Introduction
According to history, the US government treated the Native Americans and the black Americans harshly. There are various acts that were formed in 1865 to 1975 that enabled them to have better rights in areas such as land, working environment and voting. This act applies until now to improve their living conditions.
The native Americans
The Native Americans life began changing in the 1850s because most of the Native Americans tribes lived on the west side of the Mississippi Rivers. Due to the arrival of the white settlers, the Native Americans were pushed out of their lands and ended up in lands that were not fertile. The Dawes act that was enacted in 1887 enabled the Indian families to acquire 160 acres of land from the lands that were reserved by the government. The act also made the Native Americans choose whether they want to be Americans citizen and are required to forget their tribal practices and follow the modern civilization. This has caused the Native Americans to forget their culture and has made them reduce in numbers.
The act made it possible for the white Americans to gain access and ownership to the surplus lands. This act may have been made in order to help the Native Americans but the only thing it caused was to make the Indians poorer because the land they were allocated was not fertile and also it made them almost extinct. In 1887, the congress passed the allotment act in which it was to make the Indians knowledgeable of different styles of farming. The other act was formulated in 1924, which is the Synder Indian citizenship. This act states that the children that are born in America will be automatic citizens. This was mostly applied by the younger generation because most of the grownups had already applied for their citizenships.
In 1934, the wheeler Howard reorganization act was formulated. It stated that the lands that was reserved and previously belonged to the natives Americans should be returned to them if they have not been sold yet.This act also enabled the Indians to form business corporations and it also allowed the Indians to have their own leaders who will have powers therefore, elections could be conducted. The 1968 Indian civil rights were formulated in order in order to preserve the Indian culture without interference. The Indian self determination and the education assistance act formed in 1975 so that the Indians can have their tribal leaders and they should have powers.
The black Americans
The black Americans were not treated with respect and were really discriminated against by the white settlers. This was because most black Americans were slaves. This caused a lot of attention that made people form reform acts that could lessen the ill treatment and slavery. In 1865, the civil rights act was formulated because the African Americans were treated as properties and it aimed for them to be freed. By then, according to the law in the fifth amendment slaves were part of the property and thus owners can not be deprived of their property this act was therefore, abolished. The black Americans were eligible of being citizens in 1868 and had rights to vote by 1870 due to reforms made in the 15th amendment in the constitution.
In 1875, the Jim Crow law of segregation was enacted in order to abolish the racial discrimination in areas such hotels and the theatres. Many objections towards this action were taken to the courts so that it can be reviewed and removed. In 1883, this act was removed because it was viewed to be a social factor and not a civil right situation. This action made many states in America to legalize racial discrimination in places such as schools, restaurants and hospitals. This caused the courts to form the separate but equal doctrine in which the blacks and white worked in different areas.
The blacks and the whites were not equal because the whites had more resources and were favored by the government. Cases in which the blacks were lynched increased in 1890s and led to widespread hatred between the whites and blacks that led to so many cases in which the two races were fighting and killing each other. Though the fifteenth amendment allowed the blacks to vote, the whites found ways in which the blacks could not vote. Therefore, in Mississippi they formed a constitution in which it is hard a lot of limitation that was directed mostly to the blacks thus causing them to not vote. In 1964, the civil rights act banned all forms of discrimination. This act is still being reinforced in present day America.
In conclusion, according to the research that has been conducted the government still discriminates against them. This is mostly observed in areas such as school, employment fields and restaurants. However, it has improved significantly because of the civil acts of 1964. This enabled both ethnic groups to have almost equal rights with the whites. So many acts that were formulated in the past still has a major impact on the lives of both ethnic groups in which they are able to acquire land without any hitch and also get jobs. The Native Americans still practice their culture without any interference from outsiders due to the acts formulated in 1968 and 1975.the first major breakthrough for the black Americans came in 2008 and 2012 when US elected and re-elected the first black American president Barrack Obama.
