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Southern Class Structure in the 1930s . By: Katy Saindon Ilia Savin. Background Information. • In 1929, the Great Depression struck the United States and lasted for 12 years, causing the vast majority of Americans to be in the lower class.
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Southern Class Structure in the 1930s By: Katy Saindon Ilia Savin
Background Information • In 1929, the Great Depression struck the United States and lasted for 12 years, causing the vast majority of Americans to be in the lower class. • In the 1930s, the KKK also effected southern class structure, because they used violence and terror to intimidate the freed African Americans to keep them at a lesser class and stopped them from exercising their rights such as voting.
Racism and Sexism • Race and Gender conflicts both played an important part in Southern class structure. • All African Americans were looked down on to be the lowest class in the southern society. • White rich Men were looked at as the highest point in Southern society. • White women were somewhere in between them.
Lower Class • The lower class of the South was very large and consisted of the laborers and almost all of the African American population. • These people lived in the slums and labored relentlessly. •There was often much discrimination and prejudice against this class.
Middle Class • The middle class was small and were the white families who were poor, but not living in the slums and yet not able to rise up to the upper class. • Many people in the middle class were referred to often as, “White Trash”. • The upper class often looked down on these people.
Upper Class • The upper class was mostly Aristocratic families. • There were virtually no African Americans in the upper class. • The upper class dwelled in large and stately mansions. • They were referred to sometimes as, “The Southern Gentlemen and their lovely ladies”.
Key Words Racism- The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. Sexism- Discrimination based on gender, especially discrimination against women. Prejudice- An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts. Class- A generalized category that describes a group of people that can exist within it. Discrimination- Treatment or consideration based on class or category rather than individual merit
Citations • Westphal, Chris. "Migrant labor." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2009. Web. 20 Oct. 2009. <http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com>. • Great Depression." American Government. ABC-CLIO, 2009. Web. 20 Oct. 2009. <http://www.americangovernment.abc-clio.com>. • “Ku Klux Klan.” American History.ABC-CLIO, 2009. Web. 20 Oct. 2009. <http//www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com>. • Richardson, Lystra Moore. “The South in Literature.” 2008. Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. 7 Sept 2008 <http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1991/1/91.01.05.x.html>