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What Are The Historical Features Of The Year 1968 African-American History

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The year 1968 was arguably the most historic year in modern American history; the events that shaped this year would also shape the country. 1968 marked the end of the Civil Rights Movement, serving not only as a dramatic climax for the movement, but as a denouement for the period as well. For instance, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. highlighted the racial divide in the United States, but likewise worked on increasing compassion among white citizens and the government, helping to push towards advancements in racial equality. Furthermore, Tommie Smith and John Carlos’s protests against poverty, discrimination, and lynching during the Summer Olympics also played a major work in propelling the Civil Rights Movement for African-Americans …show more content…

Prior to 1865, the United States was a country laden with slave labor, and after Lincoln’s death had come an end to slave labor with the ratification of the 13th amendment. Before the amendment was passed, however, nearly half of the United States had legally allowed slavery and the slaves, African-Americans with a history tracing back to capture, shipment, and sale during the slave trade, were considered less than human. For the almost 200 years since colonists had first started to inhabit the United States as a dependency of Britain and nearly 100 years since the country had gained independence, the social structure of the United States had granted African-Americans no right other than to be property, traded as slaves, and forced to do labor. This social structure had been ingrained in American society and this ingraination had not simply disappeared with the abolition of slavery. The Civil Rights Movement worked as a “struggle for social justice” (“Civil Rights Movement”), especially during the 1950s and 1960s, for African-Americans to gain justice in the country, whether it be against legal, social, or economic discrimination in American society. The Civil Rights Movement is historically agreed upon to have occurred from 1954 to 1968 and although the year 1968 marked the end of the movement period, the year was no calm

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