How the Idea of Freedom of Race Evolved since the Reconstruction

About 4 million slaves were accidentally given their long-sought freedom by the civil war and the ensuing union victory in 1865, but the challenges faced during the transition to freedom foretold many difficulties in rebuilding, particularly in the south. Thus, under President Andrew Johnson’s administration, a new set of upheavals were introduced during the reconstruction era, which lasted from 1865 to 1877. In an effort to regulate the work and behavior of the recently freed former slaves, a number of new Southern legislatures that restricted black codes were put into place between 1865 and 1866. Who were entirely of African and Caribbean descent.

Due to the punitive nature of the black code legislation, an outrage in the North erupted other the admissibility of the proposed bill leading to the erosion of any significant support for the approach of the presidential Reconstruction. Ultimately, the aftermath made the radical wing of the Republican Party triumph of the legislations. From 1867, newly enfranchized black Americans managed to gain their voices in the government for the first time in the American history leading to an unprecedented participation in elections to the Southern state legislatures and the US. Congress. However, in less than a decade, extreme reactionary forces erupted in the form of radical extremists known as the Klux Klan who undeniably caused a significant regression the gains already made by introducing Radical Reconstruction through violent backlashes that unequivocally restored white supremacy in the South.

At the outset of the Civil War, several radical abolitionists were left dismayed by President Abraham Lincoln’s actions towards the North. Abraham Lincoln did not make any considerable steps in the abolition of slavery during the Union war efforts out of fear that the decision could drive the border slave states into the Confederacy thus angering the several conservative northerners. However, by the dawn of 1862, the slaves themselves had pushed the issue by mobilizing and heading to the Union lines as Lincoln’s troops marched to the south. The solidarity movement by the blacks served to debunk a prevailing mythical notion that they were content in servitude, slavery, and bondage. Thus, Lincoln citing the urgency for the need of restoring affirmative reconstruction efficiently brought to law the Emancipation Proclamation which served to free more than 3 million former slaves in the Confederate states by January of 1863. Consequently, several of the federal slaves would eventually enlist into the army reaching around 180000 by the end of that particular war. From 1905 through the 1930s, the black freedom continued to endure severe tests through segregation, racial bias, inequalities, and discrimination and abuse other fundamental rights (Roosevelt 1910).

Segregation in itself served to tighten the racial oppression that the blacks were supposedly undergoing. As a consequence, some leaders of the African American community rose to fame by championing the ultimate freedom of the black race. Some of the black community began to openly discredit calls by their leaders to take a reconciliatory approach as depicted in the case of Booker T Washington. As such, W.E.B Du Bois and other black African American leaders decided to champion their activism by founding freedom movements such as the Niagara Movement of 1905 and the National Urban League that was established in 1910. During the Great Migration of 1910-1920, African Americans sought work in the industrial cities to find work and later fill in the inherent labor shortages created by the World War I. Though exclusions continued during the same period, northern black men encountered fewer barriers in voting (Roosevelt 1912). The Great Migration and the aftermath of the World War I bolstered the blacks while increasing their self-confidence that led to the creation of the New Negro Movements that mushroomed in the 1920s and lobbied aggressively for the institutionalization of the anti-lynching law.

By 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal helped to provide more federal support for the African American than at any other time since the Reconstruction period started. Thus, the New Deal legislation granted only partial inclusivity as segregation, and other considerable forms of discrimination continued. Early 1950’s towards the late 1960s saw the growth of the civil rights movements because segregation and discrimination remained primarily mandated by the laws. The rise of Rosa Park and Martin Luther King Jr. saw the blacks boycott several public amenities leading to their eventual desegregation and reduce discrimination in public accommodations and culminating in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. At the same time, the African Americans achieved significant milestones in consolidating their voting rights when they eventually triumphed over electoral discrimination through the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Such gains in freedom of expression, association, political, social and economic participation continued through the following years despite the challenges they encountered in implementing the laws and fighting for their democratically recognized the rights (Reagan 1964).

Prompt 2: Compare and Contrast Two Eras, Decades or Movements- The New Deal and Progressive Eras

Similarities

The progressive movement occurred before the New Deal Era and took place from the 19th to early 20th century, and both identified the need to enhance emancipation of the massively marginalized African American society within the rapidly changing political, cultural and economic arenas occasioned by the industrial revolution. Invariably, the progressive and the New Deal era focused mainly on improving the squalid conditions of living among the black communities as immigrants and minorities flooded cities while the ineffectual government marred in corruption and discrimination failed to provide the population influx with the requisite necessities they needed. Both eras, therefore, were characterized by unconceivable marginalization and horrendous working conditions for women and children who were forced to work for almost slave wages. Hard labor marked every available job opportunity. Women worked for considerably longer hours under dangerous conditions while young boys got subjected to hard labor in the textile industries.

Living conditions during both periods were deplorable though reforms in the case of the progressive era led to the introduction. Unemployment remained considerably high especially in the New Deal era where it was marked by the economic consequences of the Great Depression. Invariably, both eras were marked by positive reforms that enhanced living conditions as highlighted by the Settlement houses in the progressive era and the formation of the National Consumer League to enhance the quality of life for the African Americans. Similarly, the New Deal Era led to the creation of homeowners Loan Corp to provide mortgages for the working class to live in better conditions. Also, the New Deal saw the emergence of the Civil Conservation Corps that was keen on providing employment.

Differences

The difference between the New Deal and the progressive movement era in that it was a time characterized by the regrouping and mobilization of people to establish themselves economically, politically and socially whereas the progressive movement was marked by a growing sense of creativity and innovativeness occasioned by the industrial revolution. The New Deal placed elaborate emphasis on survival through work for meager wages on roads, bridges and railways tracks. The country focused on infrastructural development and reconstruction because of the debilitating effects of the Great Depression as an attempt to help people find their bearing. On the contrary, as much as the progressive era was similarly help-oriented towards alleviating the economic and social burden of the people, it primarily focused on pushing the wealthy class further beyond the lower class hence widening social inequalities. Eventually, the progressive movement led to the excesses that culminated to the crashing down of the economy. Thus the difference emanates from the intentions of the two eras. The progressive era was more conscious towards a booming economy; the new deal came as a solution driven initiative to cushion the consequences of crash and poor time of the progressive era.

Prompt 3: Analytical Essay- Gender Inequality and the three dimensions of Freedom Critical to American History.

Meaning of Freedom

The concept of freedom is described as the means through which one can achieve an end to whatever they want to be provided it is within the confines of the law and do not produce adverse consequences to the nation or fellow living human beings. Freedom, therefore, becomes curtailed through necessary means if individual choices start to infringe on other people’s quality of life. Consequently, freedom gets premised on four fundamental pillars which include; freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom emanating from want and freedom from fear. In a similar context, securing women’s rights to freedom of expression has and continues to be a prevalent struggle though significant steps have been made to fast rack the recognition of women’s rights to expression (Carter 1977).

The Social Conditions that Make Freedom Possible

According to Jimmy Carter, in the less than a generation, the world has seen dramatic changes with regards to social relations, daily lives, and aspirations of most people which have significantly changed over time. Colonialism, slavery and other sorts of social ills are nearly gone characterized with a new national identity. The spread of knowledge has enhanced individual empowerment, and the initially socially marginalized groups continue to develop and find their voices to agitate for equal rights (Carter 1977). Women who for a very long time remained marginalized, for instance, lacked equal opportunities compared to their male counterparts and entirely relegated to second-hand roles. Social freedom currently experienced has been therefore made possible by the emancipation and subsequent empowerment of women based on the notion that they are freed from traditional constraints and their subsequent achievement of social justice. Hence the significant gains made towards the attainment of justice, equity, and human rights has enabled social freedom to thrive (Bush 1990).

The Boundaries of Freedom that Determine who is entitled to Enjoy Freedom and who is not

Freedom has a minimum threshold that directs the parameters surrounding the extent of its admissibility. One’s freedom cannot, therefore, qualify as meeting the set criteria of justice if it jeopardizes the ability of another individual’s capacity to enjoy similar rights (Carter 1977). According to the democracy and foreign policy postulations, the basic wants of any individual include the freedom to think independently, worship, work and be heard. More to the point, democracy has often been defined by its inherent limits. For instance, the master’s freedom was founded on the reality of slavery, and the vaunted autonomy of men on the subordinate position of women (Peters and Woolley 1960). What the reality of that exists is the battle through which freedom has had regarding its boundaries. Going against Such boundaries, therefore, are epitomized by the efforts of racial minorities, women, workers and other marginal groups to secure their freedom. Emancipation thus emanated from the determination of who was entitled to enjoy a given right and who was not as limited by racial, political and social boundaries such as segregation, limited suffrage, and slavery (Peters and Woolley 1960).

Conclusion

From the preceding, it becomes safe to postulate that the civil rights movement that began in the 1950s had focused mainly on pressuring the Congress to enact legislation that would ultimately protect the constitution and the civil rights of the African Americans. The civil rights enactment of the 1960s proved to be the turning point as the United States Federal law established that issues like federal inspecting of the local voter registration polls (Peters and Woolley 1960). Also, the act gave a provision for penalizing those that restricted or obstructed someone’s attempt to vote and was formulated to address other inherent discriminatory laws and practices such as segregation in the predominantly segregated South. The Civil Rights Act of 1960 efficiently provided the way forward on dealing with the disfranchising of blacks. After being signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, it served to enhance the ultimate emancipation of the black community.

Work Cited

Bush, George. “Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union.” (1990).

Carter, Jimmy. “Human Rights and Foreign Policy Commencement Speech Given at Notre Dame University”. (1977).

Peters, Gerhard, and John T. Woolley. ”Democratic Party Platform of 1960.“ (1960).

Reagan, Ronald. ”Address on Behalf of Senator Barry Goldwater Rendezvous with Destiny.” (1964).

Roosevelt, Theodore. ”New Nationalism Speech.“ (1910).

Roosevelt, Theodore. ”The Right of the People to Rule.“ (1912).