WW1 & the 20s (1914-1929) Flashcards
Why did did so Many African Americans serve in WW1
- President Woodrow Wilson exclaimed ‘The
world must be made safe for democracy’ - These words immediately resonated with
many African Americans, who viewed the
war as an opportunity to bring about true
democracy in the United States - Most African Americans saw the war as an
opportunity to demonstrate their patriotism
and their place as equal citizens in the
nation. - 350,000 African Americans served in
segregated units
In what ways can WW1 be considered a turning point for African Americans
- Half a million black Americans moved
north to find work in war industries. - They found less segregation and were
able to vote for the first time - Black councillors were elected, and
black newspapers founded in many
areas - Wages rose, and many black Americans
found themselves better off - Many black Americans served in the
army – although they were in separate
units, they proved they could fight and
experienced a less segregated society
in France - On their return, there was a boost to
demands for civil rights
in what ways can WW1 not be considered a turning point for African Americans
- There were no permanent
improvements in terms of legislation - Black Americans suffered from the wave
of isolationism and the Red Scare that
affected USA from 1917 – white soldiers
rioted in Chicago in 1919 after returning
home to find their neighbourhoods and
jobs taken over
What were the beliefs of W.E.B Du Bois (1868-1963)
Du Bois’s idea was that there should be an elite – who would lead African Americans to equality and social and political equality and integration
What impact did W.E.B Du Bois have in the 1920s
- Du Bois was appalled by the lynching’s
and spoke with a passion that anticipated
the rhetoric of King much more than the dry
rationalism of Washington
- Formed the Niagra movement in 1905, which opposed Washington’s ideas of working with the with the white system and wanted and end to desegregation – the movement laid the foundation for the NAACP
- Du Bois organised a protest march in New
York against violence aimed at African
Americans
Du Bois shifted attention to the need to
publicise civil rights through the press
and to organise
His interest in pan-Africanism was
shared by another radical figure of a
much different type, Marcus Garvey, and
his belief in organising was shared by
Asa Philip Randolph.
What were the beliefs of Marcus Garvey (1887-1940)
He was a strong believer in pan-Africanism.
Garveys believed that African Americans needed their own state
Put him at offs with Du Bois
What was Pan-Africanism
A belief in the need for unity and solidarity among Africans all over the world
Shared by both WEB Du Bois and Marcus Garvey
What impacts did Marcus Garvey have on African American Civil Rights
- like Washington he saw the importance of
economic development and set up Negro
Factories Corporation to promote
manufacture and trade among Africans - Garvey’s speeches drew large crowds and
he stressed the proud African traditions
and the inherent strength and worth of
Africans. - Set up the Universal Negro
Improvement Association (UNIA) which
had 4 million members
Garvey’s glorification of Africanism
prefigured Black Power
His organisation, the UNIA, was not
matched by anything before 1917 and
not again until the mass movements of
the 1960s
How were African Americans systematically segregated by this period
By this period Jim Crowe segregation, legitimized by the Plessy v Ferguson Supreme court ruling, had become fully enacted by the vast majority of southern states.
The southern justice system systematically denied them equal protection under the law and condoned the practice of vigilante mob violence.
What was the Great Migration of 1914-1920
- Black southerners faced a host of social, economic, and
political challenged that prompted their migration to the
North. The majority of black farmers laboured as
sharecroppers, remained in perpetual debt, and lived in
dire poverty - War time opportunities in the urban North gave hope to
such individuals. The American industrial economy grew
significantly during the war. However, the conflict also
cut of European immigration and reduced the pool of
available cheap labour - Between 1914 and 1920, roughly 500,000 black
southerners headed north, fundamentally transforming
the social, cultural and political landscape of cities such
as Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and
Detroit. - Black women remained by the large confined to
domestic work, while men for the first time in significant
numbers made entryways into the northern
manufacturing, packinghouse, and automobile industries
What impact did the Great Migration have on the Civil Rights Movement
- The Great Migration propelled black people and their
desires for a better life - The Chicago Defender, which circulated throughout the
South, implored black people to break free from their
oppression and take advantage of opportunities in the
North.
