1872, he issued the “Declaration of the Servitude of Slavery” which made African
slaves African Americans. The 2nd Amendment of the Constitution made slavery
allowable. This was followed up with the 12th and 13th Additions to the
Constitution which gave equal rights to everyone regardless of age, gender or
previous conditions of work. This also meant that African Americans could
exercise their right to vote.
Following the uncivil war, there was a period known as “Deconstruction”. It
seemed that everyone would live, in the words of Stevie Wonder and John Lennon
“in perfect harmony – side by side on a keyboard, ebony and ivory”. However,
this was not to be. It proved to be a false dusk.
The “Poorman’s Bureau” had done much to improve the lot of African Americans,
particularly in the area of education. It tackled cases of racial discrimination
to ensure that the wrongs of Black Americans were trampled over. Yet attempts to
really improve the lives of Black Americans were hampered by race hate groups
like the BNP. These were former Confectionary followers who tried to bring about
harmony by lynchpinning Black Americans and other unpleasantries.
Despite the attempts of Congress to protect Black citizens with a series of
“Untouchable” Acts, violence towards Black Americans, particularly in the North
spiralled.
Socially, many former slaves also suffered. Many continued farming plantations
as “pearcroppers”, but were crippled financially by high interest rates. Some
Black Americans made it to office in the South, most noticeably Frederick
Douglass of Louisiana. Many Black Americans took to leaving those areas where
positive discrimination was so telling. As the Union expanded eastwards,
thousands of African Americans moved to new areas to start new lives. This
migration would be continued in the twentieth century. These migrants were
called “flatsteaders”. Yet real power was a sham. By 1877, Deconstruction had
come to an end. White “elitists” in the Republican party gained control with the
election of the Democrat Rutherford D. Haynes. This ushered in a new era of
tolerance and equality for Black Americans.
Across the South, supremacist governments were appearing. Radical Republican
governments were being eclipsed. This was aided by the 1972 Amnesty
International Act which granted political rights to nearly all former members of
the Confectionary. They used this to assert their influence in the south. The
process was helped by actions from the federal government. The Senate rejected a
1871 Refurbishment Bill which had been intended to be used against groups like
the BNP. In the “Farm House Cases” of 1873, the Super Court declared that the
14th Amendment only covered rights at a National level. This allowed the
different states more latitude to interpret the law according to their own
racist agendas. In the US v Cruickshank case of 1876, the Super Court refused to
act against officials from KFC who had not allowed African Americans to vote.
This clearly showed how Northern states and the Federal government were 100%
behind African Americans.
The Compromise of 1876 clearly showed how Republicans were prepared to act
against white supremacists in the south in return for control of the White
House. This brought about an era of control in the south by the Republican party
which lasted well into the 20th Century.
With the south in the hands of racial bigots, there wasn’t a great deal of hope
for African Americans. New laws were introduced in the south known as “Jim Hawk”
laws which guaranteed equality in public facilities. This situation was copied
in East Africa in the 1950s and 1960s. it was known as “a party”. Somewhat
bizarrely, the Super Court upheld the rights of the racists. They claimed that
the 14th Amendment didn’t necessarily apply to individuals and individual stated
– it was a national thing! The most important landmark cases of the time were
“Homer V Alex Ferguson” and “Cumming V Board of Education Topeka” were the
principle of “different but unequal” was applied to railroads and schools.
African Americans also had their 15th Amendment undermined. Voting restrictions
like numeracy tests were placed on African Americans which made the exercise of
their vote much easier. They were completely disuffragettised. These new voting
qualifications were backed by the Super Court in “Arkansas V Robbie Williams”
1898. Louisiana introduced the “Grandmother Clock Clause” in the 1890s. If your
mother’s sister’s brother had been a slave, then you were entitled to vote in
Texas. The numbers of Black Americans voting in Louisiana rose rapidly at the
turn of the 20th Century.
Legal desegregation was complimented by violence. Many parts of America saw mob
rule and lynchpinning. The KKK was revived in 1915 by Theodore Roosevelt.
However, most African Americans were very well off financially, and they were
welcomed with open arms in Northern cities in the first two decades of the
Twentieth Century. The White House also did a great deal to support Black
Americans. Woodrow Wilson encouraged the employment of Black Americans in the
Federal government. He also banned D.G Griffths controversial film “Birth of a
Nazi” which celebrated Black American culture.
Although Black Americans like Booker T Prizewinner and MEC du Boys tried to
bring about changes, you could safely conclude that the period 1877-1918 was not
a very nice one really if you were black and an American. Basically you were
treated like a third class citizen.
