Unit 1 Segregation and Discrimination

Voting Restrictions: Literacy requirement - Some states required voters to

be literate and administered a literacy test. Blacks were given more difficult tests or given the test in a

foreign language Poll tax – annual tax that had to be paid in order to gain

access to the voting booth. Black and white share croppers couldn’t afford this

Grandfather Clause – even if a man failed literacy test or couldn’t pay poll tax, he could still vote if his father or grandfather had been eligible to vote before January 1, 1867 This date was important – before that time slaves didn’t have the

right to vote. The grandfather clause excluded African Americans.

Jim Crow Laws Jim Crow Laws - laws passed in the Southern states by

state and local gov’t Separated white and black people in public and private

facilities

Segregation – was the word used to describe this system of separating people based on race

Racial segregation developed in schools, hospitals, parks, and transportation systems throughout the South

Plessy v. Ferguson Homer A. Plessy, who was classified African American

because he was 1/8 black,was denied a seat in a railroad car that was reserved for white passengers.

He challenged segregation laws in court and said he was denied his rights under the Constitution. The railroad argued that the separate facilities for black

people were just as good as the ones for whites. The Court’s Decision:

Separation of the races in public accommodations did not violate the 14th amendment

Established the doctrine “separate but equal” The decision permitted legalized racial segregation for

almost 60 years

Race Relations Racial etiquette - Informal rules and customs that

discriminated against African Americans Examples of racial etiquette

Blacks and whites never shook hands Blacks had to yield the sidewalk to white pedestrians Black men always had to remove their hats for whites

Violence African Americans who did not follow these rules were

severely punished or killed Between 1880’s – 1890’s more than 1400 African American

men and women were shot, burned, or hanged without trial in the south

Discrimination in the North Many African Americans migrated North in search of

social equality and better jobs Found the same discrimination as in the South. African

Americans were: Forced into segregated neighborhoods Prevented from moving into white neighborhoods by local

residents and realtors Denied membership in Labor unions Only hired by employers as a last resort Fired before white employees

Competition between working class whites and African Americans became violent New York City Race Riot of 1900

Discrimination in the West Mexican workers were hired by the railroad managers to

construct rail lines in AZ, CA, NM, and NV They were forced to work for less money

Also a major source for agricultural labor in the Southwest

Debt peonage – system of involuntary servitude in which a laborer is forced to work of a debt Continued until 1911 when Congress declared it a

violation of the 13th amendment

Excluding the Chinese Chinese population went from 7,000 to 100,000 and they

formed a major part of the workforce Transcontinental railroad Made up:

more than ½ of all shoemakers 4/5 of all cigar makers 1/3 of all woolen-mill operators

Whites feared losing out in job competion with them. As a result: Chinese were pushed into segregated schools and

neighborhoods Strong anti-Chinese immigration movement began

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 prohibited all further immigration of Chinese to the US Suspended naturalization for Chinese who were

already present in the US