African-American History Mid-Quarter Exam, Essay Example

The Atlantic slave trade functioned like a triangle, from Europe to Africa to North America and back to Europe. Ships left Europe headed to Africa to trade products for African slaves. These slaves were shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World where they were sold or traded for materials which were shipped back to Europe. The term “Middle Passage” refers to the leg of the triangle where slaves were shipped across the Atlantic Ocean and sold into slavery.

The differences between slavery in the North and the South had to do with the economies. The South relied on agriculture, and most slaves in the South worked in fields and performed other harsh physical labor. Slaves in the North often worked as servants and as workers in manufacturing and other businesses.

The economy of the New World was built on slavery. The basis of the economy in the New World was agriculture, and slave labor was essential to the early survival of the colonies. As the North began to move away from an agriculture-based economy the first seeds of the anti-slavery movement were planted.

Cotton was an enormously profitable product in the New World. Cotton cultivation was very labor intensive in that era, and slave labor made it possible for plantation owners to harvest crops.

Slavery had already ended in Britain and Europe when the American abolitionist movement began. The ideals of the Enlightenment and values about liberty made many people (especially in the North) question slavery. A law against importing slaves was passed in the U.S in 1807.  It was not until Lincoln was elected that slavery was abolished.

Frederick Douglass and Henry Highland Garnet were both abolitionists who spoke out publicly about their views on slavery. Garnet was more militant in his views, and supported direct action and also encouraged that blacks leave the U.S. for Liberia and other regions. Douglass was less strict in his views, and believed slaves should become part of U.S. society, receive education, and have other benefits of freedom.

The Civil War was already underway when Lincoln issues the Emancipation proclamation, as several states had announced that they were seceding from the Union when he was elected. The war was not going well for the North, and Lincoln issued the Emancipation as means of taking the moral high ground and hopefully building support for the war in the North. Lincoln was right, as the Emancipation Proclamation helped build support for the war.

In the post-war South, Jim Crow laws made life difficult for blacks. Even though slavery was abolished, these laws kept blacks segregated and politically and economically subjugated. Black political leaders in the late 29^th century and early 20^th century were fighting against these kinds of laws and restrictions, which would eventually give rise to the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20^th century.

The Ku Klux Klan was first formed in the post-war Reconstruction era. The KKK grew to a national movement in the early 20^th century. The KKK was a movement of whites who opposed freedom and social and economic advancement for blacks. The KKK used violence and intimidation to try to scare blacks away from certain areas, discourage businesses from hiring or renting to blacks, and other tactics.

Dred Scott sued his owners for his freedom, but was unsuccessful. The Dred Scott case established that blacks could not be U.S. citizens even if they were free.

For the nearly four million people who were freed from slavery, freedom meant many things. Primarily it meant that many would have opportunities to have access to education and employment opportunities. Families would no longer be broken up by slave owners. It meant that former slaves would be able to own their own homes and enjoy the fruits of their labor instead of being under the command of owners. The end of slavery was not the end of all the problems that blacks faced in America, but it was a new beginning.