Role of African American individuals and opposition Gilded Age Flashcards
Who was Ida B Wells?
Ida B Wells, Memphis – 1884 ordered from a segregated train carriage, protested, 1890s led anti-lynching protest, 1896 formed the National Association of Coloured Women.
Who was EJ Waring?
E.J Waring was a Baptist in Baltimore who studied at Howard University and acted for the Mutual Brotherhood of Liberty, a civil rights organisation which challenged segregation. He campaigned against lynching and formed a savings bank for African Americans.
Who was Booker T Washington?
Believed that hard work and education would lead to African Americans showing true worth as Reconstruction made white Americans fearful of a growing uneducated underclass of agricultural workers. Received $600,000 in bonds from Andrew Carnegie and in Atlanta Exposition 1895 he told African Americans ‘dip your bucket’ and strive for self improvement instead of political progress. Invited to White House by Theodore Roosevelt in 1901 and informal advisor.
What was Washington’s impact?
Impact: promoting education led to rise of leaders like MLK, cooperation with white leaders a success in 1960s, stress on economic improvement led to post-1964 changes, criticised by some black leaders for being less radical but didn’t want to antagonise white South.
Outline WEB Du Bois’s career.
Wrote The Souls of Black Folk in 1903. Had idea there should be an elite, the Talented Tenth, who would promote equality. Appalled by lynching figures, 1885-1894 1700 deaths. Founded Niagara Movement in 1905, a civil rights organisation, and was the director of research and publicity in the NAACP. Wrote The Crisis, using press to gain backing for movement.
What improvements did WEB Du Bois see and what race riots concerned him?
Recognised improvements with AAs owning 550,000 homes, 40,000 businesses, having a 70% literacy rate, 40,000 Churches, 35,000 teachers, and 1.7 million in state schools. However, in 1917 race riots commenced with the worst in St Louis and Du Bois organised a protest march in New York. Interest shifted to pan-Africanism, an idea of solidarity for African Americans across the world shared by Marcus Garvey.
When was the KKK formed?
KKK, secret society set in Tennessee, December 1865. Coordination attempted in 1867 at a Nashville meeting and Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forest was a national leader or Grand Wizard. Ideology of white supremacy and undermining Republicans.
What were KKK methods?
Methods: using intimidating methods such as white hoods and burning crosses, attacking and lynching African Americans, claiming African Americans were predatory to white women, stopping vote registration, attacking African Americans to stop them attending desegregated schools.
How did the KKK decline in the Gilded Age?
In run up to 1868 election there were 2000 deaths in Louisiana alone and President Grant was prepared to suspend habeas corpus and use federal troops to suppress violence. The Klan withered away as federal courts diluted their power. Federal government did nothing against lynching
