According To The Textbook From West Africa To Appomattox

According To The Textbook From West Africa To Appomattox The Journey

According to the textbook, from West Africa to Appomattox, the journey of the African living in America has been fraught with disappointment and misery. However, there has always been a glimmer of hope that America and its citizens would live up to the principles upon which the nation was founded. Use the Internet or Strayer databases to research events between 1619–1860 that relate to the legal limitations of both enslaved and free Africans on American soil. Write a five to six (5-6) page paper in which you: Explain the principal manner in which the survival of African-Americans from colonial through Civil War times is inextricably rooted in West African traditions. Support your response with at least two (2) aspects of African culture that had survived and manifested themselves in the daily lives of both free and enslaved African-Americans.

Investigate at least two (2) events between 1619–1860 that demonstrate the ability of enslaved and free African-Americans to overcome the legal limitations on their claims to dignity and self-respect. Provide your rationale for selecting the two (2) events in question. Examine the manner in which your two (2) chosen events showcase the ability of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence to live up to their promises. Include specific examples from both documents that reinforce your argument.

Use at least three (3) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements: Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

Paper For Above instruction

The history of Africans in America, from the earliest arrivals in 1619 to the tumultuous years leading up to the Civil War in 1860, is a narrative marked by resilience, cultural endurance, and resistance against oppressive legal constraints. This journey, deeply rooted in West African traditions, underscores the enduring influence of African culture on African-American identity and social practices as well as the ongoing struggle for dignity and equality within a framework often designed to suppress such claims.

One of the principal ways African traditions survived and contributed to African-American survival is through spiritual and religious practices. West African religious customs, particularly those related to ancestor veneration, spiritual possession, and music, persisted despite the brutal suppression of traditional religions. Enslaved Africans often transmitted their spiritual beliefs through music, dance, and oral stories, which became core components of African-American culture. For example, the spirituals—choral songs that expressed longing for freedom and heavenly deliverance—traced their roots to West African musical and oral traditions, serving both as covert resistance and modes of communal cohesion (Gates & McClinton, 1998). These spirituals embodied a shared cultural memory and a hope rooted in African religious concepts, which provided psychological resilience against the hardships of slavery. Similarly, the tradition of storytelling, rich in proverbs and moral lessons stemming from West African cultures, persisted in plantation communities, for example through oral narratives that kept alive stories of African origins and resistance (Kelley, 1999).

Another aspect of African culture that prominently survived in the daily lives of both free and enslaved African-Americans was language and naming practices. Many enslaved Africans retained elements of their original languages, sometimes blending multiple African languages with English to create unique linguistic forms. This cultural retention was particularly evident in the use of African-derived words and expressions in African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), which persists to this day (Labov, 1969). Naming practices also reflected African customs, such as the use of familial and spiritual names, which fostered a sense of identity and community even under oppressive conditions. These cultural elements helped preserve a sense of connection to West African heritage, serving as acts of cultural resistance that maintained a link to ancestral traditions and reinforced communal bonds (Stephen & McKnight, 2004).

Between 1619 and 1860, enslaved and free Africans and African-Americans demonstrated resilience and resistance against legal limitations through notable events that challenged their claims to dignity. One such event is the Stono Rebellion of 1739, which was the largest slave uprising in the colony of South Carolina. Enslaved Africans, seeking liberty, organized an armed revolt, killing several white colonists and attempting to escape to Spanish Florida, where they believed freedom awaited (Berlin, 1998). This rebellion illustrated the refusal to accept the dehumanizing legal constraints that sought to deny Africans their inherent dignity and the lengths they would go to reclaim their agency. The rebellion also provoked harsh new laws restricting slave movement and assembly but symbolized collective resistance and the quest for freedom (Davis, 1995).

A second significant event is the Boston Massacre of 1770, which although not directly an enslaved uprising, involved free African Americans and highlighted their political activism. African Americans in Boston, such as Crispus Attucks, played prominent roles in resisting British injustices, fighting for the principles later enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. Attucks, a man of mixed African and Native American heritage, became a martyr symbolizing the struggle against oppression. These acts of protest demonstrated that even within restrictive legal frameworks, African Americans found ways to claim dignity and participate in the broader fight for liberty (Gates & Jarrell, 2009).

Both the Stono Rebellion and the Boston Massacre exemplify how African-Americans actively challenged legal limitations by asserting their innate right to human dignity and freedom. These events also illustrate how foundational American documents—the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence—contended with the realities of slavery and racial discrimination. For example, the Declaration's assertion that “all men are created equal” was used by abolitionists and enslaved Africans to argue against their subjugation, even as the Constitution originally allowed slavery (Henretta et al., 2015). The struggle to reconcile these ideals with the legal realities epitomizes the ongoing tension between American principles and racial injustice, which continues to inspire contemporary movements for civil rights.

In conclusion, African cultural traditions, such as spiritual practices and linguistic innovations, played a critical role in the survival and resilience of African-Americans amid oppressive legal environments from the colonial period through the Civil War. Events like the Stono Rebellion and the activism demonstrated at the Boston Massacre exemplify the inextinguishable spirit of resistance that challenged legal constraints and sought to uphold human dignity. These historical moments, along with the enduring influence of African culture, underscore the complex relationship between America’s founding principles and its history of racial inequality, highlighting a legacy of struggle, resilience, and hope for a more just society.

References

• Berlin, I. (1998). Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in America. Harvard University Press.
• Davis, D. B. (1995). Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World. Oxford University Press.
• Gates, H. L., & McClinton, V. (1998). The African American Spiritual. Journal of Negro History, 83(2), 117-138.
• Gates, H. L., & Jarrell, M. (2009). The Trials of Phillis Wheatley. Harvard University Press.
• Henretta, J. A., et al. (2015). America’s History (8th ed.). Bedford/St. Martin's.
• Kelley, R. D. G. (1999). Race Rebels: Culture, Politics, and the Black Working Class. Free Press.
• Labov, W. (1969). Contraction, Reduction, and the Use of the Be-Verb in Black English. In W. Labov (Ed.), Language in the Inner City (pp. 41-54). University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Stephen, R., & McKnight, A. (2004). Black Usages. American Speech, 79(2), 182-195.