Slavery As African Americans example essay topic

Between the dates of 1650 and 1900, a great deal of changes took place in America. Many groups of people in America endured hardships during these years. There were territory disputes, wars, rebellions, and revolutions that occurred. These events placed pressures on certain types of people. The three groups that were most affected were African-Americans, Native Americans and females.

A comparison on the conditions of these groups will show how and why they were mistreated during this time period. From the mid-1600's to the early 1700's, as tobacco cultivation increased in America, there was a demand for laborers. As the prices of the tobacco trade increased, the demand for cheap laborers skyrocketed. Americans followed in the footsteps of Dutch, French, English, and Spanish planters by utilizing African slaves. African slaves were treated like livestock. They were overworked, beaten (sometimes to death), raped, malnourished, and kept in poorly built shacks that were unsanitary and were ridden with disease.

Africans were considered to be heathens and in the book of European Christians, slavery was justifiable. In the late 1700's and early 1800's, African Americans were still treated in poor conditions as in the past. However, during the time of the American Revolution, many of them were fought along side of the people who enslaved them because they hoped to gain freedom directly through liberty. Others joined the side of the British because of promises of emancipation.

Although they were split during this period, they had a common goal of freedom. From 1860-1900, the American Civil War and Reconstruction took place. This was a key point of time for African Americans because although there were many things on the table, slavery was thought to be one of the greatest issues the American Civil War was fought over and, in the end, slavery was officially addressed. Many African Americans fought in the Civil War and still were not considered to be equal to white Americans. During these years, their physical conditions had improved slightly (a few were beginning to be educated and there were states that they were considered to be free in the North) but politically, African Americans were still treated like livestock. They were now fighting for equality in terms of being considered citizens, voting, and owning property by facing Jim Crow Laws, Poll Taxes, Literacy Tests, and the political tug-of-war which were the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.

Native Americans were also treated poorly by Early English settlers. Some were sold into slavery as African Americans were. Some tribes were conquered and killed off all together. The white man hoarded the land that they considered belonging to anyone who occupied it. The best case scenarios had the Native Americans involved in poorly negotiated deals with settlers. Bacon's Rebellion took place in the 1670's.

The textbook states, "Land-hungry Virginians eagerly eyed rich lands north of the York River reserved for Native Americans by earlier treaties. Using as a pretext the July 1675 killing of an English servant by some Does Indians, settlers attacked not only the Does but also the Susquehannocks, a powerful nation that had recently occupied the area. In retaliation, Susquehannock bands raided outlying farms in the winter of 1676". These events led to a rebellion led by Nathaniel Bacon. This rebellion is a prime example of how settlers regarded Native Americans in the late 1600's. In the early to mid 1700's, there was a steady trade of Native American slaves in America.

Some were actually sold and traded by opposing tribes. Throughout the 1700's there was renewed warfare among European-Americans and Native Americans. Botched treaties and broken promises led to the Seven Years War in 1756 which included nearly the entire world. During the American Revolution, some Native Americans joined the side of the British who protected them from land-hungry settlers. But after the Revolution was over and British rule had ended, Native Americans were forced back to the previous conditions they endured. By the late 1800's, Native Americans were killed by the score.

In Sand Creek, Colorado, 350 women and children were slaughtered in the hopes of a single generation war. Native Americans were called "Indians", which generalized and combined them into one group. They were placed on the least desirable land called reservations and forced to engage in sharecropping which left them in debt. In 1887, Dawe's Severalty Act divided up land by using a grid, and sold it. This reverted undistributed land for sale to congress to fund Indian Reservations. The conditions of the women of America between the dates 1650 and the mid 1700's did not change significantly.

Women were considered to be to be wives, mothers, domestic servants, and also work in fields. Some were members of religious congregations but mostly women had and endless amount of work to do and did not have time to do anything else... As the American Revolution began, women were still expected to raise children and house keep. They also had to pick up the slack left by the men who went to fight in the war. However at that point of time, there began to be a community of women who looked at educational reform, slavery issues, voting rights, religion, and the relationships between men and women. Between the beginning and middle of the 19th century, women began to look for work outside their homes.

They were beginning to be educated in colleges and as the west opened up women look that way for new opportunities. In 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention took place. This was a big step for women but their aim was to obtain a right to vote. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony started the National Women's Suffrage Association. This association fought hard for many years for women's rights. In 1878, the Senate introduced an amendment for the right to vote for women but it was turned down.

By 1900, the conditions of women hadn't changed much but had indeed improved. The conditions of the three groups were generally all the same for the years of 1650 to 1900: POOR! The people of these groups were treated in ways that human beings should not be treated. Looking back at history from the year 2002, the females of America seemed to have accomplished the most. This is probably due to the fact that they had the most influence over the children (boys and girls) and the most leverage against the leaders (white men) of our country. African-Americans had the next best accomplishments, leaving the Native Americans with the least most improvements.

It is ironic, however, that the people that were actually here first were, and continue to be, put in the worst conditions of our society.