After reading pages 1-35 of the introduction: The History of the Black Struggle in America, what did you learn that was new/interesting/surprising/shocking or enlightening?
I thought it was interesting to read a historical survey by an African American historian. Archer's bitter tone certainly was merited. Though I was a History minor at Michigan State, some of the history he presented was new to me. Other events/episodes I remembered but their depiction in my history books was a bit whitewashed. For example, Archer's depiction of our beloved forefather,Abraham Lincoln, focused on his flawed rhetoric of desiring a united nation while denying a good portion of its citizens consideration. I always thought his motivation for the Emancipation Proclamation was more than swaying the Union's odds. I didn't realize his deep seeded racism lasted as long as it did. The story of Mrs. Lincoln sending Frederick Douglass Lincoln's walking stick after his death was pretty cool. Seemed symbolic to me...march on, continue doing the good work.
I am deeply shocked how African Americans were treated in former time periods of U.S. history. In the introduction, Jules Archer, in They Had a Dream, talks about how blacks were forced to step in the gutters to let whites pass on the sidewalk. How ridiculous! Archer also writes about the 156,000 black Union army troops, which earned Congressional Medals of Honor after 39 major battles. However, the white troops who won the medals received much better treatment than the black troops with the award. I am especially disturbed by the horrible names that were thrown at African Americans. In 1619, the British kidnapped twenty African Americans and imported them to Virginia as bound servants, referring to them as “ignoble savages”! How is it that they do not even consider people of different skin colors as equal human beings? As William Lloyd Garrison once questioned the morality of the whites, “This is a man of God?”
I was very surprised how many times that amendments and laws had to be created for the majority of americans to grasp that the complete concept of racism is virulent and unwanted. -Mary Katherine K.
I was surprised to learn that Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation to keep the north from breaking apart. In all of the history books that I have read, they never mention that Lincoln signed the document to keep the north from breaking apart. I was also surprised by the cruelty of the people. Burning a slave for killing a white family seemed cruel. However killing a whole family would probably result in the death penalty in our society. If the people believed the man should die, he should have been killed in a more humane way. -Suzanne Z
Of all the facts and scenarios given, the one that stuck out the most for me was that the blacks, when sharing a narrow street with a white person who was walking in the opposite direction, were expected to step into the gutter. I'm also disgusted with the cold indifference and cruel slurs directed towards the colored people and was surprised, to say the least, when I found out that Lincoln helped the slaves only as a political move.
But, even after reading the section a handful of time, the thing that shocked me most was not anything that was said, but rather the tone it was said in. The author had every right to be biased but flaunted that right to the extremes, in my honest opinion. It is one thing to tell us all the shocking things the whites did and quite another to excuse all crimes committed by the blacks in retaliation. Sometimes the way to peace is fraught with violence but in the case of Martin Luther King Junior, at least, that is not always so. How will such an angry, bitter man tell the story of Mr. King, who was gentle throughout the battle?
I was shocked by the fact that Abraham Lincoln really wasn't completely supportive of freeing the slaves, but instead found his motivation completely in winning the war.I have always thought that he was almost a white abolitionist, but now I have discovered that my assumption was untrue. Tommy
As Tommy above mentioned, I was too, very surprised to know that President Lincoln was not fully supportive on freeing the slaves. These pages opened my eyes on how hard it was for the African Americans, and how they were treated by whites. What was agonizing and very frustrating to read was that, so many times, the African Americans would fight for their rights and become victorious, only to be pushed back down and denied by the whites. The worst part was that, although there were ammendments granting rights to everyone, the supreme court would make up excuses to African Americans as to why those did not apply to them. I am so thankful for the African American heroes, who strived to bring equality to all.
I was shocked to find out how many people actually hated the African Americans. All through school you hear about presidents and well known figures who pitied and sought to help the blacks. The author claimed that Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation unwillingly, and Teddy Roosevelt thought that blacks were generally dumb and not fit to governthemselves. It really opened alot of doors. -Griffin
I was really surprised to learn about the severity of the punishments that were inflicted upon blacks and just the way that they were treated by white men in general. I mean, I knew that they were treated unfairly with violence, but I didn't know that it was that bad. Near the end of the section that we read, Archer said that there was this 15 year old black boy who was killed for "eyeballing" a white girl. Another incident that caught me was when that man was burned at the stake for killing his owner and the owners family, like Suzanne said above.
I was also shocked when I found out that the main reason that Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation was to keep the Union from falling to the south and it wasn't to free the slaves. I've always thought that he signed the document because he hated slavery and was trying to make things right, not to win a war, basically. I find all of this information to be really interesting and I can't wait to read on.
The first thing that always came to my mind when having to think about the the African-American movements of this time was Martin Luther King's style of non-violent protests. After reading the first thirty-five pages of this book, It is news to my ears that the majority of protests conducted by people other than Mr. King himself were actually violent protests, and very violent protests most of the time as a matter of fact. Another thing that really stuck to me was that I was always taught that some major faces in American government who were not African-American, like Abraham Lincoln, were people who really did try to make a difference in African-American lives because they really wanted to try and end racism in America. However, from what the authors bitter sentences have taught me, people such as Honest Abe tried to help African-Americans as a political move, trying really just to help themselves. In this case Honest Abe really wasn't so honest after all. This book really opens up your mind to reality. -Masoud
There were so many new things that came up in these first 35 pages, the introduction. I have never heard of any of the black organizations supporting the civil rights movement, and out of all the organizations from either side of the civil rights movement, have only heard of one segregative organization- the Ku Klux Klan. I was surprised to read about all the horrific things the Klan did, especially how they lynched blacks to serve as a reminder to blacks of their place in the social pyramid. To tell you the truth, I never knew there was a thing called lynching. These 35 pages astonished me about how horrible the white treatment to blacks actually were from the 1700's to the late 1900's. The last thing that surprised me was how arrogant the whites were and how they thought they were superior to any other race. Whites did not want blacks to be put to the same social status as theirs even to the point of murder and not obeying the law. Local police at some points, would not even fight against the white assaulters. This book, even the first 35 pages, gives you a whole different point of view about black treatment back in the day. -A.K.W.
I thought that it was interesting that the African-Americans had so many ways for change during the Civil Rights movements. For example, MLK believed that peaceful marches, protests, and speeches were the best way for equality while Malcom X wanted equality through violent arguements. -Preston E.
I thought the most interesting fact was the entire culture of discrimination during slavery; while there were some people that opposed discrimination, the vast majority of the people conformmed to the view that African Americans were inferior. It seemed interesting to think about the affect of culture on individual thinking, and I could not help but wonder what my views would have been in this epoch of history. The provoking image of a little boy asking to see a man killed in a different way makes be wonder if he really thought it correct for African Americans to be treated that way or if his environment coerced him into thinking such. I also found it intersting that many African Americans supported immigration to another country as an alternative to freedom in the country they have lived in all their lives. It was enlightening to see history written by African Americans instead of whites, and I am impressed that so many people managed to show courage in an culture of hate.
I was shocked to learn of the sheer number of slaves/blacks were killed. I had previously believed that much fewer had died. I also did not know that Abraham Lincoln did not support black freedom, he only signed the Emancipation Proclamation to hold the Union together.
I was shocked that Abraham Lincoln only signed the Emancipation Proclamation to keep the Union strong and unattainable by the South. It surprised me because I had always believed that Lincoln had signed the document for the slaves freedom, not for them to become soldiers and help the Union. Another shocking thing was how cruelly blacks were treated and how inhuman they were punished. Being burned at a stake or publicly lynched because of you race is terrifying and horrible; Having to step out of the way for a white man to pass or give up a bus seat is just absurd. This book has opened up many vicious ways that blacks have been treated in the past. RJK
I was amazed that the whites were that cruel. So many blacks were tortured by the whites. Blacks were not treated like humans but like dirty animals. Even once the blacks go freedom they were treated badly. I didnt realize that that many slaves were killed, It was so different to read history from the other point of view. Now I realze that the white people did some very bad things
I was surprised at how cruel whites can be. The tortures they di to them i think were a bit extreme. I can see why the blacks wanted to be like whites and to be respected.
I would have expected the cold brutality inflicted upon blacks at the time period this section frames, but seeing the shadowed perspectives of segregation coming from an African-American himself brings a new facet of thinking into actuality. Textbooks and many hackneyed depictions tend to glaze over emotions when they describe this form of dehumanization, but the author uses a bitter, if angry tone throughout his words, that transfer all sorts of dark feelings to the reader. Even though portions of it are strongly biased, it lets you know how these events might actually be experienced towards someone at the butt of the joke during this time. Gives you a new side of the story, to abridge it all.
I was quite surprised by how African-Americans were crually treated. I mean, I knew at that time, they were segregated from the whites and were treated as slaves, but seeing from their perspectives, I never thought it would've been so vicious. That's probably because I might have only read the writings of the whites. Anyway, the author clearly showed the pain the African-Americans went through (although the some parts were biased) and now I can see how the situation was to both whites and African-Americans during that time.
What shocked me was that the fact that the preists and ministers were segregating against the african americans. And especially the african americans in the military, they should at least get some respect. And I can see whites hanging or killing on the spot for murdering innocent whitee children and masters, but like ben tanous said...for eyeballing! That is taking it to the extreme. But they are all free now and there still is still minor segregating going on now, but it is mostly gone now.
I was surprised to learn that many of the slaves revolted against their owners. I also learned that the severity of their punishment was much more harsh than I had known before. I feel like the author not only was completely bias, but he portrayed all whites as cruel and cold-hearted but that was not entirely true. In fact, there were a lot of whites willing to help slaves approach a better life. -Ashley B.
I thought it was interesting to read a historical survey by an African American historian. Archer's bitter tone certainly was merited. Though I was a History minor at Michigan State, some of the history he presented was new to me. Other events/episodes I remembered but their depiction in my history books was a bit whitewashed. For example, Archer's depiction of our beloved forefather,Abraham Lincoln, focused on his flawed rhetoric of desiring a united nation while denying a good portion of its citizens consideration. I always thought his motivation for the Emancipation Proclamation was more than swaying the Union's odds. I didn't realize his deep seeded racism lasted as long as it did. The story of Mrs. Lincoln sending Frederick Douglass Lincoln's walking stick after his death was pretty cool. Seemed symbolic to me...march on, continue doing the good work.
ReplyDeleteI am deeply shocked how African Americans were treated in former time periods of U.S. history. In the introduction, Jules Archer, in They Had a Dream, talks about how blacks were forced to step in the gutters to let whites pass on the sidewalk. How ridiculous! Archer also writes about the 156,000 black Union army troops, which earned Congressional Medals of Honor after 39 major battles. However, the white troops who won the medals received much better treatment than the black troops with the award. I am especially disturbed by the horrible names that were thrown at African Americans. In 1619, the British kidnapped twenty African Americans and imported them to Virginia as bound servants, referring to them as “ignoble savages”! How is it that they do not even consider people of different skin colors as equal human beings? As William Lloyd Garrison once questioned the morality of the whites, “This is a man of God?”
ReplyDelete~Victor Zhang
I was very surprised how many times that amendments and laws had to be created for the majority of americans to grasp that the complete concept of racism is virulent and unwanted. -Mary Katherine K.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to learn that Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation to keep the north from breaking apart. In all of the history books that I have read, they never mention that Lincoln signed the document to keep the north from breaking apart. I was also surprised by the cruelty of the people. Burning a slave for killing a white family seemed cruel. However killing a whole family would probably result in the death penalty in our society. If the people believed the man should die, he should have been killed in a more humane way.
ReplyDelete-Suzanne Z
Of all the facts and scenarios given, the one that stuck out the most for me was that the blacks, when sharing a narrow street with a white person who was walking in the opposite direction, were expected to step into the gutter. I'm also disgusted with the cold indifference and cruel slurs directed towards the colored people and was surprised, to say the least, when I found out that Lincoln helped the slaves only as a political move.
ReplyDeleteBut, even after reading the section a handful of time, the thing that shocked me most was not anything that was said, but rather the tone it was said in. The author had every right to be biased but flaunted that right to the extremes, in my honest opinion. It is one thing to tell us all the shocking things the whites did and quite another to excuse all crimes committed by the blacks in retaliation. Sometimes the way to peace is fraught with violence but in the case of Martin Luther King Junior, at least, that is not always so. How will such an angry, bitter man tell the story of Mr. King, who was gentle throughout the battle?
I was shocked by the fact that Abraham Lincoln really wasn't completely supportive of freeing the slaves, but instead found his motivation completely in winning the war.I have always thought that he was almost a white abolitionist, but now I have discovered that my assumption was untrue.
ReplyDeleteTommy
As Tommy above mentioned, I was too, very surprised to know that President Lincoln was not fully supportive on freeing the slaves. These pages opened my eyes on how hard it was for the African Americans, and how they were treated by whites. What was agonizing and very frustrating to read was that, so many times, the African Americans would fight for their rights and become victorious, only to be pushed back down and denied by the whites. The worst part was that, although there were ammendments granting rights to everyone, the supreme court would make up excuses to African Americans as to why those did not apply to them. I am so thankful for the African American heroes, who strived to bring equality to all.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked to find out how many people actually hated the African Americans. All through school you hear about presidents and well known figures who pitied and sought to help the blacks. The author claimed that Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation unwillingly, and Teddy Roosevelt thought that blacks were generally dumb and not fit to governthemselves. It really opened alot of doors.
ReplyDelete-Griffin
I was really surprised to learn about the severity of the punishments that were inflicted upon blacks and just the way that they were treated by white men in general. I mean, I knew that they were treated unfairly with violence, but I didn't know that it was that bad. Near the end of the section that we read, Archer said that there was this 15 year old black boy who was killed for "eyeballing" a white girl. Another incident that caught me was when that man was burned at the stake for killing his owner and the owners family, like Suzanne said above.
ReplyDeleteI was also shocked when I found out that the main reason that Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation was to keep the Union from falling to the south and it wasn't to free the slaves. I've always thought that he signed the document because he hated slavery and was trying to make things right, not to win a war, basically. I find all of this information to be really interesting and I can't wait to read on.
-Ben T
The first thing that always came to my mind when having to think about the the African-American movements of this time was Martin Luther King's style of non-violent protests. After reading the first thirty-five pages of this book, It is news to my ears that the majority of protests conducted by people other than Mr. King himself were actually violent protests, and very violent protests most of the time as a matter of fact. Another thing that really stuck to me was that I was always taught that some major faces in American government who were not African-American, like Abraham Lincoln, were people who really did try to make a difference in African-American lives because they really wanted to try and end racism in America. However, from what the authors bitter sentences have taught me, people such as Honest Abe tried to help African-Americans as a political move, trying really just to help themselves. In this case Honest Abe really wasn't so honest after all. This book really opens up your mind to reality.
ReplyDelete-Masoud
There were so many new things that came up in these first 35 pages, the introduction. I have never heard of any of the black organizations supporting the civil rights movement, and out of all the organizations from either side of the civil rights movement, have only heard of one segregative organization- the Ku Klux Klan. I was surprised to read about all the horrific things the Klan did, especially how they lynched blacks to serve as a reminder to blacks of their place in the social pyramid. To tell you the truth, I never knew there was a thing called lynching. These 35 pages astonished me about how horrible the white treatment to blacks actually were from the 1700's to the late 1900's. The last thing that surprised me was how arrogant the whites were and how they thought they were superior to any other race. Whites did not want blacks to be put to the same social status as theirs even to the point of murder and not obeying the law. Local police at some points, would not even fight against the white assaulters. This book, even the first 35 pages, gives you a whole different point of view about black treatment back in the day.
ReplyDelete-A.K.W.
I thought that it was interesting that the African-Americans had so many ways for change during the Civil Rights movements. For example, MLK believed that peaceful marches, protests, and speeches were the best way for equality while Malcom X wanted equality through violent arguements.
ReplyDelete-Preston E.
I thought the most interesting fact was the entire culture of discrimination during slavery; while there were some people that opposed discrimination, the vast majority of the people conformmed to the view that African Americans were inferior. It seemed interesting to think about the affect of culture on individual thinking, and I could not help but wonder what my views would have been in this epoch of history. The provoking image of a little boy asking to see a man killed in a different way makes be wonder if he really thought it correct for African Americans to be treated that way or if his environment coerced him into thinking such. I also found it intersting that many African Americans supported immigration to another country as an alternative to freedom in the country they have lived in all their lives. It was enlightening to see history written by African Americans instead of whites, and I am impressed that so many people managed to show courage in an culture of hate.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked to learn of the sheer number of slaves/blacks were killed. I had previously believed that much fewer had died. I also did not know that Abraham Lincoln did not support black freedom, he only signed the Emancipation Proclamation to hold the Union together.
ReplyDelete-James C
I was shocked that Abraham Lincoln only signed the Emancipation Proclamation to keep the Union strong and unattainable by the South. It surprised me because I had always believed that Lincoln had signed the document for the slaves freedom, not for them to become soldiers and help the Union.
ReplyDeleteAnother shocking thing was how cruelly blacks were treated and how inhuman they were punished. Being burned at a stake or publicly lynched because of you race is terrifying and horrible; Having to step out of the way for a white man to pass or give up a bus seat is just absurd. This book has opened up many vicious ways that blacks have been treated in the past.
RJK
I was amazed that the whites were that cruel. So many blacks were tortured by the whites. Blacks were not treated like humans but like dirty animals. Even once the blacks go freedom they were treated badly. I didnt realize that that many slaves were killed, It was so different to read history from the other point of view. Now I realze that the white people did some very bad things
ReplyDelete- Cayman Seagraves
I was surprised at how cruel whites can be. The tortures they di to them i think were a bit extreme. I can see why the blacks wanted to be like whites and to be respected.
ReplyDeleteI would have expected the cold brutality inflicted upon blacks at the time period this section frames, but seeing the shadowed perspectives of segregation coming from an African-American himself brings a new facet of thinking into actuality. Textbooks and many hackneyed depictions tend to glaze over emotions when they describe this form of dehumanization, but the author uses a bitter, if angry tone throughout his words, that transfer all sorts of dark feelings to the reader. Even though portions of it are strongly biased, it lets you know how these events might actually be experienced towards someone at the butt of the joke during this time. Gives you a new side of the story, to abridge it all.
ReplyDeleteI was quite surprised by how African-Americans were crually treated. I mean, I knew at that time, they were segregated from the whites and were treated as slaves, but seeing from their perspectives, I never thought it would've been so vicious. That's probably because I might have only read the writings of the whites. Anyway, the author clearly showed the pain the African-Americans went through (although the some parts were biased) and now I can see how the situation was to both whites and African-Americans during that time.
ReplyDelete~Jeesoo Koo~
What shocked me was that the fact that the preists and ministers were segregating against the african americans. And especially the african americans in the military, they should at least get some respect. And I can see whites hanging or killing on the spot for murdering innocent whitee children and masters, but like ben tanous said...for eyeballing! That is taking it to the extreme. But they are all free now and there still is still minor segregating going on now, but it is mostly gone now.
ReplyDeleteWAlker c.
I was surprised to learn that many of the slaves revolted against their owners. I also learned that the severity of their punishment was much more harsh than I had known before.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the author not only was completely bias, but he portrayed all whites as cruel and cold-hearted but that was not entirely true. In fact, there were a lot of whites willing to help slaves approach a better life.
-Ashley B.