African Americans In The Guilded Aged Flashcards
Economic progress
There was a slow movement towards more landownership among AA however as vast majority was still sharecropping
By 1910 about 25% finally owned their own land this meant that the standards where slightly raised
A lot more moved north to seek higher income jobs
What was some social progress
They mainly migrated west and north - doubled from 460,000 to over 910,00
Small groups moved into New York district of Harlem in 1880s developed the first black ghetto
In 1882 senator Henry w. Blair of New Hampshire first intoroduced the education bill which provided millions of dollars to southern black and white school however this bill was rejected by congress
The number of black students in schools doubled between in 1877 and 1887- still on 2/5 were enrolled.
By 2890 segregated schools were slowly disappearing most high schools accepted black applicants college and universities admitted small amounts of AA
What was some political progress
Emancipation did give AA the freedom to move to another plantation or region between 1870 and 1900
I’m the North there wasn’t legal segregation however they did experience discrimination for example the range of employment opportunities quality of housing low level of education.
What was the lack of progress in economic
AA was tied to farming this meant they experienced a lot of sharecropping- extremely low prices for their produced their master insisted they continued to grow Tabasco and cotton
Advantages to have cheap workers for such labour intensive crops - they suffered the most when the boil weevil reached the south 1892 which damaged the cotton crop
Inequality with schools white schools where heavily funded and had long terms where as AA schools were small and parent often had to make up the difference
AA where often barred from trade unions
What was the lack of progression social \
Lunching carried out by the KKK the guilded age saw a height in lynching campagin against AA between 1882 - 1899 over 2,500 men and women were lynched main because of the accusation of rape / murder of white women
Schools where often dirt floor log houses with out bare essentials desks and black boards might stay open for a mont but would have to close to allow the children to pick Cotten
‘We must have colorée servants fir there us no other labouring class - Alabama minister complained in 1891
What was the lack of progress for political
Quality of life did not significantly improve - lynching was often regarded as a public event - even children sometime attended southern government and police forces did little to stop it cases where rarely brought tot court and if they were all white juries would not convict
