Once slavery ended and emancipation was granted to slaves in the United States, African Americans did not suddenly find true independence and equality as they had dreamed. Instead many struggled to correct centuries-old attitudes that they were inferior to whites. Through excerpts from source documents, images, and riveting narrative, students will learn about the struggle and the rise of many in the black community to positions of power and importance...

"Slavery did not end without an organized and impassioned struggle. Many Americans, both black and white, thought it was inhumane and morally wrong to enslave another human being, no matter the color of his or her skin, and fought for the freedom of enslaved Africans in the United States. Learn about these abolitionists and freedom fighters from colonial days through emancipation, and discover how their work brought the country as far as it has come."...

"Slavery grew from an informal system of bondage to a social institution. Along the way, it became the foundation of the Southern economy and way of life. As abolitionists fought to end slavery and influential Southerners fought to keep it, it became a political issue that spurred a civil was and changed the government, as well as American society." -- Page [4] cover.