Equality In African American History

American history is what occurred in the past that has led to changes, growth and helps explain why today’s America is the way it is. Equality has been a consistent American struggle through history from before the Civil War to today. Equality is the right of different groups of people to receive the same treatment no matter how diverse the people(Merriam Webster). The meaning of equality in America has changed through the years based off of the rights that were accepted as society has grown. There are several groups that fought for equality from the Civil War to today whether it is because of their race or gender. American history can be seen as a story of consistently expanding equality bringing Americans together from the Civil War to the …show more content…
The women starting fighting for equal rights when the 13th amendment was passed and African Americans had the right to vote. The women’s suffrage movement continued until the 19th amendment when the women got the right to vote (Foner, 741). After the right to vote the feminist movement continued because women wanted more rights and equality like being able to do the same jobs as men, going to college, receiving equal pay for the same or more extensive work. The Equal Rights Amendment of 1972 banned discrimination against people based on their sex (Foner, 777). This was a leap forward for women because this led to women running part of society even more they were before. Still today women are becoming more equal to men, but women are really not completely equal because they do not get as much money as men for the same job, they are still a minority in Congress, women are more likely to be a victim of rape or domestic violence, and they are more likely to be below the poverty line than men. Women equality has come a long way and has expanded extensively since the Civil War, but America still has some progression to do when it comes to equality to for