The Thirteenth through Fifteenth Amendments A Compromise Between Slave Tradition and the United States Mei Harter English Language Arts 8A Mrs. Finkell 15 February 2018 Do you know how many painful practices that slaves had, before the rise of the Thirteenth through the Fifteenth Amendments? In America’s history, the color of a man defined how he would live. This rule was treacherous for the slaves, who were mostly made up of the African American race. As a result, many slaves were ripped away from their families. They were forced to walk in chains; slaves were sold, starved, and left to die.
Slaves and slave owners during the time of the pre-civil war had laws. Whether they actually followed them, no one can be certain. "The Universal laws of Slavery" made in 1849 by George Fitzhugh is an article which advocates for slavery. In Fitzhugh's article racism is a key detail by discriminating against the people of color saying that they couldn’t provide for their family even if they wanted to. "She unites in her person, the offices of wife, mother, mistress, housekeeper, and sister of charity.
From the 1600s, African Americans were treated as slaves for white people. They had a very difficult life in their way of living. In 1861 the north were against having slaves, but the south wanted to allow slavery. Then the Civil War between the North and South began. Finally, the North won, and the slaves became free.
Within the first to the second page, he talks about the physical appearance about black, how their skin is like scarf skin and hair are different from white. Jefferson said slave was basically like a domestic animal that was strong but treated like one. This was a clear insult to the slave because they were working like an animal, however, there were strong like one, but will you really treat a human this way. Throughout the article, he justified that African men were basic savage in Africa with a native way that brought to the nomad age and when American troops brought them to America, some were born here, to become the property of a slave owner. During this time of age, it was considered right, even if it wasn’t.
The end of slavery saw the rise of the Black Codes in the South. The Black Codes sought to limit the freedom and employ African Americans for low wage labor. It was slavery with a different name. Johnson failed to put an end to the Black Codes and anything that aided the African simply because he had the same views as those who passed the codes. After all, Johnson was once a slaveholder himself.
For instance, in Virginia, the set slave prices and frenzied racial fears made liberalization a farfetched dream. During his time as the legislator, Jefferson did more than affirm his commitment to abolitionist resolves. However, his revision of the Virginian slave’s code had little effect on easing the burden that slavery had on the African American. This did very little in addressing the plight of black slaves and their freedom . For instance, Jefferson banished a white lad who sired a black baby to leave the state of Virginia lest she is placed out of the protection laws.
Since the beginning of American history, African Americans have had to deal with outright mistreatment and inferiority within society. During slavery, African Americans were completely stripped of their basic civil rights and liberties; they were not considered to be human. During the Civil Rights Movement, although African Americans had gained their freedom nearly a century ago, they still were not treated with dignity and respect, forced to advocate for the rights given to them as citizens of the United States. Because of the racism African Americans experienced, leaders such as David Walker and Martin Luther King organized efforts to help African Americans gain more respect and inclusion in American society. Both leaders had significant influence during the time in which they lived, directly addressing the oppressors and their actions against African Americans.
Segregation has plagued the U.S. since before the Civil War. Racism between blacks and whites has ended in horrible incidents to blacks done by whites. Racial segregation is primarily done in the south. The government seems to do nothing to stop it. The racial segregation has has to stop, the Declaration of Independence says, “all men are created equal” but in the south that does not apply.
The black folk were freed by the abolition of slavery, yet this new freedom was not so. Ther identity was forever fractured between black and American, and even after they internalized the whites’ perspectives of them, they still wanted to be both without the disadvantages and racism. They were degraded, dehumanize, and shamed for their lack of education and job skills. In 1865, the Freemen’s Bureau was established by Congress to provide them with aid after living in slavery and not owning tools, homes, or land. Du Bois described them as hopeless, voiceless, humiliated, disrespected, and ridicule and how society was too focused on politics and wealth.
These slave codes placed harsh restrictions on slaves, depriving them of their rights and turning them into properties. However, slavery has been abolished in the United States of America thanks to many abolitionists. Many slaves are now free men and women. Nothing can be done to repair the wrongs of slavery, for it will always remain in the past. Now, Americans need to look to the future where slavery does not exist, where black and whites are found equal, and where racist is not a factor.