Powell 1 Siena + Does a geod! yop OF enplainng each histene OO Prof. House + wore on Conneering Gacte fo US History thesis 28 Nov 2016 ‘Treatment of African Americans Throughout US History Although African Americans have come a long way since the times of slavery, I would argue that the feelings toward African Americans have not changed. PROmiSIavetya Reconstruction; the Civil Rights Movement; and the Black Lives Matter Movement itis evident that there is @ common theme: the inequality and dehumanization of black people. |)! 5 Slavery was the first time that black people were seen as inferior in the eyes of the American people. This is the first time in American history that African people were dehumanized and seen as nothing but a source of labor. The treatment of black people was despicable. White Americans forced these people into chattel slavery, separating families and destroying lives. ‘The worst part of it all is that white slave owners really believed that they were helping black people by enslaving them. They acted as if they were saving them from their savage ways and civilizing them through enslavement. Some slave owners even believed that their slaves ‘were grateful to be working for them. In a newspaper article in 1920, this sentiment is apparent.Powell 2 ‘The author argues that industrial workers in the 1920s had worse conditions than the slaves of the 1800s. The journalist writes “Is it not true that thousands of slaves were not oply contented, but happy as slaves? It is perfectly true. The position of the chattel slave of the old days was infinitely better than that of the industrial slave of today” (The Toiler 1). This shows that to the whites slavery was normal, however, when they experienced any form of hardship it was considered unfair and they believed that they were being mistreated. (qnect NCI TD thesic ‘During the time of Reconstruction, President Andrew Johnson, a southern sympathizer, thought that there was no place for black people in Reconstruction. Although the Civil War Amendments were passed, many other laws were enacted that systematically kept African Whidn Americans unequal to whites. These laws were called the Black Codes. Phesé were policies that ‘were designed to bring black people back to a slave-like state. On February 7, 1868, the Holt County Sentinel said that the Johnson Reconstructionists’ “first efforts were devoted to framing black codes which would reenslave half or two-thirds of the people for whom they were called to legislate” (The Holt County Sentinel 1). Examples of these are the Grandfather Clause, polls ~ i Aeon eee Faroe) taxes, and the Vagrancy law, The Grandfather Clause stated that a black man could only vote if his grandfather voted. This law was used to disenfranchise black men because their grandfathers ‘were not allowed to vote either. Another policy used to disenfranchise black people was the poll tax. Most African American men did not have enough money to pay for the taxes in order to ‘vote. The Vagrancy law allowed unemployed black men to be arrested and forced to work onPowell 3 plantations. Most African Americans at that time worked on the plantation that they were just freed from. These are just a few of the many laws and systems designed for black people to fail. Inequality of black people was perpetuated in the age of Reconstruction. During these times slavery was abolished but there were other forms of labor that were established to keep African Americans in slave-like states. These institutions include sharecropping and tenant farming. Laboring on plantations was one of the main jobs available to black people at the time. Sharecropping and tenant farming caused former slaves to return back to their master’s plantation to work in exchange for housing and supplies. These jobs kept African Americans in the debt of the plantation omer, CONNECT Herc +0 APUSIS ; exptatn howd Anis Genomonect block people. After Reconstruction, Jim Crow laws were enacted. During the Civil Rights era the Jim Crow laws were used to keep blacks separate from whites. Businesses and other public places made black people enter from the back of the building and only sit in a certain section. At this time everything was segregated. Buses, schools, and even water fountains were segregated. Failure to adhere to these rules of segregation resulted in being put in jail. Even certain performers were not allowed to perform because the venue was for whites only. An example of this is when Marian Anderson was not allowed to sing at Constitution Hall because they had a ite-only policy. As a result, President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved for her to sing at the Lincoln Memorial. FDR allowed her to sing at the memorial despite the segregation in Washington.Powell 4 ~~ se. oe cre. _ OO tare] The US continued to fight for the four freedoms during this time but black people didn't even have complete freedom in America. Black people could be locked up for not following the rules of segregation or because of false accusations. An example of this is the Scottsboro Boys, nine black teenagers falsely accused of raping two white women on a train in 1931. Alll but two of the nine boys were sentenced with 75 years in prison or the death penalty. Another famous ‘example of a black boy being punished without proof is Emmett Till. He was a fourteen-year-old boy accused of flirting with a white woman. Because of this accusation, Emmett was kidnapped, tortured, and later found floating in the Tallahatchie River. ‘Today, African Americans continue to deal with systematic racism. There are systems in place that help to incarcerate black people within the police force that is supposed to protect us. Many African Americans, especially black men, have been targeted by the police and killed. ‘These men were unarmed and were still killed because they were considered a “threat”. To make matters worse, the officers who are killing these black men are not being charged with the murders of unarmed men, they are being acquitted. These actions gave rise to the Black Lives Matter Movement which seeks to gain equality and justice within our communities. From slavery to Reconstruction to Civil Rights and the Black Lives Matter Movement, black people have always been seen as a lesser race. We have been forcibly enslaved, manipulated by the government, and killed systematically. Although African Americans havePowell 5 advanced from the times of slavery, there has always been a system in place to make sure that black people can only advance so far. The sentiment of hatred towards black people has only been masked and presented in a way that makes it less overtPowell 6 Bibliography "Eleanor Roosevelt and Marian Anderson - FDR Presidential Library & Museum." FDR Presidential Library & Museum. FDR Library & Museum, Web. 28 Nov. 2016. ‘The Holt County sentinel. (Oregon, Mo.), 07 Feb. 1868. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. "Scottsboro Boys." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 28 Nov. 2016, The toiler. (Cleveland, Ohio), 16 Oct. 1920. Chronicling America: Historic American ‘Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.