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The First Vote: African American Discrimination
As the Civil War came to an end, African Americans were finally granted the right to vote in presidential elections as free men. This was not a peaceful time for the new voters. In fact, twenty four men from Georgia wrote a letter to a military general to request that some soldiers be sent to their neighborhoods to protect them from violence preceding these elections. In the letter they state " the Laws fail to protect us ... a few soldiers ... is the only way we can live in peace". -
Chinese and the Racist Remarks
Chinese immigrants also faced discrimination in the US. Victims of racial slurs such as "Coolies". Shortly after, in 1870's California, "Coolie Clubs" were formed which were groups of white Americans who boycotted Chinese goods. Soon, the discrimination became legal and Chinese immigrants were stripped of the right to vote even if they were naturalized citizens. For many years, the US banned new Chinese immigrants from entering. Though unwelcomed, the Chinese continued to prosper. -
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Pullman Strike: The Conflict regarding Labor Laws
Rapid industrialization of the U.S. forced laborers into unsafe working conditions, long work hours, and little pay. The first national strike known as the Pullman Strike in Chicago occurred because workers were forced to live in shack-like homes with a quarter of their earnings for rent. Though the strike didn’t give laborers immediate results, it sparked the fire among workers and began the campaign for the labor laws we have today. -
"The White Man's Burden";
By the end of the 1800's and early 1900's, the United States had acquired the Philippines from the Pacific Wars. In a poem by Rudyard Kipling, he describes the white man's duty to conquer the land of the Philippine Islands.He describes the people as "sullen peoples, Half devil and half child". Kipling wrote this poem to justify adding the newly freed Philippines to the United States against the will of their own people. -
Women Suffrage: The Battle for the Right to Vote
"The right of citizens ... to vote shall not be denied ... on account of sex", Amendment 19 of the U.S. Constitution. Susan B. Anthony, a founder of the American Equal Rights Association, long advocated for equal rights among the sexes. She challenged the status quo by illegally voting to raise awareness to the injustice of inequality. By the end of the summer of 1920, after much protest, women were finally given the right to vote with the ratification of Amendment 19, as quoted above. -
Zitkala's "American Indian Stories": Native Americans Come Second
Native Americans were stripped of their rights throughout history. A Sioux Native by the name of Zitkala-Sa published a collection of stories depicting the many nightmares natives had to endure when they were stripped of their culture. Though they were given the rights to pieces of lands, Zitkala-Sa writes and promotes awareness of the discrimination of her people when they were forced to integrate with the American society referring to the white man as the "bad pale face".
