How Did African Americans Abolish The Path To Freedom?

While the United States government made a significant number of attempts to help African Americans following emancipation, not all attempts were successful. The signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 helped set the path for freedom of slaves. The freeing of slaves was proceeded by the foundation of the Freedman’s Bureau and the Southern Homestead Act. This new found freedom would not be as rewarding as many planned. African Americans faced problems through forms of discrimination. They also faced hardships when land they were promised was not easy to obtain. Finally, the former slaves lived in fear of being physically harmed by a white man. Abraham Lincoln’s plan to end slavery did not abolish the fact that these people were still slaves to the white men in a social sense. The Civil Rights Act would eventually helped set the path for a life of freedom for these people. Though change was slow, it eventually was …show more content…
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 helped former slaves enjoy full benefit of the law. They gained freedom to sell and own property. Full citizenship was granted where it formerly was not even considered. This act ultimately helped form the 14th amendment, which states that all citizens are equal. The Civil Rights Act forced states to give former slaves the right to vote or risk losing seats in Congress. Robert B. Elliot, a southern politician, who wrote the outline of this legislation, compared this necessary change to surgery. He said, “to arrest its growth and save the nation we have passed through the harrowing operation of intestine war, dreaded at all times, resorted to the last extremity, like the surgeon’s knife but ultimately necessary to extirpate the disease which threatened with the life of the nation the overthrow of civil and political liberty on this continent.” The Civil Rights Act was originally vetoed by current President Johnson, but Congress ultimately overrode the