How united were African Americans in the struggle for Civil Rights in the period 1865-1980?

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How united were African Americans in the struggle for Civil Rights in the period 1865-1980?

        The struggle for civil rights in America for African-Americans is to say the least, a long painful one.

The American Civil War lasted from 1861-65 and was between the North Unionists states against the South Confederate states. One of the key reasons behind the war was the emancipation of slaves. It was not until after the war that many African-Americans realised what they could demand for. This was due to the years of slavery, control of the Whites and also the lack of education they had. Under slavery, the experiences of shared adversity created a sense of community and common identity. This was characterised by religious beliefs and practises, language and music. As liberation started after the war, the African-Americans was able to set up self-help organisations and institutions and also church groups. These church groups aided the promotion of self-awareness. The African American soldiers who fought in the Civil War also spread the message of self-awareness amongst the black community. 

        During the Reconstruction period (1865-77) it was mostly the White Northerners who campaigned and helped the African Americans in achieving equality. The Freedmen’s Bureau was set up in 1865 and helped in areas such as housing and allocating land. However, this service was only available to those who asked the help, therefore only had limited success.

        The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1866 and its aim was to establish equality between African-Americans with other American citizens especially in the courts. There was also the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution in the same year. This gave all persons born or naturalised in the USA citizenship. The Amendment also gave any male citizen the right to vote.

In 1870 the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution gave the vote to all African-Americans in the North as well as the South. Another piece of legislation passed was the Civil Rights Act in 1875. This act aimed to prohibit segregation in public places. In spite of all this legislation, we must remember it was the work of the whites and not the campaigning of the blacks.  

Despite the new found liberation and foundation of communities, signs of fragmentation appeared in the black community by the 1870’s. On the border regions of the North, those African Americans who had never been in captivity showed strong inclinations of discrimination and little sympathy for the freed men. For example, they did not want the freedmen to educate any of their children and they also automatically took on leadership roles in any campaigns or institutions.

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The main differences between these two groups of African-Americans were their aims in the civil rights struggle. The more influential blacks and mainly those in the North wanted equal rights for blacks and whites. In contrast, the masses and mostly blacks that lived in the South wanted their own farming land. This made any progress in the struggle difficult.  

        By the late 1870’s and beginning of the 1880’s African-Americans once again were discriminated against-states started to put up barriers such as poll tax and literacy tests to take away African-Americans’ right to vote. This then led to state government ...

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