The 15th amendment (1870) gave black men equal voting rights with white men. However they were threatened or physically stopped from voting. It was no good having rights which were not enforced. Yet inequality increased at the end of the 19th century and continued in the early 20th century through Southern states passing the ‘Jim Crow’ laws which increased segregation. WW1 did little in stopping the rising tide of segregation.
These laws also created environments for African Americans that had a tendency to be inferior to those provided for white Americans. But like slavery, it was only a matter of time before segregation would become a focus within the United States. The desegregation movement brought an abundance of positive outcomes, which were intended to benefit the African American community. Although desegregation was for the overall benefit of the country, it was largely implemented in a way that was demoralizing to the African American community. In his book, Acting White: The Ironic Legacy of Desegregation, Stuart Buck states “that the “acting white” phenomenon was an ironic legacy of desegregation” (637), and that the well-intention policies that were implemented eventually led to a reversal of intention thus having an inadvertent damaging effect on African American students.
These voting restrictions were challenged in the Mississippi vs Williams Supreme Court case but it was maintained that the restrictions did not go against the 15th amendment and so they continued. These high levels of illiteracy and poverty among African Americans would have been caused, or at least not helped, by the smaller amount of funding provided for African American institutions. This went against the separate but equal principle and may have contributed to high illiteracy levels which prevented voting. Also, the family income of an African American family was four times less
The northern parts of the United States accepted African Americans, and many try to escape to the north to try to get employed and leave the racial segregation in the south. The south had state laws that prevented African Americans from doing what they believe are right. (265, packet) Even though it was said that, African Americans are equal to whites under the constitution, as long as part of the United States still have the segregation going on, then the African Americans do not have rights in the whole country. This was a huge obstacle to stop the racism and try to fit them into the society to live with whites. Women were part of the minorities along with the blacks because of the way they were treated.
A lot of the states’ laws had to be overcome in order for the act to become effective such as Jim Crow laws. These laws made African Americans feel as though they were relegated to the status of second class citizens. Jim Crow laws prevents blacks from voting due to illiteracy, social class, and/or poverty. It did take some muscle from the federal government, the attorney general’s office and executive orders from the president to make sure civil right laws were enacted. But it was all worth it.
In what ways were the conditions different for the African Americans in the north and south in 1945? After the Second World War had ended, black Americans that were fighting for freedom and justice from Germany and Japan, found that they had return to their country that was overridden with discrimination and racism in 1945. They treated as second-class citizens. The Black American was unable to neither integrate with the mainstream of American society nor become independent farmers. However, generally the Northern blacks were somewhat better off than the Southern blacks in 1945.
So, even though they took a step forward in equality outside of the south, it didn’t really help that much as they couldn’t do much with the vote because of the attitudes shown towards blacks from whites. This also links to segregation shown outside the south, even though it was no longer the law. The Second World War was not a turning point for African Americans because even though segregation was not a law in the states outside the south, they still suffered with De Facto segregation. This happened in cities such as Boston, Philadelphia and Detroit. The black population of such cities was concentrated in ghetto areas, where homes and schools for blacks were inferior to those for whites.
Though the desegregation of schools in North Carolina granted blacks access to better educational resources and wealthier scholastic opportunities, the resultant dilution and erosion of the black educational community devastated its resolve and essential coherence. These negative effects of integration are only somewhat less visible even today. Black-only schools operated under astounding inequity before integration. With white schools hogging state funds, black administrators turned to their communities for support. When George Miller was principal in Wilkes County, NC, the community struggled to support the schools with funds, equipment, and food for the cafeteria.# Still, communities could provide very little, so educators adjusted their educational focus.
The civil rights movement was an era that black Americans united together to end racial segregation and discrimination in the United States. Because African Americans were often treated differently than whites back then. Therefore, the civil rights movement outbroke, but it did not reached its peak until 1950’s to 1960’s. One of the most famous leader was Martin Luther king Jr. He was the man, who applied with non-violent tactic to led many protests and boycotts.
Christopher Minett To what extent was the Federal Government responsible for improving the status of African Americans in the United States in the years 1945 – 65? After the Second World War, The United States of America was seen as a place of freedom and hope for those who strived for a better life. But, in reality, the freedom was not exactly as everyone would have imagined. Struggling with debt and racism, the country was not as problem free as they advertised to the world. Although there was grave problems facing racial equality after the war, by the 1960's, the black community had achieved so much to gain equality.