The Civil War: From Economics to Morality As one of the most brutal wars in American history, the Civil War has become a dark reminder of America’s dark past. As president of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln struggled to keep a nation together while attempting to eliminate slavery from the American economy. Because the purpose of the Civil war was not initially to end the institution of slavery, it was not until 1863 with the Emancipation Proclamation that Black slaves would see this war as fight for freedom. Once the war became to war about freedom, African Americans, both free and still in bondage played a major role in the war, initially as service personnel, but lastly as fully armed soldiers. Primarily, the Civil War less
To what extent did The Ku Klux Klan prevented African Americans from gaining Civil Rights in the years 1960-64? Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Ku Klux Klan re-emerged, feeling that their goal of white supremacy was being challenged by the Civil Rights Campaign. Between these years they created many problems for the campaign, and could even be blamed for the lack of Civil Rights legislation in this period. One of the key ways in which the Klan blocked any progress was through intimidation and fear. In many Southern States the force and presence of the Klan was enough to dissuade African Americans from joining the campaign - Mississippi, as state with the highest amount of Klan activity also had the lowest amount of registered African American voters, and the lowest amount of NAACP activists.
When the war was over slavery was abolished but in the Presidential Election of 1864, Douglass did not support Lincoln because he felt that Lincoln was not enforcing that the blacks still could not vote, instead he supported John C. Fremont. When Lincoln died Douglass was one of the speakers, saying that Lincoln was a “white man’s president”, he also mentioned the positive and negatives about Lincoln’s presidency and how Lincoln want the expansion of slavery to stop but not completely eliminated. When Douglass gave his monthly speech in September 1861 “The Mission for War” (Douglass 176), he wanted to criticize the way that the army was being segregated and how black were not being given the same opportunities as white soldiers. He begins by mentioning how many blacks fought during the Revolutionary War, who received their freedom, but would still be willing to fight for their country if need be. But the Union does not want blacks with weapons since they themselves believed that black soldiers would not make for adequate troops.
He leaned towards the support of the Union, frequently citing that slavery was a political and constitutional issue rather than a morality one. Critics argue that if “the Republican truly believed that slavery was morally wrong, they would have abolished slavery in all of the Union”. Slavery continued to persist even in the reign of the Union. This was because the Union was committed to restrict the expansion of slavery but not abolish it. In his views, Lincoln saw slavery as an unavoidable social evil that was essential to the economy .
Simon Legree, the novel’s antagonist slave driver, became the archetypal Southern figure for whom Northerners felt much contempt. Northerners, relying much more on industry than agriculture, had for a long time been against slavery as a violation of human rights and as a waning economic practice overdue to become obsolete in the United States. Uncle Tom’s Cabin intensified these ideas through its emotional portrayal of black slaves as sufferers to evil white men.
After 1869 federal government remained an obstacle throughout this time period. The Supreme Court ruling of the US vs Reese case in 1875 supported Kentucky officials who turned away black voters, and so marked the way for further discrimination against black voters. The voting qualifications further restricted African Americans from exercising their political rights and was legalised by the Mississippi vs Williams case. Federal government failed to discourage anti civil rights groups whose main targets were black voters and so greatly inhibited the slow progression of African American civil rights. However, state government was also a major obstacle in achieving the vote for African Americans.
Prior to the Civil War, African Americans were never treated very humanely. The Whites were the dominant race while the African Americans suffered under their commands as slaves who were treated unequally. Because slavery was such a huge issue, it became the reason of the outbreak of the Civil War. The African American troops in the movie Glory fought with their lives in hopes of winning the war to achieve freedom. Their goal was to abolish slavery completely and prevent it from harming many people.
Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation of slaves defined a profound moment in history. It was not the end but the beginning for all African Americans. However, this well thought out plan did not free slaves, but it was a great place to start. Abraham Lincoln who is known as the great emancipator knew that he wanted to save the union, but in doing so he had to find a way to end slavery which is the farthest from what he really wanted to do. Looking back at the time before Lincoln was even president it was known that he had many other ideas when it came to African Americans.
Jim Crow laws (named after a black character in minstrel shows) were rigid laws used to discriminate against blacks. They were established in southern states and Border States between the 1870’s through the mid 1960’s. These laws were put into place to support the idea that blacks were inferior the whites. Pro-segregationists believed that any interaction between the black and white races would lead to a race that would cause the downfall and destruction of America. Jim Crow laws were used to insure that no blacks and whites would intermarry or
Whether in the form of revolts within their own land borders or on a larger scale with rebellions, one of the most notable being that of Nat Turner. Some resistance was kept more quiet such as Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad, though valiant in retrospect seldom were successful, Turner’s rebellion numbering only in seventy plus slaves who although killing many whites was thwarted by the militia in short order. The mindset of the times was the larger obstacle as efforts of rebelling slaves only steeled the ideology that the black man was ultimately a savage animal without the mental wherewithal to control himself needing someone to keep him in line. By this time in history, we were a nation to ourselves pecking out a constitution and bill of rights, state and federal legislatures and government. These precepts were hammered out by men who were aristocratic and affluent in the cultural setting of the time.