Blacks and the Constitution Essay Example

Racism in the United States has been existent, dating back to the colonial era. Some privileges were socially and legally sanctioned, and some human rights were only granted to the white Americans. The other races, especially the black Americans were denied some of their rights, and they were also considered inferior beings compared to the whites. The racial discrimination in the United States, as it is today, was targeted mostly to the African Americans and not to the white European immigrants. This problem was compounded by an almost absolute marginalization of the blacks in the constitution making process in the United States of America. The blacks were not given a meaningful opportunity to contribute to this process, and due to this, some of the challenges in the establishment of a United States free of discrimination still exist to date. Kathleen argues that the failure to eliminate racial and ethnic profiling in the United States can be attributed to the limited involvement of the black Americans in the initial constitution making process (246). Discrimination in the United States is arguably an issue which can be traced back to the lack of involvement of the blacks in the making of the United States Constitution, though there exists measures which can be applied to get rid of this problem.

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The discrimination of the blacks was present in the United States even before the declaration of independence on July 4th, 1776(Frenise 11). Dorothy and Schneider argue that there were at least half a million African slaves in the United States before 1776, yet this subject was not given the necessary attention in the writing of the declaration of independence (14). Human rights activists have argued that the failure of the maiden free America administration to mention the blacks and the marginalized communities in the United States is the main reason discrimination continues to be a problem to the American people. Ironically, the declaration for independence stated clearly, that the American society would be just and a crown of equality, but not much was done to involve the blacks in realizing this cause. Thomas Jefferson, the man in charge of the writing of the independence declaration, owned over two hundred slaves (Dorothy and Schneider 23). Human rights activists have argued that this was a show of disrespect for the black Americans as most of the slaves were of African origin. Arguably, this set stage for the enactment of laws without the involvement of the blacks, denying them the opportunity to give their views on the constitution.

After the declaration of independence from Great Britain, Americans embarked on an intensive process to write an inclusive constitution that would define the future of the country. Before this process began, there were obvious miscalculations which would later make the discrimination against the backs impossible to eliminate. For instance, the white farmers who owned slaves were not compelled to stop it, despite the assurances by the government that slavery would be banished completely after independence. Furthermore, as the constitution-making process, the blacks were not included in most of the planning and committee level engagements. This had a major impact on the incorporation of policies against discrimination in the constitution as the same process culminated to the unveiling of the supreme law of the United States in Philadelphia (Dorothy and Schneider 14). This constitutional convention is popularly known as the Philadelphia convention. Evidently, most of the early drafts of the constitution failed to mention on the rights of the black people in America, owing to the domination of the whites in the process.

The "We the People" constitutional slogan that culminated into most of the early constitutionalism was purely a white Americans dominated affair. This slogan was popular in the 1780's before the Philadelphia convention, and it represented a forum for Americans to discuss and give their views on the contents of the constitution. Today, the effects of the non-involvement of the blacks and Jews in these constitutional movements have proven costly, and in an interview, Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court conceded that the blacks were not part of the "We the People" movement (Somin 1).In reality, this movement was supposed to incorporate all Americans in the process of enacting the constitution. However, in most of the activities organized, the white people dominated, courtesy of the "We the People" movement and the presence of African-Americans was something many whites did not accept. Although Africans were not legally barred from contributing to this process, there was a hostile environment, and hence their participation in the process was nearly nonexistent. This lack of involvement of some races was not only a direct contravention of the universal bill of rights but also socially unethical and unacceptable.

The creation of the United States Constitution was a rather rigorous affair as this document was necessary for the advancement of democracy and equality in the United States. Though there was limited participation of the black people, some states allowed the black people to participate in the constitution making process. However, this was after intense pressure from the clergy and black activists who demanded an end to slavery, racial discrimination and the involvement of the black people in the "We the People" group (Somin 1). Justice Benjamin Curtis, in an interview, noted that the notion that the African Americans were completely denied participation in the "We the People" movement is wrong and misguided (Somin 1). While it is true that some blacks participated in the constitutional review debates, there is no concrete evidence that their proposals were included in the final document. This has always raised eyebrows as some activists argue that the proposals by the black American people were either deliberately ignored or simply struck out of the constitution draft before the Philadelphia convention. In my opinion, the failure of the constitutional review committees to incorporate the black people set a bad precedent and the isolated incidences of racial discrimination that bedevil the United States today can be traced back there.

One of the key activities that defined the constitution making process in the United States of America was the voting for the ratification of the constitution. At the time of declaration of independence, some states had laws that barred the black people from voting, effectively curtailing them from contributing to the approval of the various laws (Arthur 23). Ironically, the constitution was for all American people, and one would wonder why the formulation of a document purported to be the supreme law for all Americans, including the blacks would then exclude some people in the creation process. This was worsened by the clandestine policies that put the whites socially above the blacks and an open flouting of the concept of universal suffrage. Despite this, a few states had somehow fair policies that allowed the blacks to vote in political elections and hence the relevant state conventions, in this case, had some contributions from the African Americans. These state conventions were however faced some criticism as brutal slavery was still being practiced in most of the states. Arguably, without these contributions, the issue of racial discrimination would be much serious than it is today.

Towards the enactment of the constitution, an event dubbed as the Philadelphia convention; there was witnessed an increase in the number of African Americans subjected to slavery. Studies have shown that by 1787, most of the black community in the United States were either in prison or under brutal slavery (Arthur 345). The levels of exclusion from participation in all the constitutional review processes reached the apex at this period as the whites sought to assert their authority in the constitution that was to be unveiled. Though there was some constitutional caucus headed by the blacks that sought to have their view incorporated in the constitution before it was unveiled, their suggestions were disregarded, and hence some discriminative laws were included in the constitution. This constitutional teams comprising of the blacks were mostly referred to as the "Black Caucus" and had their views been included in the constitution, it would have been possible to eliminate discrimination significantly. In my opinion, justice could only be guaranteed if all Americans had been allowed to participate in the process, regardless of their gender, race, and ethnicity.

One of the defining moments in the formulation of the constitution was the enactment of policies by some states that seemed to encourage white immigrants to remain in the country, mostly for economic gains. This was in contrast to the treatment that was accorded to the black Americans. This was openly an indicator of a society that was not accommodative of the black people, and this was evident at the Philadelphia Convention. While many blacks wanted a free and just society, the whites were interested in using all means available to assert their dominion (Arthur 32). Arguably, this forced the blacks to feel undermined and oppressed, developing a sense of inferiority to the whites. To date, this affects the fight against the discrimination of the blacks as they see themselves as lesser beings compared to the whites. Had the initial constitution making process been more inclusive, there would be fewer conflicts between the whites and the blacks.

The creation of the constitution of the United States reached the peak during the Philadelphia convention when it was officially unveiled. Although there existed a formal document that served as the constitution from 1777, most of the laws in the initial document were reviewed in the new document, and some sections completely struck out from the constitution. However, in the convention itself, there is no, mention of any backs and historians argue that it was a clear message to the black community that the dominance of the whites would continue, despite the enactment of a new constitution. Surprisingly, there were representatives of white immigrants, and there were some notable sections of the constitution that favored them, just because they were white, as the Native Americans. In my opinion, the Philadelphia convention was a massive failure as it set a stage for the violation of the rights of the black people as their non-participation was a clear sign that even the administration was not cognizant of the need for equality. Again, this set a precedence, which remains relevant to some people to date, posing a challenge in the elimination of racial and ethnic discrimination.

Conclusion

After the Philadelphia convention, the blacks had some optimism that there would be a significant improvement on the problem of racial discrimination. However, the period following this constitutional convention was marked by lack of commitment of the government towards social justice and equality. Despite the provisions in the constitution for a free and just society in America, the government was mostly ignorant of the policies against discrimination and slavery was still being practiced in some states. This made it difficult to bring to an end the racial discrimination that had bedeviled the country for the better part of the 18th century. Today, there still exists some forms of modern slavery, which have contributed to the isolated cases of racial discrimination in the United States. For instance, human trafficking in the United States remains a problem, and it mostly affects the blacks. According to Steven and Whitaker, human trafficking is an indicator of the deep-seated differences between the black and white communities in the United States (23)....