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Are the Racial and RegionalDisparities in America a
Consequence of Slavery?
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Outline
Introduction
Historical Context Racial Disparities
Regional Disparities Conclusion
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Introduction
By the start of the twentieth century, the South is thepoorest region in America. Within the South, African
Americans were the poorest.
Economic changes seen in the South were similar toexperiences of other countries when slaves were
emancipated.
In the 1890s a significant number of laws/judgements werepassed at State and Federal level that increased racial
disparities.
Given the significant number of African Americans living inthe South, it meant a life of poverty.
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Historical Context
Events that exacerbated the disparities in America: Separate, but equal ruling in 1894 - meant poor
schooling and precluded growth in human capital.
Jim Crow Laws After the Civil War, African American wealth was steadily
growing but remained unequal with whites.
Agriculture remained a significant part of the Southseconomy. Given the lack of education afforded to AfricanAmericans, they mostly went into sharecropping schemesand only a 25% owned land in 1890.
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Migration
Migration is a key part of the African Americanstory.
WWI - Significant migration to the North. This led to greater urbanisation of African
Americans.
There was still discrimination in the North. As African Americans moved North they
became swing voters.
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Argument
The Souths over-dependence on export staples createdsignificant disparities in America.
The discriminatory practices in the South meant thatnot only were African Americans treated as secondclass citizens but also held back the South economically.
The lack of education opportunities afforded to bothAfrican Americans and whites meant that it could not
easily replicate the North.
Racial disparities were a consequence of the ideologyused to justify slavery.
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Emancipation
Emancipation Proclamation 1863 Freed 3.1 million slaves, and 50,000
immediately
Preceded by emancipation in Northern states,as early as 1777
Freed slaves extremely poor per capita wealthof $1 Low levels of human capital
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Wealth of Ex-Slaves
Tax and Census data forSouthern States
Rapidly increasing levels of
black wealth in several states
Was wealth growth andconvergence as strong assuggested?
Black wealth still well belowwhite wealth
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Causes of wealth disparity
Illiteracy Increases cost of information andinhibits income growth
High land values Assessment ratios
White ratios 73% of Black ratios Product of discrimination
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Education
1896-1954 Separate-but-equal policy
A = f(M, X, E)
Comparison of white and black literacy rates
20 percentage point gap in 1920
7 percentage point gap in 1940
Poor performance of black schools, but also legacy of slavery
Poor income and education levels of parents
Only 27% of literacy gap due to separate-but-equal
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Credit
Instalment vs. Merchant credit Bureau of Labour Statistics survey
14,000 non-farm families surveyed Black families use far more instalment credit than
merchant
Not due to wealth disparities Black families prevented from accessing informal
credit due to social factors
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Conclusion
Racial disparities remained in America after theemancipation of slaves. This can be attributed to thecontinuation of the belief that African Americans
were inferior citizens
In the North, African Americans experienced de factodiscrimination that prevented them from progressing.
The high density of African Americans in the Souththat were uneducated as a result of slavery meantthat significant regional and racial disparities emergedas a result of slavery.