African-Americans During Reconstruction

As difficult as the economic crisis of the Great Depression was for white Americans, it was even harder on racial minorities, including black Americans, Mexican Americans, American Indians, and Asian Americans. In 1933 the general unemployment rate in the United States was over 25 percent; at the same time, unemployment rates for various American minorities ranged up to 50 percent or more. Given the severe racial discrimination in almost every facet of daily life in America through the 1920s, it was hard for many minorities to distinguish much difference between the Great Depression and "normal" economic times. Nonetheless, for these groups the Great Depression was worse than "normal" economic hardships they had suffered.

Every since the 1600 's, white settlers either favored the displacement of Native Americans or wanted them to convert to Christianity to make them blend in with the white culture. Southern tribes such as the Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, Creek, and Chicksaw had begun to adopt the ways and beliefs of the Europeans.

The Ninth Amendment states, "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people". This was meant to stop the government from being able to increase their power, and it was put in as a precautionary measure. When James Madison introduced this amendment, The Anti-Federalist's supported it because they feared having a strong government. The Anti-Federalist's were the ones whom of which demanded a Bill of Rights. They wanted to ensure that the government wouldn’t be another tyrannical one.

The Great Depression is a dark period of American history. This period was earmarked by the implosion of a weakened banking system and resulted in the stock market crash on October 29, 1929. The ensuing years saw an incalculable amount of joblessness, extreme poverty and vast financial ruin. No community was hit harder by this period than American minorities. Still struggling from the unhealed wounds of the civil war, the scars of immigration and sexual discrimination; blacks, Latinos and women faced disparities unlike no other.

Throughout the rest of the 19th Century following the end of the Civil War, blacks were faced with social, political, and economic limitations. Most, if not all, blacks were treated, basically, like dirt. Some of the social limitations included a lot of the racial slurs and names they were given and segregation. Blacks have been known to be called Negro above every other name such as “Colored”, “African”, and “Nigger.” Many times buildings or other places would be accessible to whites only but not blacks.

The thirteen amendment prohibits slavery. To repeal this amendment would cause a change in all civil rights accomplishments made in history. By repealing the thirteens amendment the civil rights act of 1964 would be out of use. Not only would repealing the thirteen amendment bring America ten steps backward, but also bring disrespect to the civil rights movement as a whole, and all who died for that cause. The revival of slavery leads to a new ruling of court cases such as Plessy v Ferguson (separate but equal), and Brown v Board of Education (addresses segregation in schools).

Francisco Alarcon Discussion question: African Americans in the Late 1800s If I would of had to follow an African American leader during this time of segregation I would have definitely followed, W.E.B. Du Bois, instead of Booker T. Washington because if I were an African American during this period of time I would want my rights to be enforced As a human being and respected, I believe no matter our race we shall have the right to demand are rights if there are not given to us. and I believe demanding rights in my opinion is a faster way to get whites to respect African American Rights rather than asking them and waiting the way Booker T. Washington thought it should be done. African Americans during this period of time were prevented from

The Civil War changed Americans and slavery in many ways. The war came with a cost. Over 620,000 people died from the union or confederacy. People lost many family members. They realized that they could have figured out another way to solve their differences.

In the South, the vast majority slaveholders were persuaded that their slaves might stay steadfast should them. A few did, yet the larger part crossed Uni lines as before long Likewise, northern troops entered their region. A confederate all stated in 1862 that North Carolina might have been losing give or take A million dollars consistently due to the fleeing slaves.

The “discovery” by the United States that Europe had inferior and superior races was a result of the large amount of immigration from southern and eastern Europe in the late nineteenth century (Brodkin, 1994). Before this wave of immigration took place, European immigrants had been accepted into the white population. However, the European immigrants who came to the United States to work after 1880 were too numerous and too concentrated to scatter and blend in. Rather, they built working-class ethnic communities in the United States’ urban areas. Because of this, urban American began to take on a noticeably immigrant feel (Brodkin,

In the year of 1865, the 13th Amendment was passed by Congress. This Amendment formally abolished slavery within the United states. This ratification was the final consent to considering the Three-Fifths compromise obsolete; A compromise that was relevant for many years reforming the idea of how the slave count should be considered into the population of the United States. Not only did this Amendment shatter the idea of giving slave three-fifths of a count toward the population, this was the first formal movement towards giving slaves an identity.

During the early 1800’s, President Thomas Jefferson effectively doubled the size of the United States under the Louisiana Purchase. This set the way for Westward expansion, alongside an increase in industrialism and overall economic growth. In fact, many citizens were able to thrive and make a better living in the agricultural business than anywhere else. All seemed to be going well in this new and ever expanding country, except for one underlying issue; slavery. Many African Americans were treated as the lowest of the classes, even indistinguishable from livestock.