Order ID 374851121 Sick from Freedom
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
NMC-Institute of Nursing *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
102
Subject
History
Date
Nov 24, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
5
Uploaded by ChiefDanger10834
Last Name 1
Name
Course Name
Institute Name
Date
Critical review: "Sick from Freedom: African-American Illness and Suffering: African-
American Illness and Suffering during the Civil War and Reconstruction."
Jim downs discussed the aftermath of the battle and emancipation in his book "Sick from
Freedom: African-American Illness and Suffering during the Civil War and Reconstruction." He
explained the lives of the oppressed during Reconstruction and explained their experiences.
According to him, emancipation was nothing like freedom but captivity. He said that it is a
process that kept emancipation. It is a watershed event that clearly defined the boundaries
between slavery and freedom. According to Downs, this procedure included the federal
government addressing health-related issues affecting liberated persons. Downs tried to reveal
what the government and other officials did during the health crisis. In addition, the inefficiency
and ineffectiveness of the general bureaucracy slowed the government's reaction.
In his book, downs argued that it is the fundamental right of a citizen to have access to
healthcare. However, through the efforts of activists, physicians, and other freed people in the
1870s, access to care came only to freemen and free women. At the beginning of the book, the
story of a boy traveling with his family to a Union camp is explained (Downs 34). His family
was taken to a camp in Nashville by Union officials after his father's enrolment. The kid was sent
Last Name 2
back to Chattanooga without his family members by the authorities after the death of his mother.
His family and other people in the camp were wracked because of the smallpox epidemic and
famine. The family suffered through starvation and famine. The boy also suffered and faced
problems. His feet were amputated by the Union soldiers because he became afflicted with
frostbite in the winter of 1865 (Downs 36). This tale serves as a metaphor in the author's eyes for
the issues faced by the formerly enslaved people following emancipation. Other people who
migrated suffered a lot as well. Sickness, death, and suffering were the aftermath of
emancipation.
After the war, the situation for the newly freed did not significantly improve. It did not
bring immediate freedom, and people had to endure many difficulties. After the war, the situation
for the newly released did not significantly improve. Their poor living conditions continued to be
marked by mobility, disease, and malnutrition. They were recruited as first laborers (Downs 40).
The children and women were vulnerable to sickness and suffered from many diseases (Downs
42). Federal authorities and military leaders argued over who should oversee and control the
newly freed into a helpful labor force. They could not decide, and the egos of military leaders
and federals official collided. Government intervention came to an end in the meantime (Downs
60). When it came time to care for the newly liberated, activists in charitable groups were so
disheartened and hopeless. Many activists and representatives were present then, and Thomas
Elliot was one of the representatives. He was from Massachusetts. He put forward a bill that
stated that "the liberation of millions of slaves without federal protection would have constituted
a crime against humanity" (Downs 76).
The bill was passed in 1864, and Freedmen's Hospitals for emancipation were created.
However, the issues, especially the healthcare issues, did not end there, and stories of illnesses
Last Name 3
continued. Downs stated that "as a result of the slowness of the federal bureaucracy, health
conditions worsened, and, in many situations, freed people died while waiting for treatment"
(Downs 96). The bureaucrats created unnecessary stress and problems for doctors. They were
demanding to establish their on-site vegetable gardens, but it was impossible because the
hospitals were overworked and staff-strapped already. Downs concludes, "federal officials made
a critical claim about the meaning of citizenship: access to medical services became a benefit of
citizenship" (Downs 180). Finally, a medical department was started by Harvard University, and
it provided many African Americans with doctors. They served as medical professionals in their
communities (Downs 183). Throughout the book, downs made convincing arguments. He
highlighted the issues and gave voice to the emancipated. He notes that "Although historians
have long examined dependence as an epithet or a structural condition in American politics, few
had asked whether, when, why, and how Americans treated dependence, not as an insult but a
strategy, a tool to mediate politics for their benefit" (Downs 185).
The Federal Reconstruction from the South to the West by Freedmen's Bureau is also
discussed. Native Americans established a plantation-style agricultural system after the Civil War
(Downs 191). In addition, a free labor system in support of Native American resettlement was
established too for the diseases and illnesses that spread among them. The government
authorities established this free labour system (Downs 192). The author argues that the
environmental challenges were not fully understood. The difficulties of converting vast land into
an agricultural economy were underestimated. The government and other official leaders linked
the illness with mass migration instead. With the help of free labor in the West and the South, the
government established an agricultural economy, and in this attempt, both Freedmen and Native
Americans fell sick and died (Downs 193).
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Last Name 4
History tells us that these groups do not raise their voices. The author focused on the
federal government's response to a health crisis. He did an admirable job by emphasizing and
raising awareness about prejudice and inequality. Moreover, their response to the demands of
newly freed men and women is also discussed. The topics discussed in this book can be used to
teach a class about history, institutional work, and black emancipation. In addition, this book can
be used as reading material by an instructor to teach a secondary or graduate class.
Last Name 5
Work Cited
Downs, Jim. "Sick from Freedom: African-American Illness and Suffering during the Civil War
and Reconstruction."
Oxford University Press
, 2012, pp. 1-279.