Another factor that had a negative impact upon the lives of Afro-Americans was The Compromise of 1877. This agreement between Republican presidential candidate Rutherford B. Hayes and the Democrats which resulted in Hayes winning the presidential campaign and in return saw the Democratic white supremacists regain control of all the Old South with the withdrawal of the remaining federal troops in the south and subsequently marked the end of Reconstruction. Historian Page Smith supports this, in regards to the Compromise “was also a death sentence for the hopes of southern blacks”. With white supremacists back in power in the South, it meant the end of what looked like a good step towards black civil rights with the end of Reconstruction and meant Afro-Americans were once again the targets for many Southerners and other Americans around the nation. As a result the number of lynchings exploded, between 1887 and 1917, 2734 Afro-Americans were lynched, showing how the Compromise was the main reason for the racial divide in the United States.
In addition, the actions of the individual states contributed to the racist feelings throughout America. The Jim Crow Laws passed in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and North Carolina included segregation on buses, education, burial, the blind and inter-marriages. Although the Jim Crow Laws were accused of violating civil rights of Afro-Americans, many blacks were abandoned at the bottom of the social ladder. Also, poll taxes and new voting qualifications disenfranchised poor whites and took vote away from many Afro-Americans. New voting qualifications such as 1890 Mississippi and the Grandfather Clause in Louisiana, which stated that a person could only vote if his grandfather had the vote. In 1896 there were 130,000 black voters, but by 1900 there were only 5300, indicating how the states were responsible for the racist feelings in the USA. Not only that, there was unofficial segregation in the northern cities in housing jobs and schooling which shows how the individual states just simply didn’t want Afro-Americans there despite welcoming millions of other immigrants from all over the world. This view is supported by Thurgood Marshall, “The United States has been called the melting pot of the world. But it seems to me that the coloured man either missed getting into the pot or he got melted down.”
The Supreme Court was also responsible for the social problems, throughout the period they upheld regulations and overturned many Afro-American appeals. In the ‘Plessy v Ferguson’ case of 1896, Plessy challenged the legality of Louisiana railroad company’s separate cars; the Court declared that Louisiana had not violated the 14th Amendment. The 1899 ‘Cumming v Board of Education’ case where the Court extended the “separate but equal” principle to schools. Furthermore the 1898 ‘Mississippi v Williams’ case where the Supreme Court upheld new voting regulations. All these cases clearly show how the Supreme Court has no interest in working towards equal rights despite clear discrimination and prejudice, illustrating how the Supreme Court were the most important factor behind the segregation in American society 1877-1918.
Another factor that had an effect on the social standings was the actions taken by White Extremists, in particular the actions of the Ku Klux Klan. At its peak in the 1920s, Klan membership exceeded 4 million people nationwide. They spread fear into the lives of Afro-Americans, with lynchings, especially of returning soldiers returning from World War I. This is supported in Muhammad Ali’s book where he says, “How could they say that my religion, Islam was a ‘race hate’ after all the plunder and enslavement and domination of my people by white Christians in the name of white supremacy?”The KKK also killed six blacks attempting to vote in Orange County, Florida clearly indicating how the racist feelings towards blacks were stimulated by the KKK.
Finally, the role of other citizens had a major impact upon how blacks were regarded in society. Carl Brigham and Luther Burbank tried to use social Darwinism to undermine blacks, they attempted to use biological science to prove black inferiority, and as a result see them discriminated and unlawfully persecuted by society. Furthermore, in 1917, in East St Louis, Illinois, white mobs murdered Afro-Americans. A. Phillip Randolph states, “A community is democratic only when the humblest and weakest person can enjoy the highest civil, economic and social rights that the biggest and most powerful possess. This clearly shows how it is up to citizens to fully engage all members of society as equals and treat them as such; therefore it is their fault that America remained a divided and segregated society between 1877 and 1918. However, in an article by Anthony J. Badger, Jimmy Carter recalls, “The night when heavyweight boxer Joe Louis attempted to avenge his one defeat at the hands of the German Max Schmelin…African Americans in Plains came to the Carters’ yard to listen to the fight”, this clearly contrasts with the earlier view and suggests that other citizens were welcoming to blacks and not as racist and some claimed.
It could also be argued that Afro-Americans were responsible for their own problems. Public figures such as Marcus Garvey who strove for complete black separation from white society. He established the Black Star Line Steamship Corporation for the use of Afro-Americans and even set up his own black government. Although this may have proved popular with Afro-Americans as for the first time they felt they had power, back by Garvey’s “I am” campaign; however his radical actions just alienated whites in America. This view is supported by A. Phillip Randolph, “Garvey had succeeded in making the Negro the laughing stock of the world”. This signifies how Afro-American can be held accountable for the social divide in America. On the other hand, Louis Harlan argues that some Civil Rights campaigners such as Booker T. Washington had a positive impact, “Washington surreptitiously battled white supremacy – planting pseudonymous letters in newspapers critical of segregation, secretly funding legal challenges to it, tipping off friendly editors about civil-rights violations, and using his political contacts to derail racist legislation.” This statement by Harlan counters Randolph’s view and suggests that blacks were not responsible for their unequal treatment.
Mark Meigs argues that World War One was also a factor in the social problems for blacks in his book Optimism at Armageddon. “In almost every sense, however, Afro Americans were denied the ‘fair treatment and recompense accorded other soldiers’.” Meigs argument is supported by the fact that of the 400,000 black men in uniform, only a tenth were ever actually designated as combat troops. Furthermore, despite tremendous bravery and an unbelievable military record no Afro-American soldier received any American military decoration even though the Harlem Hellfighters unit were awarded the French Regimental Croix de Guerre and 171 received separate decoration, including Henry Johnson, who became well known for his heroics.
In conclusion, I believe that the lack of action from the Presidents was the main cause for a racist and segregated society in America, 1877-1918. This is because the obvious absence of interest by Cleveland, McKinley, T.Roosevelt and Taft sends a clear message to other Americans, that if the leader of the greatest nation in the world isn’t interested in civil rights for blacks, then why should they be, evidently causing the rift in society to form leaving Afro-Americans with no equality, little freedom and almost no hope.
by
miffii (student)
