BDC CH. 2

Question 1

How did the idea of lynching transform beginning in 1880?

Answer 1

• wave of lynching on blacks began

Question 2

What are some statistics on lynchings between 1880-1910?

Answer 2

• lynch victims increased from 68% black to 91% black

- proportion of lynches in South went from 82% to 95%
LP

Question 3

Why did the NAACP receive backlash from the black community for their fight against lynching during this period?

Answer 3

• felt they were putting too much energy into small issue

- chances of getting lynched were relatively small + # who were killed by lynching fairly modest
CN

Question 4

What was considered the most important facet/danger of lynching?

Answer 4

• ability for whites to kill w/o repercussions

- never arrested/indicted for crimes

Question 5

What did the lack of punishment for lynchers convey to the black community?

Answer 5

• weren’t entitled to federal protection
• black lives so low in importance that the loss of one isn’t even a crime to whites
• placed highest black person at mercy of lowest white
  (WBP)

Question 6

How has the idea of African Americans changed as Jim Crow Laws came into effect?

Answer 6

• blacks viewed increasingly subhuman

- were regressing as a race since end of slavery

Question 7

What was the most prominently used statistic that whites would use to prove blacks were becoming more heathens?

Answer 7

• increase in black crime

- “blacks were 56% of pop. in MI but 90% of crime”

Question 8

What was the most common defense whites would use for the lynching of black men?

Answer 8

• the “epidemic” of black men raping white women

- lynching = necessary preventitive measure

Question 9

How did the courts aid whites in allowing false rape charges to suffice against black men?

Answer 9

• did not ask women “victims” for testimonies as evidence

- slow/unreliable w/ cases overall
DS

Question 10

How did the South’s obsession w/ imaginary black mens’ rape of white women (Southern Rape Complex) help to reinforce white supremacy?

Answer 10

• helped exclude mixed children + deemed all white women/black men relationships nonconsensual
  (HD)

Question 11

How did the issue of mixed children interfere in the plans for prolonged white supremacy?

Answer 11

• whites could stay in power only by excluding blacks integrating into white society
• through marriage/mixed children
• white men slept w/ black women = white men scared white women would find black men mutually attractive
• white women barring mixed kids would destroy social hierarchy + white male authority
  (SW)

Question 12

How did white men fix the issue of mixed children + keep the defense of lynching alive?

Answer 12

• white men - defended sleeping w/ black women saying they are “sexually promiscuous”
• white women - could “never” have consensual sex w/ black man (thus all their sex is rape)
• mixed children = became excluded from “whiteness”
• “one-drop” rule + miscegenation made illegal
• deemed “colored”
  (WWMOD)

Question 13

How did the black hyper-sexuality myth portrayed by white men affect the lives of African Americans besides a continued defense of lynching?

Answer 13

• justified denying black voting + being on jury + job discrimination
  (BBJ)
• segregation necessary as intermingling will only lead to rape + interracial marriage + end of white race
  (RIE)

Question 14

Why did black organizations fail in the 1880s to successfully campaign to ban lynching?

Answer 14

• crime rate statistics did not paint blacks in positive light

Question 15

What arguments were made by campaigners to defend the rising crime rates among African Americans?

Answer 15

• legal system was unfairly strict on blacks
• convict lease system used for cheap black labor
• argued against educated blacks having a higher chance to commit crime than non-educated
  (LCA)

Question 16

What made the issue of black rape on white women hard for black leaders to successfully argue?

Answer 16

• if they said some cases were consensual they risked violent action from whites Southerners
• questioning white women purity could be fatal

Question 17

How did black leaders respond to the false black rape issue?

Answer 17

• defenses were very cautious/apologetic
• deplored mob violence but also condemned high crime rate of blacks
• defended punishment of assault on white women
• accepted lynching as an answer to rape
  (DDDA)

Question 18

Who was Ida B. Wells + what were her stances on lynching?

Answer 18

• black journalist from Memphis

- outspoken critic against lynching

Question 19

What advantages did Wells enjoy over many other blacks in the South?

Answer 19

• mulatto parents w/ good jobs + skills

- able to attend higher education
MA

Question 20

How did Wells respond to the death of her parents?

Answer 20

• took over care of her younger siblings + became teacher to support family
  (TB)

Question 21

What incidents in 1883 + 1887 helped launch Wells to prominence in the black community?

Answer 21

• (1883) - successful discriminatory lawsuit against train company (didn’t let her use first class ticket)
• (1887) - lost an appeal to another discriminatory railroad lawsuit victory

Question 22

What made Wells such a unique journalist at that point, especially in her opinion of the black community?

Answer 22

• strong worded woman
• not afraid to criticize high profile black figures/black masses
• openly disputed cases of rape on white women by black men (caused her to be run out of Memphis)
  (SNO)

Question 23

What incident occurred March 9, 1892 that sparked the beginning of Wells’ fight against lynching?

Answer 23

• three black grocery store owners abducted from jail/killed by whites
• originated due to white grocery owner jealous of profits going down competing w/ black grocery store
• tensions escalated that got black store owners imprisoned (physical fighting + black militia shooting)
• judge calls disarmament of Tennessee Rifles (black militia) + forbids sale of firearms to blacks
  (DF)
• black store owners killed three days later

Question 24

What was Wells’ response to the triply lynching in Memphis + its effect?

Answer 24

• denounced lynching as pure murder
• condemned black leaders for not doing more/taking advantage of federal patronage
• urged blacks to leave Memphis for Oklahoma
• supported Memphis railway boycott
• questioned purity of white women
  (DCUSQ)

Question 25

What conclusion did Wells draw on the reason for such widespread lynching of African Americans?

Answer 25

• get rid of blacks building wealth/property to keep race down

Question 26

What did Wells’ book the “Red Record” show about the claims of overwhelming rape between black men + white women?

Answer 26

• less than 1/3 of black men lynched were accused of rape

- even the 1/3 most cases were false claims

Question 27

How did Wells respond to not being able to get her message across to White Northerners in the US?

Answer 27

• went overseas to Great Britain

Question 28

What was the significance of women’s clubs in the 19th/20th centuries?

Answer 28

• fought for many social changes/causes
• charity work + temperance advocacy + sanitary improvement in cities + anti-prostitution + fought boss rule + against child labor + spread motherhood ideals
  (CTSAFAS)

Question 29

What was the NACW + when was it founded?

Answer 29

• National Association of Colored Women (1896)

Question 30

What were the major difference between white/black clubwomen?

Answer 30

• knew they had double burden of gender + race

- overwhelmingly middle class (but not so removed from the poor
KO)

Question 31

How did self interest of black clubwomen play a part in their fight for civil rights?

Answer 31

• knew they’d sink/swim depending on status of race as a whole
• had to focus on masses to help their own cause

Question 32

How did Wells impact the black clubwomen movement + what started NACW?

Answer 32

• inspiration for clubwomen fight against lynching

- John Jacks (journalist) comments on sexual nature of black women caused uproar + initial NACW meeting

Question 33

How had black women historically been a big factor in organized black help movements?

Answer 33

• formed church organizations + mutual benefit societies + secret societies after Civil War
  (CMS)
• groups provided medical treatment + funeral arrangement + real estate + organizing saving banks + operating printing presses
  (MFROO)
• also worked w/ white women in WCTU/YWCA

Question 34

What made the NACW different than past women’s organizations in the black community?

Answer 34

• more middle class focused
• female autonomy message
• felt women were the ones to drive progress of race
  (MFF)

Question 35

What sparked the NACW members’ autonomy from black men, believing they were the only ones that could help lift the race?

Answer 35

• belief that men were talkers more than doers

Question 36

Why did NACW members deplore the male ministers in many poor black communities?

Answer 36

• thought they were ignorant/ineffective as leaders
• NACW members went to more refined church (hated loud/theatrical preachers in poor areas)
• felt ministers exploited poor didn’t help them + made blacks accept lot on Earth thru heaven/hell emphasis
  (EM)

Question 37

What actions did black clubwomen take to help the cause?

Answer 37

• founded schools + orphanages + clinics + hospitals + hostels + reformatories
  (SOCHHR)
• ran Kindergartens + organized Mother Clubs + mounted public health campaigns
  (ROM)
• petitioned against white bars/brothels
• campaigned for school + playgrounds + paved streets + police protection
  (SPPP)

Question 38

What made their actions significantly more different than those made by white clubwomen?

Answer 38

• took leadership role in their community
• white males still > white women
• black women overtaking black men as leaders

Question 39

What factors allowed black women to overtake black men as the leaders of the community?

Answer 39

disenfranchisement - abolished black politicians + put black male political power on same level as black women
(AP)

• women became better organized than men
• black women regarded less intimidating to whites than black men
• accepted as communicators to whites for black needs
  (DWBA)

Question 40

Why did the NACW fail to end the dehumanization of the poor black population in the South?

Answer 40

• lacked financial means to oppose policies effectively
• did not protest but tried to uplift instead
• too little political influence
  (LDT)

Question 41

Why did the NACW fail to mass organize black women as a whole?

Answer 41

• middle class focus caused elitism (looked down on poor)

```
- frowned upon lower class common law marriages
MF
~~~

Question 42

How did social status hurt the mission/goal of the NACW?

Answer 42

• members started focusing more on social climbing + internal politics (SI)
• caused factionalism w/in org.

Question 43

What actions did Wells take against President McKinley to end lynching?

Answer 43

• wanted him to punish lynchers of Frazier Baker/indemnify his family
• wanted lynching to be made federal crime
  (WW)

Question 44

Why did Wells begin to lose clout w/in the NACW + among blacks in general?

Answer 44

• prickly personality + devoted more time to raising family

PD

Question 45

Why do historians fail to give credit to Wells as part of the end of lynching in the South?

Answer 45

• lynching remained popular in the South for decades after Wells
• mob violence got even bigger/worse after Wells
  (LM)

Question 46

How did Wells’ actions in Great Britain cause people in the US to change their view?

Answer 46

• British public opinions sided w/ Wells = convinced Americans to listen
• Northerns completely denounced it in newspapers
• growing # of Southern editors denounced lynching

Question 47

What event during WWI caused many southern white politicians to change their stance on lynchings?

Answer 47

• black migration from South that threatened employer available labor

Question 48

What stance did Booker T. Washington take on the actions that blacks should take to avoid further condemnation in the South?

Answer 48

accommodationism