Essays and Research Papers on Slavery & Civil Rights

This 5 page paper considers the argument that few playwrights have pursued the representation of Black culture theatrically, and then goes on to demonstrate the value of this process through the development of characters and cultural elements in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun and Les Blancs. This paper not only considers the nature ...

A 7 page paper which assesses the amount and type of influence that white literary movements had on the distinctive literature that arose in Harlem in the 1920s. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

A 5 page analysis of three articles on the origins of slavery. Eric Williams, Winthrop D. Jordan and David Brion Davis offer three contrasting views on the origins of slavery and how slavery interacted with the development of racism. While each view is logical and based on historical fact, the three perspectives differ considerably in their ...

A 5 page analysis of Howard Jones' account of the Amistad case, in which black captives seized control of a slave ship in the early 1800s and tried to return to Africa. The writer argues that Jones demonstrates how the repercussions of the Amistad case went far beyond its immediate effect on the defendants, but ...

A 7 page research paper that examines the white male backlash against affirmative action and offers a rebuttal against some of the assumed ideas of this movement. The writer argues that there are numerous misconceptions concerning affirmative action and that these programs are still needed. Bibliography lists 9 sources.

A 10 page research paper that examines what the framers of the Constitution included regarding the institution of slavery. The writer addresses why slavery was included when, presumably, the nation was founded on principles of equality and also details the ongoing debate as to whether the framers of the Constitution regarded slavery as a constitutional ...

This three page paper discusses the theoretical perspective that African American women were instrumental in the labor movement moving forward for women in the last 150 years.

A 7 page research paper that examine several books as to how they portray what life was like for slaves in the colonial and antebellum South. Bibliography lists 5 books.

A five page paper looking at the contribution of this little-known nineteenth-century black abolitionist writer. Specific works discussed include 'A Treatise on the Intellectual Character and Civil and Political Condition of the Colored People of the United States and the Prejudice Exercised Towards Them,' and 'Resolutions of the People of Color'. No additional sources.

This five page-paper presents the story of Abraham Lincoln's journey to the presidency and the abolishment of slavery. Bibliography lists four sources.

This 2 page paper considers the symbolic value of the items that the narrator collects in his briefcase and those items that he eventually discards. No additional sources cited.

This 12 page paper presents the development of the Nation of Islam in Chicago and its emerging importance as a component of the stabilization of the Black community. This paper argues that the development of the Nation of Islam led to the creation of Chicago as it currently exists, and defines the correlation between the Nation of Islam and ...

5 pages. This excellent paper reviews the book by Anne Moody as it describes her turbulent life growing up black in Mississippi. In this tense and very interesting book, author Anne Moody describes to the reader a society that is unlike anything most of us have ever experienced. Anne Moody was one of the ...

The slave narrative has been a subject that has held the interest of contemporary historians as well as literary critics. The relative abundance of narratives of women in slavery has led to a number of feminist perspectives. This 10 page paper explores three such narratives: Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs, The Narrative of ...

A 7 page paper that examines Harriet Beecher Stowe's classic 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. An analysis of the characters of Arthur Shelby, Mr. Haley, and Simon Legree is presented as well as the underlying theme that entwines these characters. Also included is an excerpt from Eliza's flight and its relation to the ...

A 5 page paper that presents a general overview of David Remnick's King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero. Discussed is the effective technique Remnick employed by including a rich background of historical detail and the enrichment and comprehension this detail added to the story of the life ...

A 5 page overview of the concepts of play and recreation and how they related to black children during slavery. Emphasizes that play was shaped by the environment and that while black children may have not had much leisure time they assuredly engaged in a diversity of play and leisure activities. These activities ...

This 8 page report discusses the involvement of African-American troops and regiments in the Civil War. The struggle for the right to become a “Colored Yankee Soldier” lasted for two years of the Civil War before President Lincoln knew that the time had finally come to take advantage of the many “colored” soldiers willing but not allowed to fight. Initially, the ...

A 20 page paper discussing the origins and activities of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. The group was portrayed in the press in the late 1960s and early 1970s only as a militant hate organization, a claim not without validity. However, the Panthers also worked for social ...

A 5 page evaluation of the truths presented in Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" regarding discrimination as supported by the findings of John Howard Griffin in "Black Like Me". Examines the contention in "To Kill a Mockingbird" that to understand someone you have to live in their skin. Suggests that the author ...

5 pages in length. Sojourner Truth exposes her defiance toward the system's rules, which, as she points out, have all been designed by men, for men. Eloquent in both style and approach, Truth does not allow her gender to get in the way of insisting that nowhere in the framework of human rights has ...

This 5 page paper provides an in depth study of this infamous event in the civil rights movement. Key players such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. are discussed. Also, President Clinton's memory of the 1955 event, as well as his honoring of Parks long after the boycott, are duly noted. Bibliography ...

(6pp) Two developments after 1900 laid the foundations for the black urban ghetto: the industrialization of American and collapse of southern agriculture, followed by black worker migration from farms to cities. Fears by white citizens, greed and mismanagement by the federal government kept them in place. Bibliography lists 9 sources. ...

This 3 page paper presents a summary of the decision and delves into the question as to whether or not the judge's opinion regarding the times is accurate. Well known works are used to explore the cultural climate in the 1770's and the 1850's. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 7 page overview of the life and contributions of Malcolm Little, the man who would come to be known as Malcolm X during the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Discusses the dichotomy of societies memory of this man and the changes in that memory over time. Concludes that perhaps this ...