Freedom In The Civil War Essay

The Civil War did not bring freedom to the Blacks in the USA

What is freedom? I believe that freedom is the right to express yourself freely and have freewill – receiving no bias or prejudice to your actions. The ability to have equal opportunity to play an active role in society. Slaves were brought to the USA in large ships which held a large number of black people – it was the Atlantic Slave Trade. In this trade, blacks were shipped to the USA in return for money and exotic goods. These slaves were kept in captivity and worked for their owners until they died, but were given the necessities to live, such as food, water, and shelter. Slavery was then practiced until 1863 when the Emancipation Proclamation was announced, and slaves were freed. Prior to this, the Civil War was primarily about the contrasting view of the north and south about slavery. The war was fought to preserve the Union and to establish Southern independence as a new confederation of

The 14th Amendment (1868) guaranteed African Americans citizenship rights and promised that the federal government would enforce "equal protection of the laws." Moreover, the 15th Amendment (1870) stated that no one could be denied the right to vote based on "race, colour or previous condition of servitude." These amendments were created during the reconstruction era. Although these amendments were enacted, by the Congress, it does not mean that they were accepted by society. By 1872, 1,510 African Americans held office in the southern states. Eight black men served together in the U.S. Congress in 1875. It was clear that the blacks were making progress, progress but it took just under a century to gain equality – even still having to deal with racism. I took until 1964, where is prohibited to discriminate based on race, colour, religion, sex or national origin. This is a substantially long time to gain equality and truly be