Prior to World War I there was much social, economic, and political inequality for African Americans. This made it difficult for African Americans to accept their own ethnicity and integrate with the rest of American society. By the end of World War II however African Americans had made great strides towards reaching complete equality, developing their culture, securing basic rights, and incorporating into American society. Toward the end of the Progressive Era American social inequality had stripped African Americans of their rights on a local and national level. In the 1896 Supreme Court case of Plessey vs. Ferguson, the Supreme Court sided with a Louisiana state law declaring segregation constitutional as long as facilities remain separate but equal. Segregation increased as legal discriminatory laws became enacted by each state but segregated facilities for whites were far superior to those provided for blacks; especially prevalent in the South were discriminatory laws known as Jim Crow laws which surged after the ruling. Such laws allowed for segregation in places such as restaurants, hospitals, parks, recreational areas, bathrooms, schools, transportation, housing, hotels, etc. Measures were taken to disenfranchise African Americans by using intimidation, violence, putting poll taxes, and literacy tests. This nearly eliminated the black vote and its political interests as 90% of the nine million blacks in America lived in the South and 1/3 were illiterate as shown in Ray Stannard Baker’s Following the Color Line (Bailey 667). For example, in Louisiana 130,334 black voters registered in 1896 but that number drastically decreased to a mere 1,342 in 1904—a 99 percent decline (Newman ). Other laws prevented black... ... middle of paper ... ...or their heroic efforts during times of such as the 369th battalion and Doris Miller. African Americans had more of their basic rights, political voice, respect, and were able to blend into American society by the end of World War II. Works Cited Wormser, Richard. "U.S. IN WORLD WAR I (1917-1918)." The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow. 2002 Educational Broadcasting Corporation. Web. 9 Jan 2014. . Wormser, Richard. "RED SUMMER (1919)." Jim Crow Stories. 2002 Educational Broadcasting Corporation. Web. 9 Jan 2014. . Newman, John. UNITED STATES HISTORYPreparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. Second Edition. New York: AMSCO SCHOOL PUBLICATIONS, INC, 2010. eBook. .
The Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896) ‘equal but separate’ decision robbed it of its meaning and confirmed this wasn’t the case as the court indicated this ruling did not violate black citizenship and did not imply superior and inferior treatment ,but it indeed did as it openly permitted racial discrimination in a landmark decision of a 8-1 majority ruling, it being said was controversial, as white schools and facilities received near to more than double funding than black facilities negatively contradicted the movement previous efforts on equality and maintaining that oppression on
Edward, Rebecca and Henretta, James and Self, Robert. America A Concise History. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2012.
Walens, Susann. A. United States History Since 1877. Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT. September 2007.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to World War II, Macmillan Publishing, New York, New York, 1999. Duis, Perry. The War in American Culture, The University of Chicago Press, 1994. Schultz, Stanley K. American History 102 Civil War to the Present. Copyright 1999 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin a href="http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture21.html">http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture21.html/a>.
World War II." Civil Rights for Minorities During and After World War II. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. .
“For African Americans, World War II was a fight on two fronts. It was a struggle to prevail over the nation’s external enemies and a battle against a familiar home-grown foe: bigotry” (Allen). When World War II began in Europe in 1939, blacks demanded better treatment than they had experienced during World War I. Black newspaper editors insisted during 1939 and 1940 that black support for this war effort would depend on fair treatment. They demanded that black soldiers be trained in all military roles and that black civilians have equal opportunities to work in war industries at home.
Divine, Robert A. America past and Present. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education/Longman, 2013. 245. Print.
The U.S. in 1910 was a society where racial segregation was the norm. The Jim Crow laws of segregation were enacted between 1876 and 1965 in America segregating many if not all, public places for whites and blacks. African Americans were treated inferiorly and with no respect. World War I erupted in 1914, sending millions of soldiers from America to Europe. African Americans were sent along side Caucasians to fight in World War I due to there not being enough white soldiers in the military. Many African Americans felt as if they needed to prove their loyalty, respect and earn equality in America by battling in this war. African American soldiers being sent to the war wanted to prove their worthy of citizenship to America. WWI allowed a unique and significant opportunity for African Americans.
World War I marked a drastic change in African American history. The war began as a conflict between the Europeans and soon became an event with revolutionary consequences, which would have a big affect on the social, economic, and political future for the black community. The war impacted the black community of Cleveland greatly whether you were male or female, soldier or civilian. The war began in 1914 and ended in 1918, which marked one of the most dynamic periods for the African American community because of migration, racial violence, and political protest. African Americans challenged the American Government, demanded their rights as American citizens, and demanded equality both in subtle and dramatic ways. We should further our knowledge on World War I because it is important to develop a better understanding of how the war affected African Americans and the struggles they faced because of it.
George Browm Tindall, David Emory Shi. American History: 5th Brief edition, W. W. Norton & Company; November 1999
...n their efforts to make America truly democratic by ensuring full citizenship for its entire people. Black soldiers, who continued to serve in segregated units, were involved in protest against racial injustice on the home front and abroad. The introduction of black troops left a profound effect on Europe. More than
1. Dorie miller was awarded the Navy Cross for his courage and devotion of duty in the Navy during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Two years later he was missing in action which is understandable with the racism that was happening at that time. With President Roosevelt's signing of the Selective Service Act which did not allow the blacks and whites to intermingle. This caused anger amongst the black Americans. A. Philip Randolph was shocked at President Roosevelt’s discrimination. With blacks highlighting the hypocrisy from the White House stating “White House Blesses Jim Crow”, (Takaki, 23) we must have a dual battle. Hitler in Europe and Hitler in America, this war is suppose
It wasn’t easy being an African American, back then they had to fight in order to achieve where they are today, from slavery and discrimination, there was a very slim chance of hope for freedom or even citizenship. This longing for hope began to shift around the 1950’s. During the Civil Rights Movement, where discrimination still took place, it was the time when African Americans started to defend their rights and honor to become freemen like every other citizen of the United States. African Americans were beginning to gain recognition after the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, which declared all people born natural in the United States and included the slaves that were previously declared free. However, this didn’t prevent the people from disputing against the constitutional law, especially the people in the South who continued to retaliate against African Americans and the idea of integration in white schools....
By 1875, both the North and the South of America were prepared to abandon its commitment to equality for all citizens regardless of race. Emancipation was lost and the once popular support for Reconstruction was fading; White Southerners despised of this whilst white Northerners grew tired of its enormous cost. Almost instantly, notorious societies began appearing especially in the South, where citizens were devoted to restoring the white supremacy in politics and social life as seen before the Civil War. The rebirth of white supremacy in the South, particularly the Ku Klux Klan, was accompanied by the increase of enforced racial segregation under Jim Crow laws which legally segregated blacks and whites in virtually all public places. By 1885 essentially all the Southern states now had officially segregated public schools. Moreover, in 1896 the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson established the infamous doctrine of “separate but equal” which would go on to define racial relations. “Slavery is abolished; but the ordinances of police enacted to uphold slavery have n...
African Americans fought until the Jim Crow laws were taken out of effect, and they received equality of all people regardless of race. Along the way there were many controversial court cases and important leaders who helped to take a stand against racial segregation.