Race Relationships in US - Essay Example

Race relationships in the US Race relationships in America at the end of civil war were quite bad and the racial issues that divided America and ignited unimaginable bloodbath continued plaguing the country for almost a century after the shaking of hands of Grant and Lee in Appomattox Court house. This is therefore to say that African American communities were brutally overruled by white communities in the US at that time. Blacks were extremely discriminated against and were treated as if they were not human beings; they were not given equal rights as compared to the whites.

Thus after the war, conditions got worse for the African Americans. This necessitated former confederates and the southern legislatures to pass laws called black codes, which greatly limited African American rights and segregated them from the whites. In 1877, recontruction was ended when Democratic parties reclaimed control of the south, which was very devastating for blacks since all the gains they had made such as forming political parties, voting rights as well as participation as equal entities were reversed.

Thus the south, slowly reinstated laws that were racially discriminating and whose agenda was to segregate as well as disenfranchisement. The Democratic Party started stopping African Americans from voting so as to take away the power African Americans had gained. There were several ways to prevent blacks from voting and they included; poll taxes, literacy tests as well as charging of fees at voting booths. Additionally, in 1883, the civil rights case saw the Supreme Court declare that Congress lacked power to stop private acts of prejudice.

The police and legal system supported segregation. Thousands of blacks were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan as well as other terrorists groups such as Knights of White Camellia. Thus prominent black land owners, community leaders as well as politicians. The Jim Crow laws entrenched discrimination. This was a system of customs and laws that imposed racial discrimination and segregation throughout the US, particularly in the south, beginning from the late 19th century to the 1960s.These laws did not particularly mention race, however they were written and applied in a manner that prejudiced African Americans.

These laws ensured segregation in stores, libraries, entertainment as well as stores. This really fuelled an atmosphere of racial discrimination and there was a rise in rioting, Ku Klux Klan and lynching. Blacks, mostly in south were discriminated against in housing and jobs and frequently deprived of their constitutional right to vote via poll taxes and literacy tests all administered with trick questions as well as informal loopholes. Inspite of some victories against discrimination and segregation, blacks continued facing unequal opportunities.

However, new techniques such as the 1964 Civil Rights Acts, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the 1968 Fair Housing Act as well as the Black Power Movement saw the definite end of discriminatory Jim Crow Laws. The present day America is free of most of the earlier prejudice seen. It is a completely new reformed country with opportunities for all. There is race tolerance and blacks have made great strides as far as their development is concerned. In the year 2008, Obama Barrack was elected the first ever US Black president.

The election of an African American president is clear proof of the present class status of America. Generally there is seen to be a strong and equal bonding for all races especially blacks and whites. Laws have been developed in the favor of blacks for protection of their rights. Thus rights for black people are much better, though they are yet to achieve that equal status with the whites. Slavery of the black people is finally over and we can see blacks in almost every industry. Blacks have been much motivated to join the US army, Hollywood as well as politics.

Thus a lot has changed since the civil war ended and much of this has helped in improvement of racial relationships as well as ending prejudice especially betweeen blacks and whites together with the colored people of the United States. Works cited1) Reconstruction: After the Civil War - THE MAKING OF A NATION -. 12 August 2014 .2) Tripp, Steven Elliott. Race and Class Relations in Civil War. 1997. 12 August 2014 .