Introduction
The history of the United States is tightly connected to the attempts to diminish the existing disparities in society. One of the principal directions of the government’s actions was the abolition of slavery in the southern states of the country. However, such measures did not provide for the improvements in the life of African American citizens, former slaves who gained their freedom as a result of the Civil War (Byers, 2016). There were specific circumstances that made the conditions of living for this population group even worse than at the times of slavery and turned the newly gained freedom into a struggle for civil rights.
Main body
The principal obstacles on the way to freedom for African Americans were presented in the form of restrictions instilled by white people and combined into Black Codes. Such documents contained prejudices towards black citizens and limited their rights related to participation in court proceedings, service in the states’ military forces, and obligations to sign labor contracts with their former masters (Byers, 2016). Thus, the situation for African American citizens remained similar to the one before the Civil War, with the only difference in receiving extremely low wages insufficient for living.
The new circumstances led the people to severe poverty and the lack of choices, which can be characterized as the return to some form of slavery. Byers (2016) states that the rights to proper education and healthcare services were violated due to the inability of former slaves to afford them. Hence, the aid rendered by the government did not benefit anyone as African American citizens mostly remained poor illiterate laborers with no support. Their position of people of the lower social class was mainly maintained by white landowners and opponents of the idea to provide them with equal rights.
The main threat to the wellbeing of African Americans was imposed by the Ku Klux Klan that united the people who were against the new policy of the government due to various reasons. Dissatisfied with economic losses incurred as a result of slavery abolition, white citizens continued to terrorize former slaves in the South (Guard, 2017). African Americans also suffered from the neglect of constitutional provisions by local authorities of the southern states. It resulted in their complete inability to defend their rights as the law was still on the side of white landowners.
The fact of observance of legal provisions was questionable, and African American citizens could rely solely on themselves. The corresponding amendments to the Constitution guaranteeing the right to vote and equal protection by law were either ignored or violated by white authorities. It was not until World War II that African Americans raised the issues of segregation existing even in service units of the country’s troops (Foner, 2015). The ultimate freedom of this population group from any restrictions and limitations was achieved only after the period of the civil rights movement.
Conclusion
The abolition of slavery in the United States was a long process rather than a series of amendments to the Constitution. It was complicated by the unwillingness of white citizens to lose economic profits and have an equal position in society with former slaves. The gaining of freedom was possible only with the abolition of segregation in all its forms relates both to the civil and military life of African Americans. Hence, this population group received their full civil rights and freedoms only in the second half of the twentieth century with the successful fight of black activists.
References
- Byers, A. (2016). Beyond slavery: African Americans from emancipation to today. Enslow Publishing.
- Foner, E. (2015). Gateway to freedom: The hidden history of America’s fugitive slaves. Oxford University Press.
- Guard, D. (2017). Origins of the Ku Klux Klan and its Significance. Journal of Ethnophilosophical Questions and Global Ethics, 1(1), 13-21.