Mary P. O’Malley HIST 365 Prof. Nation June 22, 2008 Essay Exam 3 What was the basis of the pro-slavery defense in the South? In the early to mid-1800’s, white southern leaders began to defend themselves against what they perceived as attacks against their way of life and the “peculiar institution”, which facilitated it. As the abolitionist movement grew, Southern leaders defended slavery citing, Biblical, historical, sociological, political, and economic justifications, which were all ultimately tied to race. The Bible was commonly cited in pro-slavery arguments. In the Old Testament, God’s chosen people, the Israelites, were slaveholders, and it was argued that Africans were descendents of Hamm, whose curse was to live in servitude to his brothers.
However, with the help of African culture and values, the construction of black family has been able to overcome the obstacles and break its’ way into the middle class from humble beginnings. In order to fully understand the function and organization of the African American family, we must examine Africa not Europe as a primary basis. As argued by Africanist and anthropologist, Niara Sudarkasa “many of the debates concerning explanations of Black family are waged upon false dichotomies. (Sudarkasa 90)” She goes further to state “the experience of slavery in America is juxtaposed to the heritage of Africa as the explanation of certain aspects of Black family structure. (Sudarkasa 90)” A fellow black scholar in the field, Allen, argued in 1979 that Black family patterns cannot be explained without reference to the socio-economic contexts in which they developed, and this is extremely true.
Identify and discuss the evidence presented by Dr. Ivan Van Sertima that there was an African presence in Ancient America before the coming of Christopher Columbus and the Europeans in 1492. The first diaspora was the African diaspora. Studies prove life started on the continent of Africa. Africans then dispersed voluntarily and involuntarily. There has always been controversy about whether or not Africans were first in the Americas through slavery, which has been proven to be false.
History Grade 12B October 31, 2012 Topic: African Presence in the Americas before Columbus in 1492 Question: Assess the credibility of the evidence for West African presence in the Americas before the Arrival of Columbus. The West African presence in the Americas in the Pre-Columbian period was often argued by other Historians as false information. Well- known Historians such as Cheikh Amto Diop, Peter ReBoo and Ivan Van Sertima have collected credible and viable information which dates to the African presence in the Americas in this era. Ivan Van Sertima is one such Historian. He has critique and formulated historical theories and methodologies on the African contact.
This journey takes Rutherford into an enterprising passage of horror and self-discovery. The Middle Passage and The Book of Negroes are two novels written by African-American scholars, as they both clearly depict the social and psychological conflicts that result from the invasion of a self-contained African society by the white man and his culture. Thus, in this paper, I argue that post-colonial theory is a useful tool to analyze the dynamics of colonization, both in Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes and Charles Johnson’s Middle Passage. In particular, I investigate the novels depiction of truth and its betrayal according to the process of colonization from the perspective of the colonizer, the perspective of the colonized and the process of decolonization. The first step to utilize post-colonial criticism is to understand the impact of colonization through the perspectives of the colonizers.
Azubike Monte African American Studies 09/27/12 Abraham Lincoln Paper The question is asking me to study about how Abraham Lincoln truly felt about blacks and if he should be remembered as “The Great Emancipator”. In this paper I will give facts and my personal opinion on what the book says and what I believe about him being a “Great Emancipator”. If you read through the book and get a deeper understanding on why the American Civil War started you would realize that Abraham Lincoln wanted to preserve the North’s power. The book gives credit to Lincoln by implying that he was a moral and political enigma but also saying how in a letter he wrote that if he could save the Union without freeing the slaves he would have done it implying
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”. Throughout the book professor Nash emphasizes on the struggles an early America had to deal with developing a country based on independence and freedom, the concept which is the foundation of the “Declaration of Independence”, and enslave the men, women, and children of Africa. Through the American Revolution it was discovered that there was inconsistency with slave system and the principle reasons for the problems between England and America. We have to ask, why was slavery protected as long as it was? Within the book there were many reasons that explained why the nation failed to end slavery but the main reason being the fear that Georgia and South Carolina’s would refuse to join the union if they were forced to abolish it.
Racism, is defined as a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities, and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race(Webster). An idea or state of mind that declares one race superior to another; bringing along words such as segregation, discrimination and bigotry. (Webster) In Canaan land, by Albert J. Raboteau; a chronological story unfolds underneath your eyes, revealing the inequitable course or plot of how African Americans religiosity came about in the United States. Raboteau tells every minute fact that leads up, to the great events of our African American History; unveiling racism in its true and ugly form. Raboteau begins his book with vivid detail of Africans being
This Black thought revolutionary response to Eurocentric attitudes of African and Black people. Stereotypes have been designed to reshape African history and its impact on civilization, tracing back to the Greek. These stereotypes have distorted and made African history very vague, giving a sense of entitlement to others. Scholars have used this as a tool to deny African contribution to modern civilization, omitting the fact that all human civilization has been impacted by Africa from millions of years ago. This gave a sense of entitlement to Europeans claiming there to be no African impact on Greece civilization.
It will also explain why Achebe might feel so strongly against Conrad. He is after all fighting for a strong African identity after the colonies gained their independence. Said defends and contextualizes Conrad as a creature of his time. Finally, the essay will discuss and contrast the critics, concluding that each critique is highly influenced by the time-period in which it was written. 2 CRITICAL RESPONSES TO JOSEPH CONRAD’S HEART OF DARKNESS ............ 1 Abstract: ..................................................................................................................................................... 2 Introduction: .............................................................................................................................................. 4 Critical responses: