AA CIvil rights

Thirteenth Amendment

1865 - Freed all slaves. Terms included worship freely in their own churches, own property, become educated, travel freely

Emancipation Proclamation

Issued by President Lincoln on 1st January 1863. It gave freedom only to those slaves in rebel-held territory in the south.

Explain two amendments and acts which were passed after the Civil War to help civil rights

Fourteenth Amendment- gave all freed blacks citizenship and equal protection under the law

Fifteenth Amendment- right to vote not to be denied based on race, colour or previous confit Ivón of servitude

Why did Johnson clash with radical republicans?

Johnson wanted to re-admit the southern states to the union and return to pre-war relations.

People feared that if this came to fruition that whites would take over the reconstruction.

Radical republicans thought all people had the right o live the American Dream, even freed slaves.

Explain how far AA's gained political rights in the North and South as a result of Reconstruction

Over 700,000 black men now enrolled to vote, major role in electing members to the Conventions (by 1868 these organisations has had established civil rights on equal terms to blacks.

Gained greatly from Republican policies even if the motives behinds these were punishments for Confederates.

Real political power for black men was limited, not elected in proportion to their numbers

Conventions

Large meetings that were held in each southern state to draw up a new constitution. Document to grant AA's civil rights equal to whites before being re-admitted to the Union.

How many AA's were there in the north until after 1877?

Less than 5%

Were civil rights more apparent in the north?

Their right to vote and equality of opportunity in thee north remained theoretical as it had before emancipation.

One are where northern AA's could take advantage was politics. In the 1870s, 22 AA were elected to Congress, 20 to House of Representatives and 2 to the Senate ( one being Blanche K. Bruce)

Blanche K. Bruce

Elected to Senate in 1875-81. First black leader who had an important career after the civil war.

He lacked support from others and was unable to help increase civil rights for AA's in general

Frederick Douglass

He was the leading black opponent of slavery in the years before the civil war.

Active in the anti-slavery society and set up his own anti-slavery newspaper.

Took part in many speaking tours arguing for black rights.

Explain how significant the Freedman's Bureau was

Supported freed slaves in the short term and provided a basis for their long-term security.

Supported the work of black self-help groups, providing education and financial support by philanthropic organisations in the north.

Bureau closed in 1872 with the decline of radical Republicans. A sign the north were losing enthusiasm for interfering with the south.

By 1890 how many AA were unable to write compared to white counterparts?

Education advances were only for a minority of AA: by 1890, 65% of AA kids were still unable to write, compared to 15% of white kids.

Civil Rights Act 1866

Passed by Congress on 9th April 1866 over the veto of President Andrew Johnson. The act declared that all persons born in the United States were now citizens, without regard to race, color, or previous condition.

Sharecropping

When landowners divided up their plantations into small tenancies of between 30 and 50 acres. Many landowners were almost ruined by Civil War and could not afford to pay wages to work the land. Freedmen and poorer farmers could rent their own farms by giving half their crop to the landowner as rent.

To what extent did AA lack land?

It was land that was frequently most lacking for AA because capital was in short supply and only white merchants and planters possessed the necessary links to obtain it. Many AA became wage-earning labourers (via sharecropping).

What was the problem with the sharecropping system?

Frequently one-sided.

No control over the materials they bought and found that, because he supplied the tools and animals, the master demanded higher and higher proportions of the final crop.

Had to borrow money at crippling rates of interest (crop-lien system).

Majority of AA's in south remained bottom of economic pile.

Crop-lien system

Profits from harvesting a crop would be used to pay back loans and supplies given on credit by local shopkeepers. Lenders often insisted the crop be cotton because its sales were seen ad reliable (one crop economy).

De jure

Means the official position in law

De facto

Means the actual position in reality

How did white southerners use the law to maintain their supremacy?

The Slaughterhouse Case

When was and what is the Slaughterhouse Case?

1873- The federal SC deduced that the rights of citizens should stay under state rather than federal control. It ruled that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution protected a person's individual rights but not their state civil rights.

When were the Black Codes were set up?

1865/6

What did the Black Codes say?

When did segregation begin?

Formal segregation did not occur until the 1880s and 1890s in the south, many aspects of it were apparent from the start of AA freedom in 1865.

Why was separate religious worship so significant?

Liberty of worship afforded after 1865.

Churches were an escape from unpleasant life but later became a vital base to help moves towards equality.

Black ministers were to emerge as clear leaders of their communities.

What were the aims of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)?

Saw terror rather than encouragement as the way to enforce separation of the races. Specifically set up to oppose any attempt to try to persuade newly enfranchised blacks to vote Republican and guarantee the supremacy of the white race.

When were the KKK set up?

December 1865 in Tennessee

Examples of the atmosphere of racial hostility and terror in 19th century

Memphis, May 1866- 3 days of violence after collision between 2 horse drawn carriages with black and white drivers. 46 were killed and 5 women raped.

New Orleans, July 1867- AA soldiers travelling to vote were attacked: 34 people were killed and over 100 injured.

How did northern control of the South end?

As the 1870s progressed, the northern Republican held on the south began to weaken. By the early 1870s most southern states had accepted their new constitutions and developed their own Redemption governments that took over north imposed governments.

Civil Rights Act 1875

Equal access to public accommodations. However, it was not enforced and later it was declared unconstitutional by SC in 1883.

U.S. v. Cruikshank

1876- Following a riot in Louisianan which left 70 AA and 2 whites dead, over 100 white men were arrested by Federal authorities. They were freed when the SC ruled that the Enforcement Act was unconstitutional.

Enforcement Acts of 1870 and 1871

Legislation passed in 1870 and 1871 to give power to the 15th Amendment. It imposed harsh penalties on anyone convicted of preventing any citizen from voting. In 1871 it expanded federal control over state elections and outlawed white supremacy group like the Ku Klux Klan.

What was the 'Compromise' of 1877?

Electoral commission found in favour of Hayes (Rep) over Tilden (Dem) in Presidential election of Nov 1876, which was smoothed over with an agreement that Dem would accept him as President, providing he promised to withdraw remaining troops from the south.

This ended Reconstruction.

What civil rights had AA gained by 1877?

Slavery had gone forever

There was freedom of movement and freedom of marriage

Briefly, they had been given the right to vote and in a few cases a significant political role, though these rights were soon to end in southern states

Educational opportunities in all states became a reality for thousands of AA's, though overall standard lagged behind whites.

Made full use of the right to freedom of worship

Problems AA faced by 1877

Most lacked land, capital or other lucrative employment opportunities: they often ended up working for their former masters.

Majority of men found themselves barred from voting by 1877 and political opportunities closed off.

They lived in fear of intimidation and violence, especially if they asserted their rights

More formal segregation of the races was beginning

What had caused the failure of Reconstruction and the loss of civil rights for AA's?

The weakness of southern Republicans contrasted with the determined opposition of most southern whites to accept the concept of civil equality or AA's.

The loss of interest in the welfare of AA's in northern states so stopped helping AA's in the south.

North and south whites wanted to reconcile, in 1876/7 this meant ending Reconstruction to avoid re-igniting civil war.

Nature of southern rural poverty in 1877-1915

Sharecroppers received artificially low price for their produce, 'masters' insisted they carry on growing cotton and tobacco (labour intensive crops).

Suffered more than most when boll weevil reached southern states in 1892 and damaged the cotton crop.

How many AA farmers owned their land by 1910?

25% (15 million acres, compared to 3 million acres in 1875).

How many AA lived in the South in 1900?

90%, 1% less than 1870

Why was migration to the north low?

It was at the expense of stability

What was ironic about formal segregation?

Encouraged the development and extension of black self-help communities and businesses, creating a small black middle class.

By 1915 how many businesses were owned by Black people in the South?

30,000

How many AA moved to the north before WW1?

Approx 10%

What was life like for those who move north?

Quality of life did not significantly improve.

No legally determined segregation but experienced discrimination in employment, housing, education, confinement to specific areas and interracial violence.

Greater possibility of franchise, votes capable of determining outcome of elections at local levels + strong black culture developing.

Jim Crow Laws

Laws designed to enforce segregation of blacks from whites, started to develop before the end of Reconstruction and noticeable in states heavily populated with AA's- Mississippi and Alabama

When was segregation formalised in the south?

After 1891

Plessy v. Ferguson

a 1896 Supreme Court decision which legalised state ordered segregation so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal; in reality, black facilities were of a lower standard

What measures were taken to remove back voting rights?

Southern state govt imposed voting requirements to get around the 15th amendment, because they were technically non-racial.

Examples of voting restrictions imposed by the south

Poll tax- voters had to make a monetary payment before polling.

Property qualifications- only those who owned their own home could vote.

Literacy tests- in Mississippi you had to interpret a section of the Constitution, arranged so uneducated whites test were similar than AA's.

Grandfather clauses- franchise granted to adult males providing fathers or grandfathers had voted before Reconstruction (1867) and the growth in black franchise.

When was the black vote basically eliminated in the south?

1910

Mississippi v Williams

1898- ruled that the Mississippi poll tax and similar devices did not breach the 15th amendment, and were constitutional

Lynching

putting an AA to death by mob action without due process of law

convict leasing

Southern state officials allowed private companies to hire out prisoners to labor under brutal conditions in mines and other industries.

When was the Atlanta Speech?

1895

What did Booker T. Washington argue at the Atlanta Speech?

If whites regarded blacks as potential economic partners, the race question would be defused.

The emphasis for black people should be on education and economic opportunity rather than social equality (esp. voting rights)

How did Washington cement his reputation?

Gaining the interest of President Theodore Roosevelt, who consulted Washington on AA questions and invited him for tea in the White House.

1900- organised the Negro Business League, national centre for black chambers of commerce.

What were the arguments of Washington's critics?

Argued that he seemed to accept the idea of white supremacy and was making no attempt to challenge the lower social position of AA's

W.E.B. Du Bois regarded Washington's views as dangerous for the future development of the black race.

What was Washington's contribution to civil rights?

Own advancement from slave to College Principal provided inspiring example.

Between 1895 to at least 1905, he was the main leader and spokesman of AA's in USA

Developed many valuable contacts for AA's in politics

Long term aim was to show whites that blacks could equal them in hard work and practical skills

What weren't Washington's contributions to civil rights?

Policy appeared to accept lower position of AA's

Focused on working within the system, rather than trying to change the system itself.

Negative view of the importance of the vote brought him criticism.