According to Bowles, 2012, slavery began the civil war which led to further violence which in turn led to segregation. But just because this was the end of slavery, does not mean that the military leaders nor politicians can change the ingrained cultural beliefs of a people. The country was split between the North and the South; Northern white and in the Southern Blacks. African-Americans such as Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, and even more recent Barrack Obama have made significant steps to improve and even stop segregation. According to Bowles, 2011, American History 1865 to present End of Isolation, The Black Codes codified some of these feelings into law when in 1865 southern state governments created legislation that restricted and controlled the lives of the ex-slaves.
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. Pro-slavery ministers also drew from Paul’s epistles, which compel wives, children, and slaves to be submissive to their masters, and for citizens to “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s” (Keith 118). As a historical defense, pro-slavery writers compared the antebellum South to ancient Greece and Rome, the great slaveholding societies of the past (Nation 6/16/08). In a scriptural defense of slavery in 1856, the Reverend Thornton Stringfellow states, “We have also shown from authentic history that the institution of slavery existed in every family, and in every province of the Roman Empire (Major Problems 330). In addition, Keith notes Calhoun’s claim that all civilized societies apportion wealth inequitably (117).
Ciera Johnson Reaction Paper AFA 3104 “Go Sound the Trumpet” Reading the Article Go Sound the Trumpet by Larry Rivers has put into perspective that basically ‘you reap what you sew’. Slave masters had tried to control the slaves every being but could not control their soul. Religion is an outlet to freedom for some. Slaves in this time were using their religious freedom to plan a way out, plan for an escape to a better life. Slave masters were under the impression that slaves were having church so when caught, of course slaves had to ‘pay the price’.
This would, of course, link politics and religion together. He argued that slavery went against the Bible’s teachings. Many within the Christian religion said that Hell awaits those who do not denounce slavery. These are but a few of the many different views held by both pro-and anti-slavery groups. Slavery is said to be the one breaking point that lead to the Civil War, but it is also said that during that time slavery was on the way out and was not the cause of the Civil War.
At the time slaves were still legal in the south; therefore the act of of helping them escape to freedom was illegal. The appeal for freedom was very strong and there were many blacks speaking out on the issue. On unique piece of reading was the “Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World”, by David Walker. Walker was born free in North Carolina but still saw a better end for his brothers in the south. His writing was an appeal to the injustice of slavery in the Southern states, using political and religious means to convey his ideas.
Lee wrote was a letter to his wife about slavery in 1856. In this letter Lee talks about how “The blacks are immeasurable better off here than in Africa, morally, socially and physically.” By saying this Lee shows his willingness to accept the African American society into the southern white society. Lee isn’t necessary an anti-slavery activist but he isn’t a pro-slavery supporter either. Robert E. Lee once stated that he saw slavery as necessary but not proper. Lee concluded that slavery would help both white and black races grow equally.
Because of slavery, black’s concept of God was totally different from the masters who enslaved them. White Christians saw God as a more spiritual savior, the reflection of God for blacks came in the struggle for freedom by blacks. The black theology ideas are old, nearly 400 years ago during the time of slavery African Americans sang spiritual hymns as their worked on the field of their masters, which can be seen as the birth of black liberation theology
Sadly it is here where things went wrong, and the ugly side of human nature reared its face. The residents of the colonies came to the realization that these Africans were a “great” source of cheap labor, thus constituting the institution of slavery. With this by the end of the seventeenth century, the colonies began to establish laws that stated these people that were originally indentured servants were to be slaves for life as well as their children. And this is how slavery got its start in what was to become the “great” country, The United States of America. Not too
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
Furthermore in the Southern states of USA the abolition movement was resented. Plantation owners were unwilling to end slavery because it provided them with a free labour force. Many white Americans had justified slavery by thinking of slaves as racially inferior, as people without human needs, rights or dignity. The legal system had supported these racist views, and the rights of the plantation owners for many years. After 1890 many Southern governments passed a series of laws that set up a system of segregation that would last until the mid-twentieth century.