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The Emancipation Proclamation marks the beginning of the end where Black Americans weren't granted their constitutional rights to freedoms and civil liberties.
Before the Emancipation Proclamation:
Black Americans had been enslaved by Americans in North America since their arrival to Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. Slavery continued through the independence of the United States in 1776.
Enslaved American being scolded for rebelling
Enslaved black Americans have always resisted their enslavement. They did this by breaking equipment or organizing uprisings.
Nat Turners Rebellion:
"On August 21, 1831, at 2:00 a.m., Turner and his followers started at his master's house and killed the entire family. They marched throughout Southampton County in Virginia, killing at least 55 people until white authorities crushed the revolt. Turner avoided capture for nearly two months before he was caught." - The National Museum of African American History and Culture
Newspaper describing Nat Turners Rebellion
After the Emancipation Proclamation:
The issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all Black Americans in Confederate States, led to an eventual Union victory which began the growth in the Black American fight for rights and freedom.
Passed in 1865, the Thirteenth amendment abolished slavery in the United States.
Unfortunately, in 1866, southern states developed a way to still limit Black American freedom. The passage of "Black codes" allowed for southern states to restrict Black Americans ability to live independently.
American protesting against the Jim Crow Laws of the south.
The Civil Rights Era began in 1954 with the Montgomery Bus Boycott when Black Americans in Montgomery, Alabama refused to use public transportation. The movement continued with big figures, such as Martin Luther King, leading the fight for Black Americans to gain the rights they deserved under the Constitution and remove segregation and racist legislation in the south.
Signing of the Civil Rights Act
"In 1964, Congress passed Public Law 88-352 (78 Stat. 241). The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Provisions of this civil rights act forbade discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as, race in hiring, promoting, and firing." - U.S. Department of Labor
The passage of the Emancipation Proclamation was the first step in a long process for Black Americans to achieve their long deserved full American rights and freedoms. The proclamation initiated the century long period it took for Black Americans to reach the Civil Rights Act.
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