African American history I Flashcards
Background knowledge
President Andrew Johnson grew up in the South, and was previously a slave owner, committed to the Union at the outbreak of war. He believed that ‘White men must rule the south’ and that ‘Blacks possess less capacity for government’.
He was also committed to State Rights, which implied that the federal government had no right imposing policies on the South, let alone suffrage.
Emancipation Proclaimation 1862
President Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in the midst of the Civil War, announcing on September 22, 1862, that if the rebels did not end the fighting and re-join the Union by January 1, 1863, all slaves in the rebellious states would be free.
What was the ‘Presidential Reconstruction’ plan by Andrew Johnson in 1867-67
- Swear an oath to the union and you get a pardon, and you can vote and stand for election
- Southerner’s property was restored
- Recognise the 13th amendment
- People who were exempted were wealthy plantation owners, military, and civilian leaders from the South
What was the consequence of the ‘Presidential Reconstruction’ plan?
The Louisiana ‘black codes’ were put in place in order to restrict African Americans’ freedom, and in order to compel them to work for either low or no wages.
Why were was the North and the Republican party angry at the reconstruction?
- President Andrew Johnson acted without consulting Congress (which was mainly made up of people with the North) and they believed he was too generous to the South (from his background)
- President Andrew Johnson veto’d the Supplementary Freedmen Bureau’s Act, the Civil Rights Act, and a multitude of Reconstruction Acts.
Who were the Radicals?
A small group within the Republican Party. Their aims were that citizenship came from universal ‘natural rights’.
What was the Freedmen Bureau?
- A federal government body to support the ex slaves released after the Civil War, economically and socially - short term needs consisted of food, medical care, housing, work, and ultimately leading to support ex slaves in finding education for their children
Why were Radicals in favour of giving African Americans the right to vote (two reasons at least)?
- Believed AA deserved the vote
- Enabling black people to enter the political process, it would help achieve the other Radical goal, which was to destroy the former plantation aristocracy of the south. They believed it was this that started the civil war and the the secession.
What was the 1865, 13th amendment to the constitution?
Restricted rights for AA to compete for work with whites
- Punished vagrants and unemployed slaves
- Left people who hurt AA unpunished
1866 Civil Right Act
People born in the USA had the full and equal benefit of the law and are equally subjected to penalty
1868, 14th amendment to the constitution?
No state could deny any person full rights as an American citizen
1870, 15th amendment to the constitution?
Ensured that the rights of citizens shall not be denied or abridged by any state on account of race.
1875 Civil Rights Act
All citizens are entitled to the ‘full and equal enjoyment of all public accommodations and amusement’.
What was the Black Code
1865-66 - an early indication of southern white attitudes to newly freed slaves
- marriages allows but interracial were outlawed
- cant vote
- segregated schools - widespread de facto even before 1877
- legal rights limited - can testify in court and draw up a contract but cant give evidence against a white person
Eventhough repealed in 1867, anticipated post-1877 measures like barring AA from juries and testifying agst whites
The failure of reconstruction
- After 15th amendment, public and fed gov for continued involvement for south to protect AA rights declined - Freedmen’s Bureau collapsed in 1872, econ depression and political scandals in 1873 distracted
- Midterm elections in 1874 - Democrat (against AA) v Republican Party
Reconstruction as a turning point for AA civil rights - yes and no for voting right and political participation
- 15th amendment in 1870 guaranteed the right of AA men to vote and over 700,000 registered to vote during the Reconstruction era
- 1870, 15% of public officeholders in the South were black, high proport. than in 1990 - 22 AA elected to Congress in 1870s
BUT intimidation prevented many AA from voting even before 1877, resulting in democrats regaining control of southern states like Mississipi in 1875
Reconstruction as a turning point for AA civil rights - not for social equality
- Constant threat of violence from KKK and other white supremacist groups- 150 AA killed in the Colfax Massacre in Louisiana in 1873
- WEB Du Bois wrote that AAs ‘stood for a breif moment in the sun’ - before supression of civil rights which started before Reconstruction, ended in 1877
- Educational prgress limited AA were almost invariably educated in sep and inferior schools, funding inadequate - 1890 65% AA children couldn’t write, compared to 15% of whites
Reconstruction as a turning point for AA civil rights - yes for economic rights
- 13th amendment in 1865 freed AAs from slavery - there was the loophole tho, theoretically could marry, worship in thero own churches, own property, get an education and travel freely
- Freedmen’s Bureau provided housing, food, education and medical care, funded partially by the fed gov and partly charitable donations from the North
- Sharecropping better than slavery and meant AA families could stay together - white landlords, in practice, could not prevent AA sharecroppers from moving to another landlord if treated badly
1877-1915 racism developments
Main overall developments were industrialisation, railway developments, massive immigration from Europe
Main social issues debated from 1877-1915 were prohibition of the sale of alcohol, women’s right to vote, worker’s right, provision of accomodation, welfare and cultural facilities for immigrants from Europe, suppression of black civil rights in the south in terms of voting rights, deg, lynching
Plessy v Fergerson
1892, passenger Homer Plessy refused to sit in a car for black people
Plessy argued that Seperate Car Act violated 13th and 14th amendment, however Fergerson won, as the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation laws did not violate the US Constitution laws as long as the facilities for reach race were equal in quality - a doctrine known as ‘seperate but equal’
Upheld the principle of racial segregation over the next half century
Highest form of power saying its fine
