Vocabulary:
Antebellum: refers to the years before the Civil War

Audio Link:

Here's the song, "Jump, Jim Crow" - listen carefully to identify the offensive lyrics.

More Notes:
Reconstruction ended in 1877 after the election of Rutherford B. Hayes. Congress pulled the troops out of the South and all the states were readmitted to the Union. These new governments worked to take back the gains won by the freedmen (former slaves)- finding loopholes around the Civil War Amendments and denying African-Americans their civil rights!		 Extra Links:
Click here to learn more about the Presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes.

More Notes:
One of the ways the freed slaves could make money was to perform in the streets. These traveling performers are called minstrels- they would sing, dance, act and even play music. The crowd that gathered would leave coins or food in exchange- one of the most popular characters for the minstrels to act out was named Jim Crow. So Jim Crow was not a real person, but a personified stereotype of a "simple-minded" and silly talking former slave. The segregation laws of the South were eventually named after this character!

The Black Codes were the laws passed in the South that segregated the public and greatly limited the freedoms of African-Americans. Some examples of these laws included: not being allowed to own property, own a firearm, go to school, bring a lawsuit in court, vote or even be unemployed! The goal of the Southern governments was to maintain the old class structure- free but NOT EQUAL!!!

Video Clip:

The Black Codes

Extra Links:
Here is a complete site on the History of Jim Crow - lots of cool links to explore!

Here is another outstanding Jim Crow site - an excellent resource!

Vocabulary:
discrimination: treating one group of people differently from another group of people

segregation: separating groups of people in certain areas

Extra Links:
Click here to read some of the real Jim Crow Laws from the period - very disturbing!
More Notes:
Southerners needed to be much more creative with the laws since the passage of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments.

More Notes:
The picture above is just one example of segregation under the Jim Crow Laws. Segregation also occurred in hospitals, schools, restaurants, bus and train stations, public transportation, housing, the U.S. Army, parks, and any other area that could be considered public!

Video Clip:

Jim Crow Laws and Booker T. Washington
Extra Links:
Browse through this link to find more pictures of American segregation!

Vocabulary:
lynching: executing a person without due process of law, especially by hanging, usually done by a mob

 

More Notes:
Vigilante groups such as the Ku Klux Klan first formed during Reconstruction to intimidate the freedmen and the "scalawags" (poor white Southern farmers) who would likely vote for Republicans in elections. When Reconstruction ended, they continued to terrorize the people who violated the strict social order set down by the Black Codes. Typically using beating and vandalism and intimidation, they inspired fear in the communities. Perhaps the most terrifying of the intimidations was lynching!

Men were lynched by mobs- large groups of people would grab the person who allegedly disrespected the society, physically beat them and then hang from a tree! Large crowds would often gather, take pictures and treat it like an event. Of course, lynching is technically illegal because it's MURDER! Were the people responsible held accountable- usually not. You see, the local sheriff's departments would be responsible for enforcing that law, and too many times they played a part in the crime!

African Americans knew that their civil rights were being violated. The laws themselves were a violation of their due process! They turned to the courts, because it is the judicial branch that is the "keeper of the Constitution", the interpreter of the laws, and only the courts could declare these laws and actions unconstitutional (judicial review).

 Extra Links:
This article discusses the history of lynching and includes links to people and organizations that fought against lynching. It also includes text of anti-lynching writings by Ida B. Wells, Jane Addams, and others.

Vocabulary:
"separate but equal": the ruling that stated that segregation in the South was constitutional, as long as the facilities were equal

Video Clip:

Plessy v. Ferguson
More Notes:
Homer Plessy, a black man, attempted to ride in the "white car" on the railroad. When he refused to change his seat, he was arrested. Plessy then filed a suit claiming that his rights had been violated on the basis of segregation. The Supreme Court, dominated by southern judges, ruled that segregation was not a violation of rights IF the facilities were considered "equal". The problem was the word "equal" is not the same as "identical". So, the separate but equal doctrine allowed for the South to remain segregated for the next 50 years!		 Extra Links:
This link goes to background information on Plessy v. Ferguson, which established the "separate but equal" doctrine.

Vocabulary:
Great Migration: refers to the movement of southern blacks to cities in the north and the mid-west from the 1870's through World War 2

 

More Notes:
The most logical thing for many who suffer from discrimination is to simply leave. African Americans did this by the thousands! Seeking jobs (economic opportunities) and social equality, they migrated to the cities- that's where the jobs were! Unfortunately, these people did not find the equality they were looking for as they still suffered prejudice and discrimination!

We read earlier that competition for resources (like jobs) was a leading cause of prejudice and discrimination. Settling in their own ethnic enclaves (like Harlem in New York), African Americans found inequality in law enforcement and pay for jobs. While segregation was not the "law", it was an expectation. Further, the immigrant groups who were also settling in the cities at this time were not too happy to have to compete for work with former slaves- as they might work harder for less money. So, prejudice and discrimination abounded!

 Extra Links:
Here is a great link about the Great Migration - route to Chicago!

More Notes:
Today, some mistakenly think that there was a single thought and focus for the Civil Rights Movement. Even after Reconstruction, there was much debate among the African-American community as to what the BEST course of action should be. All seemed to want equality- but they differed on the path that should be taken to get it!

 

More Notes:
Ida Wells was born a slave but was emancipated at a young age by the 13th Amendment. She became educated, and eventually ran her own newspaper. Ida was appalled at the lynching that was going on in the South, and she demanded that Congress do something! Her requests were not granted... WHY?

Well, it would be easy to simply say that Congress did not care, or that Congress was full of hateful bigots. But that is NOT really the case. The problem was FEDERALISM (the constitutional principle of separating national government and state governments). Murder, which is what lynching truly was, is considered a "state crime". It was to be investigated and prosecuted at that state level- so Congress did not believe it had the Constitutional authority to intervene in state affairs.

Ida Wells did not stop- her newspapers and reports caused a great deal of awareness of the plight of southerners, and she helped pave the way for the future!

  
Extra Links:
Here is a site that tells much more about the life and accomplishments of this great woman.

Vocabulary:
vocational education: a learning track designed to prepare a person directly for a specific trade

Video Clip:

Booker T. Washington

More Notes:
Booker T. Washington was a former slave.  He believed that racism would end once African Americans acquired useful labor skills and proved their economic value to society.  Washington, who was born a slave in Virginia, graduated from Hampton Institute after his emancipation.  He opened his own school in Alabama, the Tuskagee Normal and Industrial Institute.  Washington pushed curriculum based on farming and technical training.

"No race can prosper until it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem."

Booker T. Washington believed the way to equality was through vocational education and economic success; he accepted social separation and discouraged animosity between the races.  He urged cooperation between the races.  Washington did not want to "rock the boat" as he feared racial backlash would take back the few gains already made in the Civil Rights movement.

 Extra Links:
This exhibit from the Library of Congress shows some aspects of the lives of African-Americans during Booker T. Washington's time. It also goes into Washington's bio and beliefs.

More Notes:
W.E.B. Du Bois became the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1895.  "The honor, I assure you," he said, "was Harvard's".  Born to a middle-class family in Massachusetts, Du Bois believed blacks should seek a liberal arts education so that the African American community would have well-educated leaders.  Toward this end, Du Bois  proposed that a group of educated blacks, the most "talented tenth", would achieve immediate inclusion into mainstream American life.  This would then pave the way for others to follow.
Du Bois was much more militant than Washington, advocating non-compliance with laws and openly defying the authority which was in place.
W.E.B. Du Bois believed that education was meaningless without equality.  He supported political equality for African Americans by helping to form the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909.
Du Bois was often at odds with Booker T. Washington. Clearly they both wanted equality and both believed in using education and training to get it. The key difference is the type of education!
The founding of the NAACP (1909) was the beginning of the organized push for Civil Rights. Over FIFTY Americans (men and women -black and white) helped to form this organization. Doctors, lawyers, teachers and philanthropists hoped to work for the advancement of "colored people". The NAACP wanted to educate the public, bring pressure on Congress to pass laws, encourage educational equality, and especially challenge the Jim Crow laws in the courts!

Video Clip:

The Need for the NAACP came from the failure of the Progressives

Extra Links:
Check out this bio page on W.E.B. DuBois.

Extra Links:
Here's a neat little page that briefly explains the history of the NAACP.

Take the Quiz