Building Freedom:
The Freedmen and Their Quest for Egalitarianism The foundation of the United States of America was constructed upon the corpses of Native Americans. Cemented by institutionalized white superiority and racism, African American slaves were the bricks by which were used to erect this great nation. Even upon their laggard release from slavery in 1865, freedmen were far from equality, justice, and most importantly, freedom. Not only is the meaning of freedom extrapolated by Eric Foner within his textbook, Give Me Liberty! An American History, it is also analyzed. Throughout Chapter 15, Foner analyzes post-civil war oppressions and injustices placed not only on black men but also including black women. To maintain credibility …show more content…
Respectfully, the freedmen requested that the end of slavery be enforced; however, these men were not satisfied with their promised freedom. Without hesitation, these brave freedmen took the risk to seize freedom and began pushing for their right to vote. This quest for equal rights began in the first sentence when they introduce themselves as “American citizens” which they had never previously been able to call themselves (Foner, Voices of Freedom 2). This terminology of citizenship, which began this persuasive petition, was eventually the same terminology used in the 14th Amendment which, at the time, gave all American men who were also citizens, the right to vote. After the mentioning of the Constitution, the authors tactically introduced God into the argument. By referring to the doctrine of equality that the Christian Bible preaches, these formerly enslaved men appealed to the ethics and morals of white, typically Protestant, Christians. Despite the several year delay, the freedmen’s voices were heard, and the 14th Amendment was adopted into the United States’ Constitution. Freedom and its equal rights still had a long way to go, as many former southern slaves began to lose their Sherman …show more content…
The language use in the document seemingly avoids mentioning to freed slaves as citizens, only referring to them as “negroes” or “mulattoes”, or biracial individuals (Foner, Voices of Freedom 7). Fearful of the potential outcome of the cross-cultural interactions amongst races, President Johnson’s Reconstruction policy not only punished white Americans as well as African Americans but punished them harsher. This policy was enough to deter most white Americans from helping blacks. Not only did the laws, and their respective consequences, unforgiving criminalizing intermarriage prevent cross-cultural interaction, it attempted to keep races and blood pure. These regulations were instated control and separate the whites and the blacks, the oppressors and the
The Freedmen and Their Quest for Egalitarianism The foundation of the United States of America was constructed upon the corpses of Native Americans. Cemented by institutionalized white superiority and racism, African American slaves were the bricks by which were used to erect this great nation. Even upon their laggard release from slavery in 1865, freedmen were far from equality, justice, and most importantly, freedom. Not only is the meaning of freedom extrapolated by Eric Foner within his textbook, Give Me Liberty! An American History, it is also analyzed. Throughout Chapter 15, Foner analyzes post-civil war oppressions and injustices placed not only on black men but also including black women. To maintain credibility …show more content…
Respectfully, the freedmen requested that the end of slavery be enforced; however, these men were not satisfied with their promised freedom. Without hesitation, these brave freedmen took the risk to seize freedom and began pushing for their right to vote. This quest for equal rights began in the first sentence when they introduce themselves as “American citizens” which they had never previously been able to call themselves (Foner, Voices of Freedom 2). This terminology of citizenship, which began this persuasive petition, was eventually the same terminology used in the 14th Amendment which, at the time, gave all American men who were also citizens, the right to vote. After the mentioning of the Constitution, the authors tactically introduced God into the argument. By referring to the doctrine of equality that the Christian Bible preaches, these formerly enslaved men appealed to the ethics and morals of white, typically Protestant, Christians. Despite the several year delay, the freedmen’s voices were heard, and the 14th Amendment was adopted into the United States’ Constitution. Freedom and its equal rights still had a long way to go, as many former southern slaves began to lose their Sherman …show more content…
The language use in the document seemingly avoids mentioning to freed slaves as citizens, only referring to them as “negroes” or “mulattoes”, or biracial individuals (Foner, Voices of Freedom 7). Fearful of the potential outcome of the cross-cultural interactions amongst races, President Johnson’s Reconstruction policy not only punished white Americans as well as African Americans but punished them harsher. This policy was enough to deter most white Americans from helping blacks. Not only did the laws, and their respective consequences, unforgiving criminalizing intermarriage prevent cross-cultural interaction, it attempted to keep races and blood pure. These regulations were instated control and separate the whites and the blacks, the oppressors and the