Chapter 17: A New South 1877 - 1900

Chapter 19B: A New South 1877 - 1900

AP United States History West Blocton High School Mr. Logan Greene

Chapter Objectives • What changed in the New South between 1870 and 1900, and what stayed the same? • What were the origins and nature of Southern Populism? • What were women’s roles in the New South? • How did segregation and disenfranchisement change race relations in the South?

How New Was the New South? • As Reconstruction closed Southerners held an optimistic view of the future • However, by 1900 white supremacist political leaders had completely disenfranchised blacks and also hampered poor whites • Thus the “New” South was simply new economically as cities exploded in size and industry began to come to the South

The Solid South • The Democratic Party quickly regained control of the South at the close of Reconstruction • The Democratic Party completely controlled the South up until 1950 in what was simply known as the Solid South

The New Industrial South • Leaders the South pushed for more industry as a way to break the bonds to Northern industry • In the post Reconstruction south cities and industries grew at incredible rates • Birmingham was the best example as it changed from a tiny hamlet to challenging Pittsburgh’s supremacy in iron and steel manufacturing • Coca-Cola and new tobacco also flourished at this time

Railroads • As industry in the New South grew railroads grew along with it • Railroads grew new cities in the interior of the South as port cities declined • As well, new areas opened up for settlement such as Florida and areas around the Appalachians • Towns sprung up along rail lines

Limitations • Despite the RAPID growth, the South was barely keeping pace with the industrial north • Workers wages in the South were roughly half of those in the North. Although this brought businesses to the South it limited the South’s market economy as men had less money to spend

The Agrarian Revolt • Despite growing urban areas the south was still majorly agrarian • As the railroad opened new areas for settlement these were also new areas for agriculture • In the period after Reconstruction cotton prices plummeted • This led to a serious economic collapse of the agrarian south as thousands of farms were foreclosed upon • Slowly this forced farms who did survive to attempt to diversify

Southern Farmers Organize • Despite the Democrats control they did face some opposition • By 1875 over 250,000 men had joined the Grange, the first major organization to help farmers • However, it was dominated by large landowners and did not help the small farmers

Southern Farmers Organize • Real relief and power came with the Southern Farmer’s Alliance founded in the late 1870’s • The Farmer’s Alliance founded co-ops which offered discounted goods and credit for poor farmers • The Farmer’s Alliance was never intended to be a political party

The Farmer’s Alliance • The Farmer’s Alliance functioned like a religious group forcing strict morality • Surprisingly women were not excluded from the Alliance and welcomed to be officers and spokespeople • African-Americans sponsored their own group the Colored Farmer’s Alliance and fought for basically the same issues

Populism • The Alliance turned to politics with the Subtreasury plan: an idea of storing cotton until the price rose and receiving loans from the government • Democrats failed to back the plan • Frustrated the Alliance formed the Populist Party which would become the single most important third party in American history

The Populists • The Populists supported a growing list of issues: – Direct election of Senators – Income tax – Women’s suffrage – Government ownership of railroads • The Populists made inroads in the South but soon Democrats fused Populist principles with their own and the Populist died out; however, virtually all their issues became part of America politics

Women • Many Southern women had gained power through their experiences in the Alliance • Women began voicing their opinions • The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) addressed the evils of alcohol and pushed for prohibition and quickly began pushing for women’s suffrage • Women’s Clubs grew throughout the South and pushed for a voice for women in the New South and were normally sponsored by Churches and followed morality causes

Race • As Reconstruction ended race relations stayed somewhat calm as many African-Americans maintained the right to vote • The issue came with the generation of Blacks that were born free. They demanded full rights and equality and this upset the delicate balance • As the economy worsened blacks became the scapegoat for white politicians who wished to widen the division between poor whites and blacks

Lynching • Sadly in the period after 1890 lynching became all to common in the South • Whites justified it as protecting white southern virtue (specifically white female virtue) • Ida B Wells was the most outspoken opponent of the lynching as they slowly tapered off

Segregation • In the post Reconstruction period Northern cities began to scale back public segregation as Southern cities ramped up their segregation • At the same time disenfranchisement became common place • The Supreme Court ruled on the situation in 1896’s Plessy v. Ferguson by stating that separate but equal was legal and made segregation acceptable

Jim Crow Laws • States now codified segregation in new state constitutions and with new laws • The laws that spelled out legalized segregation were known as Jim Crow Laws and were passed in virtually every southern state

Disenfranchisement • States now felt they had the green light to legally make their blacks second class citizens • States began to disenfranchise or remove the vote from blacks • They used poll taxes and literacy tests as the most common ways to take away the vote • To keep poor uneducated whites voting grandfather clauses to allow anyone eligible in 1867 to vote regardless

The National Consensus • It is hard to imagine how the South could so blatantly ignore the 14th and 15th Amendments • Racial stereotypes of Africans as uneducated and ignorant people permeated in the North as well • Very few whites in the North or South felt strongly enough to protest the new laws • The Republicans in the North did not need Southern votes so they did not broach the issue • In essence no one who was against the new laws had enough to gain to protest them

Black Responses • Blacks attempted to break the disenfranchisement and the segregation but were brutally defeated by state governments as the national government ignored the issue • Some blacks left the south while many chose to simply slip into pure black communities to escape the rampant racism

Black Leaders • Two men emerged as voices for African Americans: – WEB DuBois: A northerner who preached immediate equality and wanted Blacks to go to Universities and become scholars, doctors, and lawyers. Founded the NAACP – Booker T. Washington: A former slave who wanted blacks to learn a trade or become better farmers to support themselves before going after equality. Founded the Tuskegee Institute to train African Americans

Chapter Objectives • What changed in the New South between 1870 and 1900, and what stayed the same? • What were the origins and nature of Southern Populism? • What were women’s roles in the New South? • How did segregation and disenfranchisement change race relations in the South?