Limitations of African American rights in the late 19th century

WJEC 'The American Century'

In what ways were the civil rights of African Americans limited in the late 19th century?

• Disenfranchisement

• Supreme Court decisions

• Segregation laws/Jim Crow laws

• Racial violence/lynching

What was ‘Disenfranchisement’?

Disenfranchisement denied the right to vote for African Americans in many ways, and took place by fraud and intimidation. This was done in four ways:

• The Grandfather Clause

• Poll Tax

• Literacy test

• Understanding Clause

What were the Reconstruction Amendments?

13th Amendment - Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude

14th Amendment - Established citizenship rights

15th Amendment - forbade discrimination based upon race, colour, or previous status as a slave in voting rights

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Although these were not effective as there were loopholes by bringing in voting clauses that were based upon education, money, and the introduction of needing your Grandfather to have been able to vote by 1867.

What were the two significant Supreme Court rulings?

Plessy v Ferguson and the Mississippi ruling

What happened in Plessy v Ferguson?

1n 1892 Plessy, an African American, challenged Louisiana law which said separate accommodation was required for different races on trains.  The Supreme Court declared it acceptable provided the facilities were equal, thus the ‘separate but equal’ idea was endorsed by the highest court in the land.

What happened in the Mississippi ruling?

In another case in Mississippi, the Supreme Court extended this principle to schools; thus the idea of segregation took hold with a vengeance in the southern states.

What impact did the segregation laws have now that they were deemed legal?

Jim Crow laws were more far-reaching, detailed, and strictly enforced than anything that had existed before. The *Plessy* case gave official approval of these laws, which were soon applied to every aspect of public life in the southern states.  The Jim Crow laws accompanied by outbreaks of racial violence and a real effort to disenfranchise African Americans.

Did segregation incite racial violence or a belief in Social Darwinism?

yes, by 1900 African Americans were largely denied the vote and more rigidly segregated than ever.  The idea of white supremacy encouraged a climate of racial violence.  Savage mobs attacked African American residential areas eg in Wilmington, North Carolina 1898, and Atlanta in 1900.  Sporadic race riots also plagued northern cities such as New York and Philadelphia. 

What was lynching?

A group of people killing somebody else (in this case, African Americans) for alleged crimes without a fair trial and often done by hanging. A notable case was Emmett Till who was 14 when he was lynched, for supposedly offending a white woman.

What caused lynching?

Lynching reached its peak in the 1890s - there were nearly 3,000 victims between 1880-1930 in 10 southern states. It was provoked by a variety of alleged crimes and the economic competition African Americans presented. It was often aided by the collusion of law enforcement officers, and there were no convictions for participation in lynching until 1918.  Lynching created a climate of fear, and deterred challenges to a white-dominated society.