African Americans Flashcards
(35 cards)
What was Johnson’s plan?
It was to re-build confederate states and integrate AA’s in to society.
The plan was as such:
All southerners had to swear the oath of allegiance
All states had to ratify the 13th amendment
All stolen property (bar slaves) was to be returned
Civil and military leaders were not to be pardoned
Slaves were to be given land (special field order #15) known as “forty acres and a mule”.
Why did Johnson’s plan fail?
13,000 southern rebels were pardoned
Punishment of rebel leaders was abandoned
Many of the above were allowed to return to office
Failed to enforce the ratification of the 13th amendment
The freedmen’s bureau had limited impact as 1 agent per 10,000 - 20,000 men. Education also did not happen.
There were also many diseases.
How many black people were killed in Texas between 1865 + ????
1,000. 8,500 men were indited for the murders however none were prosecuted.
What happened in the period of hope 1867-77?
1,465 black men held office within southern states (the majority was in South Carolina and Louisiana.
Blanche K. Bruce represented Mississippi in the US senate.
Black Codes were largely nullified but show white attitudes.
Most states refused to do anything further than integration.
What was the situation for AA’s by the mid 1870’s?
Many were sharecroppers - meaning they were still dependent on white landowners
Industrial employment was avoided as it meant less jobs for the whites.
The Freedmen’s Bureau closed in 1872.
There was essentially a contrast between de jure and de facto.
What did states do to get around the 15th amendment?
Most southern states used the understanding clause. In Mississippi voters had to take an literacy test. Georgia used a poll tax of $2. In Louisiana a grandfather clause was introduced.
Who was the last black congressman?
George Henry White. He was elected in 1896, re-elected in 1898 and his term expired in 1901. After him no blacks served in congress for 28 years and none from the southern states for 72 years.
What were the statistics for black voting in the South Carolina presidential elections?
1880 -70% of eligible AA’s voted.
1896 - 11% of eligible AA’s voted.
What were the Jim Crow laws?
They were a series of laws put in place by the southern states between 1887 - 1891.
It started with segregating blacks and whites on train carriages and in some states giving them separate waiting rooms. This re-enforced school segregation that was already in place.
After 1891 this was extended to all kinds of public places.
This was deemed constitutional in the 1891 case Plessy vs Fergerson. This ruled that segregation didn’t mean inferior just separate (Known as the separate but equal ruling).
List some examples of Jim Crow Laws
Blacks and white’s could not marry each other
School resources could not be shared between races, which ever race had first used it (normally whites) got to keep it. This reinforced the gap between education quality for the races.
What was the “great migration”?
A mass migration of AA’s from the South to the North from 1900-1920. In 1900 only 911,000 AA’s lived in the north, by 1920 this had doubled.
List the positives and negatives of the north (in 1920).
+Fewer lynchings - but it is not publicly condemned
+Blacks with voting rights could be Jurors (made trials fairer and more open.
+Institutionalised racism not as prevalent
+Segregation encouraged black culture and jazz
+Significant black middle class develops
-Development of Ghetto’s (has an impact on education)
-Unofficially segregation moves north
-1919 soldiers come back to find AA’s in their jobs - leads to the Chicago race riots.
-Severe workplace discrimination in unionised and skilled work
During 1915-1920 did civil rights change in the South?
Workers focused on survival rather than civil rights and there was less black consciousness - this was the opposite in the North.
Radical black newspapers were not present in the south. This stopped the spreading of ideas (such as black consciousness)
There were attempts to make lynching a crime - but this was not as prominent in the south - because the NAACP did not operate in the south.
There was opposition to any attempts at federal intervention - the south liked being able to do what they wanted.
Segregation still continued (education issues)
How did the NAACP develop in the period from WW1 to WW2?
After WW1 there was a surge in membership - leading to 90,000+ members by 1920. This was due to fighting alongside Indians, Australians, etc. This showed that Americans could have equality. This declined to 50,000 members in the 1930's. The NAACP was mostly run by middle class AA's and Whites who had limited contact with the socially deprived.
What was the impact of the Scottboro boys trial (1931)?
They were 9 boys accused of raping somebody. it lead to a supreme court decision that at least one AA must be on the Jury for an AA trial.
How did WW2 help AA’s?
Helps to discredit racism - as what difference is there between AA’s and Jews?
Helps to increase economic standing - as working in industry and gaining skills.
Migration (2 million AA’s) into cities as this was where jobs in defence were and farming was becoming more mechanised. this lead to greater safety and more political power.
NAACP membership increased by 400,000 members.
What were the negative effects of WW2?
With many people moving into big cities there was a shortage of homes - so whites saw AA’s as rivals. This caused resentment and led to the race riots in 1943.
Expansion of the pentagon and Arlington national cemetery caused the demolition of several hundred AA homes.
There was also tension within the workplace. When the Alabama dry dock company hired AA’s in 1943 there was a revolt and 50 AA’s were injured. This was due to a perceived “competition” for jobs and an unease about AA’s working with women.
What was the FECP?
The Fair Employment Practises Committee set up by FDR in 1941 to examine cases of discrimination in employment. Congress however cut it’s funding in 1945 and dissolved it in 1946, furthermore 2/3rds of the 8,000 cases it received were dismissed. This does however show how important congressional funding was.
Who was Emmett Till and what were the consequences of this event?
14 yr old boy who was murdered in 1955 for allegedly flirting with a white woman. The damage to him was so bad that he was unidentifiable. This meant that at trial his murderers were not convicted because they could not prove that the body was Emmett’s. This miscarriage of justice gained international attention and lead to most people giving support for the civil rights movement. It also showed the impact of the Jim crow laws on the south.
What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
It started when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white man. She was arrested and charged $10. Local AA’s then began to boycott the bus company - initially for 24 hours and then until they changed their policy. It was ruled in court that the policy was unconstitutional - this was appealed but rejected. The boycott eventually ended after 381 days.
What was little rock and what were it’s impacts?
Little rock is a town in Arkansas. 9 AA’s enrolled in a school there in 1957 (after Brown vs Board). they were initially refused entry and were only allowed in after Eisenhower intervened and state troopers were required to protect the students.
This was significant as Eisenhower was protecting civil rights and setting himself, and other presidents, a precedent of getting involved.
What was the Birmingham Protest?
It took place between April 3rd and May 10th 1963. It was designed to bring attention to the integration efforts of AA’s in Birmingham, Alabama. This was described as “the most segregated city in the country”. It was also chosen as the police chief was known to be violent and anti civil rights. They used sit ins and marches which provoked mass arrests. They also used elementary and high school children to make the arrests more unfair.
What were the effects of the Birmingham Protest?
Desegregation within Birmingham took place and the mayor created a biracial committee on the issue; however black clerks, police officials and firemen were not hired (although the deal stated this should happen..
JKF’s civil rights act was drawn up in response to this, and James Baldwin (an organiser) met with attorney general Robert. F. Kennedy.
SCLC also came to prominence and showed that passive resistance in the south could work - in contrast with the court based, northern NAACP.
However there was a tear gas attack on a department store when it complied with desegregation and the KKK attacked a black church - killing four girls. This shows how threatened they were, as they claimed to be Christians but attacked a christian church.
What was the March on Washington?
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Was a civil rights protest to shed light on the political and economical challenges for AA’s in America; that took place on August 28th 1963. MLK’s “I have a dream” speech occurred here. Whilst 200,000 people attended the event (80% black 20% white) there was opposition and threats of murder and bombing.
The general view of AA’s improved and there was increased interest in the civil rights movements, and helped to pass the civil rights act of 1964. However it was criticised by Malcolm X as “a picnic” and a “circus”
