Progressive Era

Progressive Era
Name:
Institution:
As an immigrant in the first generation, life proved to be hard. Having been an African American and a woman, it proved to be all the more difficult. Together with my parents we had moved to America from Europe looking for a better life relative to the progressive era bouts of economic promises in America. My father worked at the shipping yards and thus it was much easier for us to get a chance to take the journey to our freedom. Arriving in America, the previous generations showed a different face as we were not welcome in the country(American Experience, 2015). Most of us that settled in the southwere constantly reminded that we were inferior and our dark skins made it even harder(Hirschman, 2006). While it was still possible to find employment, we would only get the jobs that the NativeAmericans had shunned away from. We were not equal to the rest of the people and this was made clearer in Mississippi where poll taxing and literacy testing would be used to deprive the African American community from voting. The 14th and the 15thamendments were also subjected to segregation and African Americans were not liable to their rights. Lynching was a common thing, and we had to watch where we passed through in the public spaces. Some of us like my mother chose to remain indoors for the fear of being lynched(Hoyt, 2012).
I would not fee; pressured to pledge my loyalty to a political machine, relative to the political divide that existed at the time. Due to the humiliation and the level of discrimination that the African Americansreceived during the progressive era, we had to stand up together and fight our war. For the African Americans we did not have a divided camp as everyone rallied behind the candidates that were fighting for our rights and freedom. Having left Europe due to the level of oppression, coming to America felt like a chance at being free, however we still had to fight our way through the murk of discrimination and segregating laws.As such I would not be pressured to join and political machine, as I rallied behind candidates and movements that fought for the rights of the people.
The only time...