The Attitudes of Southerners toward African Americans - Essay Example

Worth noting is the fact that the Southern States had practiced slavery for so long and had developed negative perceptions of African Americans. As a reaction to the freeing of slaves, some Southerners had resulted in killing government couriers as well as soldiers. The Southerners had indulged in opposition against the Union, a factor that contributed to a complete absence of patriotism. Such factors explained why the president wanted Schurz to compile a report concerning the views of the Southerners. This paper will critically analyze some of the aspects discussed in the report presented by Schurz.

Body

In the report, Schurz discussed the attitudes of Southerners toward African Americans. The Southerners had harbored a belief that African Americans were unable to work without any form of compulsion (Johnson 309). In their view, African Americans could only be productive, if there were white masters compelling them to undertake tasks. In my view, this was a misconception because African-Americans could make a living by working as free people. The problem in the Southern States was that freed slaves never received the right opportunities to exploit their potential. In addition, the slave masters had spent several years with African Americans, but they did not understand their true characters. The report does highlight that the slave masters viewed African Americans as very deceitful. However, many African Americans serving as slaves were smart enough to hide their strategies from their masters. The Southerners also believed that African Americans only existed for one purpose. In their view, the purpose was cultivating cash crops such as cotton and rice (310). They opined that African Americans were not in a position to pursue their happiness. Such assumptions were wrong, African Americans had the will to pursue happiness, and their only barrier was slavery (308).

The report also reveals that there were high levels of persecution directed toward African Americans (310). The fact the law recognized that African Americans can be free did not convince many whites that the Negros could survive on their own. They used every opportunity to persecute the freemen and continue to view African Americans as property to the whites. The views expressed in this report depict the depth of slavery in the southern states. It was a hard task to compel the southern states to let African Americans be free. Unfortunately, the Southerners ensured that the slaves suffered even after their freedom.  The local governments introduced contracts under which African Americans would manage acres of land for the whites (312). However, the contract terms favored the whites and the oppression of African Americans continued.

Conclusion

Evidently, Carl Schurz’s report depicts the negative attitudes exhibited by the Southerners towards African Americans. The report indicates that the Emancipation Act did not serve to eliminate negative perceptions toward African Americans. It is unfortunate that many of the Southerners continued to view African Americans as lesser beings who had no right to pursue happiness. The report defines some of the negative aspects that governed slavery in American history. According to the report, it was evident that the Southerners were yet to come to terms with the fact that African Americans were free people and deserved equal opportunities. Instead of focusing on reconstructing the local governments, many Southerners only persecuted the freed African Americans.