“Wake Nicodemus:” African American Settlement on the Plains of Kansas

This primary source is a photograph taken of group of African American settlers who established the community of Nicodemus on the windswept plains of Kansas in 1877, post-Reconstruction. [1]At the windswept plains of Kansas these black settlers began building homes and businesses as a result they were able to forge new lives for themselves. The founder of Nicodemus foreshadowed this land as an opportunity for African Americans to demonstrate their abilities of independence as well as self-determination.This community saw tremendous social and economic growth in their early stages of development.

Sea Island School

This primary source is a propaganda pamphlet that tells the reader about the atrocities caused by the government. They state that the Freedmen Bureau does not have much ruling power and cannot employ teachers. The government hadn’t helped in every way they could with the success of African-Americans in America at that time. They were searching for help but weren’t seeing the results they wanted. The picture on the pamphlet shows African Americans and whites standing around the school yard because there is no teacher. [2]Without a teacher, how can anyone learn and grow and become successful? Well, they can’t because the government won’t help them employ a teacher at the Sea Island School. The government stood in the way of the Freedmen Bureau which negatively affected the cultural success of African Americans. Even though they were freed; they were still facing problems with basic situations because of their race. It was not fair to them, to disallow the employment of a teacher to help them after years of suffering.

Feb. 3, 1870: 15th Amendment Ratified

This Primary source is a Historical Drawing by G.F. Kahl in 1870, that illustrates the reaction to the Ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution on February 3rd,1870. This historical drawing shows the opportunities that the 15th amendment offers African Americans. Which consist of improvements to blacks economically, educationally, and socially. The 15th Amendment granted African American men the right to vote by declaring that the “right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”[] However, the promise of the 15th Amendment was blocked for almost a century through the use of poll taxes as well as literacy tests.

Work Cited:

1. “”Wake Nicodemus:” African American Settlement on the Plains of Kansas (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service. Accessed May 09, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/articles/wake-nicodemus-african-american-settlement-on-the-plains-of-kansas.htm.
2. “Sea Island School, No. 1 – St. Helena Island. Established April, 1862.” Home. January 01, 1866. Accessed April 25, 2019. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/93505764/.
3. “The Fifteenth Amendment and Its Results / Drawn by G.F. Kahl.” The Library of Congress. Accessed May 09, 2019. https://www.loc.gov/item/2003690774/.