Changes to American Society and Culture from 1865 to 1929; The Amelioration and Impediment Apropos of African American Constitutional Liberties and Cultural Ethnology DMN
By dmn3413
-
The Enactment Of The 13 Amendment
The proposal of the enactment of the 13th Amendment towards the constitution was approved in both Congress and the States. The amendment had removed involuntary service unless its punishment for a crime as well as stating congress could enforce the law. The legislation was ratified on December 6th 1865 and was passed by congress on January 31 of 1865. This was a major advancement in the civil liberties of African Americans in that time.
Footnote 7 -
Formation of the Ku Klux Klan
Not long after slavery was abolished a faction of white supremacists convened in order to assemble the organization of the Ku Klux Klan. The main goal of the organization was to undermine all the African Americans in the south. An example was a letter to a black republican sheriff, in 1868, stating that he cease and desist unless he wants to die. They sent out more letters to Republican officers to discourage them from taking office.
Footnote 1 -
The Enactment of the 15th Amendment
Soon after the abrogation of slavery, the African American population began to seek more rights, explicitly the right to vote. The enactment of the 15th amendment, in 1870, brought the freedom to vote to the African American males and prohibited discrimination based on color or servitude. This was an impressive gain for the African Americans at the time, although the KKK had began oppressing them in order to prohibit the full use of the legal right to vote.
Footnote 8 -
Plessy vs Ferguson
The Plessy vs Ferguson was the criterion case that allowed for separate but equal provisions to be made for colored and white people. The case was one of the first major attempts to set precedent to the 14th amendment equal protection clause. The outcome of the case gave constitutional countenance to the separation of citizens due to the color of their skin if the facilities were deemed equal. Many African Americans considered this case to be a step backward toward their civil rights.
Footnote 2 -
Creation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
The NAACP was formed to combat the practice of lynching and the race riot in Springfield, Illinois. The organization was formed by a group of white liberals that were surprised at the violent acts against African Americans. About 60 people, seven African Americans, came to the symposium about racial justice. The goal of the organization was to ensure the protection and equality of minority groups in the United States through democratic process.
Footnote 4 -
Birth Of A Nation Movie
Based on "The Clansman", "The Birth of a Nation" depicts the Ku Klux Klan clansmen as the saviors for white men and women as they commit murder and violence against African Americans.The film is the evidence of racism depicts white supremacy as a normal idea. The film was incredibly inaccurate and false, also had the endorsement of President Woodrow Wilson, who was rumored to be a Klan member. After the release of the film the KKK grew to 3 million members in the United States 1924.
Footnote 3 -
Guinn v. United States
The case was concerning the Grandfather clause in most state provisions for qualifications for voting. The state of Oklahoma appeared to be fair allowing an exemption to the literacy test if your grandfather was allowed to vote before January 2, 1866. This disenfranchised black voters whose grandfathers had been slaves. The Supreme court declared that the grandfather clauses in Maryland and Oklahoma to be null due to the breaking of the 15th amendment.
Footnote 5 -
The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was an embracement of the creative arts, music, literature, and visual arts. The participants sought to break the Negro stereotypes that influenced the treatment of the African Americans of the time. The racial pride was increased as the African Americans created and embraced culture at the same time breaking away from white American culture. The city became a culture hub in the 1920s for any African American to embrace their culture.
Footnote 6
