African Americans faced a lot of harsh laws and injustice threw out the years prior to escaping and heading out west for a better life. United State government conspire with local law enforcements to falsely convict and imprison African American at try to escape out west. After the abolishment of slavery many formal slave owners were still bitter about the new law so they colluded with local law officials to put African American in unlawful Labor camps as a sense of punishment. The reason was because many business were losing money, and by having wrongful convicted African Americans working in labor camps such as brickyard, coal mines, lumber camps, quarries, and farm plantations, railroads these business were able to thrive with no cost for labor pay. Something that diminished and limited African American from heading out west. Nevertheless, there were still brave pioneers that push forward no matter the consequence. The laws were so harsh, at one point in the early 1800s, Texas passed a law forbidding free African Americans to life in the state due to a large amount of slaves migrating into Texas (Barr). I found this very interest, why would such a law be passed? It only leads to one answer, the fear of rebellion. By having a large population of astringent formal slaves assemble in one area it strikes fear of retaliation. Something that the government and local whites were very fearful for.
BARR, ALYWN. BLACK COWBOYS OF TEXAS. ED. SARA R. MASSEY. NO. 86. TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYRESS, 2004.
BLACKMON, DOUGLAS A. SLAVERY BY ANOTHER NAME: THE RE-ENSLAVEMENT OF BLACK AMERICANS FROM THE CIVIL WAR TO WORLD WAR II. RANDOM HOUSE LLC, 2009.
BLACKMON, DOUGLAS A. SLAVERY BY ANOTHER NAME: THE RE-ENSLAVEMENT OF BLACK AMERICANS FROM THE CIVIL WAR TO WORLD WAR II. RANDOM HOUSE LLC, 2009.