African American Social Standings Essay - 1748 Words

This research paper will discuss the African American social standing in America throughout history. It will discuss the highs and lows and the pros and cons of the progression and also the different periods that African Americans lived through since they were brought to America. The progression of African Americans in America began with a practice called slavery. Slavery is the state of a person who is the chattel of another. It began in 1441 when Portuguese men kidnapped 12 black Africans from Cabo Blanco and moved them to Portugal. This opened the door to slavery in the Americas. A British statesman stated that Slavery is a weed that grows on every soil. The first African Americans slaves in America were brought to†¦show more content†¦Abolitionist Movement). During the start of the movement there were almost no public newspaper that publicized the abolishment of slavery. William Lloyd Garrison, an American journalist and abolitionist who became famous in the 1830 for denouncing slavery, published the first issue of his abolitionist newspaper The Liberator January 1st 1831, which was at that time the first Abolitionist newspaper. The reason William Garrison published the newspaper was because he was tired of the other methods that many abolit ionists had tried. Garrison said slavery should be ended immediately. Another front runner during the Abolitionist Movement was Sojourner Truth. She was an ex-slave and also one of the main figures in the fight for women?s rights and equality. On January 1, 1863, the Abolitionist goals were reached when President Abraham Lincoln the 16th president issued his Emancipation Proclamation. It read that ?all persons held as slaves? in rebellious states ?are and henceforward shall be free? (McPherson, James M. World Book Online? Emancipation Proclamation. ) . Around the same time Congress passed the 25th Amendment into Constitution which therefore abolished slavery. Months later it was ratified. Following the Emancipation Proclamation, The North (union) and the South (confederate) began a civil war which lasted from 1861 to 1865. The war ended with many of the major cities in the South in ruins and most of the Northern cities leftShow MoreRelatedAfrican American Social Standings1744 Words   |  7 Pagespaper will discuss the African American social standing in America throughout history. It will discuss the highs and lows and the pros an cons of the progression and also the different periods that African Americans lived through since they were brought to America. The progression of African Americans in America began with a practice called slavery. Slavery is the state of a person who is the chattel of another. It began in 1441 when Portuguese men kidnapped 12 black Africans from Cabo Blanco andRead MoreEssay on Reparations For African Slavery1203 Words   |  5 Pagesand deprive African Americans of their liberties and enslaved them. Since then, the United States has attempted to repair this mistake through reparations. The legal reparations of the United States have unsuccessfully redressed individual and social injustices by failing to alleviate the pain caused to the African American community. The Harm caused by Slavery still continues to be suffered by the community through this day. African Americans have always been devalued in the American Legal SystemRead MoreThe And Invisible Man By Toni Morrison And Ralph Ellison1726 Words   |  7 Pages The Un-American Race Throughout history, the African American race has battled great social injustices. From slavery to freedom, being property to owning property, African Americans have fought their way to be a part of equal justice. 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Social stratification is defined as a rigid subdivision of a society into a hierarchy of layers, differentiated on the basis of power, prestige, and wealth according to Webster’s dictionary. David Newman in Sociology Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life describes stratification as a ranking system for groups of people that per petuates unequal rewards and life chances in society. From slavery to the presentRead MoreTales of Simple Essay examples1080 Words   |  5 Pagesthese tales, Hughes uses symbolism to express his feelings and views on African American history through the character Jesse B. Semple. In literary terms, the word â€Å"symbolism† is defined as being a person, object or event that suggests more than its literal meaning. In Langston Hughes’ â€Å"Tales of Simple†, the author uses the main character’s name, feet and view on a type of Jazz music to symbolize the life of an African American and the effect of slavery, discrimination and racism on blacks. 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Mrs Arbuthnot and Hester free essay sample

How does Oscar Wilde make Hester and Mrs Arbuthnot contrasting characters? Oscar Wilde has many characters through ‘A Woman of No Importance’ that have contrasting personalities and backgrounds, but the characters with a clear, most definite contrast are Hester and Mrs Arbuthnot. Mrs Arbuthnot is known to the readers of the play and the characters in the play as a ‘fallen woman’. She has run off with at least two men whilst married and has now developed a reputation with the rest of the community. She is a very flirtatious character and likes to ‘play with fire’. This means she also will try to get the attention of any man possible. Hester, on the other hand, is very religious and has extremely different morals and views to Mrs Arbuthnot. She doesn’t agree with running off with other men, sex before marriage or flirting with other men, so Hester and Mrs Arbuthnot, in this sense, have different morals. We will write a custom essay sample on Mrs Arbuthnot and Hester or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Mrs Arbuthnot’s relationship with Lord Illingworth is very flirtatious and public. Everyone in the community has heard about them so nothing about them is private. Hester and Gerald’s relationship on the other hand, is very different. Hester plays almost ‘hard to get’ and doesn’t draw attention to her or the fact that she may like Gerald. She likes to keep her business private so no one knows anything about her to judge her. Mrs Arbuthnot is from England and is very friendly with the higher class people. These people have been born into wealth and don’t like people who have earned their money through working. However, Hester is from America and has had to work her way up to gain money and to be where she is today. She doesn’t agree with people being born into wealth and those people looking down on the people who have worked their way up. Both Mrs Arbuthnot and Hester disagree with each other in this sense which shows a contrasting of personalities. On the other hand, Hester says ‘nothing should be out of the reach of hope’, which could seem that Hester doesn’t worry about social class and it doesn’t matter when you are in hierarchy, Finally, Mrs Arbuthnot believes that men are stronger than woman and they have a higher authority and more power than women do. She has the typical view of a Victorian woman where the men boss the women around and then women do as they are told. Hester believes in equality and has very strong views about it. She believes that all men and women should be valued the same and that no one is any different. Hester is almost like she is saying exactly what Oscar Wilde is thinking. Therefore, throughout this play, Oscar Wilde shows contrasting characters through wealth, class and morals.