Turning Points: African American History
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Turning points in the history of a people are events that transform their lives. For the African Americans, the three turning points are Slavery, Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement. Of all the major historical events in American history, they best document the extraordinary struggle of African Americans to forge an identity and carve their deserved niche on the American landscape. The genesis of African American history can be considered to be the moment when Africans were torn away from their homeland and forced to migrate to North America. Living in oppressive conditions, slaves clung onto their ethnic identities while they adapted to new surroundings. Reconstruction marked the birth of the African American community. However, their commitment to creating a niche in American society could not overcome the racist sentiments of whites. Ultimately, it was the painful struggle of the Civil Rights Movement that paved the way for the elimination of racial injustices. The institution of slavery violated the fundamental human rights of the slaves by transforming them into property that can be traded from person to person (Hudson 12). Furthermore, slavery was passed from generation to generation. Most significantly, slavery became a means for white people to exercise their sense of racial superiority over Africans and their descendants. The status of slavery was reserved solely for Africans and their children (Hudson 12). Their daily life and actions were controlled by
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heir white masters (Foner 86). Their economic difficulties were exacerbated by a white community that was determined not to sell them property or advance them credit. Furthermore, the former slaves had to adjust to a new economic order governed not by the former paternalistic master-slave relationships, but by market forces (Foner 106).
During the Reconstruction era, male and female African Americans did not benefit equally from the new-found freedom. The Freedman's Bureau decided that husbands, as heads of the households, should sign contracts for the labor of their entire families. Furthermore, it established wage scales that gave women less money than men. Other political developments further consolidated the patriarchal system; in 1867, African American men were allowed to serve on juries, vote, hold office in the Republican Party, while both white and African American women could not. In fact, African American men in influential positions within the African American community wanted to keep women away from the limelight and relegated them to the domestic spheres of life (Foner 87).
Reconstruction also allowed for the creation of distinctively African American churches. While antebellum South Protestant congregations allo
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Approximate Word count = 1982
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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