Comparative Critique of Frederickson's Dixiecrat Revolt and Kelley's Race Rebels

Despite its achievements, Reconstruction faced tremendous challenges, mostly due to white resistance. While Abraham Lincoln’s objective was reunion and reconciliation, Andrew Johnson resisted and believed that African Americans had no role to play in Reconstruction. Johnson’s

As the wave of new politics and social attitudes, the Revisionists crippled all standing interpretations, leading to a drastically different account of the Reconstruction. Depicting the Reconstruction as a time for incredible social and political growth for African Americans, Revisionists strayed from the original negative connotations of Reconstruction. Within the new revised Reconstruction, Johnson was no longer the courageous protector of the civil liberties of his people, but rather a racist who failed to react to the predicaments at hand while in Presidency and Radicals were no longer money-hungry capitalists of the North, but rather individuals dedicated to advocacy for African Americans (Foner, xiii). Although using the Civil Rights Movement as the backbone for the Revisionist era proved itself effective, there were still a group of individuals, Post-Revisionists, who continued to view the changes during Reconstruction as a bland and inadequate time in American

World War II and its aftermath effected great changes in Georgia’s civil rights struggle. Large numbers of blacks moved to the west and the north to share in the wartime prosperity, giving the minority problem a national rather than a regional character. In Georgia, and elsewhere, urbanization was also rapidly accelerated and large numbers of blacks who fought in the armed services against tyranny and injustice abroad began to more keenly feel the injustice at home. The fight for democracy in Europe offered the perfect opportunity for black leaders to press for racial change in the South.

Throughout history, racial conflict and segregation have impacted African Americans in many ways. The end of the civil war led to African Americans gaining their freedom. Unfortunately, racial conflict and discrimination continued long after the Civil War. What was the difference in treatment between the South and West in regards to racial conflict and segregation? People in the South were firm believers in African Americans having little to no freedom. Many efforts were made to fight racial conflict and discrimination. Looking at racial conflict, let’s compare and contrast the South versus the North’s treatment of African Americans.

The southern states’ bitter attitudes, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Jim Crow Laws all

In the late 40’s, particularly 1948, the Democratic Convention as well as the Republican Convention was held in Philidelphia. A lot was going on in the political world. This was an era where President Harry Truman was battling issues dealing with the anti-lynching laws, getting rid of poll taxes and allowing African Americans to join with whites in the armed forces by desegregating it. The atmosphere was filled with northern liberals Democrats who backed Truman’s ideologies on civil rights. Gaining the African American vote was a significant boost Having civil rights, and being treated as equals among whites, those conversations fell on deaf ears and were ultimately forgotten. African Americans were still being treated like second-class citizens,

“During reconstruction, some 2000 African American held public office, from the local level all the way up to the US. Senate, though, they never achieved representation in government proportionate to their numbers.” The term Reconstruction Era or Radical Reconstruction in the context of the history of the United States, has two senses: the first covers the complete history of the entire country from 1861 to 1877 following the Civil War (1861-1865); the second sense focuses on the attempted transformation of the Southern United States from 1863 to 1877. Also, the period from the end of World War II until the late 1960s is often referred as the Second Reconstruction. One of the most important aspects of the Reconstruction 1861-1877 and second reconstruction 1945-1968, was the active participation of African American community in the political, economic and social life of the South.

In 1866, Congress passed The Civil Rights Act of 1866 which allowed them to be genuine citizens and thus granted them federal protection under the law. Score for the blacks. Furthermore, the South was placed under military rule to ensure that this act was being enforced. During this tremendous time of freedom, blacks were allowed to vote and hold office – something that finally extended a voice and position in our country to their community. Meanwhile, whites were growing tired of all the nonsense. They wanted their beloved Old South back. Many refused to attend the integrated Reconstruction-era state constitutional conventions. Southern whites would use highly exaggerated and publicized incidences of “social injustices” to protect their claims of being thrown over to so-called negro domination. Any action was necessary that could help clinch their argument and overturn the Reconstruction

During the early 1860's the discussions over states v. Union rights had reached its breaking point and outraged the South seceded from the union. The following years would see not only one of the nations bloodiest wars, but the period of reconstruction that was to follow. Freed slaves now had to find their place within a nation that was less that ready to except them. The battle between legislature passed down by the government and the social ideologies of the past began both during and after the period of reconstruction as it was made evident that changing the minds of the current generation would not be easy. While the years 1860-1877 brought major constitutional changes regarding the rights of African Americans following the civil war,

Ever since Lincoln's emancipation proclamation, African-Americans had been Republican. The GOP was the party of Lincoln, the party that had given them the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. The Republican Party supported blacks, whereas the Democrat Party was the party of the South, and the Southern, White plantation owner. To the black community, the Republican Party represented "the high-minded, idealistic, God-fearing people," whereas Democrats "dabbled in influence-peddling and vice" (Weiss 1983: 3). All blacks knew where to lay their loyalties -- with the party

There were still acts in place to limit rights and a corrupt government. Some southern states set up black codes to restrict rights against the African Americans. Under these laws, no African American can own or rent a home, carry a weapon, and all must work for white (document A). These laws go around the 13th and 14th amendment of abolishing slavery and all have citizenship. White Americans believe that African Americans will bring disarray to the government. The freedoms of the African Americans were still confined during the reconstruction. African Americans are apparent to argue and be aggressive in the picture (document G). This shows that African Americans were unfit for government and were not capable to be a part of it. Restricting the

After the end of the civil war Congress ratified the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the constitution, which prohibited slavery, guaranteed all citizens equal protection under the law, and gruaranted equal rights to all men. During this period of reconstruction, which was enforced by the Federal government, men of color took advantage of voting rights, educational and economic opportunities, to gain political office, economic power and basically restructuring of the society of the South. Obviously this was unacceptable to the disenfranchised southern democrats.

The college students tried to get enough voters to put African Americans into the governing house of congress. They educated voters and formed a party for those people in Mississippi. “The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party waited in the wings. The MFDP’s bold challenge at the Democratic National Convention was still seven weeks away. To unseat Mississippi’s all-white delegation, Freedom Democrats would need as many registration forms as possible for their parallel party”(Watson

During reconstruction the United States was divided on social issues, presidential campaigns were won and loss on these issues during this period. The struggle for development of African Americans and how they initiated change in political, economic, educational, and social conditions to shape their future and that of the United States. (Dixon, 2000) The South’s attempts to recover from the Civil war included determining what to do with newly freed slaves and finding labor to replace them. The task of elevating the Negro from slave to citizen was the most enormous one which had ever confronted the country. Local governments implemented mechanisms of discrimination to combat citizenship

To what extent was the Civil War fought over African American freedom ? What were political issues that dominated U.S. politics in the 1850’s ? What factors led to the split of political parties leading up to the war ? What major events heightened sectional conflicts ? What political wartime strategies did both sides use to win the war ? These are some points and questions that will be discussed in this paper. These questions will be answered to find out why the civil war was fought