LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
Research Paper Assignment
Submitted to Nathan Sullivan
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
HIUS 390-B02
History of Virginia
by
Jillian Stevens
March 4, 2024
Civil rights and hypocrisy have plagued the United States for centuries. Our nation’s
methodology concerning race versus the famous phrase “all men are created equal” stems from a
monumental disconnect regarding our founding fathers. Their warped sense of equality has
fueled the racial propensity that has occupied the minds of Americans since the colonial period.
Civil rights have been a paramount issue in the history of the country; however, to understand
the motives behind striving for equality, one must acknowledge the pain, suffering, inequality,
and murder that blacks have endured since the colonial days. These issues are still a big part of
modern-day society. We as a species must understand that the oppression of African Americans
has been and continues to be a battle between the races.
White superiority has resulted in the social and economic deficiencies that African
Americans experienced in the colonial period and have continued to experience today. African
Americans were viewed as inferior to whites, and therefore, whites demoralized them. Over
time, constant demoralization caused African Americans to believe that they had no other option
than to accept the miserable lives they were living. Therefore, blacks have always been in the
lower class of society. Living in low-income housing, utilizing government assistance, and tend
to commit more crimes than other races. All of these statistics are a direct result of the way
African Americans were integrated into the colonies, specifically Virginia.
The beginning of the colony’s economic success relied on indentured servitude. It was a
repayment system to entice people to journey from England to Virginia. The people of England
