v. The Rise of Segregation Vocabulary discrimination poll tax segregation Jim Crow laws lynch Guiding Question: How did African Americans resist racism and improve their way of life after Reconstruction?

Resistance and Repression After Reconstruction, most African American lived in poverty Most were SHARECROPPERS: landless farmers who gave a large section of their crops to the landlord as rent CYCLE OF DEBT!

Resistance and Repression 1870s Benjamin “Pap” Singleton urged African Americans to move West to from independent communities Most went to Kansas. In two months 6,000 African Americans left the rural south for Kansas Newspapers called it the Exodus. Migrants became known as “Exodusters”

Resistance and Repression Exodusters arrived in Kansas in 1879 Others joined poor white farmers Formed the Farmer’s Alliance 1886 African Americans formed the Colored Farmers National Alliance. 1.2 million members in 1890.

Resistance and Repression 1891 many African Americans joined the Populist Party Posed a major challenge to the Democratic party in the South If poor whites joined the African Americans they would be unbeatable Democratic leaders started to appeal to racism to make it harder for African Americans to vote.

Resistance and Repression “ Some of our people, some editors especially deny that African Americans are hindered from voting; but what good is lying? They are interfered with, and we are obliged to do it, and we may as well tell the truth” – One Southern Democratic Leader

Resistance and Repression Question: What did the Democratic Party do to prevent the Populists from gaining too much power?

Resistance and Repression Answer: It appealed to racism among its poor white followers to prevent them from allying with African American Populists.

Imposing Segregation Guiding Question: What laws did southern states pass to impose segregation and deny African Americans the right to vote?

Imposing Segregation After Reconstruction ended, the rights of African Americans declined Attempts to unify whites and African Americans failed Movement to diminish civil rights picked up momentum

Taking Away the Vote 15 th Amendment prohibits denying citizens the right to vote based on race, color, previous condition of servitude Does not bar states from using other grounds Poll Tax Literacy Test

Taking Away the Vote 1899 Mississippi began a $2 poll tax (expensive) Poll tax – a tax of a fixed amount that had to be paid before a person could vote Mississippi also instituted a literacy test, required voters to be able to read and understand the state’s constitution Few African Americans born after the Civil War had attended school. Illiterate. Even if you could read, officials would pick the hardest sections. Other southern states adopted similar restrictions. Between 1890 – 1900 number of registered African American voters fell.

White voters exempt Election officials were less strict in applying tax or test to whites; however number of white voters fell significantly Louisiana introduced the grandfather clause for whites Allowed any man to vote if an ancestor could vote in 1867 Exempted whites from most voting restrictions Was designed to increase the number of white voters

Legalizing Segregation African Americans faced discrimination in the North, but in the South segregation (separation) was different in the South where laws were passed that rigidly enforced discrimination Segregation – the separation or isolation of a race, class, or group Discrimination – different treatment or preference or a bias other than individual merit

Legalizing Segregation: Jim Crow Laws Jim Crow Laws – Statues enacted to enforce segregation Supreme Court overturned the Civil Rights Act of That law had prohibited keeping people out of public places on the basis of race and barred racial discrimination in selecting jurors. The Supreme Court, however, ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment provided only that “no state” could deny citizens equal protection under the law. Private organizations, such as hotels, theaters, and railroads, were free to practice segregation.

Legalizing Segregation Private organizations, hotels, theatres and railroads could segregate. Southern states passed a series of laws establishing racial segregation African Americans could no longer ride together in the railroad car Could not drink from the same water fountain

Plessy v. Ferguson 1892 Homer Plessy challenged the Louisiana law Forced him to ride in a separate railroad car Arrested for riding in white only car 1896 Plessy v Ferguson Supreme Court upheld Louisiana law “separate but equal”. Established 50 years of racial segregation.

Legalizing Segregation What was the purpose of the “grandfather clause”?

Legalizing Segregation To allow whites who could not pay the poll tax to pass literacy requirements to vote.

The African American Response Guiding Question: How did African American community leaders respond to legalized segregation?

The African American Response Historian Rayford Logan Opening of 20 th century as the low point of African American status Responded to violence and discrimination in many ways Ida B. Wells Mary Church Terrell Booker T. Washington W.E.B. DuBois Each used different approaches to address this

Ida B. Wells 1800s mob violence increased lynched per year Lynched – to execute, by hanging, without lawful approval 1892 Ida B. Wells launched a crusade against lynching A mob drove Wells out of Chicago 1895 published a book denouncing mob violence Congress rejects anti-lynching bill, but lynching decreased significantly in 1900s

Mary Church Terrell College educated. Born after the Civil War President Benjamin Harrison refused to condemn lynching, she started lifelong campaign against Lynching, Racism, Sexism Had help from Jane Addams and Susan B. Anthony Founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Formed the Women Wage Earner’s Association Assisted African American Nurses, waitresses, domestic workers Led boycott against Washington D.C. department stores when they refused to serve African Americans Terrell wanted Future with promise and hope, no favors – just an equal chance

“History of the Naacp & Civil Rights” Video

Booker T. Washington Booker T. Washington proposed achieving economic rather than political goals 1895 Booker’s goals in front of a mostly white audience Known as the Atlanta Compromise Urged African Americans to postpone fight for civil rights Concentrate on education and vocations to achieve full equality

W.E.B. DuBois Founded the civil rights group the Niagara Movement which, while a failure, was the forerunner of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Atlanta Compromise provoked a challenge from W.E.B. DuBois – saw no reason to postpone civil rights New generation of activist 1903 wrote the book The Souls of Black Folk Saw no advantage to giving up rights Concerned with protecting voting rights

DuBois Rejects Compromise “Negroes must insist continually, in season and out of season.” he wrote, “ that voting is necessary to proper manhood, that color discrimination is barbarism.” Many African Americans would struggle to win the vote End discrimination Would be a long struggle

The African American Response What was the nature of the compromise urged by Booker T. Washington in the Atlanta Compromise speech?

The African American Response African Americans would put on hold their fight for the right to vote; instead they would work for educational and vocational gains.