Life at the Turn of the 20th Century 15.4 Segregation and Discrimination

Focus Your Thoughts . . . What types of legalized discrimination did African Americans endure after Reconstruction? What types of informal discrimination did they encounter? How did they respond?

Legalized Discrimination While the 13th Amendment abolished slavery, and the 14th and 15th were intended to give both citizenship and the right to vote to minorities respectively, prejudice persisted . . . and new laws in the South made discrimination legal.

Restricting the Right to Vote By the time Reconstruction ended, white Democrats had regained control over the southern state legislatures; they went to great lengths to ensure African Americans could not exercise their new found right to vote The Poll Tax It became a requirement of voting that an individual pay a tax at the polls Most African Americans could not afford the poll tax as they had only recently been freed and capable of earning an income. The Literacy Test It became a requirement of voting that an individual pass a literacy test, proving he could read and write The literacy test was difficult for most African Americans to pass because they had been denied the education necessary to pass it. The Grandfather Clauses Because the laws prevented some poor whites from voting as well, the state legislatures passed what was known as the Grandfather Clause; this stated that if your grandfather or father was eligible to vote January 1, 1867, a man could vote . . . Blacks were not eligible to vote in 1867.

Legalized Segregation The Jim Crow Laws Laws which were passed to discriminate against blacks The first of these was passed in Tennessee in 1881, it required separate railway cars for African Americans and whites By the 1890’s, southern states had segregated many public places and services, including schools Many blacks filed lawsuits demanding equal treatment under the Civil Rights Act of 1875.

The Civil Rights Act of 1875 “All persons shall be entitled to full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of inns, public conveyances on land or water, theaters and other places of public amusement.” The Supreme Court declared in 1883 that the Civil Rights Act was unconstitutional It only applied to state governments Congress could prevent states from denying African Americans their rights, but Congress could not outlaw discrimination by private individuals or businesses.

Plessy v. Ferguson Louisiana state law required railroads to provide “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races” In 1896 Homer Plessy, an African American man, sat in a whites-only train compartment to test the law; he was arrested but he appealed based on the 14th Amendment The Supreme Court ruled that “separate but equal” facilities did not violate the 14th Amendment; only one judge dissented This decision legalized segregation for sixty years

Informal Discrimination Laws were not the only barrier; strict rules of behavior called racial etiquette governed all social and business interactions African Americans were expected to “know their place”, if they failed to show the proper respect, consequences could be fierce Lynching – the murder of an individual, usually by hanging, without a trial. Over 900 lynchings occurred in just ten years, most victims were innocent and their killers were never punished.

Prominent Black Leaders Booker T. Washington Born into slavery Believed that African Americans should accept segregation for the moment Thought African Americans could best prosper by acquiring farming and vocational skills W.E.B. Du Bois Harvard professor Believed in speaking out against prejudice and striving for full rights immediately Launched the Niagara Movement in 1905 to protest discrimination Founded the NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Mexican Americans Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants encountered hostility from white Americans; they often did not speak English well and had to take the most menial jobs for little pay Some worked in the mines or on railroads, most worked on farms Many became trapped in their jobs because of a system brought from Mexico called debt peonage In this system, workers were tied to their jobs until they could pay debts they owed their employers

Asian Americans Chinese and Japanese Americans had to live in segregated neighborhoods and attend separate schools Few Chinese could find houses in “American” districts, for most house owners did not want Chinese tenants Several states forbade intermarriage of whites and Asians

Native Americans The government continued to stamp out the Native American way of life Children were sometimes sent away from their parents to be “Americanized” People living on reservations had few opportunities for economic advancement ; many were also excluded from political activity In many states, they weren’t even considered citizens until the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924.

Overcoming Discrimination (Pg. 509) Review both Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois's views on approaching and overcoming discrimination - which approach do you believe would have been more effective in the late 1800's? Persuade me!