African Americans

• Backgrounds on CR: Ethnic composition of the USA

  - 'melting pot' - ppl of differing origins/cultures placed together, transformed into Americans

  - first Americans = NAs

  - english original settlers = first emigrated American either escape religion persecution/eco security. Pilgrim fathers

  - AA slaves

  - Hispanic Americans = largely Mexicans forced off land. Deprived land

  - beginning 19th Century mass immigration took place. 1815-1860 5 mil immigrants arrived

  - nativism = believed USA was birthright and white prot American ideals had to remain pure
• Why did immigration arouse such strong feeling?

  - religious antagonism - sig number were catholics especially Italians, Irish, Hispanics. Anti cath ran deep in nativist society

  - little social integration as immigrants settled ghettoes

  - immigrants seen to threaten job opps of native born. Late 19th c USA undergone industrial revolution and Chinese/Irish built first transcontinental railway, labour compete with white natives
• US gov structure


  - federal system adopted. Federal national gov in Washington and state gov based in capital each state

  - federal laws had to be accepted by 2/3 states before became law of land; issue for campaign CR

  - democrats opposed war with Br, Republicans support

  - states retained power organise own affairs eg education
• Background to the 2 parties

  - be a body to make laws = Congress, reps of ppl

  - power of president controlled, could propose laws, but only congress pass. Could exercise right to veto (reject) laws passed by congress

  - democrats =left wing

  - republican = right wing
• Background to the outbreak of the civil war

  - 1854 - Republican Party, based support in north formed to oppose slavery. Democratic Party, strong in south were split over q

  - struggle between N/S reached climax over issue extending slavery to newly settled territories in west

  - 4yrs war

  - military victory from north meant clear they would forcibly impose abolishment of slavery on white southerners
• What was Emancipation and its effects?

  - Lincoln issued Emancipation Proclamation 1st JAn 1863 stating black ppl no longer be owned as property, free to leave masters

  - 13th Amendment 1865 - all slaves formally freed. Estb freedom in law and provided basic human rights; education, worship freely

  - 3.5mil former slaves freed = issue
• Changes in the legal and political status of AA after 1865?


  - 14th Amendment ratified 1868 gave all freed blacks their US citizenship/equal protection under the law

  - 15th Amendment 1870 forbade the denial of the vote to any man on basis of colour/race

  - CR act 1866 excluded NAs but asserted all other races were full citizens of US even if slaves b4
• Who was responsible for the Reconstruction policy and why did President Johnson's policy of Reconstruction fail?

  - Reconstruction = 1865-77, rebuilding society of S states after devastation of CW

  - Congressman eg Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner acknowledged that blacks played vial part in USA economy

  - majority of N politicians saw pol adv in smashing power of southern LOs who support Democrats. Johnson wanted to readmit the southern states to the union so return to pre-war relations minus the slavery

  - Johnson couldnt prevent passing of constitutional amendments, exercised presidential right of veto but were overridden 2/3 maj in congress. Position weakened when congress determined impeachment of President

  - reconstruction continued in way of radical republicans
• How far did AAs gain political rights?


  - 700,000 black men enrolled vote

  - major role in electing members to the Conventions (main parties choose candidates for president)

  - spring 1868 these org estb CR for blacks on equal terms with whites

  - black reps now in position of possessing real pol power

  - real political power limited as not elected in proportion to their numbers
• Were CR more apparent in the north?

  - numbers blacks outside south remained quite small; less 5%

  - 1870s, 22 blacks elected Congress, 20 the HoReps, 2 to Senate

  - Blanche K.Bruce sat 1875-81. First black leader who had important pol career after war. Lacked support + unable inc CRs for blacks in general
• How did Freedmens Bureau develop?

  - many now free but homeless/unemployed

  - set up by federal gov March 1865 to support free slaves in short term+basis for long term security

  - supported work black self help groups in providing education black children/adults supported financially by philanthropic orgs in north

  - educational advances only for minority AA; by 1890, 65% black school-aged children unable to write in south compared to 15% white

  - Bureau closed 1872; sign north beginning lose enthusiasm for constant interference in the south
• To what extent did AA lack land?

  - It was land freq most lacking for AA bc capital was in short supply+only white merchants and planters possessed the necessary links to obtain it. Many AA became wage-earning labourers, through share cropping (LOs divided up plantations into small tenancies 30-50acres)

  - amnesties granted by Johnson meant land returned white owners

  - cotton production took nearly 15yrs return pre-CW
• Were black americans still oppressed?

  - one sided share cropping contracts

  - no control over materials bought. W master supplied tools/animals, demanded higher proportions of final crops so resort to borrowing money at crippling rates interest

  - crop-lien system tended encourage one crop eco

  -cotton

  - no escape poverty, few CR, employment discouraged as might threaten W, poor house, close Freedmens Bureau meant gov support education ended. W resentment at freedom in south
• How did white southerners use the law to maintain their supremacy?

  - de jure secure rights of black but de facto opp

  - reconstruction ended 1877, southern states regained pol control, legal use of concept of 'states' rights enabled S retain old way of life/limit AAs

  - Slaughterhouse Case 1873 - SC decided rights of citizens stay under state rather than federal control. Ruled 14th A protected persons indv rights but not CRs
• What do Black Codes tell us about southern attitudes towards race?

  - set up 1865/6 early indication of S white attitudes to newly freed slaves

  - regulations differed state to state. Wide definition of 'negro'

  - marriage allowed but interracial unions outlawed

  - property owned but rarely afforded+Legal rights limited

  - could testify in court but barred from giving evidence against W

  - not permitted to vote+segregated schools
• How prevalent was segregation up to 1877?


  - formal segregation not until 80s/90s, in south most aspects were apparent from start

  - mixed schools would corrupt white children. Whites argued blacks couldn't benefit from as high level education as W

  - org linked to church often gave blacks first taste of self-help activity and sense of community
• Aims of the Ku Klux Klan

  - first formed Dec 1865 Tennessee, set up opposed any attempt try persuade newly enfranchised blacks to vote Republicans; guarantee supremacy of whites

  - violent atrocities, racial hostility

  - Memphis May 1866, 3 days violence after collision 2 horse drawn carriages with B+W drivers - 46 killed, 5 women raped
• How did the US party system not help CRs for AAs?

  - assumed AA would vote Republican so make Democratic control of S more difficult. But many eventually prevented from voting so democrat dominated south until atleast 1960s
• How did N control end and what was the compromise of 1877?

  - Freedmens bureau came to end and states began throw off their military control. Death of Stevens and Sumner meant will keep eye on south weaker. Northerners embarrassed about carpetbagger corruption/scandals with Grants own admin. Argued US let each system gov get on without federal interference

  - 1876 presidential election - Republican Rutherford B.Hayes - compromise; democrats agreed accept him providing he promised withdraw troops in S
• CR by 1877 and what caused the failure of reconstruction?

  - CR gains: slavery gone, freedom marry, brief period voting, educational opps for 1000s, free worship

  - CR not gained: most lacked land, capital, employment, often ended up working old master, maj men barred voting, live fear violence, formal segregation enforced

  - weakness of southern republicans contrasted with opp of most southern whites accept concept civil equality

  - N, loss interest in welfare blacks - inc racism

  - many N wished reconcile Whites - meant end Reconstruction avoid another war
• Why was there such poverty in the south 1877-1915?

  - sharecropper received artificially low prices for produce and masters insisted continue grow cotton. Adv to have cheap workers for labour intensive crops

  - slow movement to landownership: 1910, 25% black farmers owned land and standard of living was rising

  - most migration rural to southern towns/cities seek employment - excluded from rapidly growing textile factories
• How far did black businesses develop in the south?

  - segregation encouraged development black self help communities. Sometimes even formed own TUs

  - at first, capital lacking

  - AA enterprises had guaranteed market and served blacks eg hairdressing

  - small black middle class developing
• Life for those moved north


  - before WW1, 10% AA left south eg small groups moved into NY district of Harlem

  - first black ghettos stated to develop

  - blacks freq barred from TUs, poor quality + pricey housing

  - N, no legal segregation but discr and employment opps, low levels education, confinement to areas meant quality life didnt improve sig

  - but greater possibility of franchise, combined vote
• What were Jim Crow Laws?


  - 1887-1891, 8 southern states intro formal segregation of races on trains, school, after 1891, laws formally extended to cover public places

  - climate racism; theories of social Darwinism

  - rice popular press with publications that perpetuated black stereotype including laziness

  - Plessy V. Ferguson 1896 SC case ruled racial segregation railway carriages as constitutional and acted as legal precedent for segregation all forms in public

  - some eg blacks not offer shake hands with W, not allowed show public affection as offended W
• What measures were taken to remove black voting rights 1877-1915?

  - Southern state gov aimed exclude AA from franchise after 15th A

  - poll tax = voter make monetary payment in advance

  - property qualifications = only those owned property can vote

  - literacy tests

  - grandfather clauses = granted adult males provided father/g.f voted b4 reconstruction
• Why did the north not intervene to prevent the erosion of AACR in the south? 1877-1915

  - republicans not prepared interfere as maintain compromise 1877

  - position reinforced by verdicts of southern dominated SCs

  - Mississippi v. Williams 1898 ruled Mississippi poll tax were constitutional + didnt breach 15th A

  - Roosevelt showed interest in conditions AA by discussing maters with Booker T. Washington but ended 1912 when Wilson elected. He entered White House, all black advisors in federal gov dismissed, executive dept gov became segregated
• 1877-1915: social - lynching

  - 1880-1910 saw height of lynching. Beatings, murder, alleged victim committed serious crimes eg rape white woman

  - southern state govs did little to stop, public events

  - if cases brought to court, white juries not convict = climate fear

  - S states intro miscegenation = laws banning interracial sexual relations

  - bankrupt govs lease out convicts for cash to businessmen so had cheap labour; long hrs, bad w-c, seemed to attempt retain slavery
• How did Ida B. Wells oppose lynching?

  - showed alleged rape often not cause of lynching and called into question idea of total white female innocence in some alleged rapes

  - published opinion, had to leave hometown in Tennessee and move to NY where expanded views. Spoke to NACW 1896

  - failed gain any commitment from Congress or president for a federal anti-lynching law
• Booker T. Washington


  - idea of AA returning to Africa was rejected on grounds of impracticality and lack desire

  - speech Atlanta Georgia 1895, argued if whites could regard blacks as potential eco partners, rather than dangerous pol opponents, then q of race gone - had immediate impact; became known as Atlanta Compromise, attempt by blacks to compromise with Southern whites

  - needed gain interest of Roosevelt, freq consulted Washington on AA Qs and invited tea at White House

  - 1900, org Negro Business League to act national centre for black chambers of commerce
• Arguments of Washingtons critics and did it change his views?

  - argued he seemed to accept the idea of white supremacy and made no attempt challenge lower social position of AA

  - wasnt using position challenge wider side eg lynching or pol control of stopping blacks from voting

  -educational gap between B+W’s widening. After 1900, inc spending white schools not matched in AA
• Did Washington change his views?

  • became aware his policies not working
  • had very long term goals which werent acknowledging segregation/current issues
  • focused on tuskegee, not big area of America focused standards of living, didnt address violence and lynching
• Contribution Booker T.Washington to CR?

  -strict standards of behaviour, 1895-1905 main leader/spokesman for AA, developed many valuable contacts, long term aim show Whites that AA equal

  -BUT: policy accepted lower position for AAs, focused work within system not change it, 1905 position as leader questioned, little for CR
• What was the Niagara Movement?

  -W.E.B.Du Bois helped found it 1905

  -wanted campaign to restore voting rights/abolish discrimination

  -Du Bois/others had academic approach to CR

  -lacked money from the start/effective org

  -development NAACP superseded them

  -did outline clear principles of belief in equality, equal employment, education. supported by Women
• How did the NAACP begin?

  • Niagara falls movement caused no.blacks wished challenge B.T.W approach. Trigger was serious riot at Springfield, Illinois 1908. Du Bois teamed other leading AACR campaigner/s form National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People
  • Du Bois encourage as many whites join
• How did the NAACP operate as a CRs org?

  • Aim publicise, take legal actions enforce law ensure CR/end racism
  • constitutional approaches to lawsuits believing many measures taken against AA violated amendments passed 1865-70
  • 1915, legal case Guinn v. US grandfather clauses in state constitutions of Maryland and Oklahoma outlawed.
  • Early impact inspired development of Nation Urban League, set up 1911, to look after welfare of A.A in northern cities 
  • NUL campaigned against discr in jobs/housing, little impact in S
  • immediate impact, legal precedent, long Lasting
• How far had AA lost rights rather than gained 1877-1915?

  • Active pol role at lower levels of gov gained in S during Reconstruction disappeared, right man vote removed S by state laws, difficult to challenge W pol domination, threats/lynching =fear, formalised segreg laws
  • BUT: equal opps for education never existed, never been chance of fair trial, free to leave S, NAACP protest movement began
• 1915-41: to what extent was WW1 a TP for AACR? the Great Migration

  • no.AA in N inc dramatically (didnt stop with ending of war Nov 1918)
  • 1920-30 = 1,000,000 and 1910-1920 = 500,000
  • pull factor - dry up of European immigrant labour force + armaments industry expanding rapidly, steady employment, voting rights
  • push factor - segr in S, inequality, fear lynching, AA felt inferior bc sacked, sharecroppers poor
• Experiences of AA who went to war And post war difficulties?

  • TP: over 350,000 served - 40,000 saw active service, 1300 commissioned
  • est Half drafted sent to Fr - served with distinction in segr regiments
  • X TP: white soldiers returned - AA taken jobs, brief but intense period of social unrest, race riots in Chicago
  • ghettos developed, ‘unofficially‘ segr moving N
• Was life in the North better?

  • TP: lynching X publicly condoned, AA on voting register eligible to be juror, trials sometimes more fair
  • X TP: limited CR, ghettos affected education; neighbourhood schools segr de facto, dec money spent on education, severe discr in employment mostly clerical work
• Did movement North inc black consciousness?

  • TP: outpouring of writers, poets, 1920s=Jazz Age, talented AA emerged from poverty; Harlem Renaissance
  • X TP: top jazz clubs owned by whites/only blacks allowed inside were performers, prostitutes, sig black middle class developed with more educational opps = inc black professionals/business (still small no. + mainly men)