American History

Introduction
African American Slavery During the 18th Century
African American during the 20th Century
The State of African American in Recent Years
Conclusion

Introduction
The history of any country is basically the store house of its wisdom, the wisdom that serves as a beacon of hope and a source of learning for its generations to come. The history of any country if followed by its nationals in the correct and accurate way may always serve as a harbinger for the resolution of all issues that are faced by the people.

History of a country is a source of constant guidance and enlightens its entire people, if it used, channelized and disseminated in an efficient and authentic way. At this specific point the history of America is of prime importance to the topic, the interesting history of the country basically unearths the causes and factors that actually helped the country in becoming the strongest military, economic and democratic country of the world. Today everyone is interested in knowing and finding out the reasons and the secrets through which some other nation of the world can develop itself in the same way as done by Americans.

In contemporary times everyone shows intrigue in knowing the character and temperament of the leaders that ruled the country during those crucial times when the country was not a powerful controller of resources and did not had enough wealth to make its standing equivalent to other existent prosperous nations, what were the salient features of the policies of the leaders and rulers that transformed the country completely in every sector and facet of life. Answers to all these questions are obtained from a thorough study of the history or the chronological events that dominate the historical arena of the country or nation.

One of the most interesting and intriguing phases of American History has been the various phases and periods of struggle that the African Americans have gone through during the multitude chronological phases to gain their struggle and acquire their fundamental rights and position that they have in America today.

The history of this entire period of struggle is a manifestation of hope, perseverance coupled with a constant clinch of hope with which the struggle has been carried out. But before moving into greater and in depth details of the various phases of the entire movement for civil rights, it is important to briefly look at the history of the African American people and their primitive position in the history.
African Americans have been an integral part of the American culture and civilization from a long period of time are part of that American history which has a long timeline and started many years ago. Most of the African American people were the descendents of the slaves who were kept in captivity in the 1616s till 1865. Many years ago they were called as the American Negros but later came to be known as African Americans.
     
The long history of the African American slaves and their lives are so eminent that it is celebrated every year in the U.S on the month of February with the name of black history month. The real significant years for the African American slaves started in the 1877, when they were finally freed from captivation. (Virtual services, 2010)

The State of AfricanAmerican Slavery during the 19th Century          
After the civil war that ended in the 1865, all the African American slaves were freed of slavery and torture.  The southern part of America was totally destroyed hence it needed reconstruction, which took place in the year 1877 (American History, 2010). 11 associated states needed to be reclaimed and restored and the choices available for the African American slaves now had to be decided. Rapidly, the federal government was developing the civil rights for them.  Two years later, the migration took place where a multitude of African Americans moved from the south to Kansas. From here the opportunities for them only increased. (Borgna Brunner, 2007)
         
The first ever college that was made for the black women called the Spellman college along with the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama for afro American  students started in 1881. In 1982, the American colonization society helps the freed slaves to return to Africa and providing them with a home to live in.

Although in 1896, the Supreme Court in the Plessy v. Ferguson case legalized the racial separation between the blacks and whites, which disrupted the improvement in the lives of the African American slaves that migrated during the reconstruction.

African Americans in the 20th century          
The 19th century turned out to be more successful and flourishing for African Americans. W.E.B DuBois came up with a plan that stated that the colored people of America should get equal opportunity in social, political and educational areas and should not be told to go back to their own country. Evidently, four years later the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People had established in New York, building a solid foundation for the civil rights of the African Americans. The freed slaves were finally able to have some rights of their own.
             
Marcus Garvey, in the 1914s created a Negro improvement association, to create unity amongst all the African American people.  All was going well, when in 1931, nine young afro American Scottsboro boys were arrested for raping two white women, this had to be the first crime done by the afro American. This may have be a kind of revenge they wanted to take from all the slavery they had experienced in the past years or just lack of education might be the reason.

While in 1947, some African American were trying very hard to make their name and become as educated as the others, Jackie Robinson, who took a step forward, was taken in the Brooklyn dodgers baseball team. 1948 resulted in World War 2, in which President Harry. S. Truman incorporated white and black soldiers together to go and fight for their country. In this way the African Americans were finally able to fight for their country and not for themselves.
           
Soon later another case by the name of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans in the Supreme Court resulted in abolishing the racial segregation in schools or institutes. This opened many doors for the African Americans to become well educated. (Lisa, 2010). In 1955, the most well- known incident occurred, a seamstress by the name of Rosa Parks that was arrested for refusing a white person who had asked her to get up from the bus seat. Her protest resulted in the bringing about the most well known and significant figure in the 1960s Martin Luther King, Jr.  African Americans in the 1960s were finally able to stand up for themselves and their rights in America.
         
However many other significant events for the African American students that occurred between 1955 and the 1960s showed that the African Americans were still not socially accepted by the people.
In 1957, nine black students that were constantly terrorized by the Governor Orbal Faubus for studying in the school were able to graduate successfully by the help of federal troops. James Meredith was the first African American to get admission in a university in 1962.
           
The most significant event occurred in 1963, Martin Luther King, who had developed a civil rights group (SCLC), was arrested while he was protesting against the racial separation between whites and blacks in Birmingham. He wrote a letter from jail which helped him popularize rapidly amongst the African Americans. The African Americans now had a lot of support from him.

The Washington march that took place on august 23 of the same year, has about 250,000 people who had ancestors that suffered slavery and now were experiencing discrimination heard the most well known speech by Martin Luther King I have a Dream. This created the kind of thrust the people needed in gaining their civil rights.

Realizing the importance and the status of Martin Luther King and his revolutionary role in the Civil rights movement for the acquisition of fundamental rights for Black people, it is important to describe a major incident that actually revolutionized the entire movement. On the other hand the instinct of Martin Luther King and his qualities that made him such a revolutionary figure in the entire movement.
He was a kind of a person of an overwhelmingly sanguine and optimistic temperament. He once met all his followers and colleagues who were actually assisting him in actually making the entire movement triumphant.

At the meeting he was told about Robert Kennedy and his staunch and stern actions that he was about to take against the black people of the United States, Martin was also given a subtle impression that the movement was bound to fail as people who did not had the power to vote and were not considered as the official citizens of the country could not take any strong or diplomatic action against an influential personality like Kennedy. At that precise moment he dismissed the meeting and told all his colleagues that he would next schedule a meeting when they had found something positive about the nature of Robert Kennedy. When the next meeting took place he was told that Robert Kennedy never refuses or denies the orders of his church bishop. This was sufficient for Martin as he had found the clue he was looking for, the positive instinct in Kennedys personality he wanted to know.

After a couple of days Martin made friends with the same bishop as that of Robert Kennedy and convinced the bishop that the civil rights movement was for the rights of the black people who were struggling to gain it to ensure a better livelihood and future to their present and future generations, the movement was not designed to target any political party or group and did not wanted to acquire their objectives through any violent means. The bishop explained this same thing to Robert Kennedy by adding some religious details. Kennedy was thoroughly convinced and the transformation in his behavior was so immense that the very same person who was at one point of time the strictest opponent of this movement turned its greatest advocate.          
       
One year later, President Johnson orders the civil rights that state that no discrimination or favoritism will take place in the name of color, race or religion.

The African Americans were finally able to vote in the same year as well. This meant that the African Americans could now be considered as the official citizens of the country and would be treated rightly.
But in 1968, America lost a very predominant and significant leader Martin Luther King, who was brutally shot by an assassinator, but his death resulted in the further improvement in the lives of the African Americans.
       
Few months after his death, President Johnson also ordered the civil rights on any prejudice in sale, renting and housing for the African Americans.

Finally in 1992, the first race riot took place, in the central-south Los Angeles, after four white police officials were not charged guilty for the video that showed them brutally beating an African American Rodney King.

The African Americans felt outraged at such people because they felt that after all the years they had served these people they still were not treated well and equally. (Worldarchipelago , 1996-2010).

The African Americans in the recent years

In the year of 2003, the affirmative action became very well known and it stated that diversity in the students of a particular school or institute will lead to much less likeliness of racism and discrimination among the people as they will be in contact with the African Americans as well, who will not be very different from them.  This officially helped the African Americans a lot as they were finally accepted in the country.
             
In the recent years, along with slavery the large amount of discrimination in America has greatly increased. You can now see a diversified environment in working and studying places in America. However, the effect of the African American slavery has not yet really vanished from their minds.
The main reason for high rates of criminal activity by the African Americans in America nowadays could be an after effect of the slavery in the olden days.

Some African Americans still feel inferior to the other people in the country hence they do such acts.
However there are people who now are contributing greatly to our country, despite their difficult time their ancestors had faced, one major example of such people in todays day is that of Barack Obama, the first African American president of America.  (Borgna and Brunner 2007)

Conclusion
The dreams and the endless efforts of people like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Rosa Parks reached their fulfillment and faced a fascinating reality with the pledge of Barack H. Obama as the President of United States.

The president of a country which at one point of time was most stringent against providing black people their fundamental rights and freedom of expression, a country where at one point of time boards saying Dogs and Black People are not allowed were displayed outside lavish hotels and other places.
It was during this time of oppression and social injustice when the ultimate struggle for liberty and acquisition of rights commenced and with the passage of time gained impetus so tremendous that it engulfed the entire country.

The revolt was so strong that the sudden assassination leaders like Malcolm X and Marin Luther could not paralyze their spirits and their perseverance that they had in their minds and hearts for their social, moral and political liberty.

It was exactly this undying spirit ignited by these people that ultimately led to the triumph of their struggle which is a comprehensible manifestation of their struggle.