African American History 1860-1900

September 14th, 2016
1. Summarize the African-American experience in matters of public policy from 18701920. Be sure you describe or summarize the Reconstruction Amendments, "season of
hope," the "Exodusters," disfranchisement and segregation, the role of the Supreme
Court, terrorism and national and regional leaders. Were African-Americans better off
in the 1910s compared to the 1870s and 1880s? Why or why not?
In the spring of 1865, the civil war ended and for the first time in the history of the
nation, slaves had won their freedom. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were geared
towards a new vision for the, now multi-ethnic America. The 13 th amendment of the
Constitution, officially abolished
slavery in America. The 14th amendment of the
Constitution, guaranteed citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the United States,

except Native Americans. The 15th amendment, gave voting rights to African American
men. After the ratification of these amendments, the African American people saw some
progress The season of Hope which initiated family farming instead of using slaves to
run the farms was the beginning. Another major event during this period was the
Exoduster movement. Benjamin Singleton, originally from Nashville, Tennessee, was
an African American man who fought to help his people. Initially, by trying to purchase
land for them in Tennessee. However, the white people were not willing to sell their land
at a fair price and Singleton had to desist this idea. Instead, Singleton and his partner
Johnson headed West to Kansas and opened a company. They let people know about this
new opportunity for the black community via posters they sent everywhere in the South.
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This company helped many African American people and gave Singleton the name of
Father of the Exodus. The black community migrated to the West in multitude in
order to find a haven from racism.
In 1890, the white supremacy started passing laws banning African Americans from
voting. These laws were known as Disfranchisement and Segregation Laws, which
consisted of two devices. One device was a poll tax, and the other a literacy test. Both of
these devices did not hold any laws against racism. Therefore, they did not violate the
15th Amendment. The poll tax put the African Americans in a tough position because
majority of them did not earn any money. The literacy test consisted of testing their
skills to read and write, but most of them did not possess these skills due to their slavery
background where these opportunities were not presented to them.
The role of the Supreme Court was essentially defined in the case of Plessy vs Ferguson
in 1896, when Homer Plessy refused to leave a white-only railroad car, he was
convicted of violating the law. Justice Marshall Harlan stressed that the law is colorblind and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens, all citizens are equal
before the law. By doing this, the decision of the court planted a seed of race hate and
separate but equal was born.
According to the textbook on page 728, it says: terrorism was intended to keep blacks
in their place. Not only were they denied health care, housing, employment and education,
but they also experienced the fear of terrorism. Lynchings and pogroms were some of the
severe violence they had to endure. The Ku Klux Klan, a terrorist group that consisted of
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former Confederate soldiers started harassing blacks and white republicans. The Ku Klux
Klan intent was to suppress black political participation. Meanwhile, the national and
regional leaders resisted the idea of equal rights. Instead, they contributed to banning laws
against African Americans. Although, the African American population had many
accomplishments during the 1900's, they had to endure terrible events and injustice. They
were victims of racism, terrorism, unequal rights. Thus, excluded from employment, health
care and education. As a result, many lost their lives because of the color of their skin. I
believe they were not better off during this period, although they were free, they were facing
the most cruel attacks by the white supremacy.
2. Describe industrialization's impact on workers. How did work, status and ownership
of preindustrial artisans compare with the work, status and ownership of industrial
workers? Summarize the response of industrial workers to their new condition. Tell as
much as you can about the organized labor movement.
Before industrialization, the American Economy was called the craftsman's universe.
Production was based on the worker's talent and experience. According to the excerpt, The
Gilded Age and Progressive Era 1877-1914 it indicates that the owner of the talent,
experience and tools was the owner of the means of production. Thus, they had control over
how to manage their businesses. They were in charge of the rhythm of production and energy
level required to manufacture goods. The most important factor, they were in charge of the
price of their products.

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However, things took a drastic turn when industrialization took over. Machines replaced hand
production and the talented workers were no longer needed. These machines were able to
produce the same product in a timely manner and its cost was much cheaper. The impact of
these industrialist giants in the lives of workers was greater than they could have ever
imagined. They lost control and ownership of their goods and had to accept that they were
now under the rules of these industrialists.
The transition was not easy, and enduring this sudden change was difficult for the workers.
They tried to come up with ways to show their bosses that they were equal to them by
showing their best clothes, clothes similar to their bosses'. But in reality, these industrialists
were in a higher economical status. There were two options left for the workers, to either
accept this change, or to fight against it. It was then, when strikes started to happen.
The Great Strike of 1877, where thousands of workers died in states' suppression of the
strike where sixteen states were shut down because of this strike, as workers reinforced this
movement. A movement that opened doors to two major events, the Carnegie Steel's 1892
confrontation and the 1894 attempted boycott in Chicago. They were fighting for their rights,
with an aching heart and with the hope to go back to been in control of their lives.
There were movements that aimed to find a way to give this workers a just right. The Knights
of Labor, was a movement that believed that workers should own the the means of production.
It was a non-violent group that tried to stay away from strikes. The Knights of Labor opened
doors for everyone, immigrants, race minorities and there was no gender exclusions. They
demanded an 8-hour shift for workers and encouraged workers to work. Another movement
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was the American Federation of Labor, which consisted of higher wages, shorter hours and
safe working conditions for the workers.
All these movements, opened doors for many of the benefits majority of us possess today. The
union which remains a strong movement in today's society is a privilege most of us can
benefit from today. Although Industrialization is part of today's American Economy, it was the
reason of the development of these movements, and we can still benefit from the luxury of
working eight hours a day and having a safe working environment.

African American History 1860-1900

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September 14th, 2016

slavery in America. The 14th amendment of the

Constitution, guaranteed citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the United States,

price of their products.

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