African-Americans

African-Americans Moments from 1865 to Present

Introduction

The first African slaves were brought to the British Virginia by English colonists in 1619. As of 1860, 12 million African American were in 15 U.S. states, where slavery persisted, and 4 million were slaves. In 1.5 million families living in those states, over 390 thousand households had slaves. Since then the slavery become the part of African American's life. The African American community had to bear segregation, discrimination, hatred, and isolation. The community at different time tried to overcome these issues and problems.

African American have always fought for their rights in United States, and they have achieved their identity by there movements.

Discussion

Slave labor was used extensively in the plantation sector, allowing receiving the American slaveholder's high profits. In the first half of the XIX century, the national wealth of the United States was largely based on the exploitation of slave labor. During the period from the XVI century to the XIX century in the Americas were imported about 12 million Africans, of which 645 thousand were in the territory of the modern United States. Although Congress banned the import of new slaves from Africa in 1808, but this practice has existed for at least another half century.

1865 the Civil War

The American Civil War was from 1861 to 1865 because of the military conflict between the North States and South States. This caused a deep economic, social and political division between North and South, mainly in the slavery issue came to light. The major issue was to end up with the slavery in US. In the 1860 presidential election split the Democratic Party into two wings. The Northern Democrats nominated the moderate critical slavery Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois for president, the Southern Democrats, Vice President John C. Breckinridge, a unique slavery advocates. The battle was to end up the discrimination and slavery. As a result the President Abraham Lincoln brings Thirteen Amendment in constitution. The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was adopted by Congress after the Civil War in the United States , January 31, 1865, ratified by the necessary number of states on December 6 1865 , entered into force December 18 , 1865 (Bonilla, 1997).

The Thirteenth Amendment

The Thirteenth Amendment prohibits slavery. In particular has been changed and section 2 of Article IV, previously forbidden to contribute to the escape of slaves. With the last of the 12th Amendment, adopted in 1804, more than 60 years, interestingly, the amendment was ratified by 27 states during 1865, which was sufficient for its adoption, but some states have ratified the amendment of more than 100 years later: thus, in the state of Kentucky, the amendment was ratified only in 1976 (in 1865 in Kentucky ratification was not passed), and Mississippi in 1995. The thirteenth amendment marked a sea change in politics: during the crisis of secession before the outbreak of the Civil War, the majority of laws passed by Congress had, in fact, protected slavery, although there were also some proposals to ...