Blacks in The United States Of America

Why are Blacks Slaves?• People from England made money selling blacks from Africa.• Blacks were different from white people so they MUST be inferior,

not humans.• Africans were easy to capture and taken away from Africa.• Southern plantations needed people to pick the crops, they had free

labor for many years. • Africans were thought of as property not humans, that made owning

them, buying them and selling them easy. • Africans could not speak English and did not have “civil” behavior,

this added to the belief that they were animals.• White people ALL believed the same in regards to the Africans.

Whites taught the belief to their children in every generation. • It wasn’t until blacks learned to speak English and have interactions

with white people that feelings began to change. • The change was SLOW!!!

Freedom Land

• Freedomland is what slaves in the South called the North.

• North was also called the Union during the Civil War.

• Freedoms but with limits. Blacks lived a better life in the North but still not like white men.

North Vs. South10% Free vs. 90% Slaves

• Some freedom to travel.• Could own homes, land or

business • Could read or write, even

publish a magazine• Few blacks owned slaves• Many blacks were born free• Land owners could vote• Could be on a jury• Could go to church • Education did not mean a

good job, whites would not work with blacks

• Blacks considered inferior

• Limited movement on Plantation.

• Their body was owned by another person.

• Were not allowed to learn reading or writing. Some could not write their own name.

• Brought from Africa and sold• No rights at all – no court just

whipped or beaten to death• Not allowed to attend church• Survival depended on working

in the fields• Slaves considered animals

Civil War 1861- 1865

• 11 southern states wanted to keep slavery legal

• Southern States were called the Confederate States of America.

• In 1862 Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation made freeing slaves in the south a goal of the war.

• Slavery was not the real reason for the Civil War – it became the focus after the war began.

What is Aboltotion?How was it used to stop slavery?

• Abolition - getting rid of; to do away with

• Efforts by people who wanted slavery to end are called Abolitionists.

• What they did:– Sent petitions to congress, – Held meetings– Boycotted products– Printed mountains of

material – Gave speeches– Some violence.

Who were key Abolitionists?

• Sojourner Truth• Harriet Tubman• Susan B. Anthony• William Lloyd

Garrison• Fredrick Douglass• Prince Hall• Too name but a few…

Sojourner Truth- Helped the Union, campaigned for land for former slaves.

Harriet Tubman – Nicknamed Moses, she escorted over 200 slaves to

freedom. Part of the Freedom Train

Susan B. Anthony- Collected petitions opposing Slavery also unified African American and Women’s Rights movements. Friend of

Fredrick Douglass.

William Lloyd Garrison – Publisher of an anti-salve paper called the

Liberator

Fredrick Douglass – He was a slave, ran away, learned to read, write and speak eloquently, Wrote a Book called Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, an American Slave .

Prince Hall – Organized free blacks, started the first Masonic Lodge, helped

end slave trade in Massachusetts.

So when did blacks really become free?

• Good question! It has been over 100 years since the Civil War - Some people believe blacks are still not treated as equals.

• And…Some people believe that blacks have all the rights they deserve.

• The U.S. was a country facing much unrest. The 1960’s was a time of chaos and freedoms never seen before.

1954 Brown vs. Board of Education- declared black children will attend a white only school.

Civil Rights Act of 1964 –

• Made it illegal to ban people from public places or jobs due to race or color.

• Such as theaters, stores, hotels, etc.

• President John F. Kennedy proposed the Act and sent it to Congress. He was assassinated before it passed.

• President Johnson fought to have it passed when he became president after Kennedy.

• The passage of Civil Rights gave free blacks more rights but it was not easy for them to actually carry those rights out.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

• President Johnson signed into law• Prohibits states from putting prerequisites on voting, can not deny

any citizen voting based on race or color • Southern states were requiring literacy tests before a person could

vote. • Martin Luther King was a big force behind this Act. • Once again white people blocked the way for blacks to vote. • It was dangerous for blacks to go to the polls in the south.

A New Century (2000) Brings…

• Right to marry who you want is questioned.

• Women still don’t get equal pay for equal work

• Hate crimes are still committed

• Racial profiling still happening.

So what has changed for Blacks in America?

• We have come a LONG way since Slavery in the United States – Blacks are indeed FREE. Actually every person of race and color have the same rights the United States.

• BUT…. Not everyone is being treated EQUAL, so what happens now?

• What is your definition or belief of Freedom, equality and/or rights?