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The Segregation Of The South

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Segregation in the South
Introduction
According to Merriam-Webster the word “segregation” was first known to be used in 1555. It is defined as the separation or isolation of a race, class, or ethnic group by enforcing or voluntary residence in a restricted area, by barriers to social intercourse, by separate educational facilities, or by other discriminatory means.
The United States underwent vast transformations, especially in the South. New political, social, and economic systems emerged that transformed the South from a rural, slave-based society, to an increasingly urban, industrialized, free labor society. The changes to the social, political, and economic landscape of the South prompted an unprecedented era of racial violence throughout the region (Jett, p.40). The Southern states deemed slavery was crucial to safeguard white superiority. Most Southern whites who had aspirations of becoming a very prominent slave-owner, were terrified of a society with considerable numbers of African-Americans who were not slaves. Segregation moved by way of public accommodations, all the way through the South. DeFina & Hannon (2011) and others showed daily interactions of whites and blacks in the South, during reconstruction of the south identified racial prejudices were increasing steadily, after the Civil War and especially during the 1880’s. Town after town across the south flatly banned African Americans within their city limits after dark. Legal, political, social and

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