Segregation In The 1800's

On the front lines in Europe longer than any other American unit, the African-American 369th Regiment triumphed in battle and was recognized for courage and resilience by much of the American public. Yet, the mere existence of a segregated all-Black unit and the mixed reception of these soldiers during and after the war, testify to the entrenched mistreatment of Blacks in America and the ingrained White supremacy attitudes of Americans. Even when they served in segregated units, the presence of Black men in uniform threatened the racial hierarchy and unnerved Whites, which worsened the treatment of people of color. Despite the success of the regiment, their fame did not advance them individually, or the status of Blacks more broadly. Furthermore,

Slavery in America In the early years of the United States, Africans were shipped to America to become hard working slaves. Africans were constantly being taken from their families. Most slave owners treated slaves unfairly and denied them of basic rights. 12.5 million Africans were taken to be sold as slaves in America.

In 1930 prejudices against African American people were extremely harsh. African Americans could not walk the streets without getting racial slurs yelled at them. Africans were highly discriminated against. Even though all of their rights to have Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. They were treated like they meant nothing in the world.

Slavery was a national establishment when the American Revolution came around. The number slaves were minor, but there were least a few in every colony. Even before the ratification of the Constitution, Northern States were on the start of abolishing slavery outright or passing laws that provided gradual emancipation. The Northern Ordinance was passed in 1787, barring slavery from territories that were recently established during that period, so slavery was immediately eradicated, existing only in the South. Slavery was heavily embedded in almost every aspect of life of the American South during the 1800’s.

In the United States during the 1950s the federal government was forced to establish federal regulations to put an end to the segregation of society in the south along with the north. In the northern states segregation was a type of segregation call de facto segregation of which is segregation based on unwritten custom or by tradition. This was rather different than segregation in the south which was known as de jure segregation being the Jim Crow laws enforced segregation by law. These southern state governments however felt that the federal government could not control the segregation of African Americans in the states. Thus the southern states used many unsuccessful strategies to resist the compliance that included “The Southern Manifesto”,the creation of the “White Citizens Councils”,the conflict that erupted in Little Rock, and the James Meredith issue at the all-white University of segregation

There is a question that has been wondered throughout time. Why are people afraid of others who are different? Segregation in the 1940’s-60’s is a great example of this. During this time southern whites feared African Americans just because they had a different skin color. African Americans were discriminated for many years, but it was especially bad in the South.

In Merriam Webster Online Dictionary, the word segregation means a “cause or force the separation of (as from the rest of society).” American society has for decades segregated African-Americans from their White counterparts. Even today, with equal rights for all, many people of color feel segregated in their daily lives. However, today’s segregation does not compare to the 1930’s America.

Sectionalism The definition of the word sectionalism is the restriction of interest to a narrow sphere. There were 3 main sections that practiced sectionalism in the 1800s. These sections were the North, the South, and the West. A few events that created sectional conflict were tariffs, slavery, representation, and states rights.

The cause of the Underground Railroad was the slaves arrived in 1619, a ship docked in Jamestown, Virginia. The ship carried away 20 people had been kidnapped from their homes in west Africa. At an auction, a large group of newly arrived black men and women and children were put on display. They pried open their mouths to check their teeth. They pinched their muscles to make sure they were strong.

As a nation, America has made vast progress in improving the rights of non-white individuals. Does that mean that we are liberated from our guilty participation in inflicting pain and trauma upon millions of peoples in order to become the exceptional nation that we claim to be today? Of course not. We should never forget that we stole and colonized land that was already peacefully inhabited by the Native Peoples in order to achieve Manifest Destiny. We should never forget that we brutally snatched, traumatized, and enslaved hundreds of thousands of Africans in order to profit from and cultivate our own economic desires.

1964 was an essential time period for African Americans. During the time, discrimination and segregation were so dominant. Had it not have been for the Civil Rights Act, these issues could have divided the nation into one black society and one white society. White Northerners and White Southerners were racially prejudice. In the North, riots and violent fighting was something individuals would partake in.

In collegiate education, American History has always, has been told from the white person’s point of view. It has also failed to recognize the contributions of African American culture that has helped create America. Overtime many thought this would change, but in reality majority of African-Americans know more about “American” history than African-American history. Because of the lack of knowledge that both black people and non-black people have about African-American history, they tend to have closed off mindsets about how the topic relates to educations. According to Aristotle, “ It’s the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”