Civil War and Segregation in the United States - Assignment Example

The 1800s has been pivotal in the history of the United States. It is in this century when seven southern states with four others later joining Seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America in disagreement with President Lincoln’s intention to abolish slavery. The Civil war has begun on April 12, 1861, until May 10, 1865, where the Union emerged as victorious (www.history.com). Slavery in America formally ended with the Emancipation Declaration of President Lincoln on January 1, 1863, and when the 13th amendment was ratified by the states.

The end of the civil war marked the reconstruction period in the South. There are many accounts and interpretation why the Reconstruction became a splendid failure but it converged on the idea that it did not achieve what it intended to achieve. One its failure was the attempt to provide some civil rights such as the right to vote for African Americans (Fitzgerald, 2008). This was evident in the Dred Scott decision which the Supreme Court ruled that blacks “had no rights which a white man was bound to respect; and that the Negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit” (Freerepublic.com). In 1876 however, a change in political tide was seen when the Republicans gained control in Congress.

From the repressive regime of the Democrats, the Republicans passed the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution where several civil rights bills were introduced which will give every American equal protection before the law (Cornell University Law School, nd). One of the laws that were also passed was the granting of the right to vote among African Americans. This law, however, was still circumvented by many political measures designed to disenfranchise the African Americans. Oppression among the African Americans did not stop with the abolition of slavery but continued with another form of legalized oppression with the passage of the Segregation Law which was also popularly known as Jim Crow Laws (National Park Service).

While slavery ended at the end of the century, segregation came in the dawn of the new century with the passage of the Segregation Law in 1880. The southern states, particularly Tennessee first passed the segregation law prohibiting the mingling of races in all public places, particularly in public transportation. Another law was also passed which is the Disenfranchisement Law that deprived Afro Americans of their right to vote. The passage of the segregation law and disenfranchisement law meant the white and the black cannot be together in public places and public transportation.

These oppressive laws were then implemented in various states and municipality mandating the segregation of the blacks and the whites not only on public transportation but also in other aspects of public life that include, schools, hospitals, parks, movie houses, hotels and even restrooms (National Park Service nd). Even courtrooms which are supposed to dispense justice were not spared as it was required to have separate bibles for a black and white witness. The separation of books was not only limited in theological scriptures but also on schoolbooks where the textbooks of the white and black students were stored in different warehouses.

The famous anecdote about Rosa Parks not giving up her seat to a white passenger sprung up from the segregation law where a black person has to give up his or her seat to a white person (blacks and white in the early phase of the segregation law cannot be together in public transportation). The Disfranchisement Law as the name implies, remove the right of the Negro to exercise his civil liberty to vote by despite the guarantee of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. This was evident with the exclusion of the blacks from the list of those who can vote in 1870 and made it more difficult for blacks to vote (if they can) bypassing the poll tax law.

Ridiculous as it may sound but a literacy requirement was also enacted that if a black person is allowed to vote, he or she must satisfy the “understanding clause” that they understood the constitution before the state registrar. Naturally, the determination of the black person’s fitness to vote became arbitrary that deprived many of them of their right to vote. Voting restrictions were also imposed to make it difficult for black people by stating deadlines of poll tax payment and voter registration unannounced.

All of these were designed to make it difficult, if not impossible for a black person to vote. The imposition of oppression may not be as direct and blatant as slavery, but it still subjugates another race in a new and novel form where the privileged race (the white) demands deference from the Negro of which the law accommodated. This new kind of oppression carried on until the 20th century until civil rights leader such as Martin Luther King moved to abrogate such oppressive laws. Bibliography A&E Television Networks.

"American Civil War." History.com. http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war (accessed December 21, 2013). Fitzgerald, Michael (2008). A Splendid Failure: Postwar Reconstruction in the American South. Ivan R. Dee Press. ISBN: 9781566637343 National Parks Service. "Jim Crow Laws." National Parks Service. http://www.nps.gov/malu/forteachers/jim_crow_laws.htm (accessed December 22, 2013). The 1940s, the. "The History of Black Voting Rights [Great read!]." Latest Articles. http://www.

freerepublic.com/focus/news/1072053/posts#_edn3 (accessed December 22, 2013). 14th Amendment (nd)| U.S. Constitution | LII / Legal Information Institute." LII | LII / Legal Information Institute. http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv (accessed December 22, 2013).