African INFLUENCE
IMMIGRATION
SUMMARY: The African experience in America has been uniquely central to the course of American life. Unlike most other immigrant groups, many of the African immigrants came to America against their will, starting in the 1600s up until the 1800s, caught up in a brutal system of human exploitation. For centuries, African Americans fought for freedom, dignity, and equality in society that entirely transformed the nation and shaped it into the United States today. Almost all aspects of life in the United States has been touched by the African American thinkers, workers, artists, activists, and organizers; including institutions, customs, and daily practice.
ANALYSIS: The African American existence in the U.S. has influenced the fundamental ideas and principles in which the United States was built. The idea that “all men were created equal” was challenged especially during the Civil War from 1861-1865 and the Civil Rights movement from 1955-1968. These marked learning eras for the United States, to learn to live by the basic principles that America was based on, and execute the idea of freedom for all. Eventually, movements for equality inspired by African Americans, transformed the United States into the nation it is today. The African American experience has contributed to the nation’s prosperity: economically, politically, and culturally, by promoting the idea of a united nation, by which all citizens have a right to freedom and equality. These concepts are still used and tested today through more recent events, however, American society would not be as proactive as it is today, if it weren't for these obstacles presented in the past.