settlement of African American into the U.S
Introduction
The statue of Liberty, a potent symbol of Franco-American friendship, gave a new meaning to many as a welcoming symbol to people seeking new and better lives for themselves and their children. It has been a symbol of the American dream. Without a doubt, between the years of 1880 and 1930, the U.S. witnessed the enormous mass immigration into the country from all over Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin countries. The focus of this paper primarily will be on the settlement of African American into the U.S.
African Americans have the most extended history of settlement in the United States. The arrival of the first African American people dates back to 300 years ago. This began at the dawn of the transatlantic slave trade that stripped the majority of the Africans into North America. When they set foot in the United States, they were captives and not freely roaming citizens looking for better lives (Brady Mathew). They were met by a thriving slave society which they became part of.
Push factors that prompted African immigration to the U.S.
In 1790, Africans were the most significant number of foreign settlers in the United States. After the first census, 20% of the population this time were of African heritage. The major push factors for the settlement of the African origin group was the involuntary slave trade that took over the Atlantic Ocean (Immigration timeline). Involuntary because the shipping of the Africans into America was a forced action, individuals taken away from their families which was not a voluntary act. Immigration of the Africans into the united states between the 19th and 20th century was purely on slave. Trading posts on the coastline of West Africa had been made facilitated centuries of human extraction from their land as the European colonies in America expanded their governments and so did the need for cheap labor in their plantations, mines and farms. Notably, the source of that cheap labor was from West Africa. What procured within the communities of the Africans was chaos and conflict each trying to protect their own from the forceful human toll. This pushed the communities to rat out their fellow members to the slave traders. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Cultural differences between Anglos living in the U.S. and the immigrants
After the arrival of the initial Africans in a new world, I marked the beginning of adaptation to slavery and to a new way of life. This would be a transformation in their way of life and attitudes. Out of necessity, it unmasked African Americans into new spiritual, social and artistic expression. These expressions became the new culture of the African Americans which they adapted to date.
The cultural differences between the Anglos and the African Americans were not much of a difference but more of the African Americans absorbing and assimilating the Anglo Americans way of life. This was more of the African Americans assimilating the family structure, religion, economics, politics, cuisines and arts of the Anglo Americans. This is because during the periods of the settlement of the Africans to the U.S. was through the slave trade, and this meant subjecting in all ways to the way of life of the master.
The African culture, as they left their lands, was communal. Things were done in communities including fetching food, thatching homes and leadership was through chieftainship. However, after arrival in America, things changed, and they had to adapt to the Anglos way of life, which was more individualistic. Anglo Americans were more goal-oriented on their own, and monetary security was the main achievement. Therefore, the Africans had to shift from trading with commodities to trading with monetary funds. African American arts was influenced by these cultural traditions of both Africa and America. Religion precisely Christianity was a significant foundation within Anglo Americans. Majority of the African American, therefore, adapted Christianity which led to the prevalence of evangelical Protestants. There was also the influence of language. Anglo Americans were English speakers out of which the African Americans adopted the English dialects creating a speech which was mostly referred to as African American Vernacular English (AAVE). Education also began to be an integral part of the African American community because they began to understand education just as for their fellow white American was key to success. Therefore, with the little reading and writing they could get, they practised and also taught their children.
Some of the African Americans were able to acclimate themselves into the fabrics of the Anglos. Sometimes it was out of necessity because the more white a black was or behaved, the more respect he got and the lesser the hardship it would be for them. Some wore their hairs straight and spoke with no accents trying more to be like the white American. I believe that the cultural shift towards the American ways of life was more of survival instinct; otherwise, if there been a choice presented, some of the African heritage from their ancestors could have been managed.
However, African Americans were able to form a unique blend of their own culture, which was the African American culture. This became their new identity, a mixture of the African and American touches. Especially during the early 19th and 20th century, African American culture had been identified among various people, and they could express themselves. They began to adore their afros, and their love of music could be visible by all. African American art was also so much instilled within them.
Primary arguments for immigration during this period
The forces shaping the emergence of African American in North America were purely based on labor. The economies of the European colonials in America depended on slaves for survival. They had abundant land that was discovered in the Americas was depended on the labor from Africans (How slavery helped). The labor from the Native Americans did not seem enough for the tasks. Therefore after the emergence of Africans being productive labor for the trans-Saharan trade, the western decided to make use of them. Majority of the enslaved African Americans worked in sugarcane plantations. During this period, Tobacco plantations also utilized the majority of imported Africans into America. The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 gave life to new slavery in the United States. From 1800 to 1860, cotton plantations had expanded thoroughly and were all supported by African Americans. During this period, cotton was a major commodity that put the United States on global economic leadership (Katz Brigit). Therefore, African Americans played a significant role in the building of the U.S. economy. Also, black women, children and men were utilized as maids, waiters, butlers, weavers, blacksmiths and stable boys.
Several arguments broke as to the reasons against slaving African immigrants into the United States. Abolitionists began to realize that taking Africans and bringing them to work in America was against the rules. During the 20th century, human rights and empathy in the communities were becoming an integral part of society. Abolitionists such as William Wilberforce championed against taking Africans forcefully from their regions and making them work in plantations. There was also awakening among the African Americans of their mistreatment, and therefore they began demanding for their freedom and better treatment and living conditions. Some other forces against African immigrants were the rise of the industrial revolution which led to the improvement in labor in the agriculture sector.
Furthermore, during the 20th century, slaves were becoming uneconomical and inefficient. There was no longer a need for a large number of slaves in the plantations as plantations were growing less profitable, and wage labour was in the rise.
Certain specific immigration laws affected African Americans education-wise and social-economically. Until the beginning of the first African immigrants to the U.S., African Americans were not granted citizenship. Therefore, they had no right to residence ship even after the abolition of slavery. There were no rights that defined what happened to ex-slaves. Consequently, they could not receive education or any economic support. It wasn’t until 1868 that African Americans were made citizens and all born in the U.S.
Furthermore, African Americans were not allowed to vote during this period. The majority had no say in the political debates and in defining the leadership of America. Consequently, they had support leadership and representation of their people who would support the minority group to achieve social and economic status. Even after the right to vote was granted in 1868, blacks were still prevented from voting. Up to 1915, many barriers were paused on voting for the blacks. This refuted the political mobility of the minority group.
The segregation of black and white schools also severely affected the education of the majority of African American. The number of black schools established were at the mercies of the white-controlled state government. Black schools, therefore, received less funding because the whites did not want blacks to be educated and challenge the white supremacy demanding better jobs and better pay. This severely affected the education of the majority who remained uneducated and with poor wage margins.
Conclusion
African Americans contributed adversely to the current economy of the United States. The country’s infrastructure was built upon the agricultural sector of the late years. African Americans provided the country’s labor in the plantations. The U.S. had established itself as a significant key player in the production of cotton. It was the primary driving force for America’s industrial revolution. Young men, women and children were driven hundreds of miles south expanding territories in Mississippi and Louisiana and forced into labor camps to plant and pick cotton. The bodies of the enslaved served the country to become the leading economies of the world. The rich men of the south owed their wealth to the labor of the African Americans. The development of the U.S. as a world-leading economy even up to date has its backbone to the rise of the agricultural industry, which was supported by the African slaves. The country’s infrastructure, therefore, was developed from the hard work of African Americans.
Bibliography
Immigration timeline. The Statue of Liberty Ellis Island Foundation Inc. retrieved from https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/immigration-timeline
Brady M. Gordon under medical inspection. 1863.Retrieved from https://npg.si.edu/learn/classroom-resource/gordon-lifedates-unknown
How slavery helped build a world economy. National Geographic. 2003. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/1/how-slavery-helped-build-a-world-economy/
Katz B. this may be the earliest known image of enslaved individuals with cotton. Smithsonian magazine. 2019. Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/may-be-earliest-known-image-slaves-cotton-180973705/