different+rights

__**Why was it that different kinds of races had/have different rights?**__

While different races in other parts of the world also have different rights, the United States government's policy on slavery particularly infringed upon the rights of African Americans. In 1619, slaves were first brought over to the U.S. Even though slavery was made illegal in the Northwest Territory in 1787, the U.S. Constitution stated that Congress could not ban slave trade until 1808. In 1793, the invention of the cotton gin greatly increased the demand for free slave labor (picking cotton). Now that slave labor was a cheap source for big businesses, the government passed a fugitive slave law in 1793 to force the return of slaves who escaped and crossed state lines. This meant that even though some U.S. states did not allow slaves, even escaped slaves who were living in the non-slave states would have to be returned to their original state as a slave, by law. This despicable U.S. law CAN YOU LINK TO THE TEXT OF THE LAW? dictated that African American slaves had the same rights as other items owned by people, like cattle or farm animals. ([|Infoplease Timeline on Slavery])

Above: An African-American slave, Peter, shows his scars that he attained after harsh abuse from his plantation owner. (Picture taken in the middle of Civil War: 1863) INDICATE WHERE THE PICTURE COMES FROM (URL) -- THE LINK IS NOT WORKING.

Throughout the 1800's, slaves led various revolts (Nat Turner, etc.) but the result was the death of the participants and tougher state slave laws. In 1857, the Dred Scott case determined that Congress does not have the right to ban slavery in states and, furthermore, that slaves are not citizens. - [|Source]

Another example of how the government dictated that African Americans were to be counted differently from other races is the Three-Fifths compromise of 1787. The **[|Three-Fifths compromise]** was a compromise between the Southern and Northern states in which three-fifths of the population of slaves would be counted for purposes regarding for both the distribution of taxes and the of the members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Southern states wanted all slaves to be counted (so that they would get more taxes and representation) and the Northern states wanted only free people to be counted.

After slavery was abolished, African Americans still didn't have the same rights as other Americans. The Civil Rights Movement in the 1950's tried to equalize rights for African Americans. In 1948, President Truman signed an Executive Order, which stated, "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin." This only targeted people in the military. Somone who fought hard for the Civil Rights Movement was Martin Luther King Jr. This was a black man who did many positive things to contribute to the fight for the movement such as delievering his famous "I Have A Dream" speech. 200,000-300,000 people gathered around the Lincoln Memorial to hear Martin Luther King Jr. deliver this speech.

And for more Civil Rights visit this webpage:[|Infoplease Timeline on Slavery]

__Solutions for Slavery__

Underground Railroad: The underground railroad was a type of informal network used to get away from the troubles of slavery by escaping a plantation and escaping out of slave territory. Popular escape routes included destinations such as Canada, Mexico, northern states (such as Pennsylvania), and overseas. This system allowed for about 100,000 slaves to escape. A famous figure: Harriet Tubman made approx. 13 trips to the south and rescued about 70 slaves from slavery. - [|Source]

Another example of different races having different rights in the U.S. is Japanese-American interment camps. Approximately 120,000 Japanese-Americans were placed in these camps around the United States (mostly in California areas and on the West Coast) and were contained here after the bombing of Pearl Harbor (December 7th 1941). The U.S. government made it so that Japanese people living in the U.S. were forced to leave their homes and bring their families with them to live in these putrid containment camps. The only reason the U.S. government did this was because of the paranoia that went through their minds after the bombing. Put it this way, because a couple of Japanese from Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, as an act of war, any Japanese person that lives in America must suffer, and a good amount of them were patriotic towards America. Also, even if you were as little as 1/16 Japanese, you could be sent to one of these camps. ([|Japanese Internment Thinkquest])

Picture of a Japanese-American family of 9 getting ready to depart to an interment camp in California during WWII- [|Source]

Another perspective about these camps comes from a source from [|Johns Hopkins University from Martha Daly]:

"Imagine that one day you received notice that you and your whole family must be ready to move within 48 hours. You could take only the possessions you could carry and no one would tell you when you would be permitted to return home. Sound like a bad dream? This happened to over 100,000 United States citizens and legal residents during World War II. Your job is to find out why." ~ Martha Daly

An integrated racial group of children gather around the American flag after Japanese interment camps were dismissed (unsure where and when this picture was taken but most likely shortly after the Japanese interment camps were released): [|Source]

__Where Do I Want To Go Next?__

Do different races have different rights in other countries other than the U.S.?

So far in this wiki I have only looked at one aspect of racism and that is racism that occurred in the United States. I would like to expand my views beyond the United States and look into other countries. Here is a hyperlink that could help me follow through with my question: [|Global Issues]

I am particularly interested in looking at racism in Africa and expanding my wiki on this because I find it fascinating what kind of racism occurs there if humans originated from Africa in the first place.

AnnBibDuke