How Far Do You Agree That African-Americans Were Treated as Second Class Citizens in the Northern and Southern States Between 1940-1946?

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How far do you agree that African-Americans were treated as second class citizens in the northern and southern states between 1940-1946? I agree with this statement to some extent. Conditions in the northern states were not as bad as conditions in the south. However African Americas all over America were treated as second class citizens. Firstly, social conditions in the north were much better than the south. Segregation existed in the north formally as De Facto discrimination meaning that there were no formal laws of segregation but the reality of everyday life was one of discrimination. However in 1945 the northern states voluntarily ended discrimination. This meant that African-Americans had more freedom and were not targeted as much. Eating, transport and educational facilities were not segregated in the north. Since the voluntary end to segregation there was an absence of segregation meaning that the racial etiquette was not as rigid and therefor it was more likely for people from different races to mix. However, African-Americans were still poor meaning it forced them to live in poorer areas and in the undesirable parts of the city such as ‘Ghettos’. Secondly, the economic conditions in the north were in fact just as bad as conditions the south. There were over 10% of African-Americans below the poverty line. Unemployment was a major factor for the north. The war in 1914-1918 actually helped the north to develop ways in which African-Americans could work, the north was well known for factories developing goods for the war effort. A lot of African-Americans were forced to do ‘slave jobs’ which would have been jobs such as working as servants, carpenters or blacksmiths in the houses. Urban housing shortages were also acute as people were coming to the cities for jobs which would lead to the city being over crowded. Finally, political conditions were
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