-
Aug 3, 1492
The Age of Exploration
The Age of Exploration, the original domino to fall in the long chain to slavery as we know it today. Without the Age of Exploration, and more specifically, Columbus' discovery of the Americas, there would never have been a need for slave labor on the scale it eventually reached. Sugar, the first true cash-crop, saw a rabid market develop in Europe, but required brutal physical labor. After killing off most of the native work-force, Europeans turned to an alternative source, Africa. -
Chattel Slavery
The major distinction that separates slavery from early human civilization, and the slavery witnessed in the Atlantic Slave Trade, was the notion of Chattel Slavery. The notion of chattel slavery, in which slaves were legal private property, arose from the need for justification. In deciding that being a slave was the proper place for Africans and any peoples of African descent, it became easy to justify, in the social consciousness, the enslavement of an escalating number of people. -
The Declaration of Independence
When Jefferson and his fellow delegates drafted the Declaration, they certainly had not intended for it to give rise to hope that the War for Independence would also see the end of slavery, but it did. And while slavery did not end with the war, the Declaration had a profound impact none the less. The ideals of human equality and natural rights, the bedrock of the Declaration, apply to all persons regardless of race, and Africans Americans would spend the next few centuries fighting to prove it. -
Prince Hall Masons
By the 1790's, there was a large enough free black population in the North that black organizations began springing up. Of the early organizations, black Freemasons were particularly important, as they united black men from several cities. The Prince Hall Masons, established by Prince Hall through the British Masons, after being rejected by the local Masons, epitomize the predicament of being free, and black, in America. Black people were free, just stay arm's length from white society. -
PA Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery
Originally started in 1775 by Quaker abolitionists, the PA Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery was the first official antislavery organization in the world. The antislavery societies, which were dominated by white people, urged for gradual emancipation, encouraging masters to free their slaves and attempting to protect free black people. The number of societies would grow tremendously throughout the next few decades, and were the true birth place for the entire Abolitionist movement. -
The Cotton Gin
The cotton-gin was a revolutionary invention, for both the textile industry, and sadly, the slave trade. With the introduction of the cotton-gin, the American cotton industry was able to satiate the overwhelming demand for raw cotton from the textile industry in Britain. This boom in cotton demand reinvigorated the slave-trade, and led to a dramatic surge in imported slave-labor. By the 1800's, the slave population in the South had sky-rocketed to over 400% of what it was when the century began. -
The Jacksonian Era
The Jacksonian Era marks the end of the War of 1812 and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in America. This era is marked by a dramatic evolution of the economy in the North, from skilled artisans and local markets, to factory production and national markets. The changing landscape also reflected in the changing workforce. The result was the growth of a large working class, which grew in political power and influence; a class which would have profound impact on the social change to come. -
Abolitionism
The Abolitionist movement really began with the Quakers in the late 1700’s, but it wasn’t until the turn of the century that the movement really began to gain steam. Abolitionist societies spread rapidly through the North, and soon a new, more radical form, evolved. Radical abolitionists called for immediate emancipation and advocated violence in the fight against slavery. Black abolitionists began to gain prominence, and with them, a brand new wave of black social, and political, leaders. -
Jim Crow Laws
The term Jim Crow arose from a blackface minstrel act and was first used to describe a segregated train car, designated for African Americans only. It went on to symbolize all forms of institutional segregation, the ‘Jim Crow Laws’. These, along with other black laws, were used to keep black people, and their community, completely separate from white society. Black people may have been free, but white society insisted on limiting what they could do, or at least, when and where they could do it. -
Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington arose to prominence through his association with an Alabama black technical school, the Tuskegee Institute. Possessing supreme cunning, nuance and intelligence, the ‘Tuskegee Wizard’ was able to gain considerable influence in not only black society, but white society as well. By emphasizing technical skills in trades and agriculture, Washington hoped to achieve equality economically at first, without alienating white society, then slowly earn social equality. -
The Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott v. Sanford was a landmark case, decided ultimately by the US Supreme Court. Dred Scott, and his family, fought for their freedom, following the death of their master, in the courts system. When the fight made its way to the highest echelon, the US Supreme Court, it became more than just about one family, it became a statement. When the Supreme Court ruled against Scott, it essentially declared that black people had no rights, a move which only further fanned the flames of revolution. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation marked a change in the Civil War, from a war over the integrity of the Union, to a war about officially abolishing slavery. While Lincoln’s intentions were hardly motivated by compassion, it hardly changes the monumental outcome of the Emancipation. A Union victory now ensured the freedom for an entire race of people, and marked the very first step, of a very tall staircase; one leading to the eventual freedom, and equality, for all people, regardless of race. -
W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois was another prominent black figurehead. He stood in stark contrast to Washington however, and believed that the key to true equality was intellectual growth. He represents the intellectual ideals against racism, the hope that eventually, reason and logic would win out. Harvard-educated, Du Bois was a beacon for change, helping to start first, the Niagara Movement, and later, the NAACP. His influence can be traced through every fabric of civil rights movements to this day. -
The Fourteenth Amendment
The 14th amendment fundamentally altered the Constitution, forcing states to accept all their residents as citizens. Every person born in the US was guaranteed citizenship, including nearly all black people, and as such, were guaranteed their rights as citizens would be protected by their government. Directly contradicting the Dred Scott decision 10 years prior, the 14th amendment finally established that black people were citizens, with equal rights to ‘life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness'. -
The Black Church
The black church was the most important institution to the black community during, and more so, after, slavery. First and foremost, it was a place free of white supervision, allowing black community to flourish unimpeded. Members were able to stay connected to their spiritual roots and make new connections, culturally and socially. Most prominent black leaders, social and political, emerged from black churches. Churches also provided the first means of education, a crucial foundation of freedom. -
The Fifteenth Amendment
In an effort mostly to protect voting interests, the Republican dominated federal government passed the 15th amendment in 1869. Whatever the motivation, the 15th amendment was monumental. It established equal voting rights for all people, regardless of race. When coupled with the 14th, these two amendments were huge accomplishments in the crusade for equal freedoms and rights, which began with the Emancipation Proclamation, and is still ongoing today. -
A. Philip Randolph
Another profound black political socialist was A. Philip Randolph, the mastermind behind the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Randolph and his Union challenged one of the largest companies in America at the time, the Pullman Company. Randolph was affluent, persuasive and intelligent, combining dignified looks with a confident message. He was one of the foremost leaders in the protest against racism for nearly a half century, even forcing President Roosevelt’s hand at the onset of WWII. -
The NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is possibly the single most important organization in the past century in the fight for racial equality. It began at the turn of the twentieth century, and still plays a prominent role in the fight today. Ironically, the NAACP was founded primarily by militant white leaders, determined to fight for racial justice. Wisely, they focused their efforts into the legal system, and thus began a decades-long legal fight against racis -
The Great Depression
The Great Depression had a profound impact on all Americans, but none more so then African Americans. Black people were hit especially hard on all economic fronts. Furthermore, instead of uniting the growing unemployed workforce, it further drove a wedge between white and black workers. The Depression, and the mounting failure of the government to help alleviate increased black suffering, had one positive effect; it further strengthened the resolve of the black nation in its quest for equality. -
World War II
America’s involvement in WWII had a profound impact on the movement for racial equality. By siding with the Allies, and taking a stance against the extreme brutality and human rights violations of Hitler and the Nazi’s, American society opened itself up to criticism about its glaring hypocrisy in the realm of equality and human rights. WWII opened the eyes of many Americans to this hypocrisy, and our society would never be the same afterwords.
