African Americans Essay Type: Help/Hinder

1. How far did X hinder the development of African American civil rights in the period from 1865 to 1992? 2. How far did X help the development of African American civil rights in the period from 1865 to 1992? 3. How far did X hinder rather than help the development of African American civil rights in the period from 1865 to 1992? 4. How far did X help rather than hindered the development of African American civil rights in the period from 1865 to 1992? Specimen June 2009 Jan 2009 Type 3 Type 2 Type 1 How far did US presidents hinder rather than help the development of African American civil rights in the period from 1865 to 1992? African Americans played little part in gaining their civil rights. How far do you agree with this view from 1865 to 1980? Assess the view that the actions of White supremacist groups were the main reason why African Americans were denied their civil rights from 1865 to 1992.

Possible help/hinder factors 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Federal Government States Governments African Americans themselves White supremacist groups Socio-economic factors

Evidence to support the view that X hindered the progress that African Americans made towards gaining Civil Rights in the period 1865 1992

Use the evidence in the two essays you have been given to

White Supremacist groups hindered the progress of African Americans KKK Knights of the White Camellias White Citizens Council Lynching Socio-economic factors and social attitudes hindered the progress of African Americans Sharecropping post-slavery Soldiers returning from WW1 Chicago Riots 1919 Great Depression New Deal Ghettoization in the north (unofficial segregation) 1960s a decade of poverty 1980s 1990s Government hindered the progress of African Americans State governments Jim Crow laws/Grandfather Clauses/Black Codes Events surrounding the desegregation of schools - Little Rock 9 Federal government Presidents 1865 1930 broadly hindering progress of African Americans President FDR 1960s a decade of radical change

1970s 1990s

Connectives or useful phrases

ESSAY TYPE: HINDER/HELP Essay asking you to argue which factor was the most significant reason why African Americans made little progress towards Civil Rights Introduction: Sets out the argument that the essay will follow

To what extent were the actions of white supremacist groups the most important reason for the continued discrimination against African Americans 1865 1992?

Explains the significance of white racist groups

At the start of the period in 1865 the attitudes and action of white racist groups generated a powerful wave of racism and backlash largely triggered by the end of slavery in 1862 with the Emancipation Proclamation. Examples of white racist groups which were extremely prevalent in 1865 included the KKK and the Knights of the White Camellia established in 1867. However, the extent to which the activities of the white racist groups was the most significant reason for continued discrimination of African Americans throughout the period is questionable as by 1992, though racism still existed, it occurred in more isolated instances compared to 1865 and white racist groups were very much in the minority. Moreover, it is crucial to recognise that the influence of white racist groups was allowed to grow largely due to the actions of state governments, particularly in the south which until the 1960s consistently provided legal foundation and justification for racism and violence towards African Americans. This was also, to some extent the case with the federal government as, until 1964 there was a large amount of continuity in the governments and tolerance of discrimination in times of economic difficulty, contributing to tensions over jobs and housing but contributed to a fluctuating level of discrimination and level of government action regarding discrimination throughout the period. The actions of white racist groups significantly contributed to continued racism, particularly during the first 30 years of the period. Groups such as the KKK emerged from the 1870s and created a strong climate of terror and fear for African Americans which significantly contributed to discrimination. Moreover 1880 1910 saw the height of the lynching epidemic, with white groups attacking and beating and hanging African Americans. The fact that these groups drew mass membership and that lynching became public events demonstrated the level of hatred and tension between white American and African American. This was because of the extreme racist values held by white racist groups which were shared with the majority of the white pupils until the 1920s when some white opinions began to change very slightly following the Harlem Renaissance. Moreover, the establishment of White Citizens Councils in 1955, following the Brown v the Board of Education in Topeka, showed the continuation of racist attitudes and the determination of white racist groups to resist integration and to continue to alienate African Americans from White US society. However, the claim that the activities of white racist groups were consistently the most important reason for continued discrimination is significantly undermined. Between 1875 and 1915 for examples, the

Explains that more significant factors a) States Govts b) Federal Govt

Explains greater significance of socioeconomic context

membership of the KKK declined so dramatically and rapidly that it did not re-emerge until the 1920s, when it gained mass membership of 5 million. However, by 1925 membership had once again declined significantly and its actions were greatly limited. Moreover through the level of white backlash increased due to the pace of positive change for African Americans during the mid-1950s from the 1960s onwards the actions of attitudes. Moreover, even at the start of the period when the white racist groups were at their peak, their impact was mostly limited to the south and failed to affect the north in the same way. Ultimately facilitating the growth and existence of the white racist groups for the first 2/3rds of the period were the state and ultimately the federal governments. From 1865 the establishment of Black Codes not only defined a negro as having 1/3 black blood, this encouraged discr imination from the white American population, but state governments introduced a much more significant level of discrimination. The fact that African Americans were denied the right to provide evidence against whites in court or serve on a jury meant blacks were now facing discrimination not only socially, but within the law discrimination of a much more significant kind. Moreover, the creation of voting restrictions in southern states including poll tax, literacy tests and grandfather clauses in the 1890s meant African Americans faced discrimination regarding fundamental civil rights. However, ultimately allowing these laws, which clearly discriminated against African Americans, and due to their legal nature, provided justification for and exacerbated the already intense racist attitudes of whites, was the federal government. The 1896 Plessy v Ferguson supported the Jim Crow Laws of the 1880s formalised segregation for the next 70 years. Moreover, the 1875 Slaughterhouse Case gave state governments, well known to be extremely discriminatory in the south, the legal control of their civil rights. Furthermore the inactions of presidents throughout the period (or in some instances the racist attitudes) until 1964 meant that the white racist southern states and white Americans, discrimination was viewed as the norm and without any legislation enforced to attempt to change the status quo, discrimination continued. It must, however, be recognised that like white racist groups the actions of the state government did not consistently discriminate throughout the time period as Blacks in the North were largely unaffected by the racists policies of the southern states and after 1957 the power and influence of the states to promote and retain discrimination declined rapidly. From 1954 similarly the Supreme Court and in 1964 Congress and Presidential attitudes changed and marked a turning point as discrimination was outlawed, meaning states could no longer legally enforce discrimination laws and from 1964 the federal government in fact acted as a legal barrier to discrimination. Unlike federal or state governments, or white groups the socio-economic context contributed to high levels of discrimination right until the end of the period for African Americans as throughout the period times of socioeconomic difficulty often resulted in high levels of tension and a lack of

Conclusion

response from federal government. For example the situation after WW1 and WW2 resulted in a number of clashes between whites and blacks including the 1919 race riots in Chicago due to the increased fear from white Americans that African Americans who had moved to cities to find work in wartime industries would prove a challenge in employment and housing. Moreover, unlike the other factors the socio-economic situation resulted in discrimination in northern states as blacks moving north to seek out employment in world war one and two meant discrimination in the northern states increased dramatically. Moreover the socio-economic context resulted often in a lack of federal action regarding discrimination. For example, during the 1930s depression African Americans were worst hit by the economic decline as they were often first to lose their jobs and forced to become migrant workers. However not only did this result of discrimination, but the lack of aid provided by the 1933 New Deal as lacks were excluded from the 1935 Social Security Act and the 1835 NLRA meant nothing could be done by the federal government to combat discrimination. This was the case until the end of the period as during the 1980s economic decline resulted in federal cutbacks in welfare which hit African Americans particularly hard. Consequently social problems such as crime and drug increased dramatically amongst African Americans exacerbating the negative and discriminatory perception held of them by whites. To conclude, it is evidence that while white racist groups were a significant factor contributing to the discrimination against African Americans, the actions and attitudes experienced by them were more of a reflection of the attitude felt at the time by the majority of white Americans. Attitudes which from 1865 to 1954 were facilitated and justified by the legal policies put in place by both federal and state governments to enforce discriminatory policies such as segregation and voting restrictions. In comparison to the situation in 1865 however, while discrimination was caused as a result of white groups and federal and state actions, by 1992 these factors had virtually no impact on levels of discrimination as the factor ultimately most important for the continued discrimination by 1992 was the socio-economic context which created tension, although not consistently, throughout the period due to strains on employment and housing and contributed heavily to the lack of government action against discrimination until 1954.