The lasting effects of reconstruction in the south
During the period after Reconstruction, America faced many changes. Southern states turned to segregation laws (also known as Jim Crow laws) and private and public facilities were partitioned off to allow either strictly black or white access. Transportation systems, schools, parks and even hospitals were divided racially. Most blacks suffered in a period of political and economic inequality.
Southern states now suggested voting restrictions on African Americans. Many voting booths in the South advertised a requirement for voters to be literate—asking blacks to answer more difficult questions and passing and failing as they wished. A poll tax was born and poor whites and blacks suffered to pay the annual fee before being able to cast their vote. The grandfather clause, however, let illiterate, impoverished white men vote under the requirement that their father or grandfathers had been eligible to vote before January 1st, 1867 (the date that freed slaves were legally allowed to vote).
In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that legally, races could be separated among facilities as long as both received equal treatment and quality. The Plessy v. Ferguson case legalized segregation for 60 years.
Racial discrimination grew in years leading up to the 1900s. African Americans were required to follow strict rules of etiquette to prove their respect for whites if passing in public. Blacks who were accused of overstepping the boundaries of their relationships with whites were immediately lynched. Between 1882 and 1892, over 1,400 African Americans were lynched, burnt, or shot in the South.
Numerous African Americans moved North seeking higher wages, better living standards, and more respect. But many were devastated to find the segregated neighborhoods and labor unions of northern cities. Competition between African Americans and whites rose in the North and sometimes even turned violent, causing riots on the streets or major metropolitan areas.
Southern states now suggested voting restrictions on African Americans. Many voting booths in the South advertised a requirement for voters to be literate—asking blacks to answer more difficult questions and passing and failing as they wished. A poll tax was born and poor whites and blacks suffered to pay the annual fee before being able to cast their vote. The grandfather clause, however, let illiterate, impoverished white men vote under the requirement that their father or grandfathers had been eligible to vote before January 1st, 1867 (the date that freed slaves were legally allowed to vote).
In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that legally, races could be separated among facilities as long as both received equal treatment and quality. The Plessy v. Ferguson case legalized segregation for 60 years.
Racial discrimination grew in years leading up to the 1900s. African Americans were required to follow strict rules of etiquette to prove their respect for whites if passing in public. Blacks who were accused of overstepping the boundaries of their relationships with whites were immediately lynched. Between 1882 and 1892, over 1,400 African Americans were lynched, burnt, or shot in the South.
Numerous African Americans moved North seeking higher wages, better living standards, and more respect. But many were devastated to find the segregated neighborhoods and labor unions of northern cities. Competition between African Americans and whites rose in the North and sometimes even turned violent, causing riots on the streets or major metropolitan areas.
Within the South, only 25% of African Americans owner land, forcing most to turn to the steel factories of Birmingham, the railroad industry of Memphis, tobacco in Richmond, and the textile mills of Montgomery.
In 1895, at the Cotton States and International Exposition, Booker T. Washington addressed the importance of white and black communities in the South working together. He convinced factory owners of the South to hire black employees and suggested that African Americans accept segregation and preserve peace by not trying to fight it. His speech came to be known as the Atlanta Compromise. While many blacks and whites disagreed with his propositions, the ideas and directions that Washington preached to southern communities would be glimpses into the future of what America’s South would become just after the turn of the century.
In 1895, at the Cotton States and International Exposition, Booker T. Washington addressed the importance of white and black communities in the South working together. He convinced factory owners of the South to hire black employees and suggested that African Americans accept segregation and preserve peace by not trying to fight it. His speech came to be known as the Atlanta Compromise. While many blacks and whites disagreed with his propositions, the ideas and directions that Washington preached to southern communities would be glimpses into the future of what America’s South would become just after the turn of the century.