Experiences of African Americans During the Civil War Period Essay Example for Free

Experiences of African Americans During the Civil War Period Essay The 1860s and 1870s were particularly trying times for African Americans. The Civil War which lasted from 1861 to 1865 saw America undergo social and political change as Americans struggled to redefine their idea of race and face the question of slavery. More importantly still were the experiences of blacks during and after the war as they fought to be accorded the same rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In the early days of the war, the issue of slavery was avoided vehemently by Lincoln and Davis (Norton et al. 2008) despite it being an essential issue in the war between the North and South. In fact, freeing the slaves was never an agenda of the North. The North was against slavery because they perceived the South, who was pro slavery, as a threat to the North’s social and political order (Norton et al. , 2008). Consequently, being against slavery did not necessarily mean Northerners were not racist. In fact, many still saw themselves as racially superior to the blacks. Despite the apparent racial prejudice, blacks in the South still saw in the Union army their route to freedom. After Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation allowing blacks to serve in the Union cause, thousands of slaves, amongst them, one John Boston (Linden Pressly, n. d), fled their masters and joined the Union army in their fight against the South. Many blacks sought to assert their manhood despite discrimination in the army through the display of bravery and valor. Still more died, like the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts regiment, in their fight for equality. Therefore, although Lincoln had given them a motive to reak free, it was the blacks’ own courage to fight for their own freedom which ultimately led to their emancipation. The North’s victory over the South in 1865 meant that the slaves were finally free. As freedpeople, one of their foremost desires was to own land as land meant subsistence and sufficiency (Norton et al, 2008). Also, because it was all they had known to do, many fell back on plantation agriculture as their livelihood. Some, like Josua Culverson and Major X Whiteing, applied for leases through the U. S. Com of Plantations (Linden Pressly, n. ). Because most freedpeople had no money to purchase land, they could only lend it on credit. However, because of preexisting prejudices, freedpeople found even that to be a task. Consequently, they returned to their old farms where they had worked as slaves. However, unlike previously, these freedpeople sought to better their situation by reaching an agreement with the owner through a system known as sharecropping. Often, such an agreement would entail the provision of food and seeds in exchange for a portion of the crop earnings (Norton et al. 2008). Such is the case between William R. Steen, a white citizen, and Caroline, a colored woman; along with 7 other Arkansas freedpeople whom by contract, had to give one third part of the crop raised upon the farm by their labor to the owner of the farm (Linden Pressly, n. d). The years 1865 to 1877 saw efforts in reconstructing the war-torn South. A huge hurdle existed then to reconcile the freed blacks with southern whites, who were so used to operating in a slave society that their prejudices could not be eradicated so easily. Furthermore, they were threatened by the rise of black status and into the ranks of political power so much so that a group of whites came together and formed the first Ku Klux Klan; a society which sought to maintain white supremacy through intimidation, violence and terrorism (Norton et al. , 2008). Klansmen committed murder, arson, and rape whilst asserting their notion of white supremacy. As a result, despite having been emancipated, the freed blacks still suffered considerable pain and fear under the hands of the Ku Klux Klan. Amongst the most targeted were blacks who had rose to political power. Ann J. Edwards, the daughter of a black Congressman recounted that â€Å"We, his family, lived in constant fear A day or two before election a mob gathered†¦in front of the house, and we thought the end had come. † (Sterling, n. d). More gruesome was the story of Joe Johnson who was elected into the Republican office. He was burnt nearly to death, and shot because of his refusal to resign from office (Sterling, n. ). His execution was witnessed by his wife who could do nothing against the oppressive terror and violence of the Ku Klux Klan. Blacks were not the only victims of the Ku Klux Klan regime. Whites who openly supported blacks saw their lives being threatened as well. Hannah Flournoy, a black woman, gave account of an execution involving a white Georgian who had supported the black cause. â€Å"[Men] bolted right in and commenced shooting†¦They were disguised but I knew a great many of them. Hannah â€Å"thought it right to take [Ashburn] in† and was â€Å"willing to die for him† simply on the basis of him being a Republican (Sterling, n. d). The incident reflected the loyalty of many blacks to stand beside those, white or otherwise, who sought to uphold their natural rights. Teachers were another group being targeted. Colored schools came under the attack of the Klan and were burnt to the ground (Norton et al, 2008). Many blacks endured the hardship of abuse and violence despite its injustice and unlawfulness. Recounted Harriet Hernandez, â€Å"He struck me on the forehead with a pistol†¦kicked me over [the fence]†¦dragged and beat [me and my daughter] along. † Despite the blacks being freed in the South, the activities of the Ku Klux Klan ensured that blacks would not enjoy the same rights as whites. â€Å"[Colored people] have no satisfaction to live like humans†¦all summer I have been working and it is impossible for me to enjoy it†, said Harriet (Sterling, n. d). Despite all the violence inflicted on them, blacks exhibited extraordinary courage in the face of threats by Klansmen. Emeline Bremfield whose husband was a target of the Klan, stood unwavering in the face of death, as the Klan confronted her of her husband’s whereabouts (Sterling, n. d). Blacks even went out of their way to fit into a black aggrieved society. Many like, Caroline Smith and Lucy McMillan, dressed down in order not to stand out for fear of being whipped (Sterling, n. d). Although the Ku Klux Klan‘s primary motive was the assertion of white political power, Klansmen took every opportunity they got to assert white supremacy mindsets. McMillan’s house was burned simply because she had mentioned she wanted to own land. Smith was whipped only to remind her not to â€Å"sass any white ladies† (Sterling, n. d). Aside from the destruction of property and life, black women suffered in yet another form – sexual assault. Klansmen sought to assert their superiority over black women by sexually harassing them. Some black women were even mutilated, like Frances Gilmore who was â€Å"cut with a knife†, or gang raped (Sterling, n. d). Racial hostility and terror ultimately brought down the Republican regime in the South. Efforts by the Ku Klux Klan prevented strong presence of the Republican coalition in the South and a restoration of the Democratic majority. The Klan continued to terrorize black people and ran amok until the Enforcement Acts and subsequent persecutions brought an end to the first Klan. Overall, the blacks suffered greatly during the Civil War and Reconstruction Era. Despite having obtained emancipation, prejudices continued to affect their lives. Although we now know that it did not succeed in driving them out of the country, blacks today continue to face the same prejudices.

Teaching Philosophy :: Education Teachers Reflective Writing Essays

Teaching Philosophy I believe the main purpose of teaching any subject is to encourage students to think critically and appreciate knowledge. Thinking critically is a skill students, no matter where their lives lead them, will need. A teacher should be dedicated to the content they are teaching and should love what they are doing. The fact that students are learning the subject is not enough; a teacher also has an obligation to foster an enjoyment of learning in their students and to show them how they can apply it to their own lives. Teachers should be able to show students that what they are learning in the classroom is relevant to their own lives. The subject material and the students’ response to the subject material should be helping them learn about themselves, and the people they want to be. As for the actual methods of teaching, the students should always be actively involved in everything they are learning. No student wants to sit in a desk for forty-five minutes listening to their teacher lecture. Discussion and having students solve problems for themselves should be main components of the classroom. I believe facilitating discussion, especially in an English classroom, is one of the most important aspects of a child’s learning experience. By discussing their ideas with the teacher and other students, they are learning to effectively express their opinions and think further about what they are learning. The teacher needs to play an important role in ensuring students feel comfortable about speaking about their ideas and encouraging them to give voice to their opinions. A teacher’s work should not be confined to inside the classroom but should extend outside as well. The students they are teaching are the ones in whose hands the future of the world lies, and so a teacher’s responsibility is to demonstrate to students that they need to have a commitment to the world they are living in. A teacher should help their students to know more their world and community through the subject matter they are teaching. This should manifest itself in teaching about tolerance, respect and fostering a desire to better the world they are living in.

Perfection Essay

Argumentative Essay: The Quest for perfection If you were a child with lung cancer, would you want someone to find a cure, or just live in misery for the rest of your life? Doctors Dr. Melissa Stopper and Dr. J. Burr Ross try every day to find some type of cure or treatment for patients who are battling with lung cancer. Trying to find perfection has led to many accomplishments in our society. The search for perfection leads our society to advances and saves people’s lives from misery. The Quest for perfection doesn’t lead to misery or oppression because with that quest we have found cures for diseases like lung cancer. According to the Thomara Latimer Cancer Foundation, 2.6 percent of deaths occurred in the U.S. every year. About 564,800 people are expected to die of cancer every year. Without a way of finding a cure of treatment more than that number of people will die from lung cancer. Trying to find cures for diseases has also, provided an improvement in our daily lives. Medicine, prosthetics, and contact lenses wouldn’t be here right now if Robert Bartlenn, Peter Baliff of Berlin or, Sir John Herschel didn’t try to find a way to perfect deformities. Without Robert Bartlenn, we wouldn’t have the medicine to treat AIDS or even treat Breast Cancer. People like Peter Baliff, and Sir John Herschel created prosthetics and contact lenses. Their advancements and accomplishments have made this world, a better place to live. Transportation would not be how it is today if the Wright Brothers and Karl Benz didn’t try to make their creations better. If we didn’t have the Wright Brothers create the first glider/airplane, we wouldn’t have â€Å"Southwest, Delta, American, or JetBlue† airlines like we do now. If it weren’t for Karl Benz we would be riding around in a â€Å"Toyota, Mazda, Benz, or Cadillac† without his creation. If we didn’t have these talented people, we would probably still be riding around on buggies and horses. Air Bags wouldn’t have been created if it wasn’t for John W. Hetrick. In 1951, he invented the  air bag system. Without him we wouldn’t have the safety we have today in our cars. About more than six years ago, an investigation by the Kansas City Star newspaper found that 1,400 people may have died from in head-on or frontal collisions because they didn’t have air bags. More people could’ve died but John W. Hetrick made a creation that shocked the world. An objection to these facts would be that obsession with plastic surgery to be perfect leads to low self-esteem. To that statement, my counterargument would be; that’s true but people have obsession with plastic surgery to fix or better prosthetics. Sometimes people use plastic surgery to make themselves feel important or have high self-esteem. Also, another objection is having discrimination against people that are not â€Å"perfect†. My refute to the statement above would be: Yes, but if everyone was the same there would be no judgment and discrimination. If everyone were the same there would be no name calling or bullying because everyone would be the same as each other. As an example, here is a quote by Gandhi: â€Å"The only difference between man and man all the world over is one degree, and not of kind, even as there is between trees of the same species.† – Mahatma Gandhi In my opinion, I still believe the search for perfection leads our society to many advances. Without this quest we wouldn’t the cures, advances or accomplishments today! With the information I’ve provided, do you agree or disagree that the â€Å"Quest for perfection always lead to misery and oppression†?

The Color Of Water By Ray Bradbury - 1764 Words

The spreading of information is the mold to which society’s viewpoints are created. Depending on who or how this information is spread, it may be phrased to garner a specific meaning or arouse a specific reaction. W.E.B. DuBois once hinted towards this manipulation of information in his statement, â€Å"Thus all art is propaganda and ever must be, despite the wailing of the purists†¦ I do not care a damn for any art that is not used for propaganda.† DuBois hints towards the fact that forms of expression, are when a specific thought or emotion is brought to reality to cause viewers to feel a specific way. Art would serve no purpose if it had no message to convey. Fahrenheit: 451 by Ray Bradbury depicts this message of propaganda as throughout†¦show more content†¦This statement further reveals the factions that had surfaced as a result of racial tensions as both races feared one another to an extent. The blacks feared the whites because of their power, a nd the whites feared the blacks gaining any power. These racial tensions through the verbal propaganda of whites versus blacks intensified to a point where it eventually got in the way with some people’s faith and belief, â€Å"‘Is Jesus white?’ said [the student in Sunday School]. Rev. Owens said no. ‘Then how come they make him white here in this picture?’... ‘If they put Jesus in this picture here, and He ain’t white, and He ain’t black, they should make Him gray. Jesus should be gray.’ Richie stopped going to Sunday school after that.† (McBride 53). Had tensions not been so high during the time period, Richie may not have cared that Jesus was depicted as white. However as anti-color propaganda was being tossed at the opposing race, it struck towards individuals such as Richie to be a large deal and as a result he let the tension destroy his sense of faith, indicating the power of propaganda during this period. So cial ladders become intensified through the creation of racially separated schools, stores, churches, water fountains, buses and more.People’s treatment of the opposing race began to worsen when these factions were created. Propaganda shows the spreading of information controls society’s thoughts and emotions as the art behind the language and the author’s expression of theShow MoreRelatedRay Bradbury’s Distinct Use of Voice755 Words   |  3 Pages Ray Bradbury’s voice was distinct and easily detected by his most common use of important elements. Bradbury’s voice was detailed and easily detected in his short stories making them more interesting to read through his constant use of diction, detail, and imagery. Bradbury applied focus to certain details and a specified word choice and imagery that added to the detailed scenes he created. He carefully planned his stories with the specified language that related to each story. 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