Almost two hundred years ago, the United States of America was very much different from the U.S.A. of the 21st century. The difference was not only in the infrastructure, the buildings and the highways. It was not only in the kind of technology available, there were no fast cars and of course there was no cyberspace. But there is something else, far more significant than what was already mentioned. Slavery was part of the socio-economic landscape.
What is mind-boggling for modern day Americans is the fact that there are taskmasters and forced labor existing in a nation founded in the idea that all men are created equal. Slavery was part of the social fabric. It was there like a stain that could not be removed not only because it was close to impossible that time but also because only a few dared to see the truth. There were only a few who bothered to look into it and see the evil that it truly was.
But all that changed in the time of the Civil War. The nation was torn into two; the north and the south. Both camps had a different take on some major issues. And one of the issues that ignited the passions of leaders and generals on both sides of the fence is on the subject of slavery.
The economy of the South depended on the availability of slaves being brought from Africa. The more industrialized cities of the North find it wrong to keep people under bondage just so because of the color of their skin.
After a time of bitter fighting the Northern forces triumphed over the forces from the South. One of the many consequences of defeat is the freedom of African-American slaves. There are those who greeted the news of freedom with glee while others considered their new found freedom with much trepidation.
This paper will look into the lives of African-American slaves in the post-slavery period in American history. There is ample evidence to show that many did not do well after emancipation finally came to their lives. At the same time there are also enough evidence to show that many succeeded in assimilating themselves to a society who once treated them just a little higher than cattle.
Background
In order for slavery to take root, it must first be rooted in racism. Racism in turn must be rooted in ideology for there is no physical evidence or any natural law that makes a convincing argument that there are groups of people superior to others.
It can be argued that the idea came from leading universities of the time arguing that there is indeed a hierarchy of the races in the following order: 1) Northern Europeans; 2) central Europeans; 3) Southern Europeans; 4) Asians; 5) American Indians; 6) Africans (Hudelson & Ross, p.95).
The above mentioned theory did not stay long in the academic world and found its way into mainstream society. It is therefore understandable why the South refused to give up their slaves. But after the Civil War there is nothing else to do but to release the prized possessions of the Southerners.
According to Ron Eyerman, “Four million slaves were liberated at the end of the civil war. The exact figure was 3, 953, 696 (1860) which represents about 12.6 percent of the total American population and 32 percent of the Southern population” (2001, p. 23). This is a sizable portion of the population no doubt about it. This figure also means that the whole economic landscape was significantly altered by the event.
Education
One of the major steps taken by former African-American slaves is in the area of education. For centuries they languished in deplorable living conditions where they were not only denied the basic necessities of life but they were also forbidden to learn how to read or write.
It is easy to understand why an uneducated slave is a much better beat of burden than an intellectual whose brain may be able to discuss issues but of no use for a taskmaster in hauling cotton and corn.
In the area of self-improvement through education African-Americans look to their heroes and heroines such as Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglas, Harriet Jacobs, etc. Of particular importance is the inspiring life of Booker T. Washington who after overcoming tremendous odds did not only learn a few basic things about the English language but proceeded to become a good writer.
Washington recalled his bitter-sweet experience in his book Up from Slavery where he wrote, “…I recall that I had an intense longing to read. I determined, when quite a small child, that, if I accomplished nothing else in life, I would in some way get enough education to enable me to read common books and newspapers” (p. 19). With men like Washington leading the way, many black children were given the opportunity denied their ancestors.
Social Networking
The reformation of the African-American slave into a free man did not only come by way of studying how to read and write. The forces that shaped African-American identity also came form the social networks that were created while they were still in bondage. After the emancipation of the slaves, the same network of family members and friends continued outside the plantation.
As McMurry explains, “On many plantations and farms, the slave community functioned as an extended family. In freedom those informal support networks became structurally organized as church groups, or benevolent organizations and provided aid to families in crisis” (as cited in Eyerman, 2001, p. 24).
Among the type of networking listed above the most important perhaps was the church where many find healing of the soul as well as the body. The church, together with the study of the Bible allowed for a rediscovery of African-American identity. And this insight was used by future leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. to expand on the idea of freedom.
