The "NEW" South [APUSH Review Unit 6 Topic 4] Period 6: 1865-1898
Summary
TLDRThe video script from Heimler's History delves into the concept of the 'New South' during the period from 1877 to 1898, following the Civil War. It explores the vision of Henry Grady, who advocated for economic diversity and industrial growth to modernize the South. Despite industrial advancements in certain cities and a rise in manufacturing, particularly in textiles, the South largely remained agricultural, with a labor system based on sharecropping that kept many in a state akin to slavery. The script also addresses the rigid racial segregation that became institutionalized with the removal of federal troops and the 'separate but equal' doctrine established by the Plessy v. Ferguson case. It highlights the resistance against these injustices by figures like Ida B. Wells, Henry Turner, and Booker T. Washington, each advocating for change in their own way. The summary underscores the complex and often grim realities of the 'New South,' while acknowledging the resilience and activism that emerged in response.
Takeaways
- 📰 The term 'New South' was coined by Henry Grady, editor of The Atlanta Constitution, who envisioned a future for the South based on economic diversity, industrial growth, and laissez-faire capitalism.
- 🏭 Southern cities began to grow with the establishment of industrial centers, and by the late 19th century, southern states had become leading textile manufacturers, surpassing New England.
- 🚂 The South experienced significant growth in population and infrastructure, with new railroads being constructed at a rate that matched or exceeded other regions in the country.
- 🏞 Despite industrial advancements, the majority of the South remained agricultural, and the plantation system continued to rely on laborers through the sharecropping system.
- 👩🌾 Sharecropping was a system that allowed those without land to work on plantations, sharing a portion of the harvest with the owner, but it often resulted in a cycle of debt for the workers.
- 🚫 Racial segregation became more entrenched after the Compromise of 1877, leading to the societal structure of segregation becoming the norm in the South.
- 🏛 The Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 established the 'separate but equal' doctrine, which legally sanctioned racial segregation as long as facilities were equal in quality.
- 📜 The Jim Crow Laws further institutionalized racial segregation across various aspects of society, including public facilities and transportation.
- 📉 African Americans lost many of the gains made during Reconstruction, facing restrictions on serving on juries, running for public office, and were often subjected to extrajudicial violence.
- ✊ Ida B. Wells, Henry Turner, and Booker T. Washington were among the notable figures resisting racial injustice and advocating for social and political equality for black people.
- 💼 Booker T. Washington's approach to black empowerment focused on economic self-sufficiency as a means to achieve political power, although it faced criticism for not directly addressing political equality.
Q & A
What was the 'New South' concept introduced by Henry Grady?
-The 'New South' was a vision for the post-Civil War South, proposed by Henry Grady, which emphasized economic diversity, industrial growth, and laissez-faire capitalism. Grady believed that the South needed to adopt more of the North's industrial advancements to recover from the war.
How did the South's industrial growth compare to the rest of the country during the 'New South' period?
-The South experienced significant industrial growth, with Southern cities growing and new industrial centers being built. Southern states even surpassed New England states in textile manufacturing, and the growth in population and new railroad construction was on par with or exceeded that of other regions in the country.
What was the primary economic activity in the South despite the industrial growth during the 'New South' period?
-Despite industrial advancements, the primary economic activity in the South remained agriculture. The region continued to rely heavily on farming, with plantation owners requiring laborers to work the fields.
What was the sharecropping system and how did it affect newly emancipated black people and poor whites?
-Sharecropping was a system where individuals without the means to own or rent land could work on plantation fields in exchange for a share of the harvest. While it theoretically could have been beneficial for newly emancipated black people and poor whites, in practice, it often resulted in a form of debt peonage, keeping many sharecroppers in a state of economic dependency on the landowner.
How did racial segregation become legally established in the South?
-Racial segregation became legally established with the Compromise of 1877, which ended Reconstruction and led to the removal of federal troops from the South. This allowed for the rise of segregationist laws, culminating in the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, which upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine.
What was the impact of the 'separate but equal' ruling on black communities in the South?
-The 'separate but equal' ruling led to the widespread implementation of Jim Crow Laws, which segregated nearly every aspect of society, including public facilities, transportation, and even drinking fountains. This segregation was often accompanied by unequal facilities and opportunities, leading to a loss of many gains made by black people during Reconstruction.
What was the role of Ida B. Wells in the resistance against racial segregation and violence?
-Ida B. Wells was an editor of a black newspaper in the South, where she fiercely editorialized against lynching and Jim Crow Laws. Despite receiving death threats and her presses being destroyed by a mob, she continued her anti-lynching campaign after moving to the North.
What was Henry Turner's contribution to the fight for black equality?
-Henry Turner founded the International Migration Society in 1894, which facilitated the migration of black Americans to Africa, specifically Liberia. Although the venture was not sustainable due to economic challenges and health issues in Liberia, it represented an effort to provide black Americans with new opportunities outside the oppressive environment of the South.
What was Booker T. Washington's approach to achieving equality for black people?
-Booker T. Washington believed that black people should focus on becoming economically self-sufficient rather than fighting for political equality. He felt that economic empowerment would naturally lead to political power. As a former enslaved laborer who had achieved self-sufficiency, Washington worked to help others do the same, despite his approach being seen as impractical by some due to the systemic disadvantages faced by black people in the South.
What were some of the negative consequences for black people during the 'New South' period?
-During the 'New South' period, black people faced numerous negative consequences, including being forbidden to serve on juries or run for public office, being subjected to accusations of crimes without due process, and being victims of vigilante justice through lynching, with over a thousand black people lynched in the 1890s alone.
How did the 'New South' period reflect both progress and continuity with the past?
-The 'New South' period reflected progress through industrial growth and urban development in certain areas, surpassing New England in textile manufacturing and experiencing population and infrastructure growth. However, it also showed continuity with the past in its continued reliance on agriculture, the persistence of sharecropping, and the establishment of legal racial segregation and the Jim Crow system.
Outlines
🌟 Introduction to the New South Era
This paragraph introduces the concept of the 'New South,' a vision for the post-Civil War Southern United States. It discusses the Old South's defeat and the emergence of a new vision for the region, led by figures like Henry Grady, who advocated for industrial growth, economic diversity, and laissez-faire capitalism. Grady's ideas gained traction, leading to industrial expansion in some Southern cities and the rise of new manufacturing centers. However, despite these changes, the South largely remained agricultural, and the labor system of sharecropping kept many in a state akin to slavery. The paragraph also touches on the persistence of racial segregation and the removal of federal troops, which solidified segregation as the law of the land.
📚 The Impact of Plessy v. Ferguson and Resistance to Segregation
This paragraph delves into the legal and societal ramifications of racial segregation in the South, highlighted by the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, which established the 'separate but equal' doctrine. The decision led to the widespread implementation of Jim Crow Laws, segregating nearly every aspect of public life. Despite these oppressive conditions, the paragraph also discusses the significant resistance movements, including the efforts of Ida B. Wells, who fought against lynching and Jim Crow Laws, Henry Turner, who facilitated the migration of black Americans to Liberia, and Booker T. Washington, who focused on economic self-sufficiency as a path to political power. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for students to subscribe for further educational support on the AP U.S. History curriculum.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡New South
💡Sharecropping
💡Racial Segregation
💡Plessy v Ferguson
💡Jim Crow Laws
💡Lynching
💡Ida B. Wells
💡Henry Turner
💡Booker T. Washington
💡Atlanta Constitution
💡Reconstruction
Highlights
The New South emerged from the ashes of the Old South, seeking to redefine the South's identity post-Civil War.
Henry Grady, editor of The Atlanta Constitution, coined the term 'New South' and advocated for economic diversity and industrial growth.
Grady's vision involved a shift towards industrialization and laissez-faire capitalism to compete with the North's industrial prowess.
Southern cities began to grow, and the region became a top manufacturer of textiles, with population and railroad expansion rivaling other parts of the country.
Despite industrial advancements, the South largely remained an agricultural region with a labor system based on sharecropping.
Sharecropping was a system that kept many newly emancipated black people and poor whites in conditions akin to a new form of slavery.
Racial segregation became legally entrenched after the Compromise of 1877 and the removal of federal troops from the South.
The Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 established the 'separate but equal' doctrine, which led to widespread racial segregation.
Jim Crow Laws further institutionalized racial segregation across various aspects of society, including public facilities and transportation.
Despite legal and societal setbacks, black people faced significant violence and vigilante justice, with over a thousand lynchings in the 1890s alone.
Ida B. Wells, a black newspaper editor, fought against lynching and Jim Crow Laws, despite facing death threats and her presses being destroyed.
Henry Turner founded the International Migration Society to facilitate black Americans' migration to Africa, particularly Liberia, as a form of resistance.
Booker T. Washington advocated for black economic self-sufficiency as a path to political power, despite the challenges faced by black people in the South.
The New South's progress was marked by both significant advancements and the persistence of old, oppressive systems.
The period saw a complex interplay between industrial growth, agricultural reliance, and the struggle for racial equality.
The New South's legacy is a mix of economic progress and the harsh realities of racial segregation and social injustice.
The story of the New South is not just about industrialization but also about the human cost of societal changes and the fight for civil rights.
Transcripts
Well hey there and welcome back to Heimler’s History. WE’ve been going through Unit 6 of
the AP U.S. History curriculum, and in this video it’s time to talk about
the New South. So if you’re ready to get them brain cows milked, let’s get to it.
In this video we’re trying to answer the following question: what were the various
factors that contributed to continuity and change in the “New South” from 1877 to 1898.
Now what in the world is the “New South?” I mean, if you’ve been following the curriculum
since the beginning, you know all about the Old South, which is to say southern culture,
politics, and economics before the Civil War. But that Old SOuth had its hindparts
handed to it in the Civil War and now some folks were envisioning a new kind
of South. One of those folks was Henry Grady who was the editor of a newspaper called The
Atlanta Constitution. He’s the one who coined the phrase “New South” and laid out his vision in a
dizzying array of editorials. Grady could see that one of the reasons the South suffered in
the war was because the North was far more advanced industrially, so
Grady envisioned a future for the south based on economic diversity, industrial growth,
and laissez-faire capitalism. In other words, the South needed to be North-ified a little.
And this vision actually caught on. Southern cities began growing along with industrial
centers that were built within them. Along with this, southern states actually surpassed New
England states as the top manufacturers of textiles. And the rate of growth in
terms of population and miles of new railroads constructed equaled or surpassed that of any
other place in the country. So baby, it looks like a new future for the South, all the past
is left behind , and everything is… WELL< NOW HOLD YER BRITCHES, SON… Let’s not get crazy.
It’s true. Despite all the gains made in service of this vision for the New South,
it really only took hold in a few places in the southern states. So yes,
there were definitely a few isolated cities that were transformed by industry, but mostly, the
South remained agricultural as it had always been. And speaking of the way things always had been,
that agricultural machine apparently didn’t like change all that much. The fields were
still growing and that meant plantation owners still needed laborers to work the field. And that
system of labor was known as sharecropping. Now I talked about this in the last video,
so I’ll just summarize here what I said there. Sharecropping was a system by which folks without
enough capital to buy or rent land of their own could sign on to work the fields of a plantation
owner on the condition that a portion of the harvest was shared with the owner. Now, in theory,
this could have been a good thing for newly emancipated black people and poor whites as well,
but in reality it was really a new form of slavery since many sharecroppers remained indebted to
the landowner. And the truth is, that wasn’t an accident. That’s how the southerners wanted it.
Now another way that the South emphatically did NOT become new during this period was with respect
to racial segregation. You may remember that at the end of Unit 5 we talked about the Compromise
of 1877 which officially ended Reconstruction in the South, and one of the key provisions of
that compromise was the removal of federal troops from the southern states. Now the
troops were there to ensure that new laws and Constitutional amendments were upheld,
and so once they left, racial segregation became the societal structure du jure.
Now this insistence on the separation between the white and black races reached its climax in
the landmark Supreme COurt case Plessy v Ferguson in 1896. The case came from Louisiana which had a
law that required separate railcars for black and white passengers. In 1892 a man named Homer Plessy
was tasked with challenging this law. Plessy, as it turned out, was seven-eighths white and
one-eighth black, which meant, under Louisiana law, he was black. So he challenged the law by
riding in a whites-only passenger car, and when he was asked to leave, he refused and was arrested.
When the case reached the Supreme Court, the ruling went like this.
Racial segregation was in fact constitutional just as long as the separate facilities are
equal in kind and quality. This is where we get the phrase “separate but equal.” And in this way,
southerners who held to the notion of white supremacy could plead innocence regarding
the fourteenth amendment, which guaranteed equal protection under the law. And this decision was
all Southerners needed to go ahead and segregate all of society. Now, it probably
won’t surprise you that while the races were kept separate, the facilities were in no way equal.
The result of this decision was a wave of laws, known as Jim Crow Laws, which segregated dang
near every facet of society. Bathrooms were segregated. Water fountains were segregated.
Public transportation was segregated. Any public facility that could be segregated was segregated.
In addition to the demoralizing separation of the races, black people lost many of the
gains they had made when Reconstruction had begun. During this time black people
were forbidden to serve on juries or run for public office. And on a darker note,
black people were often accused of crimes and not even given the dignity of a court appearance.
Instead lynch mobs dealt out vigilante justice apart from the law. In fact,
in the 1890s alone, more than a thousand black people were violently lynched in this way.
Now, despite how dark these times were, it is always incumbent on us to remember that
along with all this violence, came significant resistance as well. And
while many reformers continued to fight for political and social equality for blacks,
I’m only going to introduce you to three of them. First, Ida B. Wells. She was the editor
of a black newspaper based in the South and in it she fiercely editorialized against lynching
and Jim Crow Laws. And for her efforts, she received many death threats, and eventually
her presses were destroyed by a mob. However, she fled to the North where she continued her crusade.
Second, Henry Turner. He founded the International Migration Society in 1894 which facilitated
the migration of black Americans to Africa, specifically, Liberia. Several thousand black
AMericans made this trip, but in the end it wasn’t a sustainable venture since Liberian inhabitants
often lacked economic opportunity and suffered pretty significantly from African diseases.
The third resistor you should know about is Booker T. Washington. Now, Washington was a
controversial figure in the fight for equality because his view was that black people did not
in fact need to fight for their equality on a political level. Instead, Washington argued
that black people needed to become self-sufficient economically and that would lead to power in the
voting booth. As a former enslaved laborer, he had done this for himself and he went to great lengths
to help others do it as well. However, since the political and economic dice were loaded against
black people in the South, Washington’s vision was deemed impractical by many.
Okay, that’s what you need to know about Unit 6 topic 4 of the AP U.S. History curriculum.
If you need help getting an A in your class and a five on your exam in May,
videos then go ahead and subscribe and I shall oblige. Heimler out.
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