1.1.3
Economic, Political & Social Position of Ex-Slaves
Economic, Political & Social Position of Ex-Slaves
Economic, Political & Social Position of Ex-Slaves
Despite the Thirteenth Amendment being signed, ex-slaves in the South were still treated badly. Almost 90% of ex-slaves were illiterate, owned no land and had no money.
Sharecroppers
Sharecroppers
- Many southern plantation owners continued to employ ex-slaves as sharecroppers.
- This meant that the ex-slaves would work on the shared land and split the harvest of crops.
- This was very similar to the way in which slavery operated.
- Most southern white people remained very racist and resented the fact that they lost the Civil War.
- Many white southerners were not willing to accept that black people were equal to them.
Civil Rights
Civil Rights
- After the 1865 Thirteenth Amendment, many black people wished to seek further Civil Rights.
- Some had learnt to read and write in the army during the Civil War. They started to hold meetings to campaign for Civil Rights.
- This angered white people and resulted in race rioting all over the Southern States between 1885 and 1866.
- In this year 500 white men were arrested for the murder of black people although none were convicted.
- Clearly, even though the law stated that black people were free, in reality, they were not.
Race riots in Memphis
Race riots in Memphis
- In Memphis, fights between black army veterans and white police resulted in white mobs being formed.
- The mobs murdered 40 black men, raped black women, and destroyed black churches and schools.
Literature and posters
Literature and posters
- Black people were often negatively portrayed in literature and posters created by those who were against civil rights.
- They were shown as unintelligent, idle and superstitious.
- Before the Civil War, anti-slavery pamphlets were created and distributed showing black people in chains.
- During the Civil War and the invention of photography meant that more people saw images of black men in military uniform.
- Photographs also emerged of black slaves that revealed the abuse they had suffered, such as massive scars from whipping or beating.
Uncle Tom's Cabin and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Uncle Tom's Cabin and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
These two novels were important in changing attitudes about slavery.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
- Uncle Tom’s Cabin was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, who was married to an abolitionist.
- It started as a collection of stories in the anti-slavery newspaper, The National Era in 1852 and then it was turned into a book.
- The book sold 300,000 copies within one year.
- The story focused on a deeply religious man calledÍ Tom who was black and was a slave.
- He was separated from his family and beaten to death by an evil master.
The impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin
The impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin
- The book made many Northern whites sympathetic to the anti-slavery cause.
- As attitudes towards black people changed, so did the portrayal of Tom.
- The book was so popular it got turned into plays in 1852 which were watched by 3 million people.
- Some black people thought that the book showed Tom to be too subservient to white masters whilst others praised the book for raising awareness for the need for the emancipation of black people.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain is a novel set in the pre-Civil War period. It was written after slavery had ended.
- Slavery and race relations are a key theme of the book.
- The book reveals Twain's sympathy with the anti-slavery cause and paints white people who help formerly enslaved black people in a very positive light.
- One of the white characters gives their life for a black person who is a slave. In this Twain is trying to show the reader that both white and black lives are equally important.
- The book also shows the discrimination that black people faced in society at this time.
Reception of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Reception of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
- The book was a best-seller despite the fact that many Southern white people disliked the way they were portrayed.
1‘Free at Last’ 1865-77
1.1The Thirteenth Amendment
1.2Radical Reconstruction, 1867-77
2The Triumph of ‘Jim Crow’ 1883-c1890
2.1Jim Crow Laws & Civil Rights Cases
3The New Deal and Race Relations, 1933–41
3.1Failure to Address Black Grievances
3.2The New Deal
3.3The Second World War
4‘I have a dream’, 1954–68
4.1Civil Rights Activities, 1954–63
4.2Civil Rights 1964-68
4.3Malcolm X & The Black Panthers
5Obama's Campaign for the Presidency, 2004–09
5.1The Late 20th Century
5.2Barack Obama & his Political Career
5.3Reasons for Obama's Victory
Jump to other topics
1‘Free at Last’ 1865-77
1.1The Thirteenth Amendment
1.2Radical Reconstruction, 1867-77
2The Triumph of ‘Jim Crow’ 1883-c1890
2.1Jim Crow Laws & Civil Rights Cases
3The New Deal and Race Relations, 1933–41
3.1Failure to Address Black Grievances
3.2The New Deal
3.3The Second World War
4‘I have a dream’, 1954–68
4.1Civil Rights Activities, 1954–63
4.2Civil Rights 1964-68
4.3Malcolm X & The Black Panthers
5Obama's Campaign for the Presidency, 2004–09
5.1The Late 20th Century
5.2Barack Obama & his Political Career
5.3Reasons for Obama's Victory
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