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.
We are taught to blame slavery on the Southern states but we learned that the Northern states were just as responsible due to their lack of action, fear of the results due to abolishment, and most importantly their double standard on the stance of slavery. Professor Nash gives us and insightful view from the eyes of free blacks and their contribution in the fight for freedom and equality of African Americans. This book has given me an insight of our history of slavery that I was unaware of, people involved and events that took place. The struggle for equality that we have in our country now is evident that it stem from our past. Using these events we can understand ourselves and continue to build a stable and free America which our forefathers based their fight for liberty and freedom from England and strengthen the words written within our Constitution that establish freedom and equality for “ALL
That is why he wanted the slaves to be freed and removed from the United States all together. He feared of a revolt by them for all the cruel things that were done to them. Thomas Jefferson didn’t hold the views he felt for one group for the other. The African Americans who were brought to America to be slaves that they forced to live how they wanted them to could not coexist with them but the Native Americans who had their own society and their own way of life they could be civil with. I thought that they wanted to preserve the republican society by molding republican machines.
Unlike the Native Americans, they were viewed more as a tool rather than an individual since the beginning of the African slave trade. Their lives were devastated as families were split apart and their freedom was stripped away from them. Those who were enslaved soon used freedom petitions to rally to the cause of abolishing slavery, one in which revealed how they had “with other men a natural and unalienable right to that freedom which the great parent of the universe hath bestowed equally on all mankind” as they argued that it was unjust to judge people by their appearance. They believed, like white women, that every individual was given such rights as a human being as well. They believed that they were fellow brothers, but were instead ignored and harassed by white men for their own benefit.
He was particularly not very fond of Thomas Jefferson, who he thought to be a racist. In his “Appeal in Four Articles” we can detect the tone and seriousness in his voice right away. This is obviously not a topic he takes lightly. He blasts the institution of slavery right away when he says, “But we, (coloured people) and our children are brutes!! and of course are and ought to be slaves to the American people and their children forever“ ( Walker 792).
But Africa's government was the worst example of racialism and violation of the human rights. However, Nelson Mandela still stood up for what he thought was right and, led his people to freedom. He rose above his personal interests and always kept the interest of his nation above all. He was offered attractive gifts as a price of his loyalty and sincerity but he never accepted those offers. He accepted a prolonged imprisonment over the freedom that was over shadowed with a piece of slavery.
To conclude, the Middle Passage is clearly the roots of the slavery that occurred in the United States. Learning about the Middle Passage, gives us a better understanding of the long journey that the slaves endured. How being treated as cargo made them less superior and the torture and living conditions were unimaginable. Hopefully we can end the road, which racism has paved in this country. But more importantly, that no other human being should ever have to go through what the African slaves
In the years of Europe’s series of conquest and colonization across the African landmass, the various tribes of Africa reacted either peacefully (possibly angry, just not doing anything to stop Europe), or aggressively. Many of the African tribes threatened by European expansion reacted to Europe’s violence (or warning) in peaceful, non-aggressive ways. Most of this is due to Africans having a huge military disadvantage against Europe due to their lack of modern firearms [doc 9]. Europe demanded written documents stating the surrender of African land over to the Europeans, of course, the Africans didn’t have a chance of defeating them, and so they signed their land of, sometimes without even attempting to fight back. They also had to state
Gandhi stood up and he became a leader to the people in India. He was unhappy with the foreign power in his home country. Also this is what happened with Nelson Mandela in South Africa fighting against the law of apartheid, to gain equal rights for the black majority in that country. This law prevented the blacks in South Africa to live a normal life. This all changed when Nelson Mandela decided to start fighting for the equal rights of the the blacks.
“Blackness” of American culture probably got its beginning with demand for slaves to cultivate sugarcane and other crops for what groups of black slaves were forcibly shipped from their homes to America. They did not immigrate, seeking greater opportunity, like others; they came in chains (Perry). They were seized from their villages and homes leaving all their possessions behind. They came from diverse cultures and the only possessions they were able to bring with them were “their own ideas about life, their own cultures, and their own cosmology” (Perry). Dr. Munashe Furusa, in his presentation on “African Influence the World”, emphasizes that for one to understand his/her destiny one should come to understanding of his/her origin and nature which can explain the meaning of “blackness”.