Discrimination Essay Research Paper Throughout history many

Discrimination Essay, Research Paper

Throughout history many different minority groups have been

discriminated against. Although some of these minority groups are hated

many members of these groups continue to make positive contributions to

American society that help shape our country. One of these individuals is

Jackie Robinson. His influence on the game of baseball has set standards for

all of baseball fans to admire. The message he made Americans realize is

that Blacks are just as capable of doing things as whites are, and any other

group for that matter.

Throughout most of American history African Americans have been

discriminated against for no reason other that the fact that their skin is a

different color. Hatred of blacks stems back to the days of slavery. Blacks

have arguably had it the toughest out of all of the minority groups in

American history. From being able to use the same bathrooms as whites to

not being able to attend school to not being able to hold a job just because of

the color of their skin.

The end of the civil war marked the time when the fight for equality

took full swing. After the war southern state legislators, dominated by

former confederates, passed laws known as black codes that severely limited

the rights of black. The codes were slightly different from state to state but

they usually contained limitations on black occupations and property owning.

In response to these laws, Congress, in 1866 seized the initiative of the

remaking of the south. Congress, especially the Republicans, wanted to

ensure that the south was correctly rebuilt with the newly freed blacks as

visible members of society. By 1868 integrated southern legislators had

repealed most of the laws that blatantly discriminated against blacks.

Many of these unjust codes in the south led to the creation of three

new constitutional amendments. The 13th amendment abolished slavery.

The 14th amendment made blacks citizens of the united states and prohibited

state laws that denied citizens equal protection under the law. the 15th

amendment, which was passed in 1870, prohibited racial discrimination in

voting. Congress also passed a number of enforcement acts designed to

implement the new amendments.

However, by 1877 the democratic party had regained control of the

southern states, ending reconstruction. The strides that blacks had made,

holding political offices, having the right to vote, and participating as equal

members of society, were reversed. With the Democrats in power, the south

gradually re-imposed racially discriminatory laws. In order to take away

black political power gained during reconstruction, the democratic party in

the south began to prevent them from voting. There were a variety of

methods to stop blacks from voting, including poll taxes, fees which were

charged at voting booths that most blacks could not afford, and literacy test,

which required that voters were able to read and write. Since it had been

illegal to teach slaves how to read, most adult former slaves were illiterate.

The democrats also began to create a segregated society that separated blacks

from whites in almost every sphere of life. They passed laws that created

separate schools and separate facilities.

In addition the supreme court turned its back on racial equality. In the civil

rights cases, the court declared that congress had no power to prevent private

acts of discrimination. Discrimination still exists today as much as you

would like to believe otherwise. It is unfortunate that it does and in some

cases there is nothing you can do about it. If I was to write this paper on the

amount of discriminations that blacks alone had to face it would be

impossible.

Before the 20th century several predominately white baseball teams

had at one time fielded black players. The first black player to become

widely known was John Jackson. For unknown reasons, he played baseball

under the name John Bud Fowler. The earliest mention of Fowlers a player

appeared in 1878, when he pitched for a team in Chealsa, Mass. Fowler also

played second base for several other primary white minor league clubs during

the 1870 s and 1880 s.

In 1883 manager Cap Anson of the Chicago White Stockings (later the

Chicago Cubs) announced that he would not allow his team to play any team

that had black players on their roster. When the White Stalking s played

Toledo the teams black catcher was kept out of the starting lineup, although

he joined the game later. In 1887 Anson carried out his threat, and a game

with Walker and black pitching star George Stovey was cancelled. Other

owners and managers later adopted Anson s policy. Fleet Walker and his

both Welday Walker were the last black players in baseball until 1947.

Jackie Robinson was the next African American to play major lea

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