Heimler's History: The New South (Unit 6, AP U.S. History)
Introduction
Focus: Factors contributing to continuity and change in the "New South" (1877-1898)
The "Old South": Pre-Civil War southern culture, politics, economics
The "New South": Post-war vision of a transformed South
Vision of the New South
Henry Grady's Vision
Editor of The Atlanta Constitution
Coined "New South"
Advocated for:
Economic diversity
Industrial growth
Laissez-faire capitalism
Result: Some southern cities grew industrially, surpassed New England in textile manufacturing, and matched other regions in population and railroad growth
Reality of the New South
Limited Industrialization
Industrial transformation limited to few cities
Majority of the South remained agricultural
Sharecropping
System where people worked on plantation land for a share of the harvest
Essentially a new form of slavery, perpetuating debt dependency
Racial Segregation
End of Reconstruction (1877)
Compromise of 1877: Removal of federal troops
Resulted in re-establishment of racial segregation
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Supreme Court upheld "separate but equal" doctrine
Legalized racial segregation, despite facilities not being equal
Jim Crow Laws
Enforced segregation in public facilities (bathrooms, water fountains, transport)
Diminished rights and safety for black people: exclusion from juries, public office, lynchings
Resistance to Racial Inequality
Ida B. Wells
Editor of a black newspaper, voiced against lynchings and Jim Crow Laws
Faced violence, moved North to continue advocacy
Henry Turner
Founded International Migration Society (1894)
Organized migration of black Americans to Liberia; initiative was unsustainable
Booker T. Washington
Promoted economic self-sufficiency over political equality
Faced criticism for his approach
Conclusion
Coverage of Unit 6, Topic 4
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