The African-American Odyssey Essay Example for Free

The African-American Odyssey EssayThe emancipation of the African hard worker who was now dislocated from their traditions and way of life after nearly 300 years, is seemingly a great gush from the dam to the decreases and flows of the struggle. The end of sla very(prenominal) as we know it, presented a ball of mixed emotions among the nation North and SOUTH. roughly slaves were grossly ecstatic to be free. For example, when a slave girl named Caddy, from Goodman, Mississippi found she was free, went to her mistress, flipped up her countersink and told her Kiss my ass On the contrary, some slaves were apprehensive of being free. For example, one elderly slave fair sex reportedly said, I ain no free nigger I is got a marster and mistiss Dee refine dar in de great ho ingestion. Ef you don believe me, you go dar an see. Though most slaves were detached from their families, many managed to regroup and get word their love ones after their emancipation and constructed close knit families. Land was an viable means of survival in the minds of newly freed manpower and the government was eager to deem lands to the ex-slaves .On January 16, 1865, General William T. Sherman told the freedmen that they will receive the land they were in search of. They were granted the head of each family would receive possessory title to forty acres of land. Sherman also gave the use of Army mules, thus giving rise to the slogan, Forty acres and a mule. Similarly in 1862 the totality military set aside land in expression Royal, South Carolina, which became kn deliver as the Port Royal experiment. The freedmen bureau was created to aid newly freed slaves in the transition from bondage to freedom in 1865. aft(prenominal) Lincolns assassination the succession of his Vice president, Andrew Johnson, to the presidency meant that the white owners of the lands, that were given to the freedmen, would be returned. Sharecropping became a sort of ebb in the river of the African-Ameri can progression as far as freedom was concerned. Presented as labor contracts by white land owners, the institution of slavery was extended under a cloud of debt. In which, the barren family, oft convictions became debtors due to the lack of honesty on the account of their white lender. Aside from family, among African-Americans, the dusky church became the most important institution.Not only did it fill deep spiritual and inspirational needs, it offered enriching music, provided good-will and compassion to those in need, developed community and policy-making leaders, and was free of white supervision. With the end of slavery, swarthys who then had to go to services with white parishioners who treated them as second class Christians, could now organize and attend their own churches. The advent of the black church definitely brought about a flow in the river of struggle for African-Americans. instruction was another flow in the river of struggle and a critical means of survi val amongst people of color.It coincided on base freedom. All who were versed in education of all sorts were summoned to teach the freedmen and their children. Teachers from all walks showed. Classes were held in churches, old slave markets, stables, taverns, homes, and former slave cabins. Funding came from dissimilar religious and political organizations and the Freedmens Bureau. Although white teachers helped a bit, black teachers were praised end-to-end the negro community because, as Rev. Richard H. Cain said , We must take into our own hands the education of our feedHonest, dignified whites may teach ever so well, besides it has not the effect to exalt the black mans opinion of his own race, because they have always been in the habit of seeing white men in honored positions, and respected. Most colleges and universities for blacks taught elementary and secondary level curriculum. The introduction of the historically black colleges and universities was formed from the ro ot of a higher education for people of color. In the midst of the newfound freedom, religious organization, and education of Negroes which was an unmistakable flow, a reoccurring ebb presented itself in the form of violence.Justice for the black man was never considered in those times. Thousands of gratis(p) African-Americans were heinously murdered without a single conviction of a white perpetrator whom committed the acts. atop the murders, black towns, businesses, churches, and schools were destroyed at the hands of the angry white southerners. The Failure of Reconstruction For the first time ever in history, a group of black men had concurrently became politicians. They were joined by the carpetbaggers of the uniting and the scalawags of the south in the Re state-supportedan constituency.Of the 1,000 men elected as delegates to the ten state conventions, 265 were black. Collectively, they drafted new, striking constitutions that, unlike the previous constitutions, allowed al l men to vote even the ex-Confederates. Although, the Re creationans displayed compassion upon their dealings with their opponents, the unruly Southern swelled head rose once more against the ratification of the new constitutions. In due course, the majority did manage to ratify and in each state, black men were elected to offices. As time progressed, nearly 1,500 black men were in office around the end-to-end the south.Among those were the likes of Blanche K. Bruce, Hiram R. Revels, Joseph Rainey, Jonathan J. Wright, Francis L. Cardozo, Robert Smalls, and Ferdinand Havis. This was a flow that led to inevitable ebb in the river of fight for African-Americans. That ebb presented itself in the form of the gradual failure of reconstruction. Issues such as education, social welfare, genteel rights, land, and businesses plagued the Republican frame of thought daily. The black leaders efforts to facilitate education throughout the black and scurvy white communities failed overall.Lac k of funds is the greatest blame for the inconsistency. At the time, there were no segregation laws, plainly whites ref utilise to let their children go to school with blacks. Though a valid effort amongst African-Americans was given toward civil rights, they did not receive the respect that every other law abiding citizen received. For example, they were not accommodated at hotels and on public transportation, nor were they served as paying customers at various businesses. The blacks who worked for the white lan seeers were being cheated daily as if they were still in captivity.White employers would either fire the worker before the harvest or make up uncouth fees and debts. Some just didnt pay at all blacken leaders grew tired of the robbery and do laws to eliminate such happenings. The distribution of land amongst landless, yeomen, farmers didnt happen in any other state but South Carolina. Over fourteen thousand black families and a few white families, received land. Black b usinesses, unfortunately, did not and could not flourish due to the lack of funds during the expanding of the railroad. Other businesses made handsome amounts of wampum but the African-American business owners could not cash in.Black politicians laid the foundation for public assistance, education, illegal justice reform but, could not do anything that directly dealt with their people. Reason being, was that they were the minority in the Republican society and in fact, were not allowed to ratify their own agenda. Besides, they couldnt agree on most things because they came from different walks of life. Bickering throughout the Republican party sparked a high turnover in political leadership and the loss of that very economic security? This made for inexperienced leadership and added to Republican woes. Opposition came to the party in various ways Such as, the conservative Democrats who continued to heckle blacks who in any way participated in the political process and the Ku Klu x Klan. The Klan, was founded in Pulaski, Tennessee in 1866, by ex-confederate soldiers who were hell-bent on eradicating and/ or terrorizing anyone who didnt submit to southern culture. They used any means necessary to remove blacks from politics. The Enforcement Act of 1870 was passed to prohibit Klansmen from wearing their regalia in public and entertained the civil rights of black citizens.The following year the Ku Klux Klan Act was passed and it made the interference of a persons right to vote, hold office, jury duty and equal protection a federal offense. The fifteenth amendment was passed in 1869, and afterward ratified in 1870. It clearly expressed the right to vote to all citizens but failed to address the literacy tests, dimension possession rule, or the poll tax that continued to plague voters. Radical Republicans and northern whites alike grew washed-out with the dependency of blacks, (as they saw it) and looked upon them as unfit to be involved in the political sys tem.They thought that reconstruction had been a mistake. The Freedmens Bank was founded in 1865 and done well until the white board of directors foolishly invested in Washington, D. C. original estate. The Panic of 1873 brought about a significant loss in unsecured railroad loans. As a result, the bank closed in 1874. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was an act of good intentions, yet it was ruled unconstitutional by U. S. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Bradley who, wrote that the Fourteenth Amendment protected black people from discrimination by states but not by private businesses. The end of Reconstruction was as brutal and contentious as the beginning. Blacks refused to vote in response to the terrorism inflicted upon them by the southern Democrats. The withdrawal of the federal troops that were to protect the rights of colored people left the black citizens with no means of defense and they therefore had to bow down to the numerous massacres that were to occur. The compromise of 187 7, in which, Samuel J. Tilden and Rutherford B. Haynes, ran for the presidency, brought about more violence towards blacks and grew worse as time passed.