Heimler's History: The New South

Overview

• Focus: Factors contributing to continuity and change in the "New South" (1877-1898)
• Context: Transition from the "Old South" post-Civil War

The "New South"

• Henry Grady's Vision

  • Editor of The Atlanta Constitution
  • Promoted economic diversity, industrial growth, and laissez-faire capitalism
  • Concept: "North-ified" South

• Industrial Growth

  • Southern cities began to grow with new industrial centers
  • Surpassed New England in textile production
  • Population and railroad expansion matched or surpassed other U.S. regions

• Reality Check

  • Industrial growth limited to a few cities
  • Predominantly agricultural society persisted

Sharecropping

• Definition

  • Labor system where individuals work land owned by others in exchange for a portion of the harvest
  • Intended as a solution for newly emancipated blacks and poor whites

• Outcome

  • New form of economic oppression akin to slavery
  • Many sharecroppers remained indebted

Racial Segregation

• Post-Reconstruction

  • Compromise of 1877: Ended Reconstruction by removing federal troops
  • Resulted in institutionalized racial segregation

• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

  • Landmark Supreme Court case
  • Upheld "separate but equal" segregation
  • Legitimized racial segregation under the guise of equality

• Jim Crow Laws

  • Enforced racial segregation in public facilities
  • Inequality in facilities despite "separate but equal" principle

• Impact on Black Americans

  • Loss of political and social gains from Reconstruction
  • Exclusion from juries and public office
  • Increased violence and lynching
  • Over 1,000 lynchings in the 1890s

Resistance to Segregation and Inequality

• Ida B. Wells

  • Editor against lynching and Jim Crow laws
  • Faced threats and violence; continued activism in the North

• Henry Turner

  • Founded International Migration Society (1894)
  • Facilitated migration of blacks to Liberia; faced challenges

• Booker T. Washington

  • Advocated for economic self-sufficiency over political equality
  • Controversial views due to systemic economic and political barriers

Conclusion

• Recap of the topic's significance in the AP U.S. History curriculum
• Encouragement to subscribe for more historical insights and exam preparation

Study Tips

• Understand the contrast between the envisioned "New South" and the reality
• Familiarize with key court cases and laws affecting racial segregation
• Recognize the contributions of key figures resisting inequality