Exam 2 - African American History

Reconstruction

(1865-77) - In a short pd of time, black people gain citizenship, men the right to vote, freedom. But after 77, a lot of that hope and progress is stripped away. 3 phases of reconstruction (presidential, radical, the meaning of freedom). 2 dominent issues: 1. how do we get the south back into the union? Do we punish them? 2. what do we do about "the freedmen"? Are they going to be treated as equals? Some brief accomplishments and it does bring the resentful south back into the union, but mostly unsuccessful in granting equality toward African-Americans, given Jim Crow.

Plessy v. Ferguson

(1896) the Supreme Court upheld racial segregation by states on a "separate but equal" basis. The case began in 1892 when the Citizen's Committee, a New Orleans organization of prominent African Americans, tried to challenge a state law concerning segregated railroad cars.

13th Amendment

13th amendment ends slavery across the board once and for all. only partly effective - southerners try to restore the old order through the democratic party, black codes, the KKK, keeping African-Americans away from the polls, etc.

15th Amendment

15th Amendment, 1870. Extends voting to black males. Not only does this help black people, but it also perpetuated the power of the radical republicans. During reconstruction, SC has a black majority in the legislature.

Enforcement Acts

1870-71 : Grant passes Enforcement Act, which declares the KKK to be an outlawed organization. They send the militia to wipe out the Klan - violent confrontation.

Atlanta Exposition

1895 - Booker T invited to give a speech at the Atlanta Exposition (this was a big deal at the time). A black man presenting before a largely white audience. When he appeared on the stage, it was deadly silent. But he wins over the audience. His speech was emblematic of his stance: We can be as separate as the fingers, but we need to be as one as the hadn't in all things essential to mutual progress (this is what I hear right now). This speech puts Booker T on the map with both northerners and southerners - invited to have dinner with T. Roosevelt, gets a lot of money - from ppl as Carnegie. He does work behind the scenes to challenge Jim Crow, in things like court cases, etc. But he keeps this quiet. At the same time, he was also seen as an Uncle Tom.

369th Infantry

359th Infantry (from NY). Fight in the Battle of the Argonne Forest (biggest US-led offensive in WWI). They did awesome. 191 days of constant contact with the Germans. Never lose a single one of their soldiers to enemy, never lose a foot of ground. Germans call them the "Harlem Hellfires." The FRENCH recognize them, but the US doesn't. Not even allowed at the victory celebration after the war.

Civil Rights Cases (1883)

A group of five US Supreme Court constitutional law cases. Against the famous dissent of Justice Harlan, a majority held the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was unconstitutional, because Congress lacked authority to regulate private affairs under the Fourteenth Amendment, and that the Thirteenth Amendment "merely abolishes slavery". The Civil Rights Act of 1875 had banned race discrimination in access to services offered to the public. The decision was effectively reversed in the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court from 1937, and finally by legislation under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Black Codes

After Lincoln's assassination, Johnson tries to bring back states rights and put black people backs to work for their former masters. Southern whites try to restore old order through black codes. On the surface, they are presented as granting more rights to blacks. Now they can legally own property and marry. But really it's a sneaky trick to enforce cheap labor. Ex: in SC, the only jobs blacks are allowed are farming and servants. If you want to be anything else, you have to pay $100. Labor contracts - if you leave before a year, you forfeit all your wages. You can be captured and returned. Allow for physical punishment for those under 18. Laws against vagrancy. So it is illegal to be black and unemployed. You're fined. You don't have money. So then your labor is auctioned off to the highest bidder (slavery). Radical Republicans are not happy, and this is a wakeup call. Black codes are eventually struck down by the supreme court.

Confederate States of America

After Lincoln's election, (ran on a platform to forbid the expansion of slavery), SC and other states began to seceed becuase they were agriculture states and their economy relied on slavery.

Harlem Renaissance

After WW1, African Americans weren't willing to put up with the way things had been, or with white reactions like Red Summer and the Klan. During the Great Migration, blacks ended up north, where there were stilll unfairly-paying jobs and poor treatment. Settle in places like harlem. People start demanding their rights, and they often express it through art and culture. Themes- pride and protest. Langston Hughes - Pride. Claude McKay - Protest. also jazz.

Sharecropping

After the civil war, African Americans refuse to go back to the way things were. And whites still need workers. Compromise = sharecropping. Rent land to master, the way you pay for it is by giving land owner a share of the crop. Generally 50%. Dominant crop = cotton.

Ida B. Wells

B. 1862 as a slave in MS. She refuses to give up her seat in a segregated railcar, she gets thrown off, takes case to Supreme Ct. and wins. (this is before Jim Crow has settled in). Lynchings start to happen. Her friend is murdered bc he opened a store that competed with white stores. She zeros in on the violence of Jim Crow, the worst feature of it, and begins and editorial campaign, through which she writes about experiences and records incidents of violence. - Ultimately she is forced out of the city, relocates to Chicago, but does continue her campaign. "Southern Horrors," A Red Record - her books. She also writes to McKinley, seeking anti-lynching legislation through the federal government (no traction). 1882-1968 - 200 anti-lyching bills presented to congress. NONE passed. Ida helps to start the NAACP in 1909.

Booker T. Washington

B. a slave in VA, teaches himself to read and write. Founds Tuskegee. Don't rock the boat. Focus on Edu. and Economics, becoming a best you can vocationally. Whites will recognize your talents and capabilities and then extend rights. Accommodate yourself to Jim Crow, do what's possible right now in this context. Speech at Atl. Exposition. Contrast to WEB.

Marcus Garvey

Brings UNIA from Jamaica to Harlem. Emphasis on black nationalism. Black star Line - black shipping company. Negro World - their news paper. Have their own paramilitary wing. Advocate for Panafricanism. Back to Africa Campaign. Eventually deported on mail fraud charges.

54th Mass Infantry

But when the emancipation goes into effect, black soldiers also become elegible. Segregated. 54th Massachusetts Infantry regiment. - all black Union regiment. Robert Gould Shaw is their commander (white) Battle of Ft. Wagner — they are defeated with heavy casualties because they had overestimated the number of confederate soldiers who would be there. They don't win, but soon after the Confeds. abandon the fort and the union ends up winning it. William Carney - served in 54th and receives a Medal of Honor. After the battle, the confeds. put everyone, along with Shaw, in a mass grave (intended as an insult to Shaw). Shaw's parents say that this is an honor, the best way he could have died, along with his black fellow soldiers.

convict lease system

Convict leasing was a system of penal labor practiced in the Southern United States. Convict leasing provided prisoner labor to private parties, such as plantation owners and corporations such as the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company. The lessee was responsible for feeding, clothing, and housing the prisoners. The state of Louisiana leased out convicts as early as 1844,[1] but the system expanded all through the South with the emancipation of slaves at the end of the American Civil War in 1865. It could be lucrative for the states: in 1898 some 73% of Alabama's entire annual state revenue came from convict leasing. African Americans, mostly adult males, due to "vigorous and selective enforcement of laws and discriminatory sentencing," made up the vast majority—but not all—of the convicts leased.

Compromise of 1850

Drafted by Henry Clay. Intended to diffuse tensions about whether newly-aquired territory should be slave or free.5 separate bills introduced - including CA as a free state, outlaw slave trade in DC, strengthening of fugitive slave laws.

Jim Crow

During the decades after Reconstruction, southern states enacted a system of segregation.. Under this system, state and local statutes restricted African Americans to the rear of streetcars, to separate public drinking fountains and toilets, and to separate sections of hospitals and cemeteries. The system also involved other unwritten rules of behavior, designed to confirm white supremacy and the subservient position of African Americans.

the great Migration

Early 20th C, 90% of black people lived in the south. WWI starts. American products supply both sides, and immigration is shut down. Because of the huge labor demands, N. factories get blacks to come. Blacks are both being pushed out of the south by Jim Crow, and pulled up north by wayyyy better jobs (you make 3-5X higher up there). 2 million relocate, mostly to urban areas, following the rail lines up. Great migration helps to alter race relations in the country.

Anthony Burns

Escaped to boston. wrote letter to his brother got tracked down. pierce sends troops it's a sad spectacle try to charge ppl for causing a riot, but boston courts won't convict them. pastor buys him back for 1300.

Ft. Pillow Massacre

General Nathan Bedford Forrest (confederate) — attacks ft. occupied by many black soldiers. When ft. is seized, blacks are not POWs, they are executed on the spot. This is a clear violation of the rules of war, but those rules don't apply with black soldiers.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe - emotional portrait of slavery. In stage versions, Uncle Tom = eager to please suck-up. won sympathy of white northerners.

Harper's Ferry

In 1859, Brown led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, to start a liberation movement among the slaves there. During the raid, he seized the armory; seven people were killed, and ten or more were injured. He intended to arm slaves with weapons from the arsenal, but the attack failed. Within 36 hours, Brown's men had fled or been killed or captured by local pro-slavery farmers, militiamen, and U.S. Marines led by Robert E. Lee.

(Second) Misssissippi Plan

In the decades after the end of Reconstruction, southern states moved to disfranchise African Americans and strip them of the rights guaranteed them under the Fifteenth Amendment. Under this program, a measure was included in the new state constitution of 1890 that required citizens to be able to read, understand, and interpret a section of the new constitution in order to be eligible to vote. This measure effectively excluded all illiterate citizens and left the judgment of "understanding" up to white registrars. As a result, virtually all African Americans in the state were barred from participation in politics.

14th Amendment

Introduced by radical republicans, extends citizenship rights to everyone born in the US. Rendered obsolete by Fergeson vs Plessy, which affirms separate but equal.

Special Field Order #15

Issues Special Field Order No. 15. - takes land from Charleston to Jacksonville FL along the coast and cuts those areas up, providing 40 acres of land for blacks. Sherman does say that it's a temporary military order (he doesn't have the authority to turn the land over permian, but it does inspire hope for blacks).

KKK

KKK- formed TN 1866. Created by former confed. generals, officers, officials in government. purpose is both racial and political. They try to restore the party of the South - democratic party. intimate black people from voting. Wear the costumes to hide identity and to intimidate victims. Enforcement act - temporarily wipes them out, but make a comeback after WW1- Birth of a Nation. 100% american. "Christian" values. Gets involved in scandals which help to deflate their popularity.

Freedman's Bureau

Lincoln est. this intending to protect former slaves from their masters. Does some GOOD things: provided food and clothing, est. schools (during slavery it had been illegal to teach a slave to read and write), put families back together, issue work contracts (got former masters connected to former slaves). Temporarily Gives land taken from white southerners . But not completely a good thing. Most former slaves can't read or write, and so they would write in rules that enforced corporeal punishment, weren't paid right, etc. Freedmen's Bureau agents often were more focused on getting blacks back to work than seeking justice.

Election of 1860

Lincoln won. democrats had split between north and south. Caused southern secession.

Andrew Johnson

Lincoln's vp (selected him because he was from the south. He thought the wealthy planters generated the civil war. But he also doesn't like black people. Sees the solution to reconstruction as put blacks to work by former masters. Quickly goes to work bring states back into the union. He grants blank pardons of all leaders of the confederacy. Confed. big shots are vying for office now.

Missouri Compromise

Missouri wanted to enter the union as a slaveholding state, northerners and African Americans worried that it would throw off the political balance. compromise - maine, free state, no slavery above halfway up the 36 latitude mark on the Lousiana purchase.

Tuskegee Institute

Model based on Booker T's own vocational school. In Alabama, challenged by finances and white resistance. Teaches students vocational skills (finance), argues that skilled black ppl will benefit whites (resistance).

NAACP

NAACP - National Association for the advancement of colored people. Vision: is to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights without discrimination based on race. Started by Ida Wells, WEB, other ppl -- black and white -- devoted to upholding the 13-15 amendments. In the early days was not grassroots. It appeals to middle class blacks, focuses on putting forward court cases to put forth court cases to attack Jim Crow. It had a Talented Tenth structure.. Its ideas were spread through its popular newspaper, The Crisis, which denounced white racism and demanded that black people stand up for their rights.

Universal NEgro Improvement Association (UNIA)

Originally founded in Jamaica, but Garvey brings it to Harlem in 1916. black nationalism. Idea - Racism is so firmly entrenched that there is nothing that African Americans can possibly do to change that. Instead of fighting for acceptance in white society, focus on own culture, raise up our own heroes, own institutions, etc. At one point he even advocates for a separate section of the country for black people.

Pan Africanism

Part of Garvey's campaign of black nationalism.Panafricanism — Throughout the whole world, black people are being oppressed (in Europe, Jamaica, the US....), so let's unite across the world. Back to Africa crusade — Says we will never be treated as equals in white society, so let's go back. They set up a colony in Liberia (which had originally been started as a colony for freed slaves). the Klan thinks this is a great idea. Garvey meets with the Klan leader. WEB DuBois and Garvey hate each other — "Garvey Must Go!" Campaign. Especially pissed bc Garvey's willing to meet with the Klan.

Chicago Race Riot

Part of Red Summer. Segregated beaches on Lake Michigan. * A black boy drifts into the white swimming area, stoned to death by a mob. * Black people riot. Then rumors spread, this brings out a white mob. * Clash drags on for several days. 38 killed, 500 injured. What's important here is that black people fought back! Increased militancy.

Claude McKay

Poet of Harlem Renaissance. Immigratnt from Jamaica. Theme- protest. Poem collection - Harlem Shadows.

Langston Hughes

Poet. Part of Great Migration. Harlem Renaissance. One poem - the Negro Speaks of Rivers. Focus on pride in African and African-American heritage, which is a hallmark of the Harlem Renaissance.

Kansas Nebraska Act

Repealed the Missouri compromise rule that said that you couldnt have slavery above a certain latitude. said that the people would decide over whether kansas would have slaves. violence erupts.

Sherman

Sherman. 1864. Takes Atl and burns it. Then marches across GA to Savannah and burns everything in his path. Railroads, plantations (food), cities. Confederates are so weak that they can't even fight back. Slaves run away in huge numbers to join Sherman. After Savannah, Sherman goes north through SC, burns Columbia (1865). So many slaves run away and join the army that it becomes difficult to take care of them all. He abandons some of them and they are taken back by the south. After savannah falls, Sherman meets with black leaders there, and black leaders tell him they want land (indep, true freedom). Issues Special Field Order No. 15.

Red Summer

Summer 1919 - Lots of violence against blacks. Race riots even in the north, reflecting the changes brought about by the great migration. White soldiers returning home from WWI don't like the changes they see. Most riots happen down south though. In the south, they hold training workshops for returning black soldiers to re-teach them Jim Crow. Huge Increase in lynchings.

Dred Scott Case

Supreme court case - 1) could black people sue? A- No, black people have no rights. 2) can slaves be free if taken to a free state? No. This decision further divided the nation.

The Birth of a Nation

The Birth of a Nation - a silent movie that leads to the resurgence of the Klan. It gives a different view of reconstruction, presenting the Klan as heroes and champions who attempted to save the south. Set in SC (where there was an black majority legislature at the time). Premise - black people stuff the voting boxes to get in the legislature so that they can get their hands on white women. It was Woodrow Wilson's favorite movie. Boycotted by the NAACP.

Mexican-American War

The US got a big chunk of the southwest, including Texas, california. Controversy over slavery. Political turmoil. Led to civil war.

Wilmington Riot

The transition to segregation in the South was accompanied by many violent incidents. One of the most notorious occurred in 1898. At the time, blacks and whites in the area shared power in the government, and white Democrats resented it. Democratic newspaper editors called for driving blacks from political office in the upcoming election and stirred up racial resentment. Tension soon boiled over and a white mob began attacking black residents in the city. At least a dozen blacks - and perhaps more - were murdered and nearly 1,500 black residents fled the city. Black newspaper offices were destroyed and black politicians were driven from office.

NYC Draft Riot

There are still democrats in the N, who are opposed to the war. Some see it as a war "for the blacks." Irish immigrants support the democrats. 1863 - the draft. Young men are required to fight, even immigrants. Irish are enraged and they def don't want to fight a war for black ppl. NYC draft Riots - 1863: they attack ppl, targeting blacks. beatings, lynchings.

Houston Race Riot

Though African Americans serve in WWI in disproportionally large numbers, some of the worst parts happened at the military training bases, which were mostly in the south. Especially hard on black soldiers who came from the north. At a Houston base, black soldiers, after having been mistreated, attack a local arsenal.

The Talented Tenth

WEB - here, he says that talented, educated leaders should be the ones to step up to the plate and fight for equality. He gets together a group that meets at Niagara Falls (The Niagara Movement) — 1905 — included some progressive white people too. Problem - it's super small, resistance from Booker T., not much money. So it never really takes off.

THe Souls of Black Folk

WEB's collection of essays. One of them criticizes Booker T. He doesn't think they should accommodate to Jim Crow. Seek equality right now.

Niagra Movement

WEB's small group of black and white leaders of the Talented Tenth. talented, educated leaders. fizzles out bc of resistance from Booker T and not big enough. The group met annually for the next few years and called for direct civil rights activism to bring about change and reform. The group demanded an end to segregation, appealed for better health care, public schools and housing, and challenged the powerful "Tuskegee Machine." Due to internal problems the organization virtually collapsed in 1908.

Williams v. State of Miss.

Williams v. Mississippi, 170 U.S. 213 (1898) is a United States Supreme Court case that reviewed provisions of the state constitution that set requirements for voter registration. The Supreme Court did not find discrimination in the state's requirements for voters to pass a literacy test and pay poll taxes, as these were applied to all voters. even grandfather clause upheld.

Wilmot Proviso

Wilmot, a Democrat, tried to pass a law to outlaw slavery in newly-squired land from mexico. The reason, however, was that he didn't want the land to be tainted by blacks of slavery. Made southerners mad. Never passed.

WWI

Wilson=president, had run on a peace platform. Unrestricted submarine warfare, other stuff, but April 1917, US declares war. Black leaders like WEB saw WWI as an opportunity for change — argues for closing ranks. Temporarily put aside request for Jim Crow, let's mobilize behind the war effort, show patriotism, and then we'll be rewarded for it. Blacks end up serving in huge numbers, disproportionally representative in those represented for service.

John Brown

abolitionist who believed armed insurrection was the only way to overthrow the institution of slavery in the United States. Killed a bunch of people in bleeding Kansas, including a slave owner, and liberated 11 slaves. Raid on Harper's Ferry. Tried for treason.

WEB DuBois

b. (after slavery) in Mass. First black man to get a PhD. And gets it from Harvard. Teaches at Atlanta U, historically black college. * souls of black folks * Talented Tenth Niagra Movement Helps found NAACP

Crop Lien System

cotton sharecroppers and tenant farmers were forced to buy food and supplies on credit from local merchants. trapped in a constant cycle of debt because they were charged so much.

Frederick Douglass

former slave autobiography north star argued for racially integrated schools

Republican Party

founded by norther states who were anti-slavery. opposed the kansas-nebraska act because they did NOT want slavery spread. President = Lincoln. Wanted to preserve the union and end slavery, equal rights for all men.

Tubman

from Maryland. Escapes before the war to philidelphia. Helps to operate the underground railroad. Serves the Union army 1858 — teams up with John Brown and helps him coordinate his raid on Harpers Ferry. Scout — sent to work with the local slave community, get info, liberate slaves.

Grandfather Clause

hich created new requirements for literacy tests, payment of poll taxes, and/or residency and property restrictions to register to vote. States in some cases exempted those whose ancestors (grandfathers) had the right to vote before the Civil War, or as of a particular date, from such requirements. The intent and effect of such rules was to prevent poor and illiterate African-American former slaves and their descendants from voting, but without denying poor and illiterate whites the right to vote.

Military Reconstruction Act

introduced by radical republicans. 1867 - Invalidates state governments under Lincoln and Johnson. S. divided into 5 military districts with troops Each has a military governor. Each state has to draw up new state constitutions: you have to: 1). exclude confed. officials form govt, black suffrage (only in South), Ratification of 14th Amendment. 1868 - after much fighting back from Johnson, radical rep. try to impeach him on minor charges. He is one vote shy on being removed from office. BUT this whole process has mostly rendered him powerless.

Fugitive Slave Law

late 1700s - a lot of ppl got free. strengthened compromise of 1850 required ppl to help find suspected runaways. really difficult for any black person to prove he/she was not a runaway.

Underground Railroad

safe houses and locations to the north harriett tubman

Compromise of 1877

technically, no one wins 1876 election because it's 50-50 electoral votes. Both sides claim corruption. Goes to the House to decide. end up with COMPROMISE OF 1877 — Hayes becomes president, in exchange, they agree to pull troops out of the south, end to reconstruction. The south is back in the union on equal terms, but the north turns its back on African Americans, as the 14th and 15th amendments are rendered obsolete. Jim Crow begins.

Bleeding Kansas

violence erupts over kansas-nebraska act as people rush to settle there. Lots of killing. Fight spreads to congress, where two congressmen attack each other.

Democratic Clubs/Rifle Clubs

white southerners form Democratic Clubs (starts in Miss), set up to get democrats elected. AKA Rifle Clubs, because they were armed. Would stand outside polling places, use arson, murder and beatings. Basically this is an updated Klan without the robes.