Black History

Missouri Compromise: A bill passed in March 1820 that allowed Maine to enter as a free state and Missouri as a slave state; they wanted to keep the number of slave and free states even. Banned slavery in the remaining portion of land from the Louisiana Purchase(southern border of Missouri, or the 36o30’ parallel). Retained the balance of slave and free states, retained for over 30 years. Served as a compromise rather than a solution to the problem of slave v. free states, which kept them divided and escalated tensions between the North and South.

Dred Scott Case: Dred Scott was a slave owned by Dr. Emerson, a surgeon of the US Army who lived in Missouri, a slave state. Due to his job, Dr. Emerson would move often, and in 1833, he was transferred to Illinois, a free state, and in 1835, they moved into Wisconsin territory. Since it was too expensive for him to file for freedom, he decided not to. He married Harriet Robinson while he was in Illinois, and they moved back to Missouri with Dr. Emerson together. After Dr. Emerson’s death, Scott and his wife sued for freedom from his(Dr Emerson’s) wife; they believed their residency in a free state made it illegal for them to be enslaved. Lower Court #1 ruled in favor of him, Wwhile the appeals court did not. 

Supreme Court Ruling: In 1857, the court ruled that all African Americans were not and never could be citizens of the U.S. They also ruled that Congress did not have the power to prohibit slavery, making the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. Chief Justice Roger Taney’s reasoning for the ruling was to “avoid a war.”

The ruling denied citizenship to the enslaved and showed the South’s efforts to continue and preserve the practice of slavery, and the invalidation of the Missouri Compromise fueled tensions between the North and South and widened the gap between them. Further restricted the rights of African Americans.

Causes of The Civil War

Dred Scott Case(1857): Many Northerners were abolitionists, who believed that the practice of slavery was immoral and that the nation should be unified. However, Southerners believed in the right of states to self-govern and needed slavery for their economy. The Dred Scott case declared the Missouri Compromise and citizenship of African Americans unconstitutional, which were big milestones in the movement to abolish slavery, which angered the North.

Lincoln’s Election: Abraham Lincoln is elected in November 1860, and is an abolitionist; he wants to abolish slavery in the South. However, the South believes he is a tyrant and that he is overstepping the control of the national government. They needed slavery for their primarily agricultural economy, and they feared its abolition. Just 1 month later, on December 20th, 1860, South Carolina seceded, followed by 11 other states.

Power of National Government: The South believed that slavery was a state issue, not a federal issue, and thought that Lincoln’s need to abolish slavery overstepped the control of the national government over states.

Economy: Unlike the North, the South relied primarily on its slaves to function in its agricultural economy.

North v. South: They had different opinions on slavery; the North thought it was immoral, while the South relied on it.

Reconstruction Era: Time period following the American Civil War(1865-1877). Occurred shortly after the assassination of Lincoln and during the Presidency of Andrew Johnson. The goal was to reintegrate the freed slaves and the South and rebuild the economy. The Emancipation Proclamation and 13th Amendment freed slaves, and the 10% Plan(Proclamation of Amnesty & Reconstruction) was proposed by Lincoln to reintegrate the South quickly. During this time, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were passed, which helped reintegrate slaves into society and expanded their rights, allowing civil rights movements to occur later in the 1960s. Reconstruction is seen as a failure due to the South’s resistance.

Abraham Lincoln: President during the Civil War and the beginning of the Reconstruction Era(elected in November 1860). He signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared all slaves in Confederate states free, and ratified the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. During Reconstruction, he proposed the 10% Plan, formally known as the Proclamation of Amnesty & Reconstruction, which required 10% of all voters in a Southern state to pledge allegiance to the U.S, a lenient plan to quickly reintegrate the South back into the Union. He was assassinated and died on April 15th, 1865.

Negative impact: The 10% Plan was short-sighted and allowed states full of people who supported the Confederacy and slavery back into the U.S., where they could hold positions of power. 

Positive Impact: The 13th Amendment outlawed slavery across the Union and the South, expanding the freedoms of African Americans.

Andrew Johnson: Democrat from Tennessee. Vice President of Abraham Lincoln, and became president after his assassination. He pardoned Confederate leaders, allowed black codes, and did not enforce any laws against slavery or racism. He vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which was the first Federal law to declare all people equal and give everyone equal rights and protections, such as owning land and signing contracts, because he thought the law gave the Federal government too much power; his veto was overridden. In 1868, the H.O.R. impeached him, however, he was one vote short and was not impeached.

In 1868, Johnson lost the presidential election to Ulysses S. Grant.

Negative Impact: He was against civil rights, allowed black codes to form, didn’t enforce civil rights laws, and allowed racism to continue. 

Positive Impact: The Civil Rights Act of 1866

Ku Klux Klan: Hate/terrorist white supremacist organization founded in Tennessee in 1866. They targeted African Americans and whites who supported equality, and many federal laws that were passed to protect or expand the rights of African Americans were threatened by the KKK. They faced no repercussions for their threats and overpowered local police, and would burn or bomb houses, which intimidated African Americans and minorities from voting.

Lynchings: Illegal executions by a racially motivated mob/racially motivated murder. Often performed by the KKK.

Negative Impact: Upheld white supremacy & antisemitism, intimidated minorities using violence, hindered the development of racial justice and equality. Restricted the rights and freedoms of African Americans.

Sharecroppers: Tenant farmers who would work land in exchange for a share of crops. They would receive a share of land, harvest their crops, give the landowner part of the harvest, and keep the remaining crops in exchange for clothing and shelter. Maintained a power complex and cycle of poverty; they would use any money they received to pay back landowners(for rent, clothing, tools, etc.), which would cost more money than they received, causing them to fall deeper into debt(Economic oppression). Consisted of African Americans and poor whites in the South. 

Negative Impact: Contributed to the cycle of poverty and maintained slavery; African Americans were not given the land they were promised during the Civil War.

Scalawags: White southerners who were middle class farmers that supported reform and African American rights. Worked to create schools and new opportunities(with carpetbaggers) in the South, and wanted the South to grow with the North. They supported the Republican Party and were for equality.

Positive Impact: United 2 races of people and 3 groups(scalawags, carpetbaggers, African Americans) under the same beliefs, established schools and helped with equality and economic reforms.

Carpetbaggers: Individuals from the North who moved to the South to take advantage of the economic and political opportunities during Reconstruction. They were depicted negatively due to their economic status(richer) and were accused of being opportunists. However, some of these Northerners wanted to help rebuild the South; they wanted to change state governments, change laws, build schools/educate, and help with reconstruction since they had a lot of power and money.

Positive Impact: Bought equality, aided reconstruction, and helped minorities.

The Freedman’s Bureau: Established in 1865 by Congress to help former black slaves and poor whites in the South. It was a U.S. Federal Government agency chartered by Abraham Lincoln for 1 year, and offered food, shelter, medical care, established schools, negotiated labor contracts, and helped reunite families(in the South). It failed in 1872 due to underfunding and backlash from white southerners who believed it threatened their social dominance. President Andrew Johnson was against such policies. Hope for reconstruction leaves when the agency is abolished.

Positive Impact: Showed the Federal government was making efforts to make society more equal. 

Black Codes: Local laws passed from state to state to keep former slaves dependent on white people; replaced slave codes. Took away the rights and economic, social, and political freedoms of the formerly enslaved to continue white supremacy. Included laws such as:{the unemployed or homeless could be arrested; previously enslaved black orphans could be forcefully labored; African Americans could not own a firearm; prevented interracial marriage.} Outlawed by the passing of the 14th Amendment.

Negative impact: Maintained the dynamic of slavery(slave codes), interfered with race relations, and maintained white supremacy in the South.

Poll Tax: A fee that must be paid to vote. Made as a loophole to the 15th Amendment, which states that all men have the right to vote, it prevented African Americans in the South from voting, as many of them were sharecroppers/impoverished and could not pay the fee(approximately $1). It was a part of the many voting restrictions in the South. Banned in the 1960s because of the 24th Amendment.

Grandfather Clause: A voting restriction that exempted people whose ancestors could vote(ancestors from before the Civil War) from paying poll taxes and taking literacy tests. It was a loophole around the 15th Amendment that prevented African Americans from voting while still allowing whites to vote. Ruled unconstitutional in 1915.

Literacy Test: A voting restriction; literacy/civics tests were given out by white clerks that assessed reading, writing, and civics. Stopped African Americans from voting, since many were illiterate due to their lack of education or money. Due to the Grandfather Clause, whites did not need to take these tests; only African Americans did.

Negative Impact(of Poll Taxes, Grandfather Clause, and Literacy Tests): Suppressed the growth of racial representation, prevented millions of African Americans from voting and having a say, which continued for the next 100 years.

Lynching: Illegal executions by a racially motivated mob/racially motivated murder. These were done in public in front of crowds, and people were often hanged for their skin color. Murders were also politically motivated and sent a message to African Americans to intimidate them and prevent them from voting. Declared a federal hate crime in 2022.

Negative Impact: Upheld white supremacy & antisemitism, intimidated minorities using violence, hindered the development of racial justice and equality.

Jim Crow Era: Era of segregation; primarily De Jure(by law) segregation through Jim Crow Laws, which required the separation of whites and African Americans. These were local/state laws mandating racial segregation. It separated public facilities/places, such as bathrooms and restaurants. The Supreme Court Case Plessy v. Ferguson introduced the phrase “separate but equal,” and set a precedent that anything could be segregated as long as it was “equal,” which meant that Jim Crow laws did not violate the 14th Amendment. 

Negative Impact: African Americans had worse public facilities, conditions, and education, and were more likely to receive more severe punishments for the same crime. After Brown v. BOE, schools could no longer be segregated, which led to De Facto segregation, which was segregation by fact(society), which exists due to economic, social, and racial standards, which continued even after the outlawing of Jim Crow laws and the end of the Jim Crow Era. Created a divide between both groups.

Charles Houston: Known as “the man who killed Jim Crow.” He attended Harvard, was the Dean at Howard University, was privileged growing up, and originally had no plans to fight for civil rights. However, during WWI, he volunteered to fight in the army, where he served in a segregated army, and was restricted from housing, bathing, and was harassed, and feared being lynched by soldiers in the US Army. After the war, he realized how bad racism was and decided to study law and fight against Jim Crow laws and segregation. He did this by gathering young African American lawyers, and decided to start with disproving the concept of “separate but equal,” in education, by using the example of teacher salaries.

Montgomery Bus Boycott: Bus boycott led by Martin Luther King Jr.; African Americans refused to ride the buses to change the policy of “whites in the front and African Americans in the back.” Lasted for 381 days and resulted in the integration of buses.

Little Rock 9: In 1957, 9 African American students attended an all-white school(Central High School) in Little Rock, Arkansas. They were escorted to school by the military due to violent protests and resistance. This was due to the ruling of Brown v. BOE, which made racial segregation in schools illegal.

Emmett Till: Start of the Civil Rights Movement. In August of 1955, Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy from Chicago, went to an area with far less segregation, visited his cousins in the South, where he was dared to go into a store. He was brutally murdered by 2 white men of the KKK, and his murderers were found innocent when tried in court.

De Facto and De Jure Segregation

De Facto Segregation: Segregation by fact(society) rather than laws; comes after segregation is declared illegal. Segregation based on societal standards/way of life(economic, political, social, housing, jobs, education, etc). Occurred/started after the Brown v. BOE decision, as many schools did not want to integrate. 

De Jure Segregation: Segregation by law. Included segregation in public facilities, such as bathrooms, restaurants, schools, railroad carts, water fountains, etc. Ex: Jim Crow Laws were a form of De Jure Segregation, as they were local/state laws that mandated segregation that were enforced by state governments. Ruled constitutional in Plessy v. Ferguson. 

Civil Rights Act of 1964: Civil rights law that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and/or national origin. Signed on July 2nd, 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson. 

Bloody Sunday/March to Birmingham: Occurred March 7th, 1965. It was a peaceful march from Selma to Birmingham, Alabama, to demand equal voting rights. Protesters were blocked and violently attacked by police. Another march(Selma March) occurred from March 21-25, 1965, which was attended by 25,000 people. Inspired the passing of the Voting Rights Act.

Voting Rights Act: Signed by President Johnson on August 6th, 1965, and outlawed literacy tests, prohibited voting discrimination, and gave racial minorities the right to vote. Expanded the rights of African Americans.

13th, 14th, 15th,  24th  Amendments

13th Amendment: Outlawed slavery and indentured/involuntary servitude(except as a punishment for a crime, which was used as a loophole). Ratified during Lincoln’s Presidency.

14th Amendment: All people have equal protection under the law; it grants those who are born in America citizenship(birthright citizenship). Passed due to the worsening racial relations in the South, and outlawed black codes. Ratified during Andrew Johnson’s presidency. Used in both Plessy and Brown.

15th Amendment: All men have the right to vote; granted the ability to vote to all African Americans. The South would come up with loopholes such as poll taxes, literacy/civics tests, and the Grandfather Clause to prevent African Americans from voting.

24th Amendment: Prohibits both federal and state governments from requiring poll taxes or any other taxes to vote in federal elections. In response to all the voting restrictions imposed by the South as a loophole around the 15th Amendment, poll taxes were outlawed.

Plessy v. Ferguson: Homer Plessy, who was ⅛ black, looked white and decided to sit in a white car. However, due to the Louisiana Separate Car Act, he was arrested for refusing to leave the white car. 

Ratio: 7-1 for Ferguson.

Supreme Court case ruled in 1896 that established the concept of “separate but equal” laws. Established that segregation by law(De Jure) was okay and did not violate the 14th Amendment. The precedent of the ruling remained for the next 58 years until the case Brown v. BOE.

Negative Impact: Allowed Jim Crow laws to be implemented across the South for nearly 60 years, established legal segregation, and caused a racial divide, which limited the rights and freedoms of African Americans.

Brown v. Board of Education: In 1951, Oliver Brown filed a lawsuit demanding that his children, along with the other local African American children, be allowed to attend nearby white schools rather than black schools that were further away. 

Ratio: 9-0(unanimous) for Brown.

Supreme Court case ruled on May 17th, 1954, which ruled that the statement “separate but equal” from Plessy v. Ferguson had no place in education, overturning the precedent from Plessy. The separate schools were deemed unequal, and therefore violated the 14th Amendment.

Positive Impact: Banned legal segregation in public schools across the US, allowing schools to be integrated; major step towards racial equality.

Result of the work of Charles Hamilton Houston.