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Summary Civil Rights in the USA (): African Americans
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All key knowledge pertaining to African American's civil rights in the USA between 1865 and 1992.
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Position of African Americans in 1865:- From 1861-1865, the Civil war was fought between the North (the Union) and the South
(the Confederacy). Abolitionists fought to abolish slavery but most white people in the North
were still hostile towards the idea of African American equality and some even owned
slaves.
- The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863, ended slavery (but only in areas under Union
control).
- In 1865, the 13th amendment was passed - formally freeing all slaves throughout the
country and providing them with some basic human rights, such as the right to own
property, become educated, and travel freely.
- Initially, freedmen began sharecropping (where landlords allowed former slaves to work
the land for a share of the produce) to make a living. This included working long hours for
little reward.
Reconstruction (1865-1877):
- Under Lincoln (1865):
- Freedmen’s bureau was set up in March 1865. It was an agency set up for a year
that helped former slaves by providing advice on education and employment as
well as helping in establishing schools for African Americans.
- Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865.
- Under Andrew Johnson (1865-68):
- Abraham Licoln was replaced by his vice president Andrew Johnson who favoured
taking a lenient approach to the South. He issued thousands of pardons to
southern rebels and allowed southern states to develop their own Black Codes.
- Black Codes (1865-66) were a series of laws passed by new state legislatures in
the South. These laws varied from state to state but they usually stated that African
Americans couldn’t have interracial marriages, a ‘negro’ was classifiable by at least
1/8th of black blood, and that they were also not permitted to vote.
- Congress engaged in a veto battle with Johnson, vetoing his veto for the first time
in history to pass the Civil Rights Act.
- The Civil Rights Act infringed on states’ rights meaning it was unconstitutional.
Congress introduced the 14th Amendment (which gave legal equality to all
Americans) to avoid this but most of the Southern states rejected the amendment
which meant it could not be issued.
- Congress took over Reconstruction from Johnson, initiating a period of ‘radical
reconstruction’ which was driven by the radical wing of the Republican Party
(namely Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner). Congress passed the Military
Reconstruction Bill in 1867 which imposed military rule on the South and would
not let southern states join the Union again until they accepted the 14th
Amendment.
- Under Grant (1868-76):
- New state governments had been established in the South which were under
military rule - they were often corrupt and inefficient.
- 15th Amendment, 1869, stated ‘the right to vote should not be denied on account
of race, colour, or previous convictions of servitude’.
- By 1876, the presidential election ended in a compromise of the republican
candidate being elected if Grant agreed to withdraw all Northern
troops/administrators from the South. It is widely agreed that Reconstruction had
therefore ended in 1877.
, White Reaction and Discrimination:
- The reaction of white Southerners was extremely hostile. In 1868, there were 2,000 deaths
and injuries in Luoisiana alone as a result of lynching.
- White violence became an acceptable part of Southern life where lynchings became a
public event. Black men would be falsely accused of raping white women to provide an
excuse to murder them.
- The KKK were prevalent from 1866.
Formal Segregation:
- Jim Crow segregation laws began to develop rapidly between 1877 and 1891.
- Starting with the segregation of races on trains and waiting room facilities in 8 southern
states. Train carriages had already been informally segregated before this.
- This reinforced segregation in schools too.
- 1891: Segregation laws were formally and rapidly extended to cover public places of all
kinds.
Key Figures in the Civil Rights Movement: Booker T. Washington:
- He stressed the importance of African Americans relying on their own efforts to make
progress, stating that the key was to demonstrate responsibility, to become educated and
to become prosperous.
- He did not campaign openly against discrimination in the South, but received support from
wealthy businessmen and advised presidents on racial issues. Washington did not use his
position to challenge the lynching mentality or the political control of stopping black people
from voting. He irritated his detractors by downplaying the importance of the ballot.
- In 1881, he founded the Tuskegee Institute to train teachers, and in 1901 he founded the
National Business League to encourage African American economic enterprise.
Key Figures in the Civil Rights Movement: W.E.B Du Bois:
- Du Bois’ view was that an African American elite - the ‘talented tenth’ - would spearhead a
movement for radical political change.
- He cooperated with white reformers in the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (The NAACP, established in 1909) and led marches and campaigns for
equal civil and political rights.
- Du Bois played a crucial role in the movement by editing its magazine ‘Crisis’ for over
twenty years. This magazine encouraged the pursuit of civil rights for many.
- Du Bois was very critical of Washington’s views as well as Garvey’s. He had a strained
relationship with both.
- The NAACP formed a special committee in 1916 in order to push for anti-lynching
legislation and to enlighten the public about lynching. They used a combination of tactics
such as illegal challenges, demonstrations, and economic boycotts.
Key Figures in the Civil Rights Movement: Marcus Garvey:
- Marcus Garvey was the founder of the ‘Universal Negro Movement Association and African
Communities League’ (UNIA-ACL but mainly referred to as UNIA) which had branched to
25 US states over 18 months. It remained smaller than the NAACP, although there were
crossovers in memberships to both groups.
- Garvey’s ideas came to be known as Garveyism, which centred on the unification and
empowerment of African-descended people as well as the return of the descendants of
enslaved Africans to Africa.
- The NAACP was a multi-racial organisation that promoted racial integration whereas the
UNIA had a black-only membership policy.
- The UNIA-ACL led to the establishment of auxiliary components such as the African Legion
(a paramilitary group), the African Black Cross Nurses, and businesses such as the Black
Star Steamship Line and the Negro Factories Corporation.
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