Download African Americans Lose Ground - GW High School Social Studies

BEFOREYOU READ
Focus
MAIN IDEA
READING
By 1900 many of
the gains made by
African Americans
during Reconstruction had been
taken away, and
relations between
blacks and whites
had grown strained.
• What rights did black citizens lose
after the end of Reconstruction?
• What court cases helped legalize
segregation in the United States?
• What barriers were raised to keep
African Americans from voting?
• What caused a rise in racial violence in the 1900s?
KEY TERMS AND
PEOPLE
integration
segregation
Jim Crow era
Slaughterhouse Cases
Plessy v. Ferguson
poll tax
grandfather clause
lynchings
Ida Wells-Barnett
rRulLDING BACKGROUND
I ;:;onstruction
had been an effort to heal the United States after years of conflict and
war. As part ofthe healing, many Americans wanted to improve the lives of African
Americans and protect their rights. These efforts were somewhat successful during
Reconstruction, but after the period ended discrimination actually increased. :II
African Americans Lose Ground
During Reconstruction, the central issue for African Americans had been how to
legitimize their place in American society. With the support of the federal government, black people had helped rewrite state constitutions and worked to gain civil
rights. These efforts were designed to put African Americans on par with their white
counterparts-formally
and legally.
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Different Approaches
Faced with opposition from many whites, African Americans had to decide how best
to work for equality. What would be the best approach toward reaching equal status? Debates raged in the black community. Most African Americans favored social
integration. To integrate means to bring all the parts of something together to make
it whole. Inte_gration sought to place blacks on an equal basis with whites within
American society by leveling social, economic, and political barriers and by creating
equal opportunity among people of all races.
On the other hand, many blacks-and some whites-called for a racial separation, a mutually agreed upon and respectful division of the races into their own
communities. Many people believed that blacks had to develop their own social, educational, and economic institutions independent of white society. Only then would
they be able to gain self-respect and live free of white control.
Still, many whites looked for ways to keep the races separate and unequal. They
sought to do this through voluntary segregation, or a separation of the races in daily
life. Before long, the segregation laws, rules, and customs that arose after Reconstruction led to a new era of discrimination. It was called the ~ImCrow era and it
lasted nearly 100 years.
1. Underline the
descriptions of the
different approaches
towards African Americans
that existed at the turn of
the century.
VIRTUAL RELD TRIP
Go online to experience a
virtual field trip to key sites
from theJim Crow era.
THE SEPARATION OF THE RACES
165
The Rise of Jim Crow
The name Jim Crow came from a song originally sung by black children
at play. The song took on a different meaning during the 1820s when a
white performer named Thomas Dartmouth "Daddy" Rice appeared on
stage as "Jim Crow;' a highly stereotyped black character. In his performances, Rice wore dark makeup called blackface as he danced around
and sang in an exaggerated accent.
HISTORY'S VOICES
"Come listen all you galls and boys I'sjist from Tuckyhoe,
"m'going to sing a little song, My name's Jim Crow,
Weel about and turn about and do jis SO,
Eb'ry time' weel about and jump Jim Crow,"
-Thomas
Dartmouth
"Daddy"
Rice, "Jump Jim Crow," 1828
Rice's Jim Crow song-and-dance routine was a big hit with white
audiences across the United States. Soon, the term Jim Crow became
a racial slur used by others to demean African Americans. By the late
1800s, the meaning of lim Crow changed again to refer to the laws and customs used
to oppress and to discriminate against blacks, especially in the South.
Redeemer Governments and Jim Crow Laws
~ Reading Check
2. Sequence What events led
to the passing of Jim Crow laws in
the South?
As you have read, in the 1870s white Democrats who favored segregation began to
gain power in the South. They were elected to state governments, replacing African
American politicians who had been elected during Reconstruction. Southerners
began to refer to these new governments as Redeemer governments, because they
thought the new leaders would "redeem" the South by reversing Reconstruction policies. Firm believers in white supremacy, these leaders wanted to limit the power of
black citizens.
In the late nineteenth century, Redeemer lawmakers began passing laws to establish separate facilities for black people. These laws became known as Jim Crow laws.
From 1890 to 1910, Jim Crow laws spread across the South. For example, in 1890
Louisiana formally instituted Jim Crow seats on streetcars. These were certain cars,
or sections of cars, reserved only for black people. Other southern states later followed Louisiana's example. Throughout the South, African Americans were forced to
ride in separate railway cars, eat in separate restaurants, attend separate schools, and
live in separate neighborhoods.
In the North, Jim Crow laws were less widespread than in the South. Still, blacks had
to deal with all kinds of prejudice. For example, in many northern cities African Americans were denied admittance to certain places, such as hotels, restaurants, and theaters.
Blacks also faced prejudice at the United States Military Academy at West Point. In
1870 J. W Smith became the academy's first black cadet. Smith had to deal with almost
daily abuse, both verbal and physical. For a time, he accepted the abuse from his fellow
cadets stoically. But finally the malicious cadets provoked Smith. Frustrated by the constant harassment, he struck a white cadet and was expelled. It was not until a few years
later, on June 14, 1877, that Henry O. Flipper became the first black cadet to graduate
from West Point.
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166
CHAPTER 7
Segregation is Legalized
As Reconstruction ended, states in the South began writing new constitutions. Many
incorporated Jim Crow principles. In addition, federal court rulings set precedents
that states used to support segregation policies. Among these were two Supreme
Court rulings that became the legal basis for segregation in the United States.
The Slaughterhouse Cases
The first decision to help set a precedent for segregation appeared, on first glance, to
have nothing to do with race relations at all. In 1873 three separate cases regarding
the meatpacking industry in New Orleans were brought before the Supreme Court.
Together, these cases are called the Slaughterhouse Cases. A few years before the
cases were flied, the state of Louisiana decided to create a new corporation to run all
slaughterhouses in the city of New Orleans, largely for health and sanitation reasons.
The owners of slaughterhouses objected to the new corporation, stating that it would
be an unlawful monopoly that threatened their livelihood.
When their case reached the Supreme Court, the slaughterhouse owners argued
that the Louisiana law violated their rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. One
clause of that amendment had declared that no state could impede the rights and
privileges of its citizens. Unfortunately for the plaintiffs, the Supreme Court did not
agree. It said that the Fourteenth Amendment only protected the rights of national
citizenship, the rights granted to Americans by the Constitution. It did not protect
rights, such as business ownership, that had been granted by states.
Though they did not deal outright with segregation, the Slaughterhouse Cases
were later used to justify Jim Crow laws and the creation of separate facilities for
blacks and whites. After all, schooling, housing, transportation, and the like were
rights granted to citizens by states, not the federal government, and therefore states
had the right to determine how those rights were interpreted.
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3. How did the
Supreme Court interpret
the Fourteenth Amendment
in the Slaughterhouse cases?
Plessy v. Ferguson
In 1892 another case about discrimination came up. Liberal white and black attorneys protested a Louisiana law that prohibited blacks and whites from riding in the
same railroad car. One man, Homer Plessy, challenged that law. By blood, Plessy was
one-eighth black, as his great -grandmother had been black. Under Louisiana law,
this made Plessy black as well=though he looked white-which meant that he could
only ride on streetcars set aside for black travelers.
Supported by a group of political activists, Plessy refused to comply with the law.
In 1892 he took a seat in a white streetcar compartment. Plessy declared that, as he
was seven-eighths white, he deserved to sit there. When challenged, Plessy refused to
move and was arrested. In court, Plessy's attorneys argued that forcing black people
into separate cars branded them as inferior. Louisiana courts disagreed, claiming
that separate facilities did not demean blacks, as long as those facilities were equal.
Plessy appealed the state's decision, and the case landed before the U.S. Supreme
Court. In the landmark case Ple_ssyv. Ferguson, the Court sided with the lower
court. It agreed that segregation was lawful as long as blacks and whites had access to
equal facilities. This became known as the "separate but equal" doctrine.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
4. Use the context, or surrounding words in the sentence, to
write a definition of comply.
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THE SEPARATION OF THE RACES
167
The only justice who disagreed with the Plessy v. Ferguson decision was John
Marshall Harlan. Harlan argued that the decision would only worsen racial tension.
v.r Reading
Check
S. Describe What were the
results ofthe Supreme Court
decision in Plessyv. Ferguson?
HISTORY!S VOICES
"What can more certainly arouse hate, what more certainly create and perpetuate a feeling of distrust between these races, than state enactments, which, in
fact, proceed on the grounds that colored citizens are so inferior and degraded
that they cannot be allowed to sit in public coaches occupied by white citizens?"
-John
Marshall Harlan, Plessy v. Ferguson dissent, 1896
As Harlan feared, most whites saw Jim Crow separatism as a way to keep blacks
in the position of second-class citizens. The facilities available to African Americans
were seldom equal to those used by whites. In the South, for instance, 80 percent of
the money spent on education went to white schools, and little to black schools. ~
Barriers to Voting
The voting rights of African Americans became a major issue of concern for white
politicians. Some whites wanted to ensure that blacks had the right to vote-as long,
that is, as they voted to support certain policies. Other conservative white politicians
did not want black voters to have any say in the government at all.
Black Disenfranchisement
With the end of Reconstruction, white legislators across the South enacted new black
codes, including unfair voting laws, to keep black people from voting. For example, they
added literacy tests to their voting restrictions. Because many blacks had received no
education, they could not pass the tests. Inaddition, to keep poor blacks from voting,
states charged a fee to vote called a poll tax.
Because literacy tests and poll taxes also prevented poor and illiterate whites from voting,
some states included a grandfatlier clause in
their laws. Such clauses stated that if a persons
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that person could vote as well. These clauses
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to vote. Other states used a so-called clause of
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phrase taken from the Constitution. Since the
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1900-1916
1920-1924
explanations were judged by white officials,
Year
such clauses were easily exploited to only allow
Source: Who Voted? The Dynamics of Electoral Turnout, 187()"'1980
whites to vote. Some southern states also
banned blacks from taking part in primary
elections. They argued that because the prima6. Between 1876 and 1924, what was the greatest percentage of
black voter turnout, and when did it occur?
ries were sponsored by political parties, not by
the government, they were not covered under
the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.
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168 CHAPTER 7
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As a result of these restrictions on voting,
black voters had little say in who was elected
to office in the South. This meant that within
a few decades after the Civil War, many African American men were right back where
they started-unable
to vote and with little
say in the government.
The Populist Movement
Among those who supported blacks' voting
rights were members of the Populist movement. This movement had begun in the
1880s largely to support and protect farmers. In 1892 the Populists officially banded
together as a new political party.
To gain support for their programs and
candidates, some Populist leaders turned to
black voters. In places where blacks had been
blocked from voting, the Populists often
worked on behalf of black citizens, trying to
win back voting rights they had lost. Many
black voters did indeed cast their ballots for
Populist candidates. This, in turn, angered
conservative white Democrats. Fearing the increasing political power of black voters,
many conservative white leaders sought new ways to keep African American citizens
from voting.
With support from the Populists, black voters elected a few black politicians to
office in the South. Once such black office holder was George Henry White, who was
elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina. When elected,
he was the only black representative in Congress. White took his position as a representative of his whole race very seriously. For example, in response to a proposed
new tariffbill White spoke eloquently.
HISTORY'S VOICES
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Check
8. Identify What were two
common practices used to keep
African Americans from voting?
1'1 "am here to speak, and I do speak, as the sole representative on this floor
Qf 9,000,000 of the population of these United States, 90 per cent of whom
"are.laborers. Under this bill they are protected; they are given an oppor'" i~l'lity_toearn their living. Bread and butter are what we want, not finespun Democratic campaign theory. We have had enough of that."
-Ge~rge
Henry WRite, Speechto the House of Representatives, March 31, 1897
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Life under Jim Crow was often dangerous for African Americans. Jim Crow laws and
customs were backed with threats of violence. Blacks who violated Jim Crow laws and
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~s, customs, for example, by acting "too proud" or by trying to vote, risked their homes,
3" their jobs, their own lives, and even the lives of their family members.
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THE SEPARATION OFTHE RACES
169
Lynching
Among the most common-and most horrible-forms of racial violence in the late
1800s were lyncHings, or murders of individuals-usually by hanging-without
a trial. In the mid-1800s, lynch mobs and the majority of their victims were white
men. Most of the victims were accused of some sort of crime, like horse or cattle
theft. After Reconstruction, lynchings of blacks became more common. By the late
1890s, it was estimated that one African American was lynched every other day.
In total, nearly 900 blacks were lynched between 1882 and 1892. Many had committed no crime, but had offended a white person. Despite extreme danger, black
journalists, such as Ida Wells-Barnett, fought to expose the scale of white violence,
end lynchings, and defend the memories of black victims.
Race Riots
Reading Check
9. Analyze What was the cause
of most lynchings and race riots?
Race riots also provoked fear among blacks. During the Jim Crow era the number
of race riots increased dramatically. Most race riots occurred in cities when large
numbers of white people took to the streets to punish blacks accused of crimes or
misbehavior. Often, the rioting mob would target an entire black community.
The first major race riot of the Jim Crow era took place in 1898 in Wilmington,
North Carolina. Wilmington was home to a number of black professionals. In fact,
the majority of the city's population was black, which led to the election of a Republican government. In 1898 a group of white supremacists grabbed weapons and
stormed through the streets. The mob killed at least 10 black citizens and forced the
city's mayor to step down. Another major riot took place in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1906
rumors began to spread that black men in that city had been attacking white women.
In 'response, thousands of angry whites formed a mob. During the violence that followed, about 27 black citizens were killed and 70 more were injured.
Though lynchings and race riots were more common in the South, both forms of
violence were known in the North. Still, neither state nor federal agencies made any
sort of concerted effort to stop the violence or punish those who committed it. V1
Reviewing Ideas, Terms, and People
10. Define What were Jim Crow laws, and why were they passed?
11. Identify Cause and Effect What were the underlying causes of segregation and
racial violence in the South after Reconstruction 7
12. Elaborate How did the Supreme Court decision in P/essyv. Ferguson support racial
inequality?
170
CHAPTER 7