Civil Rights Movement in the Effect of Ending Slavery

The southern states were fans of slavery, so they were not very happy with these amendments. They made the “Jim Crow” laws. This involves the stories you have heard about blacks sitting in the back of buses and trains. Also blacks having different places for eating, entertainment, schools, and more. For the people who broke these segregation laws, they would be fined or even arrested. Blacks also had been “punished” for no reason this involved white mobs killing blacks in public. This was where civil rights were starting to become a major need. 

One of the huge leaders of this movement, was Rosa Parks. Rosa Parks, refused to give up her seat to a white man. So he called the police and she was arrested. This spoke measures for black people and many movements started to spark. The arrest of Rosa Parks, led to the choosing of Martin Luther Jr., as a leader. Many blacks looked to him for advice and guidance.

All this chaos brought about the “I Have a Dream” speech. Which was given by Martin Luther King Jr, in this he talks about his dream. This was on how one day he wants everyone to be equal. This speech was a huge accomplishment in the civil rights moment. This is why he was called the “Father of the Civil Rights Movement”.

This got people to stand up for what they believed in. People that wanted freedom starting arguing, and it brought about attention. Mothers of black children were becoming very angry with the fact their children weren’t getting the same treatment of white children. Such as going to different schools, less education, and treated very poorly by other white children and teachers. This of course, brought a lot of anger to blacks and whites. Because of this, many riots broke out, people were being killed, beaten up, and fires were started. Things got worse before they got better.

Not only were people mad about the segregation at schools. There was the case called Loving V. Virginia. This case, was about removing interracial marriage in the United States. The people involved in this case, was a white man and black woman, whose marriage was claimed illegal in court. Many argued the freedom of marriage and how the 14th amendment had nothing to do with marriage. This was overturned by the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, they had to be married in secret. But after this case, many more cases like this made people angry.

As the years went on segregation seemed as it was getting worse. But the blacks never gave up. People gave up their lives for freedom. This was angered the Southerns more then anyone else, because they relied on slaves for a lot of things. The south was known for there farming. This meant they needed many workers and if they didn’t have to pay the slaves as much money, as they had to pay the hired white workers. They are going to choose the blacks.

The blacks continued to do, what they could to protest against the whites. Slowly, blacks started to get rights. It seemed small to whites, but it was actually a huge movement in the right way. They were still fighting for their freedom. Knowing that one day, their work would have finally paid off. It’s very sad how much attention and deaths had to come in order to get their freedom.

On December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment was passed, and the abolishing of slavery across the United States. This obviously didn’t mean whites were going to listen. But if caught with slaves they would be punished. Also just because slavery ended didn’t mean segregation was. Blacks were still treated unfair and not equal. Many people today will probably say racism still exists.

Then of course they wanted the rights and freedoms of being free. Finally, they got equal rights. In 1868, the 14th Amendment gave blacks equal protection under the law. This meant that blacks were equal with whites. They were given the basic rights and privileges of any white American citizen(except for voting). These blacks really wanted to vote, so they argued that they are not citizens unless they can vote.

So in 1870, the 15th Amendment gave blacks the right to vote. These blacks were truly satisfied. After, all the years of hard work of being equal and given these rights, they have to this day. They realized it was all worth it, because if they didn’t fight for their freedom, things might have been the same way to this day.

Blacks were slowly taking on big roles such as jobs, office, and presidents. In 2004, the first black President Barack Obama, became the first African American to be the President of the United States. This showed a big achievement in world history.

The civil rights movement had 3 major goals of discrimination: education, social segregation, and voting rights. All three of them were achieved; black children could now go to school with white children and get the same education. White and black families could now share theaters, bathrooms, entertainment facilities, and just overall treated the same. Lastly, blacks could now be involved in voting for our rights, laws, measures, and presidents.

In conclusion, the civil rights movement was one of the most important events in history after slavery was abolished. Without it our country would be way different and unfair. Blacks would be unhappy and not equal. After all the years of dedication, they were finally rewarded with what they deserved.

Bibliography

Mortensen, Lori. Voices of the Civil Rights Movement: A Primary Source Exploration of the Struggle for Racial ... Equality. Place of Publication Not Identified: Fact Finders, 2015.

Reference

History.com. Accessed November 20, 2018. https://www.history.com/topics/civil-rights-movement/loving-v-virginia.

"When Did Slavery End in the U.S.?" History. May 25, 2017. Accessed November 20, 2018. https://www.historyonthenet.com/when-did-slavery-end-in-the-u-s.

"Civil Rights Movement: An Overview." Scholastic.com. Accessed November 20, 2018. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/civil-rights-movement-overview/.

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