American History Essays Example

Slavery did not end in America following President Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation of Emancipation more than 150 years ago. In fact, even after the civil war that was meant for freeing the Black Americans ended, the African Americans were treated as forced laborers, particularly in the southern states, until the beginning of the Second World War. Sadly, the lives of the human beings who had to undergo torture and worst treatment in the hands of the White Americans were in all respects equal to that of their torturers; their valuable and complex lives were torn apart by the injustice done to them by the dominant class of society. So many individuals who were victims of slavery were forcibly separated from their families as their masters sold them to planters across the South. This led the descendents of slavery victims in different parts of the country without any knowledge about their ancestry. The loss of identity of Black Americans in the new places coupled with discrimination and exploitation in the hands of White Americans continued to keep them in a new form of slavery until the 1960s.
Frankly, the state governments systematically enforced slavery that was indirectly supported by the federal government through its non-involvement in the issue until the second world war began. Even though the Federal American Congress, controlled by the Republicans, enacted certain amendments that guaranteed equal rights to the Black Americans including the right to vote, most of the communities and states across the southern part of the nation ignored the amendments and passed “black codes” that made re-slaving the African Americans lawful. The White Americans, mostly wealthy planters in the southern states, established a vast system of convenient unpaid labor by exploiting the African Americans. Sometimes, Black men working for the White Americans were baselessly charged with certain crimes they did not commit, and punished by flogging, or selling out to other landlords by separating them from their dear family members. Many unpaid slaves were exposed to harmful working conditions in farms, mines and factories. Local laws even forbade the Black Americans many things free citizens were allowed to do. For instance, A Black man walking near a rail road would be arrested and enslaved for loitering, and subjected to hardships.
One of the most cruel practices that was common those days was the system of leasing Black convicts. Many Black men were routinely falsely arrested for petty crimes they had not committed. Following their capture, they would be awarded a verdict that compel them to work as slaves or on chain gangs. Even though in many cases the victims never committed any crime, the slaves were never given a chance to prove their innocence. The labor extracted from the Black men proved to be a source of great revenue for the Southern states. In fact, the free labor of the past African American generations contributed to the Reconstruction of American economy in the Southern states. Industrialists could technically purchase the services of convicted Black men for a small monthly payment to the local government. Instances of innocent Black men arrested for paving roads, increasing the tax revenue of the states and silencing rebellious Black people were very common during the days of slavery. Sadly, thousands of slave workers died due to the challenging and cruel work conditions during their custody.
Even as the present generation of America knows well about the civil rights movements in the 1960s, many do not realize how brutally the poor African Americans were treated before and after the civil war. Thankfully, the privileges the current generation of Black Americans enjoy is rooted to the atrocities endured by their ancestors Some still silently continue to face emotional struggles of one kind or another because of the sad history of their forefathers.