African American Odyssey Candyce M. Godfrey ETE November 20, 2009

The Birth of Slavery During the course of the slave trade, millions of Africans became involuntary immigrants to the New World During the 1700s, West Africans accounted for approximately two- thirds of the African captives imported into the Americas African Americans repeatedly questioned how their owners could consider themselves noble in their own fight for independence from England while simultaneously believing that it was wrong for slaves to do the same

Free Blacks Antebellum period - those years from the formation of the Union until the Civil War Free Southern blacks continued to live under the shadow of slavery, unable to travel or assemble as freely as those in the North Free blacks were very active in American society Thousands of freed blacks, with the aid of interested whites, returned to Africa with the aid of the American Colonization Society and colonized what eventually became Liberia

The Underground Railroad Enslaved blacks and their white sympathizers planned secret flight strategies and escape routes for runaways to make their way to freedom

Anti-Slavery Movements Black and white abolitionists in the first half of the nineteenth century put forth great efforts to end slavery. Many abolitionists united to form numerous antislavery societies. While many white abolitionists focused only on slavery, black Americans tended to couple anti- slavery activities with demands for racial equality and justice.

Let’s go to war! The Civil War ( ) Abraham Lincoln's election led to secession and secession to war Thousands of African Americans fled from their owners to Union camps After Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863), black soldiers were officially allowed to participate in the war This war took the lives of more than 600,000 Americans The North defeated the South – slavery was abolished

Reconstruction Period The Emancipation Proclamation (1863) freed African Americans in rebel states Thirteenth Amendment emancipated all U.S. slaves During Reconstruction freed slaves began to leave the South The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave the vote to all male citizens regardless of color or previous condition of servitude

The World Wars WWI – ( ) During World War I many black troops were eager to fight but most provided support services. Only a small percentage were actually involved in combat Blacks and whites in the newly-formed NAACP and other organizations led the onslaught against discrimination and segregation in the United States

The World Wars cont. The Harlem Renaissance Booming period in the arts for African Americans during World War I WWII – ( ) Over 2.5 million African-American men registered for the draft, and black women volunteered in large numbers

Civil Rights Era The post-war era marked a period of unprecedented energy against the second class citizenship accorded to African Americans in many parts of the nation Success crowned these efforts: the Brown decision in 1954, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act in 1965 helped bring about the demise of the entangling web of legislation that bound blacks to second class citizenship. One hundred years after the Civil War, blacks and their white allies still pursued the battle for equal rights in every area of American life

Civil Rights Era cont. March on Washington Blacks and whites, side by side, called on President John F. Kennedy and the Congress to provide equal access to public facilities, quality education, adequate employment, and decent housing for African Americans Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered a stirring message with the refrain, "I Have a Dream.“

Sources Library of Congress. (accessed November 17, 2009). O’Sullivan, Timothy, photographer. “[Incidents of the war. A Harvest of Death, Gettysburg, July 1863.]” Photograph. Washington, D.C.: Philip & Solomons, c1865. From Library of Congress: Selected Civil War Photographs, (accessed November 19, 2009). Ashmun, Jehudi. Map of the West Coast of Africa from Sierra Leone to Cape Palmas, including the Colony of Liberia. Map. Philadelpia: A. Finley, From Library of Congress, Map collections: (accessed November 19, 2009).