Racism in America

Racism

The Role Race Has Played in the History Of USThe roots of racism are very deep in the history of the US. It started with the slavery of blacks in the US. Abraham Lincoln had made it clear that he is against slavery. Although he opposed slavery he did not view Africans as equal. He was convinced that there exist huge gap between whites and blacks, and indicated his grave doubts about extending equal political rights to Afro-Americans. He believed that the racial differences pointed to the necessity of the separation of two races, and he favored a policy of emigration. Luther's beliefs on the matter was that after confession, absolution relied upon the sinner's faith and God's Divine Grace rather than the intervention of a priest. At this point, Luther did not advocate an actual separation from the Roman Catholic Church. Instead, Luther felt his suggested reforms could be implemented within Catholicism. If this had taken place, the Protestant Reformation would probably not of ever seen the light of day--nor would it have been necessary. But the theological practices being what they were in the Roman Church, there was little chance at that time for any great variations to occur within its folds.

Early in the Civil War the northern states faced problems regarding the slaves fled from south. In 1861 General Sherman authorized the employment of fugitive slaves in services for which they were suited. By the end of war 1,86,000 of them had joined the union force but they were forced to serve in segregated units and were commanded by white officers. It was really an irony that the war, which terminated slavery, was also responsible for segregation and racism. In a way this fact became symbolic of the role which racial discrimination and segregation eventually came ...