Furthermore in the Southern states of USA the abolition movement was resented. Plantation owners were unwilling to end slavery because it provided them with a free labour force. Many white Americans had justified slavery by thinking of slaves as racially inferior, as people without human needs, rights or dignity. The legal system had supported these racist views, and the rights of the plantation owners for many years. After 1890 many Southern governments passed a series of laws that set up a system of segregation that would last until the mid-twentieth century.
After 1869 federal government remained an obstacle throughout this time period. The Supreme Court ruling of the US vs Reese case in 1875 supported Kentucky officials who turned away black voters, and so marked the way for further discrimination against black voters. The voting qualifications further restricted African Americans from exercising their political rights and was legalised by the Mississippi vs Williams case. Federal government failed to discourage anti civil rights groups whose main targets were black voters and so greatly inhibited the slow progression of African American civil rights. However, state government was also a major obstacle in achieving the vote for African Americans.
This de facto bigotry made it more difficult for civil rights activist to change the hearts and minds of the activists, and made politicians reticent about their support of the campaign, for fear of losing public support. The Klan spread their hateful message through the Southern States, inciting similar violence against the activists, and persuading the public that passing the Civil Rights Act would “open the bedroom doors of our white women to Negro men” this led to a lack of support for the movement, and a strong belief in the actions and motives of the Klan. The activities of the Klan weren’t just limited to violent acts and intimidation. Many Klan members held roles in the authorities, or were part of citizen’s committees, who had control over
Oh, and lets not forget the KKK (if that falls into this category; I think it does) who harassed, intimidated, and killed black people. They basically couldn’t escape being tormented. During this period, the south was suffering pretty badly economically. When cotton production slowed significantly during the Civil War, countries that had been deprived of cotton began to grow their own and market prices were cut in half. Banks that loaned to the Confederate government could not collect their debts.
For instance, the writer claims that the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin and its common predecessor who attacks the topic of slavery in order for the abolitionists to unite together and fight for the same beliefs, isn’t fair or moral since they were disrupting the peaceful state that the U.S was in and shifting the people apart even more. On the other hand, the other passage written by the Southern literary messenger of Richmond also opposed Mrs. Stowe;s tale but he/she had a very biased opinion towards the South so he/she just argued using his/her untrustworthy opinion and very little knowledge. For example, the messenger didn’t think that the author of the story should have put emphasis on the abolition actions since they didn’t deserve the attention and it was unfair for the South since they their opinions didn’t get noticed. 1) C-1 2) The Pro-Southern Court Speaks (1857) 3) Author: Roger Taney 4) Author’s Position: Against Dred Scott and his wish to become a free African American 5) Bias: The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has the authority to speak for what he favors and in this case, his bias leaned toward the South so he supported them by going against Dred Scott. The Court also must cancel the Missouri Compromise since it goes against the constitution so they couldn’t
African Americans’ social rights were very limited partially because of the Black Codes and Jim Crow laws. These restrictions aided the system of sharecropping, maintained social hierarchy and segregation. Black Codes restrict civil rights for African Americans such as to carry a weapon, vote, getting involving in the court, marry white citizens and travel without permits. The code varied in different
The search for labor in southern states eventually led the states to do something they didn’t intend on doing. With the great demand for tobacco from states like Virginia and Maryland, and the large demand for sugar cane from the West Indies, the settlers were forced to turn to slave labor. They played a small role at first in the southern states, but eventually made up a large percentage of these areas populations. Georgia and North Carolina opposed slavery, but were unable to compete with the other states crop production. English settlers in Virginia and later Maryland around the Chesapeake Bay area discovered a crop from the Indians known as tobacco.
Northerners saw the Klan as an attempt to win through terrorism what they had been unable to win on the battlefield. Such a simple view did not totally explain the Klan's sway over the South, but there is little doubt that many Confederate veterans exchanged their rebel gray for the hoods and sheets of the invisible empire. The conditions in the South, immediately after the war, added to Southerners' fears and frustrations. Cities, plantations and farms were ruined; people were broke and often hungry; there was an occupation army in their midst; and Reconstruction governments threatened to seize the traditional white ruling authority. In the first few months after the fighting ended, white Southerners had to contend with the losses of life, property, and in their eyes, honor.
The fear of slave rebellion distracted both the Southern slaveholder and the Northern invader. The Confederate government never used them as soldiers, but it did make them go into labor brigades to build fortifications, dig latrines, and haul supplies. As the war went on, Southern manpower shortages became more of a problem. Slaves quickly took advantage of the situation, slowing down their pace of labor and not following orders, The South imposed a Cotton embargo and many Southerners believed they could persuade European intervention in the war by refusing to grow or give
The war was fought over three main disagreements - economy, state rights, and slavery. The south didn’t have the factories and machinery that the northern states had, and were therefore less successful. The heart of their economy revolved around slavery, and the northern states didn’t like this. The north wanted to abolish slavery. This led to fighting over which territories would have slavery or not, and eventually seven states, including Virginia, left the United States and formed their own country, called the Confederate States of America.