However, many southern states found ways around the laws to disenfranchise the black populations. They did this by introducing a ‘Grandfather Clause’, which is that only people whose grandfather voted, gave them the ability to vote. Also literacy test was another method used, which in most ways wasn’t made fairly and even well educated people were disenfranchised and not allowed to vote. However, in 1946 President Truman established The President’s Committee on ‘Civil rights’, producing a report examining the experiences of racial minorities in America. The report was called ‘To Secure These Rights’, this report highlighted the problems facing African Americans and proposed radical changes to make American society better.
Although the end of the American civil war marked the end of slavery for African Americans, it did not mark their acceptance and equality with white people. Many southern states resented losing their slaves and were determined to keep African Americans as second class citizens. In 1950 segregation was in full force, meaning African Americans had separate churches, public transport, theatres, schools, hotels, swimming pools and many other facilities to white people. Segregation also applied to where people lived, so African Americans could only live in certain areas separate from white people, with these areas being much worse than the white suburbs, despite the separate but equal principle. Even when this was challenged in the Plessy vs Ferguson Supreme Court case the separate but equal principle was found to be constitutional.
When answering this question, one must ensure that they tackle both aspects of it- firstly, whether or not Reconstruction was a ‘failure,’ and secondly, whether or not it was ‘tragic.’ This essay argues that although Reconstruction led to some positives for blacks, like the vote, increased power, influence and education, ultimately Reconstruction was a tragic failure because it left a legacy of racism that continued in America that can still be felt today and caused the deaths and economic subjugation of many. Firstly, the successes of Reconstruction- one of the clearest successes was the fact that blacks were no longer slaves. Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862, which did not free all slaves, but was nonetheless a sign to abolitionists that slavery’s days were limited. Following this, the Republicans were determined to pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting slavery. After Lincoln’s re-election in November 1864 Lincoln pressed for the Congressional approval for the measure (the “Thirteenth Amendment”) and it was passed on 31st January 1865.
c.) The varying interpretations indicate the use of “presentism” throughout the periods in which the affair has been analyzed. During the civil rights movement, use of the term “blacks” to describe the slave population was seen as one of the main points of insensitivity, because African Americans of the time had such little cultural footing in America. After the 60s, students began to reflect on Jefferson’s unwillingness to see integration as an option, because African Americans were still struggling to integrate after the civil rights movements. Modern day, the concern lies in Jefferson’s blatant stereotyping of slaves as lesser and even as “musical”. These all reflect the current ideals of the time in
The concept was that the defeated southern states would be rehabilitated and brought back to normal standing as citizens of the united states during this reconstruction period. The reality was far from satisfactory to most southerners and resentments over forced changes were very high. Into this charged atmosphere come the reconstruction or civil war amendments. The 14th Amendment (1868) addresses the birthright of citizenship so that the slaves freed by the 13th Amendment (1865), are made citizens by right of birth. The 15th Amendment (1870) guarantees all the voting privileges of citizens no matter which state they reside in (although did not go far enough in guaranteeing an absolute right without condition), "the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on the account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
1896 Plessy VS Ferguson US Supreme Court Case HIST222 African American History after 1877 Instructor Dr. Donna J. Nicol June 13, 2010 Back in the twentieth century African Americans were newly freed slaves. These were very hard time for the African American race. Even though they were free the laws of the land did not allow African Americans to be treated as everyone else. “The end of the Civil War had promised racial equality, but by 1900 new laws and old customs created a segregated society that condemned Americans of color to second-class citizenship.”(Museum of American History) African Americans had to follow a different set of laws called the Jim Crow Law. Jim Crow Law was used to keep blacks separate from whites.
The emancipation of slaves in the South posed a serious problem for large landowners who had previously relied almost entirely on slave labor for their incomes. The rules of racially-based second-class citizenship in the South had a number of key components. The most obvious, of course, were the laws which effectively denied blacks the right to vote. Typically these took the form of literacy tests which were much more strictly enforced against blacks than against whites, but at various times and places in the South other
In 1964 the Civil Rights Act was passed and in 1965 as did the Voting Rights Act. Federal law made segregation and discriminatory voting illegal. However there remained issues like the failures of the existing political structures to absorb AA voters, shown by the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party failing to be accepted at the Democratic Convention. Failures like this frustrated some AA campaigners to the extent that they formed more radical groups. Black Power movements that included the Black panthers couldn’t be ignored if progress continued to be delayed.
Jim Crow: A Clever Ruse with Cruel Intent by Nunya Buisness English 151 Professor Weezy 21 April 2013 Racial inequality and segregation was not a new manifestation. Before the Civil War, when slavery had established the status of most blacks, there was no apparent need for statutory measures segregating the races. The initial postwar governments passed a few segregation laws and some restrictive Black Codes, but these did not continue to exist past Reconstruction. What replaced them, however, was not racial integration but an informal code of exclusion and discrimination. (Litwack 8) The Jim Crow system gave Southern whites a legal way to reclaim all-encompassing control over the lives of blacks after the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Race Relations after the Civil War 3 The way white Southerners made it difficult on former slaves in the South was to create what was called “Black Codes”. These codes were laws made by southern states to try to ensure their way of life could not be infringed on in the wake of the passing of the 13th amendment which outlawed slavery. Examples of such codes varied from state to state. However, the message was clear to the former slaves that they were still unequal. Examples of these laws are as follows: 1.