The Promise of Reconstruction and the Nadir, 1877-1923

1. The Promise of Reconstruction and the Nadir, 1877-1923 United States History

2. The Civil War and Its Impact • The Civil War was largely fought over the issues of states’ rights, popular sovereignty, and spread of slavery in the U.S. • States’ Rights – the powers reserved for the states rather than the federal government • Popular sovereignty – political theory that government is created by and subject to the will of the people • Territories had to be admitted to the Union as either free (no slavery) or as slave states

3. The Civil War and Its Impact • The Civil War was from 1861 – 1865 • The Northern States (Union) defeated the Southern States (Confederacy) • It was the deadliest war in American history, killing over 620,000 • Victory for the North meant the end of the Confederacy and of slavery in the United States and strengthened the power of the federal government • It ushered in the Reconstruction Era

4. Reconstruction • Reconstruction addressed how the 11 southern states that seceded (left) from the Union and formed the Confederacy would be re-admitted to the United States of America • This process included • Physically rebuilding the South • Restoring the South to the Union via loyalty oaths & suffrage • Determining rights and citizenship for African Americans

5. The Promise of Reconstruction • Radical Republicans helped to pass the 13th, 14th, & 15th Amendments (the Reconstruction Amendments) which drastically improved the lives of African Americans • 13th Amendment – abolished slavery • 14th Amendment – made all African Americans (& Native Americans) citizens of the United States • 15th Amendment – granted voting rights regardless of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”

6. The Promise of Reconstruction • In addition to the Reconstruction Amendments, the Radical Republicans also helped to create the • Freedman’s Bureau – aided freed slaves through legal food and housing, education, health care, and employment • Elected Office holders – over 630 African Americans were elected to the Senate and the House of Representatives

7. Redemption • Once they regained the ability to vote, many white southerners became redeemers fought against Reconstruction, using both political and violence means • These redeemers were instrumental in creating • Black Codes – state legislation which controlled the labor, migration, and activities of African Americans • Ku Klux Klan (KKK) – a white supremacist para-military organization known for their violent repression of African Americans

8. The Failure of Reconstruction • While the promises of Reconstruction for African Americans gave them equality briefly, overall the programs of Reconstruction was a utter failure. This ushered in the Nadir (lowest point) for American race relations • As a result of this failure of Reconstruction, a new era of race relations was ushered in – Jim Crow – which created a system of legal racial segregation (separation by race) in public and private facilities • de jure segregation – by law, usually in the South • de facto segregation – by fact, usually in the North

9. Jim Crow America • Jim Crow existed from 1876-1965 in both the North and the South • Named after caricature of blacks performed by whites in blackface • The term Jim Crow became synonymous with Negro and racial segregation

10. Jim Crow America – Disfranchisement • From 1890 to 1908, white conservative Democrats passed legislation and constitutional amendments across the South to disfranchise (deny the right to vote) most African Americans • They used a combination of restrictions on voter & voting methods like • poll taxes • literacy tests • residency requirements

11. Jim Crow America - Violence • Violence, and the threat of violence, was a significant part of enforcing Jim Crow laws • Besides the work of the KKK, mobs of white men often lynched African Americans illegally • Lynching involved hanging, disfiguring and, usually, burning the victim to death

12. Jim Crow America - Accommodations • The case, Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), established the basic principle of Jim Crow America, “separate but equal” • The “separate but equal” clause was the rule of law in America until the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954

13. The Fight Against Jim Crow • Though this period is considered the Nadir for African Americans, many organized against Jim Crow and fought for their rights, eventually culminating in the modern Civil Rights Movement (1954 -1970) • Ida B. Wells – Barnett • W.E.B. Du Bois • Booker T. Washington

14. Ida B. Wells - Barnett • Educated at Fisk University, Ida B. Wells was a journalist and newspaper editor who tirelessly exposed lynchings in the South • She was also active in the women’s rights movement

15. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois • As the 1st African American to receive a PhD from Harvard, Du Bois later founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) • A sociologist and author, he became a dominate figure in the African American community

16. Booker T. Washington • A former slave and self made man, Washington founded the Tuskegee Institute to train African Americans in the trades and agriculture • An author and politician, he became a dominate figure in the African American community

17. Philosophical Differences between Du Bois and Washington • W.E.B. Du Bois • Believed in demanding rights for African Americans • The Talented Tenth, an educated elite, would lead Black America • Coined the idea of double consciousness – all Blacks live in 2 worlds (one black, one white) • Outlined his philosophy in The Souls of Black Folk • Booker T. Washington • Believed in accommodation – blacks would not ask for the vote or equal rights & would tolerate segregation and discrimination until whites were ready to give African Americans their rights • Outlined his philosophy in Up From Slavery