Sandelle Studway
HIS204
Joseph Scahill
01/22/13
African Americans from 1865
African Americans have fought a great battle to become a part of society in America. Since being taken from African as slaves in the 1600’s there has been a continuous battle for equality since. Since the end of slavery Black Americans have had many accomplishments along with hardships. In this paper I will discuss some of the Major events in African American history beginning with the end of slavery which has lead to the America we know today.
In 1865 Congress passed the thirteenth Amendment stating” Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction” this was the outlawing of slavery and resulted in the established the Freedmen’s Bureau to assist former slaves.
President Lincoln and other Republicans were concerned that the Emancipation Proclamation, which in 1863 declared the freedom of slaves in ten Confederate states then in rebellion, would be seen as a temporary war measure, since it was based solely on Lincoln's war powers. The Proclamation did not free any slaves in the border states nor did it abolish slavery.[1] Because of this, Lincoln and other supporters believed that an amendment to the Constitution was needed.
In many parts of the South, the newly freed slaves labored under conditions similar to those existing before the war. The Union army could offer only limited protection to the ex-slaves, and Lincoln’s successor, Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, clearly had no interest in ensuring the freedom of southern blacks. The new president’s appointments as governors of southern states formed conservative, proslavery governments. The new state legislatures passed laws designed to keep blacks in poverty and in positions of servitude. Under these so-called black codes, ex-slaves who had no steady
References: American Literature , Vol. 45, No. 1 (Mar., 1973), pp. 138-140 Published by: Duke University Press Horne, G. (2006). TOWARD A TRANSNATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY IN THE 21st CENTURY. The Journal of African American History, 91(3), 288-303. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/194472189?accountid=32521 Dr