The Slave Bible exemplifies how religion was weaponized to sustain slavery. Officially titled Parts of the Holy Bible, Selected for the Use of the Negro Slaves, in the British West-India…
Category: Slavery
In 1865, Congress Created the Freemen’s Bureau. But, Sometimes, Good Intentions Breeds Detractors.
Establishment The Freedmen’s Bureau was established on March 3, 1865. It was officially known as the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. Congress created it during the closing months…
Mary Ellen Pleasant: Pioneer, Entrepreneur, Benefactor
Mary Ellen Pleasant, an African American entrepreneur and abolitionist, is renowned for her efforts in the Underground Railroad and her support of the abolitionist movement. She used her considerable resources…
Civil Rights Act of 1871: Combating the Ku Klux Klan
The Civil Rights Act of 1871, enacted by the United States Congress during the turbulent Reconstruction Era, is a landmark in American legislative history. Its passage was prompted by a…
The Lost Cause Myth, A Cycle of Historical Distortion and Racial Oppression. At The Start of The Jim Crow Era.
The Lost Cause myth and the Jim Crow era, two intricately woven threads in the fabric of American history, share a complex and troubled relationship. Emerging from the ashes of…
Invisible Shackles: The Impact of Black Codes on African Americans In The Years Immediately Following the Civil War.
After the Civil War, as the nation grappled with the aftermath of slavery, the question of freed Black people’s status in the South remained unresolved. The Black Codes were created,…
Forced Labor and Legal Loopholes: Conviction and Forced Labor After the 13th Amendment and Vagrancy Act of 1866
The Vagrancy Act of 1866 and the 13th Amendment are connected through their impact on the legal status and treatment of individuals considered vagrants or prisoners, particularly in the context…
Blind Tom Wigging, Musical Prodigy Who Suffered Exploitation At The Hands Of Those Who Enslaved Him
Thomas Greene Wiggins, known as “Blind Tom,” was a musical prodigy born into slavery. Despite his blindness and autism, his musical talent was revealed early, as he echoed sounds and…
George Latimer and The Fugitive Slave Act
George Latimer was born into slavery in Virginia, but he managed to escape to Massachusetts in 1842. However, in 1848, he was recaptured in Boston. Latimer was faced with the…
Thaddeus Stevens, Advocate for Abolitionism and Racial Equality
Thaddeus Stevens (1792 to 1868), a Pennsylvania native, rose from modest beginnings to become a lawyer and a prominent advocate for abolitionism and racial equality. As a member of the…