American History: Interviews on Slavery and Civil War

This report delves into significant events in American history, beginning with the experiences of enslaved people brought from Africa, their struggles, and the discrimination they faced after emancipation. The report highlights the Great Migration of African Americans from the South to the North, driven by economic hardship and social injustice. It includes interviews with individuals who experienced these events firsthand, such as Jordan O Neal, offering personal insights into the harsh realities of slavery and the challenges of seeking a better life. The report also examines the American Civil War, presenting accounts from both sides—a Union soldier, George Hamilton, and a Confederate soldier, Thomas Louis—to illustrate the conflict's impact and the differing perspectives on the war's goals and outcomes. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of learning from history to build a better future, referencing relevant historical sources.

Running head: AMERICAN HISTORY
AMERICAN HISTORY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
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AMERICAN HISTORY
The history of the United States of America is full of variety, troughs and crests. The
country had got independence on the 4th of July 1776 and the thirteen colonies of America
were united to form the United States of America of the present day. The country has seen
history of enslavement, war, occupation, foreign threats, civil war and what not. This
independence day this newspaper endeavours in revisiting some of the historical phenomena
of the country while speaking to some people who were whole heartedly connected with
these historical events.
During the 1920’s a large number of African Americans started moving North from
the Southern part of America. Such a great movement of lakhs of African Americans from
the southern part of the country to the North. The primary reasons of such movement was the
economic concern and the social discrimination towards the community in the south. Many of
these people were slaves who were brought to the Americas from Africa and later they got
freedom. However there was still distinction and discrimination based on race and language.
The consequences of the Northward movement were many. “Housing was difficult to come
by, and in many cities the non-African American residents demanded strict segregation,
relegating the new arrivals to self-contained neighbourhoods in undesirable parts of town. In
addition, most of the available work in the cities was industrial, and many migrating African
Americans faced the prospect of learning new trades, generally at lower rates of pay than
European Americans received.” Jordan O Neal who was brought to the Americas along with
his father who was enslaved was one of the members who moved towards the North. This
newspaper interviewed Jordan to get some valuable insights about the experiences. While
visiting the home of Jordan it was seen that he was still living in humble condition with very
little economic prosperity. While understanding the conditions in which he was living, O
Neal was interviewed about his memories and his experiences about the events.

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“The starting was difficult. I had to travel with my father who was enslaved and
brought into this new country. There are so many things I had to say in this regards. The ship
in which we were brought were in terrible condition. We were kept in small rooms where
there were hardly any place to properly even sit. We were forced to eat things which were not
even eatable, and if we do not wanted to eat we were forced. Many of us who were not fit
enough were killed, also the old ones. I was only a small kid at that time, I was not killed may
be because I had future prospects. I lost my father. When we were freed I was almost young
and we had dreams of a better future in our own country as free individuals. However there
was a different situation on the ground. We were discriminated in every step and there were
people who were white who looked down at us as second class citizens. We were forced to
move to the Northern part from the south and the movement itself had so many challenges for
us. We had to leave our homes and all the memories that we had.”
The account of the slave who had been freed is a clear evidence of historical
phenomenon. The next interview that was taken was of a white soldier who had just returned
from the war. The American civil war that continued from 1861 to 1865 was between the 11
states called the Confederate States and the United States of America. The war veterans who
fought at the war returned after the United States had won. The confederate state surrendered.
The next two interviews are conducted with one white war returning soldier from the United
States government side and one black surrendered soldier from the confederate force.
George Hamilton, who fought from the side of the United States recalled the
experiences he had gone through. “Lincoln had been the President and there were political
problems everywhere in the country. And there were new states every day which wanted to
secede from the purview of the United States government. The war was inevitable. We were
sent with Irvin McDowell, he was commanding us. The battle we had to fight in the
beginning was the Battle of the Bull Run. The war was not a decisive one and the Union

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government side lost many soldiers. The battle was won by them. However they were over
enthusiastic about the win and soon this win proved to be fatal for them in the long run. Many
of our colleagues died in front of our eyes and we could do nothing. It was horrible”.
The accounts of George was considerably same with Thomas Louis, a black soldier
fighting from the side of the Confederate force. The force was defeated eventually and the
union government came out as winner.
“We had dreams of liberation. We had to be winners in the war in order to break out
from the title of slave states. We had tried our best. The victory at the battle of the Bull Run
had given us hopes. But when Grant took the charge of the forces on the opposite side, things
changed. We were defeated”.
History is the living force which instils lessons and experiences unto humanity. All
the above accounts show the horrors humanity had gone through. It’s time the civilisation
learns from its past and goes towards a better future.

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AMERICAN HISTORY
Bibliography
Garraty, J. A., & Foner, E. (Eds.). (2014). The reader's companion to American history.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Mullings, L. (2014). On our own terms: Race, class, and gender in the lives of African-
American Women. Routledge.
Walton, H., Smith, R. C., & Wallace, S. L. (2017). American politics and the African
American quest for universal freedom. Taylor & Francis.
Wintz, C. D. (2015). African American Political Thought, 1890-1930: Washington, Du Bois,
Garvey and Randolph. Routledge.