African American Response to Jim Crow

Jim Crow Laws were passed to discriminate against African Americans.

Racial Segregation

  1. Separation based on race.
  2. Directed primarily against African Americans, but other

groups were also segregated.

Jim Crow Laws

1. Made discrimination practices legal in many communities and

states.

2. Were characterized by unequal opportunities in:

Housing

Work

Education

Employment

Booker T. Washington – Believed equality could be achieved through

vocational education. He accepted social separation.

W.E.B. DuBois -- Believed in full political, civil and social rights for

African Americans.

Plessy v. Ferguson – Supreme Court case which made “Separate but Equal” legal.

The Great Plains

Physical features and climate of the Great Plains

  • Flatlands that rise gradually from east to west
  • Land eroded by wind and water
  • Low rainfalls
  • Frequent dust storms

KNOW that because of new technologies, people saw the Great Plains not as a “Treeless Wasteland” but as a vast area to be settled.

Inventions and adaptations

  • Barbed wire……………..used to fence land because there were few trees.
  • Steel plows……………...the steel held up better against the hard soil.
  • Dry farming …………...a method that helped get the most moisture from

the soil.

  • Sod houses……………..shelters made from sod (dirt)
  • Beef cattle raising…..…longhorn cattle did well on the plains.
  • Wheat farming………...the main crop on the plains.
  • Windmills………………….used to pump water.
  • Railroads…………………..Transcontinental Railroad connected east & west.

Reasons for westward expansion

  • Opportunities for land ownership
  • Technological advances, including the Transcontinental Railroad
  • Possibility of wealth created by the discovery of gold and silver
  • Adventure
  • A new beginning for former slaves

Interaction and conflict between different cultural groups

Discrimination against immigrants

  • Many immigrant groups faced discrimination. Two examples of this are the Chinese and the Irish. Some members from both of these groups worked on the Transcontinental Railroad.

Indian policies and wars

  • US government wanted to place American Indians onto reservations. The Indians did not want to go to reservations, this caused conflict between the two groups.
  • The Battle of Little Bighorn; July 1876. The Sioux Indians killed General Custer and all his troops. Also known as Custer’s Last Stand.
  • Chief Joseph. Chief of the Nez Perce Tribe. In 1877, his tribe tried to make it to Canada rather than be sent to a reservation. The US Calvary stopped them 40 miles from the border. Chief Joseph made a famous speech……

“……..Hear me my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick

and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no

more forever.”

  • Wounded Knee. In December of 1890, US troops massacred 300 Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
  • Many attempts were made to assimilate the American Indians into American culture. The main goal of the US government was to break down the tribal loyalties among the Native Americans.

Vocab

adaptationsSomething, such as a device or mechanism, that is changed or changes so as to become suitable to a new or special application or situation.

amendmentAn addition to the US Constitution

assimilateto conform or adjust to the customs, attitudes, etc., of a group or nation

characterizedTo describe the qualities or to be a distinctive mark of

something

discriminationThe policy or practice of giving treatment or

consideration based on race, class or category

erodeTo wear away

inventionA new device, method or process developed from study

or experimentation

opportunitiesFavorable or suitable occasions or time of change for

progress or advancement

reservationAreas of land the US gov’t set aside for Native Americans

segregationThe policy or practice of separating people of different

races, classes or ethnic groups

Supreme CourtThe highest court in the United States. It has nine

justices and has jurisdiction over all other courts in the

US

transcontinentalspanning or crossing a continent

vocational training for a specific trade or industry

education

Essential Questions

Questions you should be able to answer.

1. What is racial segregation?

2. How were African Americans discriminated against?

3. How did African Americans respond to discrimination and “Jim Crow”?

4. How did people’s perceptions and use of the Great Plains change after the

Civil War?

5. How did people adapt to life in challenging environments?

6. Why did westward expansion occur?

Essential Understandings

Things you should understand

1. Discrimination against African Americans continued after Reconstruction.

2. “Jim Crow” laws institutionalized a system of legal segregation.

3. African Americans differed in their responses to discrimination and

“Jim Crow.”

4. During the nineteenth century, people’s perceptions and use of the Great

Plains changed.

5. Technological advances allowed people to live in more challenging

environments.

6. New opportunities and technological advances led to westward migration

following the Civil War.

People You Gotta Know