THE NEW SOUTH Chapter 13, Section 4

Review  Rutherford B. Hayes has just been elected President of the U.S.  Because the election was close, Democrats (Southerners), aren’t happy.  The Compromise of 1877 removed the last of the federal troops from the South.  Now what?

Changing Economies in the South  Few whites or former slaves were willing to work for the wages planters were willing or able to pay.  Many planters solved this problem through the use of a system called sharecropping.  A farmer worked a parcel of land owned by someone else.  In return for the work, the farmer received: A share of the crop A cabin Seed, tools, and a mule  By the end of the 1870s, many poor white southerners and most African Americans in the South worked as sharecroppers.

Changing Economies in the South  A problem with sharecropping:  Sharecroppers had no income until harvest time  They had to promise their crops to local merchants who sold them goods on credit  At harvest time, hopefully, a sharecropper would make enough money to pay for his debts.  Called the crop-lien system  QUESTION: Under the sharecropping system, was there much opportunity for poor farmers to pull themselves out of poverty or gain independence? Does the system help the South industrialize? (GREEN group)

Changing Economies in the South  Many believe sharecropping kept the South from industrializing  Without industry, who is the South dependent on?  Some southerners tried to find northern investors to contribute money towards industrialization  Southern factory workers were often paid very little

The Rise of Jim Crow  For African Americans, the New South looked a lot like the old one.  Tied to the land through sharecropping  Excluded from most factory jobs  Democrats continued to deny them their rights  Democrats could not take away the African Americans’ right to vote, but they could pass laws to make it difficult  Poll taxes – taxes paid by voters  Literacy tests – tests that barred those who could not read from voting Often waived for poor, illiterate whites

The Rise of Jim Crow  Jim Crow Laws  Laws passed in the South to enforce segregation  By 1890s, all southern states had legally segregated public transportation and schools Soon spread to cemeteries, parks, and other public places  African Americans in the South will attempt to sue for equal treatment, but the Supreme Court will refuse to overturn the Jim Crow laws.  Plessy v. Ferguson – 1896  The Supreme Court stated that “separate but equal” facilities did not violate the U.S. Constitution

 QUESTION: How did Jim Crow laws and the Plessy v. Ferguson decision affect African Americans in the South? (RED group)

African American Life  African American middle class began to emerge:  Doctors  Government workers  Teachers  Lawyers  Some were successful farmers and owned their own land  Some African Americans formed cooperatives  Pooled finances and purchased land or businesses together  Hire other African Americans  Donate a portion of profits to organizations which worked to improve the situation for African Americans in the South and throughout the country  QUESTION: What actions did African Americans take after Reconstruction to expand their economic opportunities? (BLUE group)

Responses to the Jim Crow Era  Despite success of some, African Americans continued to encounter widespread discrimination  Leaders differed in approaches to solve this problem

Response to the Jim Crow Era  Believed that African Americans should concentrate on achieving economic independence  Urged African Americans to seek practical training in trades and professions  Discouraged protesting, saying that it only increased whites’ hostility  Believed African Americans should protest unfair treatment  Focused on stopping the lynching of African Americans  Urged African Americans to leave the South Booker T. WashingtonIda B. Wells

Question  QUESTION: How did the beliefs of Booker T. Washington and Ida B. Wells represent different approaches to how African Americans should have responded to Jim Crow laws? (PURPLE group)

Wrap Up  The official end of Reconstruction is the year 1877  Some good laws were passed:  The Civil Rights Act of 1866  The Thirteenth Amendment: abolition of slavery  The Fourteenth Amendment: equal protection  The Fifteenth Amendment: right to vote for African American men  Some bad things happened:  The Black Codes  Ku Klux Klan  The Jim Crow Laws  Plessy v. Ferguson