The Struggle Against Discrimination

Did Progressivism Help Minorities? Prejudice and discrimination against minorities continued even as the Progressive Movement was underway Following the spirit of Progressivism, African- Americans, Latinos, Catholics, Jews, and new immigrant groups worked to help themselves The efforts of these groups help create a foundation for the civil rights movements of the 1950’s and 60’s Most Progressives were white Anglo-Saxon Protestant reformers who were indifferent or even hostile towards minorities

Many Progressives want to Americanize minorities Tried to change how immigrants lived  how to dress like a middle-class white American, replace foods and customs of their homelands with Protestant practices and values Looked down upon immigrants’ use of alcohol  helped lead to the temperance movement Many Progressives shared the same prejudice against non-whites held by other white Americans After SCOTUS issued its Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) decision, states North & South, passed segregation laws By 1910, segregation was the norm across the nation Grandfather clause: allowed uneducated white males to vote while keeping black men from voting

Who Demanded reform for African Americans? Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) Dominant leader in the African-American community; writer, educator, and advisor to U.S. presidents Believed African Americans had to achieve economic independence before civil rights Black people must tolerate discrimination while they worked hard to gradually win white Americans’ respect  eventually lead to equal civil rights

W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) Opponent of Booker T. Washington; historian, social activist, author Born in Massachusetts and Harvard educated Believed that black Americans had to demand their social and civil rights or else become permanent victims of racism

In the summer of 1905, Du Bois, William Trotter, and other leading black American thinkers met at Niagara Falls to discuss the concern over black men being denied the right to vote Called itself the Niagara Movement Denounced Washington’s idea of gradual progress saying he was too willing to compromise black Americans’ basic rights W.E.B. Du Bois said that black men should be taught history, literature, and philosophy, so they could think for themselves Opposite of Washington’s notion of only teaching black Americans trade skills Not enough of a voice and never grew more than a few hundred members

In the summer of 1908, a white mob in Springfield, Illinois, attempted to lynch two African American prisoners in the city jail  turned against city’s black residents, killing two and burning over 40 homes Received attention from a number of white reformers Joined with leaders of the Niagara Movement to form the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Aimed to help African Americans be “physically free from peonage, mentally free from ignorance, politically free from disfranchisement, and socially free from insult.” Du Bois, Trotter, Jane Addams, Florence Kelley

By the late 19th century, African Americans were migrating from rural to urban areas By 1911, a network of black clubs and churches across many cities joined together to create the Urban League Unlike the NAACP, who helped middle-class blacks, the Urban League focused on lower-class and poor workers Helped African Americans find employment, buy clothes and food for their families, and send children to school

Who Else Fought for Reform? Jews in NYC formed the Anti-Defamation League in 1913  defend Jews and others against physical and verbal attacks, false statements, and secure justice for all Mexican Americans in Arizona formed the Partido Liberal Mexicano (PLM)  similar to Urban League Mutulistas  groups that made loans and provided legal assistance, as well as insurance programs Forced to sign unfair labor contracts that kept them in debt

Native Americans struggled heavily due to the Dawes Act By 1932, nearly two thirds of lands held by tribes in 1887 were in the hands of whites Carlos Montezuma helped establish the Society of American Indians in 1911  urged Native Americans to preserve their cultures and avoid being dependent on the federal government Asian Americans faced heavy discrimination California law in 1913 stated only American citizens could own land  forced many Japanese immigrants to sell their land