History 104- lecture 2 1/29/25 reconstruction

Section 1: Birthright Citizenship

• Establishes that all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. are citizens

• Citizenship is granted either by birth or through the naturalization process

• All citizens possess privileges and are subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S.

• No state can make laws that abridge the privileges or immunities of U.S. citizens

• States cannot deprive any individual of life, liberty, or property without due process

Section 2: Representation and Voting Rights

• Higher population of a state leads to greater representation in electoral votes

• Initially limited voting rights to men over the age of 21

• Emphasizes that all individuals, regardless of race or prior conditions, are included as citizens

• Criminals and those who have engaged in insurrection face different conditions regarding voting rights

• Excludes Native Americans from voting rights

Political Context of Section 2

• Associated with post-Insurrection and post-Revolutionary America

• Addresses insurrection and rebellion, particularly relevant to Loyalists post-American Revolution

• Congress can remove restrictions on citizenship for individuals who have engaged in insurrection

Section 4: Debt

• Prohibits the U.S. or states from assuming debts incurred to support insurrection or rebellion

• Addresses claims for emancipation of slaves after the Civil War, preventing compensation for slaveholders

Section 5: Enforcement

• Congress has the power to enforce provisions through appropriate legislation

• The 14th Amendment is a Radical Republican initiative

Section 15: Voting Rights

• The 15th Amendment prohibits denial of the right to vote due to race, color, or previous condition of servitude

• Congress has the authority to enforce this amendment

• Important to differentiate between the 14th (birthright citizenship) and 15th (voting rights) amendments

Emergence of Jim Crow America

• Jim Crow laws emerged post-Reconstruction, particularly impacting black men and their voting rights

• Jim Crow originates from a blackface character by Thomas D. Rice, symbolizing racial caricature

• Time period for Jim Crow laws: late 19th century (1870s-1920s)

Disenfranchisement and Intimidation

• Voter intimidation tactics curtailed political participation of black individuals

• Poll taxes and literacy tests were used to suppress black voter turnout

• White supremacy groups targeted black voters and political figures

Sociopolitical Context of Jim Crow

• Jim Crow laws resulted in separate institutions (schools, transportation, public facilities)

• The notion of 'Separate but Equal' emerged from court cases affirming racial segregation

• Violence, including lynching, became a tactic to enforce racial hierarchies

Lynching and Extralegal Violence

• Lynching practices were often justified as community actions against perceived threats, especially against black men

• The Southern rape myth justified lynching as a means of protecting white women

• Black men, regardless of reputation, were vulnerable to lynching accusations based on mere suspicion

Ida B. Wells and Anti-Lynching Advocacy

• Wells highlighted lynching as a systemic and extralegal form of violence that perpetuated racial terror

• Noted that lynching operated outside of judicial law, yet was viewed as a form of traditional justice

• Emphasized the racial dynamics whereby both race and gender were leveraged in justifying violence

Cultural Representations: Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit"

• The song depicts the harsh realities of lynching through nature and violent imagery

• Contrasts beauty with brutality, criticizing societal acceptance of lynching as entertainment

• The song serves as a haunting reminder of the legacy of racism in America

The Scale of Lynching in History

• Statistics reveal widespread occurrences of lynching against both African Americans and Mexican-origin people

• Mexican-origin individuals historically faced high rates of lynching, particularly after the Mexican-American War

Legal Context: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

• Legal case establishing the constitutionality of racial segregation under "Separate but Equal" doctrine

• Homer Plessy, a mixed-race man, fought against segregation in Louisiana railcars

• Result of the case entrenched segregation for over 50 years until overturned by later civil rights cases

Legacy of Segregation

• Plessy v. Ferguson maintained segregation laws nationwide, influencing the Civil Rights movement

• Other landmark cases such as Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Act (1964) challenged segregation

• Highlighting the duration and deep impact of legalized racism in the U.S. history.