Reconstruction was the period after the Civil War that extended from roughly 1865-1877 in the span of American history immediately following the Civil War and involved the re-integration of states of the Confederacy. It was a highly volatile time because while many →
Before beginning a discussion about the Kansas-Nebraska controversy, it is useful to point out that there were sectional and other political problems brewing. For example, one cannot ignore the role played by Stephen Douglass nor the current economic situation in →
It is impossible to consider the life, crime, and times of Jesse James without first considering the historical context within which he was situated. In a biography of Jesse James by T.J. Stiles “Jesse James, Last Rebel of the Civil War”, →
Peter Wood’s book, Black Majority: Negroes in South Carolina from 1670 to the Stono Rebellion,published in 1974 by Alfred Knopf (New York) details the history of black slaves in South Carolina. This history presented by Peter Wood in Black Majority: Negroes in →
The Emancipation Proclamation was a prosaic statement by Lincoln that seemed like it was a revolutionary treatise on the future treatment and freeing of African Americans, but in fact, the Emancipation Proclamation was simply a politically inspired ruse. It did →
Toni Morrison’s Jazz is a simply titled novel, but this simplicity belies the complexity of the narrative structure to which the word “jazz” alludes. Toni Morrison’s novel “Jazz” is experimental in that it challenges the conventions of the American canonical literary narrative. →
An analysis of two seminal works from African-American literature, both drawn from the authors’ autobiographies, reveals that the processes of learning to read and write is conceptualized as the means of personal and social liberation. While Frederick Douglass’s “Learning to →
An analysis of two seminal works from African-American literature, both drawn from the authors’ autobiographies, reveals that the processes of learning to read and write is conceptualized as the means of personal and social liberation. While Frederick Douglass’s “Learning to →
Throughout Langston Hughes’ poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” the theme of roots is prominent and this theme gives rise to the ultimate meaning of the poem, even though the word “roots” itself is not used in the text. The →
In his autobiography, “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, Douglass often lapses into assertions that the condition of slavery and education are incompatible for slaves. Throughout the text he is constantly oscillating between an intense desire to become more educated →