Kari Frederickson's work, The Dixiecrat Revolt, examined the growing disenchantment of Southern Democrats to the federal government, President Truman, and ultimately, the Democratic Party. These Southern conservatives rebelled against the Democratic Party in the 1948 Presidential election resulting in the eventual political realignment of the South to a two-party system, and the rise of the Republican Party within that system. The two chapters of Robin D.G. Kelley's book, Race Rebels, studied the rebellion of blacks in Birmingham over the segregated public transportation system. He also examined the plight of poor blacks in the post-war period, as they received little aid from civil rights organizations and increased repression from the …show more content…
Frederickson analyzed the Dixiecrats in the larger framework of the Democratic Party while Kelley focused on blacks resisting segregation, white supremacy, and ignorance from middle-class blacks. Frederickson argued that New Deal programs disrupted the political and social balance in the South, undermining the existent relationship between whites and blacks. A renewed militancy among southern blacks emboldened by the rhetoric of the war and by their participation in the struggle for democracy, the increased voting strength of northern blacks, and a wave of racial violence that rolled across the nation during the war years and after made national accommodation to southern sensibilities increasingly difficult. The combination of Supreme Court decisions and executive orders, working in tandem with grassroots efforts, once again threw southern conservatives on the defensive. President Truman furthered this displacement when he asserted that the federal government had to take a stronger role in the defense of civil rights in his special message to Congress in 1948. Southerners not only felt separated from the federal government, but a fissure occurred between them and the Democratic Party. Similarly, Kelley examined displacement between poor and middle-class blacks in the context of de-industrialization of Birmingham in the post-war period. "Segments of Birmingham's black industrial
Following the Civil War, the northern and western states turned to industrialization as immigrants began to take on jobs. However, the South remained mostly agricultural. The South experienced industrial and urban change before World War I, yet still lagged behind the rapid pace of growing cities in the United States. The white South continued to look to past when Congress admitted the ex-Confederate states back into the union and federal troops had withdrawn from the South. The white Southerners were able to freely pursue a system of race relations, which meant that blacks were segregated in most aspects of public life, denied the right to vote, and limited to working as landless farmers. Keith Weldon Medley’s essay discusses the Supreme Court’s
After the end of the civil war Congress ratified the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the constitution, which prohibited slavery, guaranteed all citizens equal protection under the law, and gruaranted equal rights to all men. During this period of reconstruction, which was enforced by the Federal government, men of color took advantage of voting rights, educational and economic opportunities, to gain political office, economic power and basically restructuring of the society of the South. Obviously this was unacceptable to the disenfranchised southern democrats.
During the early 1860's the discussions over states v. Union rights had reached its breaking point and outraged the South seceded from the union. The following years would see not only one of the nations bloodiest wars, but the period of reconstruction that was to follow. Freed slaves now had to find their place within a nation that was less that ready to except them. The battle between legislature passed down by the government and the social ideologies of the past began both during and after the period of reconstruction as it was made evident that changing the minds of the current generation would not be easy. While the years 1860-1877 brought major constitutional changes regarding the rights of African Americans following the civil war,
The college students tried to get enough voters to put African Americans into the governing house of congress. They educated voters and formed a party for those people in Mississippi. “The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party waited in the wings. The MFDP’s bold challenge at the Democratic National Convention was still seven weeks away. To unseat Mississippi’s all-white delegation, Freedom Democrats would need as many registration forms as possible for their parallel party”(Watson
the Funders reorganized themselves and passed the Riddleberger Act which tore white voters away from the Readjusters. Two days before the legislative election there was a riot in Danville, Virginia where several African Americans help positions of civic responsibility and this characterized Readjusters and Republicans as supporters of black domination. This allowed the democrats to take the readjusters ideas of economic progress and fairness and turned it into an issue about race. The Readjusters could have been successful and won the legislative election if it wasn't for this riot. This riot was the last straw to snap which completely ended the
The southern states’ bitter attitudes, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Jim Crow Laws all
In the late 40’s, particularly 1948, the Democratic Convention as well as the Republican Convention was held in Philidelphia. A lot was going on in the political world. This was an era where President Harry Truman was battling issues dealing with the anti-lynching laws, getting rid of poll taxes and allowing African Americans to join with whites in the armed forces by desegregating it. The atmosphere was filled with northern liberals Democrats who backed Truman’s ideologies on civil rights. Gaining the African American vote was a significant boost Having civil rights, and being treated as equals among whites, those conversations fell on deaf ears and were ultimately forgotten. African Americans were still being treated like second-class citizens,
Despite its achievements, Reconstruction faced tremendous challenges, mostly due to white resistance. While Abraham Lincoln’s objective was reunion and reconciliation, Andrew Johnson resisted and believed that African Americans had no role to play in Reconstruction. Johnson’s
Ever since Lincoln's emancipation proclamation, African-Americans had been Republican. The GOP was the party of Lincoln, the party that had given them the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. The Republican Party supported blacks, whereas the Democrat Party was the party of the South, and the Southern, White plantation owner. To the black community, the Republican Party represented "the high-minded, idealistic, God-fearing people," whereas Democrats "dabbled in influence-peddling and vice" (Weiss 1983: 3). All blacks knew where to lay their loyalties -- with the party
To what extent was the Civil War fought over African American freedom ? What were political issues that dominated U.S. politics in the 1850’s ? What factors led to the split of political parties leading up to the war ? What major events heightened sectional conflicts ? What political wartime strategies did both sides use to win the war ? These are some points and questions that will be discussed in this paper. These questions will be answered to find out why the civil war was fought
World War II and its aftermath effected great changes in Georgia’s civil rights struggle. Large numbers of blacks moved to the west and the north to share in the wartime prosperity, giving the minority problem a national rather than a regional character. In Georgia, and elsewhere, urbanization was also rapidly accelerated and large numbers of blacks who fought in the armed services against tyranny and injustice abroad began to more keenly feel the injustice at home. The fight for democracy in Europe offered the perfect opportunity for black leaders to press for racial change in the South.
In 1866, Congress passed The Civil Rights Act of 1866 which allowed them to be genuine citizens and thus granted them federal protection under the law. Score for the blacks. Furthermore, the South was placed under military rule to ensure that this act was being enforced. During this tremendous time of freedom, blacks were allowed to vote and hold office – something that finally extended a voice and position in our country to their community. Meanwhile, whites were growing tired of all the nonsense. They wanted their beloved Old South back. Many refused to attend the integrated Reconstruction-era state constitutional conventions. Southern whites would use highly exaggerated and publicized incidences of “social injustices” to protect their claims of being thrown over to so-called negro domination. Any action was necessary that could help clinch their argument and overturn the Reconstruction
During reconstruction the United States was divided on social issues, presidential campaigns were won and loss on these issues during this period. The struggle for development of African Americans and how they initiated change in political, economic, educational, and social conditions to shape their future and that of the United States. (Dixon, 2000) The South’s attempts to recover from the Civil war included determining what to do with newly freed slaves and finding labor to replace them. The task of elevating the Negro from slave to citizen was the most enormous one which had ever confronted the country. Local governments implemented mechanisms of discrimination to combat citizenship
Throughout history, racial conflict and segregation have impacted African Americans in many ways. The end of the civil war led to African Americans gaining their freedom. Unfortunately, racial conflict and discrimination continued long after the Civil War. What was the difference in treatment between the South and West in regards to racial conflict and segregation? People in the South were firm believers in African Americans having little to no freedom. Many efforts were made to fight racial conflict and discrimination. Looking at racial conflict, let’s compare and contrast the South versus the North’s treatment of African Americans.
In the years subsequent to the Civil War, African-Americans experienced little advancement in American society and remained on the bottom of the social pyramid. Immigrants as well as African-Americans believed cities would solve their problems of poverty. As a result of their poor background, an image of inferiority was created by the Anglo- Americans for the ethnic minorities. Document C discusses how the urbanization of Birmingham, Alabama, a southern city, demonstrates the old confederacy as the New South. Suburbs were created in close proximity to the city and this suburbanization established further class distinction between the wealthy elite and the working class, particularly African-Americans. As the wealthy white class moved to suburbs, the African-Americans remained in the industrial city. The purpose of this document is to exemplify such segregation through the suburbanization of southern cities such as Birmingham, which became the most segregated city in