Under the Constitution drafted in 1787, the United States was meant to be a nation that established justice, promoted general welfare and protected the rights of all it citizens and their posterity. The constitution was meant to protect and provide rights to all citizens of the United States, including African Americans, American Indians and Women. Yet throughout history, there were many exemplars of discrimination towards certain minority groups within the United States. Throughout the 1830s to 1900, African Americans were treated horribly, often thought to be inferior to whites. Prior to the Civil War, many of these African Americans were slaves forced to do arduous work daily with no freedom, receiving contrasting treatments compared to their white counterparts. The same discrimination applied to American Indians. American Indians were thought as lazy brutes that were inferior to whites and deserved to receive poor treatments. Continuously, they were pushed out of their native lands and forced to comply to various regulations of the American government, losing practically everything they had. Women too, faced discrimination since they frequently received less or unequal rights to men. Only men were allowed to own property, to vote and to receive an education, women were not allow to have any of those privileges. All three discriminated groups took different actions in responses against discrimination. Most of them fought back against discrimination and tried to promote equal treatment to all, but ultimately their response to discrimination did not change much from 1830s to 1900s.
African Americans were one of the most prevalent discriminated against groups throughout the mid 1800s. Many of them lived as slaves in awful living conditions and had no freedom. As a result of the terrible treatment and discrimination, they fought back and rebelled for fair treatments. In 1831, a major slave rebellion led by Nat Turner in Southampton Virginia lead to the death of over 50 people. Believing divine voices Turner heard, Turner and the slaves fought against demeaning treatment of white owners and for better and equal treatment for blacks. Similarly, the Dred Scott case in 1857 was another example of blacks fighting against discrimination. Dred Scott believed that he should be emancipated after residing in a free state so he went to the Supreme Court for justice. In both cases, blacks fought for equal and fair treatment for all against discrimination or unfairness. They didn’t just sit there and allow whites to walk all over them, they fought back.
Likewise, throughout the Civil War and continuing all the way to 1900, African Americans persisted in fighting against discrimination and promoted equality. During the Civil War, many African Americans volunteered to fight and continued to do so despite racial prejudice not allowing them to do so previously. Even when they were underpaid and put into non-combative roles, they persisted in order to show that they deserve equal treatments. By the end of the civil war, there were over 180,000 black soldiers. Many of them, such as the 54th regiment made many honorable contributions. Next, during Reconstruction the 14th and 15th amendment gave blacks suffrage rights. However, due of discrimination many were still unable to vote because of black codes, poll taxes and grandfather clauses. Despite the various efforts of whites to segregate blacks, many blacks still attempted to cause a change. Some, for example John R. Lynch, even went for office positions to prove that blacks were capable too. Therefore from 1830 to 1900, the response of African Americans to discrimination did not change much; they continued to fight back against discrimination and tried to promote equal treatment for all by proving their capabilities.
Another minority group discriminated against were American Indians. In 1831, Andrew Johnson passed the Indian Removal Act, pushing Native Americans west into unsettled land. Native American first complied with the act until they later figured out the true intentions of American whites who wanted take all of their native lands for economic reasons. Fighting against unfair prejudice in 1831, the Cherokees went to court with Georgia. Georgia passed laws that violated treaties that the United States made with the Cherokees and stripped away land and rights from Native Americans. With Georgia unmistakably discriminating Cherokees and American Indians in general, Cherokees fought back in response to the discrimination they felt. Just like African Americans, they didn’t let whites walk all over them and treat them as inferior.
Furthermore, Native Americans continued to resist discrimination through many rebellions in the 1870s. Sick and tired of ineffective treaties doing nothing to prevent white Americans from seizing native lands and the worsening situation due to discovery of gold on native lands, the Sioux of Great Plains fought back. Occuring on June 25, 1876 and led by the two leaders of Sioux, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, the Battle of Little Bighorn is a prime example of Native American fighting back. Once again, the United States violated treaties they signed earlier by attempting to constrain Native Americans into reservation. Discriminated and neglected by the U.S government, the Sioux and later joined by Cheyenne tribesmen fought a winning battle against George A. Custer and prejudice of white Americans. Hence, through the early 1800s example with Cherokee vs. Georgia court case and the late 1800s example with the Battle of Little Bighorn, Native Americans didn’t back down when faced with discrimination. Their response to discrimination from 1830 to 1900 was constantly to fight back, to resist change, never willingly accepting discrimination.
Lastly, women made much efforts to battle discrimination. Always treated as an inferior and constantly receiving less rights than men, women faced segregation and injustice as well. Because of separate spheres, women and wives were thought to be stay at home wives and was under the control of their husbands. They were not allowed to vote, to own property nor were they allow to divorce their husband without permission. Frustrated by segregation at an anti slavery convention, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton decided to have a convention of their own for women fighting discrimination. Focusing on suffrage rights and equality for all genders, the Seneca Falls Women Rights Convention held in 1848 was the first women rights convention. A Declaration of Sentiments was drafted at this convention as well calling on women to take actions to fight for equality between men and women. Mott and Stanton, as well as a number of other women fought back in response to discrimination.
Unfortunately, women were still segregated after the civil war with the addition of the 14th and 15th amendment. The 14th amendment defines citizenship, stating that everyone born in the United States were citizen and nothing should take away the rights of life, liberty or property from men. Women was not mentioned at all throughout the amendment. Later, the 15th amendment was passed and women was still not mentioned. The amendment only helped pushed for voting rights for black mens. Furious, Stanton and Susan B. Anthony continued to have activist movements to promote women suffrage rights, forming the American Women Suffrage association together to fight discrimination. Thus, from 1830 to 1900, women did not change their response to discrimination. They consistently fought segregation and continuously fought for equal rights for women and equality within the men and women.
In conclusion, African Americans, American Indians, and Women did not change their response to discrimination from 1830 to 1900. Starting in the 1830 and seventy year later in 1900, they fought back against discrimination, resisted it and made constant efforts to promote equality and fairness. African Americans, in the 1800s fought against discrimination and mistreatment by slave owners, showcased through Nat Turner’s Rebellion and Dred Scott Case. During the Civil War and leading into 1900, African Americans did not back down due to discrimination and became soldiers in the civil war and during Reconstruction, officeholders. American Indians too, constantly battled against discrimination, never once sitting there letting white Americans walk all over them. Often neglected and thought to be inferior, many treaties were violated due to discrimination. The Cherokees sued Georgia for violating treaties that the United States made with the Indians regarding native lands. Violence was also used by the Native Americans to fight back against discrimination as shown through the Battle of Little Bighorn. In addition, women just like African Americans and Native Americans persistently fought back against discrimination. Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton challenged segregation with drafting of the Declaration of Sentiments promoting gender equality at the Seneca Falls Women Rights Convention. With the 14th and 15th amendment as well, Stanton continued to protested against the wording of “male” only and fought for equality. All three groups continued to fight and resist discrimination from 1830 to 1900 and their assiduous efforts are reflected in today’s society, one in which our awareness for discrimination is much more established and one in which members of the three groups receives more rights and equality.