The Struggle for Black Equality in the History of United States Essay

The Struggle for Black Equality in the History of United States - Essay Example The Struggle for Black Equality in the History of United States Africans hitherto shipped into the country as slaves formed the indenture labor-force that neither qualified for the inalienable rights to â€Å"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness† nor incorporated as a part of the â€Å"People of the United States†; a status that their white counterparts wholesomely assumed with the declaration of independence from the colonial masters, the British. Contrary to the great wisdom of the founding fathers putting their hands in the ark of history by framing the guiding principles, the constitution not only protected slavery, but also prescribed punitive treatment for those who dared to escape. Against a backdrop of a series of adversities along racial or gender distinctions, African Americans, subordinated by other groups facing similar fate, resorted to civil rights movements, nonviolent protests, pleas, legal court challenges as well as petitions to the government of the day to realize gradual improvement in equality and fundame ntal civil rights. Arguably, the extension of voting rights to the non-property-owning white laborers in the first half of the 19th century officially instigated the advocacy for equal treatment. Noting the power of mass movements, the development led to increased suppression of the agitated native Indians, demanding uplifting of their status, with a concurrent freedom cap on free blacks; a scenario that precipitated the only effective slave rebellion in US history, the Turner slave revolt of 1831.