Blog #11

      Our “Modern” America 

      When the topic of the Civil War is brought up, most people automatically think of a war between north and south or those that wanted equality versus those content with the way things were. There are events even to this day that are acts of hatred towards other people of different ethnicities. Although many people will say that the Civil War was America’s “second revolution,” in reality the Civil War was the beginning of “modern” America.

      In 1865 the Civil War officially ended and on December 6, the Thirteenth Amendment was passed which ended slavery. The era that began after the war was known as the Reconstruction Era and the goal was to help the south rebuild after their loss to the north in the war. Most southern states were not thrilled about the fact that the north was trying to help them with their transformation into a “modern” America. The people of the south were content with having slaves and people of darker skin being treated lower than their own. The people of the north were all about equality and fairness for all no matter what a person’s skin color is. The opposing views of the two sides caused controversy and each put up a stand for their own opinions and beliefs. 

      When the war ended there were three amendments that were ratified and passed which were instrumental in the beginning of our “modern” America. The thirteenth amendment abolished slavery; the fourteenth amendment allowed blacks to become citizens of the United States, and the fifteenth amendment allowed blacks the right to vote. The Civil Rights Acts were put into action in 1964 and 1968 and started the equalization of every individual in America. The laws passed in our nation’s history have made it so that equality is something far more realistic in our modern day. In Pre-Civil War days, blacks did not have any rights at all. It was unheard of for whites to even speak to someone with darker skin than their own. Now there are blacks and whites in classes together, working side-by-side, and living next door to each other. There are interracial relationships and marriages, and the numbers of biracial Americans is increasing daily.

      In American history there hasn’t been a good track record for equal rights between different races. People have the same legal rights, but some Americans will still look down on another who has a different color skin, it happens every single day. Equality is what we aim for. We still fight for equality 150 years after the Civil War is over. Our “modern” society has changed our ways dramatically and made opportunities for people equal. Equality is attempted, but just because we have those rights doesn’t mean that people are treated the same by others. We can live in a society where we pretend that everything is perfect, but most of the time it isn’t. There are many that still can’t get over what happened in the Civil War and those that still think and speak degradingly of another because of skin color. 

      In the article “Dying for Dixie” from Confederates in the Attic, there was a woman interviewed and she said, “Kids today, they’re weaker and wiser.” This woman was a black storekeeper from Todd County after the murder of Michael Wasserman, a case that occurred in the south in 1995. In actuality, the way she spoke of kids being weaker and wiser is real in the world right now. To this day there is still violence and stereotypical remarks coming from the north to the south. People are weaker and hurtful things cause lashing out and hostility towards those of the other race. Maybe people just don’t know about the steps that have moved racial discrimination way down and made equality between individuals more reachable now than in earlier years.

     People have opinions that make equality very difficult. Many point out the lows after the Civil War which still affects our society today.  However, there are many changes that have expanded and made our society grow. If the Civil War hadn’t ended the way that it did, there would be a large number of the population that would be greatly affected. Right now we have an African American president. That could not have even been imaginable 150 years ago. Even 50 years ago that would never have happened. Our society is integrated with people of different races at the work place, in our schools and even in our very own government. Before the Civil Rights Acts, African Americans couldn’t even receive an education with those who were white, let alone be in the same room with them. Equality is what we aim for. People will speak about not living in an equal society but equality is not an option because of people that don’t want it to happen.