Politics
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From the common man to politicians, all blacks were affected by prejudice in one form or another. While the iconic black leaders and their supporters were putting much effort into the adoption of equal rights laws, the white resistance was overbearing. [1] Despite the minimal effect that these efforts made, they were the first major step in making a difference.
On January 20, 1870, Hiram Rhode Revels became the first African American senator based on a Mississippi state legislature vote of 85 to 15. He filled Albert Brown’s former seat, which had been empty since the Civil War. The term was due to expire in 1871, so the new Mississippi state legislature proposed to black legislators that a colored man should be elected for the remainder of the term in exchange for filling the other term that was ending in 1875 with a white candidate. Believing that electing a black man would be a powerful tactic against prejudice, the black legislators found their deal agreeable. Although he only served the Senate for about a year, he made his mark in history and for the fight towards racial equality. [2]
The first African American governor, Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback, replaced Henry Clay Warmoth of Louisiana after his impeachment in 1872. Pinchback had been active in politics for a couple years before he was elected. Prior to his election his most notable achievement was adopting the Thirteenth Article in Louisiana, a guarantee of civil rights to its citizens without regard to “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”. [3] After a mere 35 days in the House, his full term was cut short due to racial controversy. His Democratic opponent called for a debate that ultimately led to the decision of him giving up his seat. Despite his short term, he had passed ten laws of Legislature in that span of time. Even though he had light skin and was able to pass as white, he refused to use this to his advantage, consistently standing up for African Americans to be treated equally. [3]
On January 20, 1870, Hiram Rhode Revels became the first African American senator based on a Mississippi state legislature vote of 85 to 15. He filled Albert Brown’s former seat, which had been empty since the Civil War. The term was due to expire in 1871, so the new Mississippi state legislature proposed to black legislators that a colored man should be elected for the remainder of the term in exchange for filling the other term that was ending in 1875 with a white candidate. Believing that electing a black man would be a powerful tactic against prejudice, the black legislators found their deal agreeable. Although he only served the Senate for about a year, he made his mark in history and for the fight towards racial equality. [2]
The first African American governor, Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback, replaced Henry Clay Warmoth of Louisiana after his impeachment in 1872. Pinchback had been active in politics for a couple years before he was elected. Prior to his election his most notable achievement was adopting the Thirteenth Article in Louisiana, a guarantee of civil rights to its citizens without regard to “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”. [3] After a mere 35 days in the House, his full term was cut short due to racial controversy. His Democratic opponent called for a debate that ultimately led to the decision of him giving up his seat. Despite his short term, he had passed ten laws of Legislature in that span of time. Even though he had light skin and was able to pass as white, he refused to use this to his advantage, consistently standing up for African Americans to be treated equally. [3]
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The most significant and debated law passed in attempt to equally accommodate both races was the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The act was initially introduced in 1870 by Senator Charles Sumner, an active supporter of black civil rights. The original bill stated that blacks were “entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of inns, public conveyances on land or water, theaters, and other places of public amusement.” [1] The act was never effectively enforced, constantly being scrutinized by its enemies until it was officially deemed unconstitutional in 1883. While its supporters declared that it was necessary in order to defend the civil rights of all the people, both black and white, an overwhelming number of opponents disagreed, claiming it would “expose the black man to more persecution.” [1] It was largely debated with multiple African-American Representatives presenting personal anecdotes of discrimination. The legislation’s protections were chipped away at, eventually no longer containing equal education benefits. At this point, that act was practically ignored not only by the white man but even President Grant, who had made no comment on the law before or after its signing. While specific punishments were established for violating the act, including the payment of five hundred to a thousand dollars, claiming guilty of a misdemeanor, and imprisonment from thirty days to a year, they were hardly enforced. The act was left in the dust until Supreme Court struck it down. [1]
From trains to schools, everything was segregated by race in Louisiana under the circumstances that the accommodations were “separate but equal.” [4] In 1896, a mixed race man by the name of Homer Plessy decided to test the constitutionality of the segregation law by sitting in a seat dedicated to only whites on a rail coach and was arrested for this action. When he testified in court, his argument was that the law was separate but not equal, marking blacks with a "badge of inferiority." [4] The court disagreed with Plessy, believing that colored people construct that label upon themselves. John Harlan wrote that "Our constitution is colorblind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens." [4] Although this idea had not been universally accepted at that time, it was a powerful statement that made its mark in history. [4]
From trains to schools, everything was segregated by race in Louisiana under the circumstances that the accommodations were “separate but equal.” [4] In 1896, a mixed race man by the name of Homer Plessy decided to test the constitutionality of the segregation law by sitting in a seat dedicated to only whites on a rail coach and was arrested for this action. When he testified in court, his argument was that the law was separate but not equal, marking blacks with a "badge of inferiority." [4] The court disagreed with Plessy, believing that colored people construct that label upon themselves. John Harlan wrote that "Our constitution is colorblind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens." [4] Although this idea had not been universally accepted at that time, it was a powerful statement that made its mark in history. [4]
Voting
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It can be inferred, that in America during the 1800s, those with land and the ability to contribute politically had power. After the Civil War as well as Reconstruction, which granted African Americans land as well as the right to vote, many opponents of this progress still managed to limit the power as well as freedoms of the African Americans. [7] Through the use of various methods such as poll taxes and literacy tests, African Americans were denied the rights that they were given through Reconstruction and the 15th Amendment. These actions were taken mainly due to the large population of African Americans in the south and the whites’ fear of losing control of the government and its laws in the south.
After the civil war, it was thought that there would be much more equality than what there actually was. Through the fifteenth amendment, adopted into the United States constitution on March 30, 1870, African-Americans believed that they were granted political freedoms because it, “provided that all male citizens were entitled to vote” [8], but due to the fears of southern whites that would not be the case. However, “in the late 1870s, the Southern Republican Party vanished with the end of Reconstruction, and state governments effectively nullified the 14th amendment (passed in 1868, it guaranteed citizenship and all its privileges to African Americans) and the 15th amendment, stripping blacks in the South of the right to vote.” [9]
Although African Americans enjoyed many freedoms after the civil war ended and Reconstruction was in place, once the efforts of the north to maintain the south, African-American rights were quickly taken away from them. “With federal troops no longer present to protect the rights of black citizens, white supremacy quickly returned to the old Confederate states. Black voting fell off sharply in most areas because of threats by white employers and violence from the Ku Klux Klan, a ruthless secret organization bent on preserving white supremacy at all costs.” [10] Due to the sudden increase in the African-American voter population, Republicans who commonly supported the interests of African-Americans began to have a dramatic increase in support after the right to vote was granted to the African-Americans. Due to this drastic change in the vote, white southerners in states such as Mississippi attempted to deny African-Americans the right to vote through laws and practices “to make sure blacks would never again freely participate in elections” [10] Due to the 15th amendment, white southerners could not restrict African-Americans from voting, but instead made it incredibly difficult for African-Americans to vote though “an annual poll tax, which voters had to pay for two years before the election.” [10] Another tool white southerners utilized was the literacy test, which was given by a white clerk who could determine whether or not someone was literate and could essentially exclude all blacks from voting, “because the clerk would select complicated technical passages for them to interpret.” [10] Additionally, Mississippi also enacted a “grandfather clause” which essentially denied all African-Americans the right to vote because of the clause which stated that anyone whose grandfather was qualified to vote before the civil war could vote. Through these methods of restricting the blacks from voting, the Southern states remained essentially the same in terms of politics.
After the civil war, it was thought that there would be much more equality than what there actually was. Through the fifteenth amendment, adopted into the United States constitution on March 30, 1870, African-Americans believed that they were granted political freedoms because it, “provided that all male citizens were entitled to vote” [8], but due to the fears of southern whites that would not be the case. However, “in the late 1870s, the Southern Republican Party vanished with the end of Reconstruction, and state governments effectively nullified the 14th amendment (passed in 1868, it guaranteed citizenship and all its privileges to African Americans) and the 15th amendment, stripping blacks in the South of the right to vote.” [9]
Although African Americans enjoyed many freedoms after the civil war ended and Reconstruction was in place, once the efforts of the north to maintain the south, African-American rights were quickly taken away from them. “With federal troops no longer present to protect the rights of black citizens, white supremacy quickly returned to the old Confederate states. Black voting fell off sharply in most areas because of threats by white employers and violence from the Ku Klux Klan, a ruthless secret organization bent on preserving white supremacy at all costs.” [10] Due to the sudden increase in the African-American voter population, Republicans who commonly supported the interests of African-Americans began to have a dramatic increase in support after the right to vote was granted to the African-Americans. Due to this drastic change in the vote, white southerners in states such as Mississippi attempted to deny African-Americans the right to vote through laws and practices “to make sure blacks would never again freely participate in elections” [10] Due to the 15th amendment, white southerners could not restrict African-Americans from voting, but instead made it incredibly difficult for African-Americans to vote though “an annual poll tax, which voters had to pay for two years before the election.” [10] Another tool white southerners utilized was the literacy test, which was given by a white clerk who could determine whether or not someone was literate and could essentially exclude all blacks from voting, “because the clerk would select complicated technical passages for them to interpret.” [10] Additionally, Mississippi also enacted a “grandfather clause” which essentially denied all African-Americans the right to vote because of the clause which stated that anyone whose grandfather was qualified to vote before the civil war could vote. Through these methods of restricting the blacks from voting, the Southern states remained essentially the same in terms of politics.
[1] http://www.humanities.uci.edu/history/ucihp/tah/UnderstandingAmericanCitizenship/The%20Enforcement%20of%20the%20Civil%20Rights%20of%201875%20John%20Hope%20Franklin-Prologue%20Article.pdf
[2]http://history.house.gov/PEOPLE/LISTING/R/REVELS%2C-HIRAM-RHODES-%28R000166%29/
[3] http://historyengine.richmond.edu/EPISODES/VIEW/1732
[4] http://www.law.louisville.edu/LIBRARY/COLLECTIONS/HARLAN/DISSENT
[5] http://www.blackpast.org/aah/revels-hiram-rhoades-1827-1901
[6] http://knowledgeisking.ning.com/group/famousfirstsbyafricanamericans/forum/topics/p-b-s-pinchback
[7] http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:q_g1KkIvJWcJ:memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart5.html+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
[8] http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zJ_QDxCkLJUJ:memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart5b.html+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
[9] http://www.history.com/topics/fifteenth-amendment
[10] http://www.crf-usa.org/BLACK-HISTORY-MONTH/RACE-AND-VOTING-IN-THE-SEGREGATED-SOUTH
[11] http://www.loc.gov/EXHIBITS/ODYSSEY/ARCHIVE/05/0521001R.JPG
[2]http://history.house.gov/PEOPLE/LISTING/R/REVELS%2C-HIRAM-RHODES-%28R000166%29/
[3] http://historyengine.richmond.edu/EPISODES/VIEW/1732
[4] http://www.law.louisville.edu/LIBRARY/COLLECTIONS/HARLAN/DISSENT
[5] http://www.blackpast.org/aah/revels-hiram-rhoades-1827-1901
[6] http://knowledgeisking.ning.com/group/famousfirstsbyafricanamericans/forum/topics/p-b-s-pinchback
[7] http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:q_g1KkIvJWcJ:memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart5.html+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
[8] http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zJ_QDxCkLJUJ:memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart5b.html+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
[9] http://www.history.com/topics/fifteenth-amendment
[10] http://www.crf-usa.org/BLACK-HISTORY-MONTH/RACE-AND-VOTING-IN-THE-SEGREGATED-SOUTH
[11] http://www.loc.gov/EXHIBITS/ODYSSEY/ARCHIVE/05/0521001R.JPG