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Triangular Trade System
This was a complax trading system between Europe, the colonies, and Africa. African slaves were purchased by the europeans and sold to the colonies in exchange for raw materials. This led to the creaion of the middle passage, which was the voyage African Americans took on crowded ships. This was the start of slavery within the colonies. -
Stono Rebellion
This was the most famous slave uprising and it occurred near Charleston, SC. Nearly 100 slaves used loaded weapons and killed several plantation owners. The effects of the rebellion was negative and caused slaves to be treated even worse then they there being treated before. -
Three- Fifths Compromise
As the constitution was being created, this plan stated that 3/5ths of the state slave population would be counted when determining representation in the house of representatives. -
Missouri Compromise
To keep the number of slaves in free states equal, Missouri entered the union as a slave state and Maine entered the union as a free state. From then on, all states in the northern part of the union, would become slave states. -
Fugative Slave Act
This was legislation that set-up special commission in northern states to determine if certain African Americans were rightly sccused run-away slaves. Commissioners where given more money if the accussed was found guilty of being a run-away slave rather then if they were not. This act was later reinforced by the Compromise of 1950 -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Written by Harriot Beacher Stow, Uncle Tom's Cabin was written in response to the Fugative Slave Act. This novel demonstrated the immorality of slavery and it was immensly popular throughout the nation. -
Dred Scott Case
Dred Scott was a former slave, who was suing for his freedom because his owner had taken him first to stay in a free state, Illinois, and then in a free territory in Wisconsin. The court ruled that Scott, as a slave, had no right to sue in a federal court, and that his time in a free state/free territory did not make him a free man. Congress had no right to prohibit slavery in the territories since the constitution protected property rights, and African Americans are considered property. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
The government would liberated all slaves living in the states still "in rebellion." This did not include slaves in the border states, for example, Maryland. Legally Lincoln could nto abolish slavery in areas governed by the areas governed by the US constitution. -
Right to Have Occupations Recieving Pay
African Americans freedom finally meant these individuals were legally allowed to seek employment for pay. Originally this was an extremely difficult task to accomplish, but by the late 1800s and early 1900s it became easier to acquire menial jobs.The wealthy African Americans at this time though were able to run successful businesses, build their own churches, and establish charitable organiganizations. Clearly these are big accomplishments and improvements for the African American race. -
Black Codes
These were passed by all Southern State legislators, these special laws prevented African Americans from owning guns, drinking liquor, and assembling in groups greater then three, except for church. -
Civil Rights Act of 1866 & The Thirteenth Amendment
In December of 1865, the 13th amendment was ratified to the constitution and it outlawed slavery and other forms of unvoluntary servitude. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 granted freed men, all the benefits of federal citizenship, and promised federal courts uphold these rights. This helped reinforce the 13th amendment. -
Tenant Farmers
This program established by the Freedmen's Bureau, allowed ex-slaves to recieve "40 acres and a mule." This somewhat benefitted African Americans because the labor was intensive, and they got little profit after paying "rent" to sharecrop owners and after selling their produce. -
Right to Join a Labor Union
The Knights of Labor, originally created by Uriah Stephens, was the first labor union group that accepted African Americans as members. Although most meetings were segregated, the union fought in unity for more rights for African Americans, women, and laborers. -
Right to Pursue Interests
Legendary African American boxer Peter Jackson was a great example to the black race in America. He exemplified that it was difficult, but tpossible to follow your dreams. Jackson envisioned a goal for himself and accomplished it, becoming the finest, most famous black boxer of the 1880s. He was extremely talented and didn't let anyone stand in his way, encouraging African Americans everywhere to do the same and pursue their own interests. -
Right to Own Businesses and Property
Start of African American support groups such as the Knights of Pythias and banks by African American owners started in Richmond Virginia, thus making it possible for African American businesses to thrive. -
Right to Relaxation
Even though these events remained segregated, the working class African Americans participated in the leisure activities that flourished during the Gilded Age. If they could afford it, (which was rare yet still possible) black people witnessed professional sporting events, attended saloons, and even dance halls. -
Right to Create a Labor Union
The National Colored Farmers Alliance was the first time African Americans made their own union that was only for the benefit of African Americans and was accepted within society. It was an outstanding organization that grew to have approximately 1.2 million members of the poorest farmers within the country. -
Right to Compose and Publish Music
Scott Joplin was a young pianist when he was first able to publish his music in exchange for money or in other words get his first record deal. This challenged the ideas of many Americans and brought up questions of segregation and even indulstrialization. Although Joplin faced large amounts of discrimination, he still stayed strong and continued playing his music until he died in 1917, as one of the world's first ever creators of Jazz and Opera, and even more importantly, Ragtime. -
First Urbanization Early 1900s
As Southern Iron and Steel mills began to flourish during the late 1800s and early 1900s, countless African Americans migrated to cities for job opportunities. Most enetered the industrial work force and by 1900 20% of the southern black population was urban. -
Right to Farm and Work in the South
By 1900 a little over 10 million AA lived and worked in the south as sharecroppers and tenant farmers. Living conditions and poverty often drove AA to the North where they faced racism and unfair treatment. They were offered jobs in factories, mines, docks, and railroads. Women were also given jobs as servants, seamstresses, tobacco factory workers, and in laundry services. This was a huge step in their journey to a freer and less racist country. -
Right to Speak Out
During the late 1800s and early 1900s blacks finally began speaking out against the discrimination and rasicm they faced in America. Notable leaders such as Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois were prominent influences over the black race. They represented their communities by demanding an improvement in black conditions and urging that African Americans recieved education. For example, Washington created the vocational school Tuskegee University. -
Right to be on a Political Party
This was the first time African Americans were recognized as being on a "side" of a political spectrum. Most African Americans voted republican and this was a big step since they had been given the right to vote. -
Northward Migration (The Great Migration) WW1 & NAACP
Starting as early as 1910, masses of African Americans migrated to the North. Especially during WW1, many moved to cities for work opportunities. While white soldiers were at war, blacks picked up the slack in industries, but when they returned home angry white mobs would harm blacks. In St. Louis 1917, 39 blacks were shot and killed. Then in 1919-1920, 66 blacks were lynched. This movement for work also strengthened black organizations as well. The NAACP doubled its membership during the war. -
Jim Crow Laws- Set back for AA Rights
Jim Crow laws were legal racism laws passed to help limit the rights of AA during this time. It made all public facilities such as restrooms, schools, restaurants, and transportation services very limited and inferior to that of the facilities available to white Americans. Many cities in the south even enforced segregated living conditions in cities, until the Supreme Court declared this unconstitutional in 1917. All in all, these laws led to much discrimination and poverty for AA. -
Lynchings and Mobs
Often AA were attacked by communities and where hanged through a process of Lynching. Other cases mobs would burn homes of AA, murder AA families, and bomb AA homes as well. Since whole communities took part of these cruel events, authority and government overlooked their actions because they did not want to get hurt. -
Black Segregation Promoted
President Woodrow Wilson was an active supporter of African American segregation. Thus, as the nation's leader he spread anti-black sentiments throughout the country which negatively impacted blacks. -
Right to Create Own Chants
Southern black share croppers often created chants or songs such as W.C. Handy's classic- "St. Louis Blues", Jazz Music, and Ragtime tunes. These songs/chants became very popular during the early twentieth century and led to new types of entertainment such as movies. These songs/chants were a popular way to pass the time and eventually became a mass movement especially in Harlem, NYC in the 1920s. -
Right to Think That Black is Beautiful
Marcus Garvey created the Universal Negro Improvement Association, which was an organization that "glorified all things black." He also promoted African Americans to move back to Africa to set up a great nation. This group was also highly criticized by W.E.B. DuBois, black churches, White America, and middle-class NAACP members since Garvey himself was not African American but rather Jamaican. -
Ku Klux Klan
Revival of the 1870's movement emerged in Stone Mountain, Georgia. The group now had "political" roles such as a president (Imperial Wizard) and state leaders (Grand Dragon). These hooded figures would attack African Americans as well as Jews, Christians, and immigrants. They were notorious for lynchings, threats, and beatings towards groups such as African Americans in order to "restore 100% Americanism." -
African Americans in World War 1
Blacks had resisted the draft but leader W.E.B. Dubois encouraged them not too . Approximately 260,000 black soldiers served in WW1. Even though blacks bravely fought for their country they still were not treated with respect. They were given only menial jobs. Poor treatment at home after the war greatly angered them. Thus a handful of white-black conflicts and even deaths occurred in the U.S. The only place blacks recieved credit for their efforts during the war was the AEF. -
IQ Testing
When entering World War 1, U.S. soldiers were required to undergo intelligence testing to determine where they would serve the army best. African Americans however often recieved the lowest IQ scores. This definately confirmed American's racial stereotypes towards them. -
Right to go to Church/ Be a Part of Religion
Often AA where members of the African Methodist Episcopal church which gave lots of support to families in need through services of both financial aid and babysitting. They also helped create schools and AA colleges to provide a better education for all AA. -
Bravery Awards WW1
Many African Americans had aided the French in the wars last battle. Some black regiments had served under the French and a couple even saw battle. These several hundred soldiers later recieved decorations for bravery from the French- this was an enormous, desreved honor. -
Right to Create A Renaissance
Harlem, NYC was turned into a city/town for mainly African Americans. It was here that many famous poets, writers, and authors (that we still know today) became famous. A few examples would be Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Jean Toomer, and Alain Locke. Many musicians migrated here as well to focus and create music about the wonders of the average African American life. A few classic examples would be Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, and Fletcher Henderson. -
Right to Perform Music In Public Places
Many African Americans preserved "authentic jazz" music by performing, recording, and creating classic pieces that were performed in clubs, speakeasies, or up for purchase. A few of the most famous musicians during this time was Hudie Ledbetter, Bessie Smith, and Gertude (Ma). Other famous works were created by trumpet player and singer Louis Armstrong. -
Right to Work in a Factory in the North
After the Great Migration, many of the African Americans looked for jobs within factories even though they were given the smallest wages, and generally "...Last hired and first fired..." -
Weak Racial Justice in the Great Depression
The New Deal did little to protect African American rights. Some of the new organizations under the New Deal such as the NRA, created racially discriminating codes and restrictions limiting its extent of help to African Americans. -
New Jobs for Blacks during the Great Depression
President Hoover appointed over one hundred african americans to policy-level and judicial positions during the Great Depression. For example, Mary McLeod Bethune who led the cabinet that linked the Roosevelt Administration and black organizations. She was appointed as director of minority affairs in the National Youth Administration. -
Blacks during the Great Depression
Two-thirds of blacks voted for Hoover in 1932 election. During the Great Depression black unemployment rates were far higher than the rest of the workforce, and the many New Deal Agencies tried to equaly help blacks yet their was often discrimination and racism, something Hoover truly tried to avoid. Lynchings also increased and the NAACP tried to get legislation passed to make them illegal, however this was never accomplished. -
Right to Protest Lynchings
During the Great Depression, the number of lynchings began to increase so the NAACP campaigned to make lynching a federal crime; however, Roosevelt dissaproved. When an anti-lynching bill passed the House of Representatives in 1935 it was killed with a filibuster and denied. -
Berlin Olympics and Other Sports
In the 1936 Olympic Games, African American track star Jesse Owens won four gold medals and broke/tied three world records. This was not only an enormous accomplishment for the athlete, but also for America as a whole since the event made a mockery of Hitler's Nazi theory on racial superiority. Another great sporting accomplishemnt that reinforced this was achieved by black boxer Joe Louis. In 1938 he beat German fighter Max Schmeling in the first round of the World Heavyweight Championships. -
Executive Order 8802
In response to the black "March on Washington", FDR created this executive order to prohibit discrimination in employment practices for all unions, federal agencies, and companies involved in war-related work. The Fair Employment Practices Commission was then established to enforce this policy. Some 2 million blacks benefitted from these policies. -
African American WWII Involvement
Many blacks moved to urban areas to work for the war effort. Blacks were discriminated against in the army (segregated units), still roughly 1 mil served. Memorably, the "Double V" campaign was the black fight for equality and against the axis powers. NAACP membership skyrocketed during this time and the civil rights organization the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) was founded. Blacks were even led by A. Philip Randolph in a "March on Washington" to fight discrimination. -
Murder for Voting
Due to the sudden uprise of African American's need for more rights, many whites in the south felt it was no right so they murdered several African American veterans who had voted in rural Georgia. Others were blinded, blowtorched, and murdered for performing simple acts such as stepping into a white woman's house. People were tortured/murdered in various states all throughout the south. -
Almost AA Full Rights
Truman met with a group of delegation civil-rights leaders and realized that the racial tension in the US damaged relations with the world. This led Truman to become determined to change, so he created a strong civil-rights bill. When the south segregationists heard word of this they became furious and told Truman he would loose all of the south's support and they would boycott. He immediatly dropped the bill and created a much weaker bill which was later rejected in the Dem. convention. -
Right to Play on a National Sports Team
Jackie Robinson was the first African American to break the color barrier for the baseball teams. He joined the Brooklyn Dodgers and upset fans nation-wide. He recieved death threats daily and was discriminatated against, but that did not stop him. This meant hope to most African Americans and led to a lot more supporters for more African American rights. -
Jim Crow Laws Being Questioned
Accusations were brought up in the Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka and Plessy vs. Ferguson cases. The cases exaimed african american rights during this time and the revival of groups such as the KKK came back up. Many questioned the rights of AA and this led to much controversy and set the tone for the 1950's and the years to come. -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
This law passed in Earl Warren's Supreme Court rejected separate but equal facilities and outlawed segregation in public places. Ultamitely it sparked the entire Civil Rights movement. This led to the first step of the Civil Rights movement, Litigation. Blacks tried to earn respect through the courts from 1930-1950s yet it was slow moving and unsuccessful. After they used Nonviolent tactics 1955-1963 (sit-ins, freedom rides, protests). Lastly the modern movement (1963-69) bwas very violent. -
Right to Sit in the Back of the Bus
Rosa Parks had to sit in the back of the bus and give up her seats to white people. When she refused to give up her seat, she was arrested and put in jail. Martin Luther King Jr. gave speeches all across Montgomery and the event of Rosa being arrested led to a 50 year struggle for African American rights. -
Right to Protest using Sit-Ins
In North Carolina, Ezell Blair Jr., Frankling McCane, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond sat down at a Woolworth's white only lunch counter and they started the first ever sit-in. The next day 20 more black students joined in, followed by 60 the next day. Sit-ins were a very successful, effective, generally peaceful civil rights movement tactic although they caused tension. -
Freedom Rides
The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) organized a freedom ride throughout the deep south in order to show cooperation between blacks and whites. Together they would ride buses through cities displaying the 1960 supreme court decision which outlawed segregation in interstate transportation. Whites were often very opposed and put riders in danger (ex. burning the buses, fights, beatings, and murdering SNCC members). Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy got involved to prevent more issues. -
African American Attacks in Birmingham, Alabama
In Birmingham police and local authorities, such as ruthless "Bull" Connor, attacked non-violent black protestors using firehoses, electric cattle prods, and biting police dogs. Incidents were shown on TV because the protestors were attempting to de-segregate this city. The appalled reactions from the north forced the Kennedy Administration to intervene and end this crisis which overall was a sucess fro blacks because they de-segregated the city. -
March on Washington
At the height of the Civil Rights movement, a quater of a million people met in Washington, DC from various civil rights groups (SCLC, NAACP, SNCC, Black Panther Party, CORE) met to read speeches and celebrate. This is the sight of MLK Jr.'s famous "I have a dream" speech. This event led to the Ku Klux Klan bombing of an all black church in birmingham in september of the same year. -
Great Society Programs
Various of LBJ's Great Society Programs aided african americans. For example the 1964 Civil Rights Act which banded public discrimination. Then the 1965 Voting Rights Act was crucial because it made literacy tests illegal. Also to improve slum conditions the 1966 Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act remodled cities and rehabilitated 80% of slums. Also under JFK the Equal Employment Opportunity Commision banned discrimination based on race, sex, or religion which helped blacks. -
Freedom Summer, Mississippi
Trained white and black leaders went to Mississippi for the summer to get more African Americans to vote. Three individuals were lynched, 2 white men and a black man. 1200 blacks were registered to vote, but 60,000 appeared to vote thus they were quite successful. This led to the creation of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. -
Black Power
An African American Organization, the Nation of Islam, leader Elijah Mohammed coined the turn Black Power which was symbolic of racial uplift and freeing themselves from the white devil. Famous, sometime- violent leader, Malcolm X, was part of this movement yet when he backed out of he was assassinated. The Black Panther Party was founded in Oakland, California and they encouraged African American self-determination and they too were not afriad to use violence. -
Right to go to college
Now more than ever, African Americans were going to college and graduating high school. These numbers had risen drastically from the 1960's when only about 5% of African Americans went on to college. This number will continue to increase until the 1990's when enrollment rate is nearly identical to white enrollment. -
Drug Dealers
Because drugs such as Cocaine became popular in the inner cities, many African American teens got caught up in it. Sometimes children recruited themselves to be on the lookout for dealers and would later become dealer when they hit their teens. This also led to a lot of violence especially between two of the most notorious gangs, the Bloods and the Crips, in which they were involved in over 400 murders in the 1980's.
