New The South
HIST 128 (NELSON)
Henry Grady - editor of Atlanta Constitution/Journal o "the poor cotton farmer" story illustrates the region had few factories to work the many natural and human resources available in the South o 1880's - wanted to see industry in the south, bustling cities and commerce o Supported by the business class, would outdo the plantation class o South had resources of lumber, iron, coal and wanted to see these industries grow Southern industry o Chief accomplishment - textiles (worked by white women and children mainly) and textile mills o Boom in railroad building o Cotton mills o Tobacco industry Washington Duke Americans spent more on tobacco than on shoes or clothes Southerners realized they could control the financial market Duke trained African Americans for tobacco work, used advertising for the American Tobacco Company Southern agriculture o Mainly cotton/ rice and sugar in certain areas o 1880 to 1900 - cotton was in less demand and eventually led to the break up of the old Southern plantations o Fertilization and cultivation burned out the fertility of soil o John Solomon Lewis - sharecropper who was impoverished Most rented land like tenants; rent was usually set in pounds of cotton, then monetary capital o Sharecroppers - worked land in exchange for a share of the crop, usually 2/3 of the crop in exchange for "living quarters"; also another bit of the crop went to the landowner who loaned seeds, mules, etc. o Crop liens - gives shopowner 1st dibs on crop until debt is payed off; reduced many farmers to mere slaves (to debt) "debt peonage" - robbed small farmers of their freedom Southern poverty o By 1890, most famers were worked by non-owners o Why this region so poor? South industrialized later than north South only has small technological community No region spent less than south the on education Disenfranchisement of African Americans o Whites resented black success o White supremacy more diligent o "soft" segregation became "hard" segregation (rigid, comprehensive) o Mississippi Constitution had living requirement in order to keep blacks from voting - had to live in particular county for X amount of time; all poll taxes, etc. had to be paid for before you vote
Instituted "understanding laws" - left up to the registrar to whether people could vote or not South Carolina - had to own at least $300 in property o Grandfather clause - allowed illiterate voters to vote if their father or grandfather could vote (1857) - virtually eliminated black voters in Lousiana Hard segregation o "Jim Crow laws" - soon applied to every type of public place, starting with railroad cars o By 1880's, south became fully segregated by law Lynchings o Averaged nearly 200 lynchings a decade, mostly in south o Government sanctioned bigotry "blacks must remain subordinate or be exterminated" Between 1883 and 1905 more than 50 lynchings per year Nearly 5000 lynchings between 1880 & 1905 Ida B Wells - educated Americans about lynchings o Memphis Free Press (burned) o Moved to NYC to protect herself o Founder of NACW and cofounded NAACP o First person to file a suit Plessy vs. Ferguson o Octoroon, refused to leave white railcar o SC said segregation was legal if equal Booker T Washington o Former slave who said blacks should work for equal rights, but didn't advance desegregation o "like fingers on hands" - said races were separate but equal accommodation to whites WEB Du Bois o Opposite of Washington o "talented tenth" - the black population who were not fit for manual labor o Said better future would come only with suffrage and equal rights o Cofounder of NAACP