Part 1
1860-1960 was a critical part of American history that embodied the domination of black Americans by White Americans. This was evident through slavery and the hard life the black Americans were put through. Slaves had absolutely no rights; even though many books today state otherwise, the truth of the matter is that they could neither vote nor own property (Loewen). They were viewed as tools of work and not fellow citizens of the country. They were property themselves. There was a series of wars and rebellions in a bid to end slavery; after a long struggle, the slaves were emancipated, but they were not a free people (“9. Slavery without Submission, Emancipation without Freedom”).
“Without Sanctuary” is a movie, narrated by James Allen and it encompasses images that tell it all. African Americans were the ones who mostly suffered; some victims were Leo Frank and Laura Nelson (“Without Sanctuary”).The horrific sight did not bother Allen that much; what bothered him a lot was the lingering faces circling the dead bodies. These photographs show a dark period of American history that no one would want to witness again.
Most books today tend to sugar coat the experience of slaves; some state that at some point slavery was profitable and whipping was unheard of in some places. The fact is slavery was close to inhumane at that time. African Americans were not given equal rights; they were treated as commodities for sale. Racism, slavery and lack of equal rights created the deepest and strongest gap between the Africans and the Whites, and this caused the death of reconstruction.
Part 2
I agree with Coates that in “The Birth of a Nation,” the film stereotypes African Americans as people of no order, which is not the actual case of the situation. It portrays them as naïve and incompetent people. It is one sided as it only focuses on depicting African Americans negatively. According to chapter 5, race has caused the sharpest and deepest division of American life, which is true since the effects are still felt to date (Loewen). The likes of Harriet Tubman dedicated their lives to freeing slaves, but in the real sense, they were not free since they did not have equal rights with the Whites. Truly, it was emancipation without freedom. All these factors played an imperative role in the death of reconstruction.
Works Cited
"9. Slavery without Submission, Emancipation without Freedom". Libcom.org. N.P., 2016. Web. 7 Mar. 2016.
Loewen, James. W. "5. “Gone With The Wind”: The Invisible -- Lies My Teacher Told Me Free Ebooks Online Reading". Ipad-ebooks-online.com. N.P., 2016. Web. 7 Mar. 2016.
"Without Sanctuary". Withoutsanctuary.org. N.P., 2016. Web. 7 Mar. 2016.
