Answer to Question 1
The African American (black) experience has been one uniquely marked
by slavery, segregation, and persistent discrimination. By the 1660s,
indentured servanthood had turned into full-fledged slavery with the
enactment of laws in states such as Virginia that sanctioned the
enslavement of African Americans. Between 1619 and the 1860s, about
500,000 African Americans were forcibly brought to North America,
primarily to work on southern plantations, and these actions were justified
by the devaluation and stereotyping of African Americans. Some analysts
believe that the central factor associated with the development of slavery
in this country was the plantation system, which was heavily dependent on
cheap and dependable manual labor. Slavery continued in the South until
1863, when it was abolished by the Emancipation Proclamation. Gaining
freedom did not give African Americans equality with whites. African
Americans were subjected to many indignities because of race. Through
informal practices in the North and Jim Crow laws in the South. African
Americans experienced segregation in housing, employment, education,
and all public accommodations. African Americans who did not stay in
their place were often the victims of violent attacks and lynch mobs.
Lynching is a killing carried out by a group of vigilantes seeking revenge
for an actual or imagined crime by the victim. In the twentieth century, the
lives of many African Americans were changed by industrialization and
two world wars.
When factories were built in the northern United States, many African American families left
the rural South in hopes of finding jobs and a better life. During World Wars I and II, African
Americans were a vital source of labor in war production industries. In World War II, many
African Americans fought for their country in segregated units in the military. African
Americans began to demand sweeping societal changes in the 1950s.
Initially, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement used civil
disobediencenonviol ent actions seeking to change a policy or law by refusing to comply
with itto call attention to racial inequality and to demand greater inclusions of African
Americans in all areas of public life. Gradually, racial segregation was outlawed by the
courts and the federal government. For example, the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965
sought to do away with discrimination in education, housing, employment, and health care.
Affirmative action programs were instituted in both public-sector and private-sector
organizations in an effort to bring about greater opportunities for African Americans. African
Americans today make up about 13 percent of the U.S. population. Since the 1960s, many
African Americans have made significant gains in politics, education, employment, and
income.
Answer to Question 2
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Rate of Residential Change, Past Year, in the United States
Change in American Gender Attitudes, 1977-2006 Over recent decades, views of gender roles have beco
In 1979 Islamic militants held American embassy workers hostage in Tehran.
Describe the development of atherosclerosis, including its role in the risk of heart disease
Many countries do not produce enough food and need to import food from the United States
GDP per Capita in the United States, 1870–2009 (Ratio Scale)