceful. However, Reconstruction was a huge stepping stone for the way our nation is shaped today. It wasn’t pretty but it was the step our nation needed to take. We now live in a country where no matter the race, everyone is considered equal. Reconstruction was a success. Without it, who knows where our nation would be today. African American may have never gained the freedoms they have today without the
The ending of the Civil War sought as a new beginning for many African-Americans who were finally given the freedoms that many had hoped for and the equality between blacks and whites. That hope soon became false when Jim Crow laws were put into place. Through the time period of 1877 to the mid-1960s, Jim Crow laws were operated as the racial caste system primarily in southern and border states in the U.S. (Pilgrim). This system discriminated African-Americans as the status of second-class citizens that was directed under
Imagine yourself wrongly convicted of a crime. You spent years in jail awaiting your release date. It finally comes, and when they let you out, they slap handcuffs around your wrists and tell you every single action you do. In a nutshell, that’s how the Black Codes worked. The southerners wanted control over the blacks after the Civil War, and states created their own Black Codes.
Although they needed African Americans for their factories and work ethics they did not agree with them having the same rights or sharing any rights with them. They wanted them just to work for them and have authority over African Americans. The more Africans Americans populated their living area, the more whites felt upon to call for action. For example whites wanted to feel much superior...”African Americans had to step off the sidewalk when a white person approached”(Digital Collection for the Classroom). This quote illustrates how whites did anything in their power to feel superior. The Great Migration caused whites to fear and enable them to more injustice actions. Although the Great Migration did benefit many African Americans in certain aspects it also crated unintended consequences. Due to the large growth of the African-American population there was an increasing competition amongst the migrants for employment and living space in the growing crowded cities of the North. Besides, racism and prejudice led to the interracial strife and race riots, worsening the situation between the whites and the African Americans. Racism became even more of a national problem. The Great Migration intensions were to let African Americans live a better life style economically wise and help them from poverty not cause even more issues with racism or become competition against others. Because many white people did not want to sell their property to African Americans, they began to start their own exclusive cities within that area of sell. These exclusive cities were called the “ Ghetto”(Black, 2013). The ghetto was subject to high illness, violence, high crime rate, inadequate recreational facilities; lack of building repairs, dirty streets, overcrowded schools; and mistreatment from the law enforcement. Although the ghetto cities helped unify African Americans as
Though the issue of slavery was solved, racism continues and Southerners that stayed after the war passed Black Codes which subverted the ideas of freedom including the actions of state legislatures (Hakim 19). Black Codes were a set of laws that discriminated blacks and limited their freedom (Jordan 388). Such restrictions included: “No negro shall be permitted to rent or keep a house within said parish...No public meetings or congregations of negroes shall be allowed within said parish after sunset…” (Louisiana Black Codes 1865). A solution to this was the 14th Amendment. It meant now all people born in America were citizens and it “Prohibited states from revoking one’s life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” This meant all states had to...
After the civil war, newly freed slaves faced many challenges. Whites, especially in the south, regarded blacks as inferior more than ever before. The black codes were just one obstacle the freed slaves had to overcome. They were laws that were passed in the southern states that had the intent and the effect of restricting African Americans freedom. These laws made it possible for the south to regain control over the black population in much of the same ways they had before. The black codes effected reconstruction, and even today’s society in many ways.
Jim Crow laws separated colored people from whites and forced them to inferior living conditions as well as denying black’s equal economic opportunities. Many laws were put in place to keep blacks separated from whites and when they were together, the engagements were closely regulat...
In From Slavery to Freedom (2007), it was said that “the transition from slavery to freedom represents one of the major themes in the history of African Diaspora in the Americas” (para. 1). African American history plays an important role in American history not only because the Civil Rights Movement, but because of the strength and courage of Afro-Americans struggling to live a good life in America. Afro-Americans have been present in this country since the early 1600’s, and have been making history since. We as Americans have studied American history all throughout school, and took one Month out of the year to studied African American history. Of course we learn some things about the important people and events in African American history, but some of the most important things remain untold which will take more than a month to learn about.
Marcus Garvey brought inspiration to many and spoke of many people’s dreams and desires. He led the largest black movement in all of history, although there were many obstacles he had to overcome to successfully create the change he imagined. Marcus Garvey was born in Jamaica, on August 17, 1887, in the little town of St. Anne’s Bay. He grew up in a family that had a very strong sense of closeness and unity, similar to most Jamaican families. He watched his father stand up for himself at all costs whenever he was struggling. This atmosphere encouraged Marcus to pursue his goals and not let anything stand in his way. This is how he found the courage to succeed in life, even if the color of his skin could hinder his success. Marcus expressed to his followers that the color of their skin signified a glorious symbol of national greatness. He brought hope to many people’s lives. (Cronon, pg.4-6)
Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born into a poor family on August 17, 1887 at St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica. Marcus was born the youngest of 11 children. His father was a stonemason who supposedly descended from the maroons. Maroons are African American slaves who defended their freedom from British and Spanish invaders. Garvey had to itemize his pride in the unmixed African heritage of his parents. Marcus grew up and received little education in Jamaica, so he was largely self-taught. At age 14 Marcus had to find work in a print shop to help out his family. Marcus began to doubt the value of trade union after he was involved the first printers strike of 1907. Marcus Garvey began to complain about the mistreatment of African workers to British authorities and was appalled by the little response and that left him very skeptical about any hope for justice from the white people (Rogoff 72). In 1912 Marcus Garvey studies abroad in London. He began writing African publications and became an avid supporter of African independence. I believe the turning point in Marcus Garvey’s fight for African freedom and equality came after he read Booker T. Washington’s book, Up From Slavery. Garvey “responded warmly to it’s thesis of black self help� (Kranz, Koslow 86). With that notion in mind Marcus Garvey returned to Jamaica in 1914 ready to make a difference.