American Reconstruction and Black History PDF

3.1 Reconstruction Amendments -​ Reconstruction: reintegrating former confederate states into the US and protecting rights of former slaves granted citizenship, equal rights, and political representation in AMerican government. -​ 13th - officially abolished slavery exce...

3.1 Reconstruction Amendments -​ Reconstruction: reintegrating former confederate states into the US and protecting rights of former slaves granted citizenship, equal rights, and political representation in AMerican government. -​ 13th - officially abolished slavery except as punishment -​ 14th - defined birthright citizenship, equal protection of all people - overturned Dred Scott v.s Sand ford -​ 15th - Black MEN access to the right to vote, thousands of AA men participated in southern politics, most significant features of Reconstruction era -​ African Americans served in public offices, gained rights but taken away through Jim Crow laws in 1960s 3.2 Social Life: reuniting Black Families and the Freedmen’s Bureau -​ Freedmen’s Bureau: responsible assisting formerly enslaved people transition into american citizens, including clothing, food, legalizing marriages, and establishing schools -​ for managing property abandoned/confiscated during the Civil war -​ Relocation of slaves during slavery → African Americans created new kinship bonds and family traditions after losing them during slavery. -​ Tried finding an old kin through newspaper word of mouth, and with help from the Freedmen’s Bureau, traveled to find lost family and friends. -​ Slaves marriages were not legally binding, after abolition thousands of former slaves sought to consecrate their functions through legal marriage. -​ Many adopted new names to separate their slave identities, shaping their own identities as free people. -​ AAs established a tradition of family reunion after the postemancipation search to connect with long-lost relatives and friends. -​ reunions preserve black history, resilience, music, and culture 3.3 Black Codes, Land, and Labor -​ (1865-1866) Presidential Reconstruction, state governments enacted Black codes - restrictive laws controlling movement and labor of AAs, aimed to restore white control of earlier slave codes. -​ Restricted advancement of African Americans: -​ limiting property ownership, requiring labor contract (provided little pay, if not there they were whipped or fined, imprisoned for vagrancy, act of moving around without a permanent home or jo) -​ Apprenticeship: disrupted families by allowing children to be taken by state and forced unpaid jobs without parents consent -​ General William T. Sherman - Special Field Orders No. 15, redistributed 400,000 acres of land (South Carolina and Florida) to AA families in segments of 40 acres. -​ President Andrew Johnson revoked the order, confiscated plantations, and returned for former owners, AAs were evicted or shifted to sharecropping.  -​ Crop Liens: farmers with little/no cash could get food and supplies in return for future harvest, most times theri crops did not create enough to repay the debt, often ending in a vicious cycle -​ Convict leasing: Southern prisons hired imprisoned African American men of minor charges to work without pay under conditions similar to slave labor. 3.4 The Defeat of Reconstruction -​ Election of 1876 and compromise of 1877, states rewrote state constitutions to include segregation laws -​ Republican Governor of Ohio Rutherford B. Hayes VS Democrat Governor of New York Samuel J. Tilden -​ Republican won but told to withdrawal federal troops from south, so the amendments wasn’t entirely followed (Compromise of 1877) Allowed for… -​ Black voting suppressed → poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses -​ Endangered by racial violence -​ lynching , attacts from former confederates and political terrorist group’s (KKK), and others -​ Plessy V. ferguson (1896) - “separate but equal” doctrine became legal after louisiana law mandated segregated passenger coaches for railroad transportation -​ Legalized separate and unequal resources, facilities and rights -​ Brown v board dismantled this doctoring later on (1954) 3.5 Disenfranchisement and Jim Crow Laws -​ Jim Crow - originate from a fictional character in minstrel shows (shows demanding black people, portrayed as lazy and superstitious) -​ Jim Crow laws - limited blacks to vote, enforced racial segregation of hospitals, transportation, schools,and cemeteries -​ Plessy v.s. Ferguson: established “separate but equal doctrine” to allow Jim Crow -​ Nadir - lowest point of American race relations, most open public acts of racism -​ lynching + mob violence, public terrorism and violence towards AAs -​ KKK was resparked by Wilson’s showing of “Birth of A Nation” -​ Journalists Writers highlighted racism and the core of Southern lynch laws -​ Ida B Wells wrote about her friends lynched in teh news paper -​ Restied attacks through various ways, Trolley boycotts, activists were sympathetic towards writers and press publicizing mistreatment and murder. 3.6 White Supremacist Violence and the Red Summer -​ Red Summer: heightened white supremacist violence -​ Racial discrimination towards WW1 black veterans, job competition, global flu pandemic contributed to rise in hate crimes -​ Tulsa Race Riot (1921) - destroyed 1250 homes and businesses in Greenwood (aka “Black Wall Street”), one of the most affluent African American Communities -​ Chicago Race Riot -​ Violence prevented many AAs from passing down their wealth and property  -​ Resisted attacks: political activism, published accounts, and armed self-defense -​ Great Migration, caused by racial discrimination/violence and lack of economic opportunities 3.7 The Color Line and Double Consciousness in American Society -​ “We Wear the Mask” WEB DuBois -​ “The mask” and “the veil” represent AA separation from full participation in American society, and the struggle for self-improvement due to racism. -​ The Souls of Black Folk WEB DUBOIS -​ “Color line” = racial divide, legalizing segregation remained in the US after slavery ended. -​ “Problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line” -​ “Double Consciousness” = internal conflict experienced by inferior groups in society, gave AA a way to examine the unequal realities of American life. -​ Came from alienation created from racism, yet it fostered adaption and resistance 3.8 Lifting as We Climb: Uplift Ideologies and Black Women’s Right and Leadership -​ Booker T. Washington advocated for industrial education, economic advancement and independence -​ Speech “the Atlanta Exposition Address” said AAs should remain in the South and focus on industrial education before political rights -​ Former slave, rough life which affected his way of thinking -​ WEB Du Bois debated against industrial education and promoted liberal arts education and civil rights agenda -​ From a free family experiences racism in college which affected his thinking -​ Nannie Helen Burroughs, educator, suffragist, daughter of enslaves, established National Association of Colored Women, founded a school for women and girls in DC. -​ Literature poetry and music encouraged AAs to take pride in cultural achievements. -​ James Weldon Johnson and his brother created “Lift Every Voice and Sing” Black National Anthem -​ Black women leaders advocated for Black Women's rights in the Women's Suffrage movement -​ Women leadership was crucial for rebuilding communities afters slavery -​ Black women entered the workforce, support their families, organized labor unions to argue for fair treatment -​ Black women leaders (churchwomen) created clubs and organizations countering race and gender stereotypes. 3.9 Black Organizations and Institutions -​ AA created businesses and organizations catering towards the needs of black citizens, improving the self-sufficiency of their communities. -​ Expansion of black press → provided news to AAAs locally + nationally, documented aspects of community life, and served as a vehicle for protesting racial discrimination.  -​ Founded African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), founded in 1816 as the first Black Christian denomination in the US, after reconstruction the number of black churches increased. -​ Safe spaces for organization, worship, and cultural expression -​ Created leadership opportunities: black activists musicians, and political leaders -​ Madam C.J. walker, first women million in the US, developed products highlighting Black beauty, -​ Black entrepreneurs, fostered Black economic advancement, supported community and philanthropy (giving for betterment) 3.10 HBCUs, Black Greek Letter Organizations, and Black Education -​ Segregation in education, AA founded their own colleges, established after the Civil War -​ First HBCUS (historically black colleges and universities) were private, established/funded by white philanthropists. -​ Wilberforce University, founded by leaders of the AME church, first fully owned and operated by AA -​ Later HBCUs were established as land-grant colleges with federal funding -​ Second Morrill Act (1890) required states to demonstrate race was not a factor in admission or create separation institutions for black students, 18 HBCUs were established. -​ HBCUs emphasized 2 educational models: liberal arts and vocational industrial model -​ HBCUs were primary providers of postsecondary education for AA until the Black campus movement in 1960 -​ HBCUs allowed many to rise out of poverty and become leaders in all sectors of society through higher education. -​ Created spaces for cultural pride, black scholarship, and activism, and addressed racial equality gaps in higher education. -​ Black Greek-letter organizations (BGLOs) emerged across the US, predominantly white institutions, found spaces to support one another. -​ Fisk Jubilee Singers - student choir at Fisk University introduced religious and musical tradition of AA spirituals to the global stage during international tours -​ 3.11 The New Negro Movement and the Harlem Renaissance -​ NNM encouraged AA to define their own identity and advocate for themselves politically during the Nadir -​ Pursued creation of Black aesthetic, reflected in artistic and cultural achievements of black creators -​ Produced innovations in music (blues and jazz), art and literature -​ Went against racial stereotypes, -​ Artistic innovations reflected the migrations of AA from south to north and midwest -​ The NNM included the Harlem Renaissance → flourishing of Black literature, art and intellect creating a revolution in the 1920s and 1930s 3.12 Photography and Social Change  -​ Photography to counter racists representation used to justify mistreatment of Jim Crow segregation -​ During the New Negro movment, black photographs created black aesthetic, grounded work in everyday beauty of black life, culture, heritage. -​ Documented black expression, labor, leisure, study, worship, and home life, further illustrating qualities of the “new negro”. 3.13 Envisioning Africa in Harlem Renaissance Poetry -​ Writers, artists, and scholars in the Renaissance explored African heritage through the legacies of Colonialism and Atlantic slavery. -​ Poets used imagery to counter negative stereotypes about Africa’s people and landscapes -​ Some explored relationships between African and African American identity and heritage through personal reflection 3.14 Symphony in Black: Black Performance in Music, Theater, and Film -​ Harlem Renaissance and Jazz Age opened opportunities for AA record labels, musicians, and vocalists to gain a wider audience -​ Radio broadcast of blues, gospel, and jazz (AA genres) throughout the nation -​ Blues Music has roots in slavery, started off acoustic in the South, electric version evolved as AA moved north. Conveyed themes such as despair, hope, love, and loss -​ Jazz is the most distinctive contribution of the United States in the arts. Jazz originated in the South (New Orleans) and developed new styles after migration. -​ Black performers flourished in cabarets, broadway, and film in the 1900s. -​ Hollywood produced all-Black musical “Cabin in the Sky” featuring prominent Black actors, musicians, and dancers -​ Ethel Waters was the first African American to star in her own television show. 3.15 Black History Education and African American Studies -​ AA believed the US schools reinforced the idea that AAs did not have a meaningful cultural contribution, and were therefore insubordinate. AAs urged others to educate themselves and study their own history and experiences. -​ Intellectual of the New negro movement refuted the ideas of AAs being without history through literature and education resources. Trying to put black history in schools alllowed the contributions of the new negro movent to reach black students of all ages -​ Black intellectual tradition began 200 years before African American studies in 190s -​ Emerged through black activists, educators, writers, and archivists documenting black experiences -​ African Free School provided an education to Black people in New york preparing early black abolitionists for leadership -​ Black Puerto Rican bibliophile Arturo Schomburg’s collection donates to the NYC public library, the basis of the Schomburg center for Research in Black culture. -​ WEB Du Bois’s research and writings produced some early sociological survey of African Americans. -​ Anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston’s writing documented forms of African American culture and linguistic expression.  -​ Carter Godwin Woodson founded Black History Month, published many works chronicling black experiences and perspectives in history. 3.16 The Great Migration -​ Largest internal migration in US history, six million AAs relocated from South to North, Midwest, and West US (1910-1970) -​ Labor Shortage in North from WW1 and WW2 increased job opportunities for AAs -​ Environmental factors - floods, boll weevils, spoiled crops → Black Southerners impoverished -​ Racial violence and unmitigated lynching, leave the Jim Crow South -​ New railway system + black press, black press encouraged the instruction for AA to leave the south -​ Great migration created black communities and black cultural movements -​ New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles, with Black Southern culture, creating a shared culture among African American communities across the country. -​ Transformed AAs from rural people to urban dwellers, forged new connections to the northern environment, engaging with leisure rather than livelihood. -​ Underpaid disempowered black laborers left the south, racial tensions increased, -​ employers often resisted the flight of AA → unjustly arrested them -​ National Urban League (NYC 1910) an interracial organization assisted AA migrating, helping them acclimate to urban life and secure housing + jobs. -​ Support A. Philip Randolph’s 1941 March on Washington 3.17 Afro-Caribbean Migration -​ Decline in Caribbean economics during WW1 and expansion of the US’s political and economic interests in the Caribbean (Panama Canal) caused Afro-Caribbeans to go to US -​ Afro-Caribbean immigrants and African American communities created tensions but new blends of black culture in US -​ Increases religious and linguistic diversity, many new arrivals were catholic, anglican, and episcopalian -​ Afro-Caribbean intellectuals contributed to the radicalization fo Black thought, infusing their experiences of black empowerment nad autonomy into the racial black social movements. 3.18 The Universal Negro improvement Association -​ Marcus Garvey, largest pan-African movement in AA history -​ Founder of UNIA, aimed to unite all black people from Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa -​ Back-to-Africa movement, founded steamship company, Black Star Line, to repatriate African Americans to Africa -​ Inspired African Americans facing racial violence to embrace shared african heritage -​ Share ideals of industrial, politics, and education advancement through separatists black institutions -​ Outlined UNIA’s objective to achieve black liberation from colonialism across the African diaspora. -​ Became the model for black nationalists movements, -​ UNIAs Red black and green flag continues to be used to create black solidarity and freedom worldwide.