Unit 6: Topic 4 - The “New South” Flashcards
Define the “New South.”
The New South refers to proposed changes in the Southern economy in the post-Civil War era.
Henry Grady coined the phrase “New South” and laid out his vision in editorials. Grady and New South advocates called for increased laissez-faire policies, emphasized economic diversity by supporting greater industrialization, and criticized over-reliance on cotton as the South’s sole revenue-generating crop.
Explain whether the South changed into the “New South.”
There was some progress as Southern cities started growing along with the industrial centers that were built within them. However, only a few cities were transformed, and the South remained a largely agricultural section and the poorest region in the country due to its late start at industrialization and a poorly educated workforce. Sharecropping and tenant farming was also prevalent in the South’s agricultural society, continuing to oppress disenfranchised individuals, mainly African Americans.
Describe the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).
Homer Plessy, a black man, tried to sit in a train cart for white passengers to challenge segregation but was arrested. The Supreme Court condoned Separate but Equal in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), holding that racial segregation was legal as long as the facilities offered to blacks were roughly equal to those offered to whites. In reality, the separate bathrooms, drinking fountains, schools, and other public facilities were never equal. This ruling ushered in the Jim Crow Era.
Define the Jim Crow Laws.
The Jim Crow Laws were a collective name for laws passed in the South after Reconstruction to discriminate against and disenfranchise blacks. Jim Crow Laws included school segregation, poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses (restricted voting to those whose grandfathers voted before 1867).
How did Ida B. Wells respond to the increase in lynching of blacks?
Ida B. Wells campaigned to publicize the horrors of lynching and began writing and lecturing about it across the country. She wrote two pamphlets titled, A Red Record and Southern Horrors. She destroyed the myth that lynchings were in retribution for black men raping white women.
How did Brooker T. Washington believe blacks could achieve equality?
Brooker T. Washington argued that African Americans must concentrate on educating themselves, learning useful trades, and investing in their businesses to prove the value of blacks in the American economy. He also urged black to accept discrimination for the time being and concentrate on elevating themselves through hard work and material prosperity.
What did Henry Turner do to resist racism after Civil War?
He founded the International Migration Society in 1894, which facilitated the migration of Black Americans to Africa, specifically Liberia. Though thousands of African Americans took this trip, it wasn’t successful as Liberia didn’t have significant economic opportunities, and they suffered from African diseases.
