DO NOW It is 1894, create a journal entry depicting your life as a former slave.

“Segregation in America” Reconstructing a National Culture: “Segregation in America”                                                                                                      

The Purpose of Reconstruction The goals were to readmit states to the Union, create new political systems, rebuild the economy, and expand and protect the rights of African Americans. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments extended new rights to African Americans and increased political participation at local, state, and national levels.

The Purpose of Reconstruction The Freedman Bureau supported the development of a free black culture by building schools, hospitals, providing social services, and advocating for equality. Many freedmen became tenant farmers and sharecroppers, but unfair labor contracts, poor soil, and the inability to own land kept most in deep poverty. Still, many tried to find ways to deny African Americans the rights to vote, own property, and attend school. Despite the efforts of reconstruction, blacks were treated as second-hand citizens.

What do you think are some problems African Americans began to face?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                What do you think are some problems African Americans began to face?

Jim Crow Laws An evil man who thought he was superior to others A law that you can’t eat crow on Sundays A way of life in the late 1800s State and local laws enacted in the Southern and border states of the United States and enforced between 1876 and 1965. They mandated “separate but equal" status for black Americans.

Plessy vs. Ferguson The winner of international cow fighting B. A boxing match over a seat on a train C. A Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) was a landmark United States Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of racial segregation even in public accommodations (particularly railroads), under the doctrine of “separate but equal."

Turn to a Friend What is a poll?

Poll Taxes a tax of a uniform, fixed amount per individual (as opposed to a percentage of income) a tax formerly required for voting in parts of the United States that was often designed to prevent African Americans from going to the polls

Turn to a Friend What does literacy really mean?

Literacy Tests a test designed to determine one's ability to read and write a given language; the term is often used, however, to refer to a test given to determine one's eligibility to vote the 15th Amendment gave male aged 21 and over the right to vote, literacy tests were used as a way to keep African American men ineligible

Turn to a Friend Why is an education really important?

Inequality in Education Following the Jim Crow Laws, African Americans are banned from white hotels, barber shops, restaurants, theaters, and other public accommodations. By 1885, most southern states also have laws requiring separate schools.

Turn to a Friend What is worse physical or mental abuse?

Violence lynching, hanging, and rioting become more prevalent as tensions between the first and second class citizens increase many innocent lives are damaged or taken through a misunderstanding of cultures

As shown in this Thomas Nast cartoon, Worse than Slavery, white groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and the White League used every form of terror, violence, and intimidation to restore a “white man’s government” and redeem the noble “lost cause.”

Slavery is officially illegal in all countries, but there are still an estimated 20 million to 30 million slaves worldwide. Mauritania was the last jurisdiction to officially outlaw slavery (in 1981/2007), but about 10% to 20% of its population is estimated to live in slavery. http://www.freetheslaves.net/about-slavery/slavery-today/

For the rest of the day… Consider - Do you feel these or similar problems are still faced by minority groups in the United States? Why or why not?