American life stories:
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Although Benjamin Franklin and Fredrick Douglass began their lives on the opposite sides of the black-white divide in America, their pers Continue Reading...
Stressing the shackles that slavery could latch to a man's mind, Douglass was given insight into the inherent transgression behind the bondage. And his ability to adopt such a perspective, while easy to underestimate from the distance of over a cent Continue Reading...
Women
The impact of slavery on the sexuality of African-American women has been largely overlooked for many years. In addition, the negative manner in which African-American Women are portrayed in the media has been a topic of debate in recent year Continue Reading...
Vann Woodward and Jim Crow
Evaluating the impact of Reconstruction social policy on blacks is more controversial due to the issue of segregation. Until the publication of C. Vann Woodward Strange Career of Jim Crow in 1955, the traditional view was Continue Reading...
The milestone that the Civil Rights Movement made as concerns the property ownership is encapsulated in the Civil Rights Act of 1968 which is also more commonly referred to as the Fair Housing Act, or as CRA '68. This was as a follow-up or reaffirm Continue Reading...
Slave Narrative and Black Autobiography - Richard Wright's "Black Boy" and James Weldon Johnson's Autobiography
The slave narrative maintains a unique station in modern literature. Unlike any other body of literature, it provides us with a first-han Continue Reading...
Second Reconstructions
One of the most dramatic consequences of the Civil War and Reconstruction was that the South was effectively driven from national power for roughly six decades. Southerners no longer claimed the presidency, wielded much power Continue Reading...
Racism and the American Ideals
Racial divisions in 19th century American culture excluded African-Americans and Native Americans from the American ideals of liberty and inclusion on a fundamental level. The pushing off the land (and slaughtering) of Continue Reading...
Revolution, Constitution and Enlightenment
The American Revolution and the ensuing U.S. Constitution put forward by the Federalists were both products of and directly informed by the European Enlightenment. The Founding Fathers were considerably infl Continue Reading...