African Americans and Civil Rights: From 1619 to the Present

This concise well-written narrative chronicles the struggle for African American civil rights over a period of more than 350 years. Beginning in 1619 when the first African slave ship arrived in America and continuing to the present, the author gives readers a balanced overview of how U.S. laws have prevented blacks from having the same civil rights as others. The text is accompanied by a series of detailed biographical sketches that describe the roles played by many individuals who have worked to advance -- or block -- the civil rights of African Americans. Also presented is the wide range of arguments used by black civil rights activists to further their cause throughout history. This book, which includes a chronology, glossary, and comprehensive bibliography, will help its readers gain a deeper understanding of current racial issues as they study the long and turbulent history of the movement for African American civil rights in America.

This well-written narrative, concise but packed with history, chronicles the struggle for African American civil rights. Beginning in 1619 when the first ship carrying Africans arrived in North America and continuing to the present, historian Michael L. Levine gives readers a balanced overview of how U.S. laws have prevented blacks from having the same civil rights as others. The text is accompanied by 65 detailed biographical sketches that describe the roles played by key individuals who worked to advance—or block—the civil rights of African Americans.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [295]-316) and index.

MICHAEL L. LEVINE, Ph.D., is a freelance editor for Charles Scribner's Reference Books, Macmillan, Inc., where he is editor for Encyclopedia of American Legislative History, Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, and Encyclopedia of Latin American History.

Preface vii

CHAPTER 1:West Africa, the Atlantic Slave Trade, and the Americas 1

CHAPTER 2:The Colonial Era: 1619-1763 16

CHAPTER 3:The Era of the American Revolution: 1764-1820 37

CHAPTER 4: The Antebellum Years: 1820-1860 57

CHAPTER 5: The Civil War and Reconstruction: 1861-1877 83

CHAPTER 6: The Triumph of White Racism: 1878-1915 109

CHAPTER 7: World War I through the Great Depression: 1914-1941 140

CHAPTER 8: World War II and the Postwar Years: 1941-1960 166

CHAPTER 9: The Civil Rights Revolution, Black Power, and White Backlash: 1960-1968183

CHAPTER 10: Progress and Setbacks in a Conservative Era: 1969 to the Present 209

Biographies 249Chronology 277Glossary 289Further Reading 295Index 317