The American Church Was Deeply Divided, Wielding the Same Bible as Both a Weapon of Oppression and a Tool of Liberation The American pulpit was profoundly divided. Ministers across the…
Tag: Slavery
“Tariffs, Taxes, and the Twilight of a Union: How Economic Tensions Shadowed the Road to the Civil War”
While slavery was undoubtedly the engine of this discord, there were other gears grinding in the background—less visible, perhaps, but no less significant. Among them: tariffs and taxes. In this…
To Preserve Slavery, Nothing Was Sacred. Not Even The Bible
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…
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…
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…
Joseph Hayne Rainey, First African American to serve in the United States House of Representatives.
Joseph Hayne Rainey was born into slavery on June 1832 in Georgetown, South Carolina. After the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, Joseph Rainey, like many other enslaved individuals, saw…
Harsh Realities. Who benefits, and who suffers and has suffered?
Our nation’s past is filled with stories of triumphs, but what about those times of oppression, darkness, and despair? What about the most horrid chapter of them all – the…