Race has been one of America’s most crucial focal points since the slave trade began in the seventeenth century. While the roots of racism lie in many different parts of humanity, America’s political institutions continually permitted and reinforced inequality after the abolishment of slavery until the Civil Rights Movement. The status of equal rights has always been based on the prominent political party of the time. The period in between the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement saw little advancement for those same groups because of a lack of advocacy from political parties. This exhibition focuses on the gross mistreatment of African Americans in America during the decades in between Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement, and how the lack of action by prominent American political parties allowed this treatment to continue.
Despite the passage of thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments, the enforcement of these amendments was weak, and Jim Crow laws would prove that equal protection was not recognized across most of the country. Throughout the later nineteenth century and most of the twentieth century, black citizens were subjected to racial prejudice, violence, discrimination, and murder. Lynching increased greatly after reconstruction, and the Ku Klux Klan was present for most of that time (Foner, 666-667). As for the right to vote, state and local governments made sure that the voice of non-white citizens wasn’t heard in elections. Poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and intimidation prevented black Americans from successfully voting (Harrison, 242). This was the reality for an entire race of American citizens until the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Republicans had a waning dedication in the years following that allowed for Jim Crow laws and segregation to take roots (Slap, 2006). Most republicans didn’t believe in complete equality for former slaves and held on to the belief that they were still inferior to whites. These prejudices can explain why the north also used segregation for many years. This use of scientific racism is seen throughout many ideologies in history, but more specifically with southern democrats, (Gould, 23). With the abandonment of reconstruction by moderate republicans, the Southern Democrats were left to rebuild themselves as a completely divided society. Reconstruction Democrats were the creators of segregation and Jim Crow, displaying the most egregious acts of racism seen in American history. They actively worked against reconstruction efforts, especially the Freedmen’s Bureau (Foner, 571-573). Once the troops and federal resources left the South, segregation, intimidation, and violence were only a few of the methods employed to disenfranchise black Americans in every aspect of life. Democrats slowly regained their political power in local, state, and federal levels, which paired with the methods to keep black voters away from polls, allowed segregation to exist in American for several decades (Warner, 129-130).
Southern ideology didn’t only revolve around the democratic party/ In the later 1800s, the populist movement gained traction. This group focused on the needs of farmers. They demanded government aid as profit from agriculture was falling and tenant farmers, white and black, fell into poverty (Foner, 653). It became popular among laboring classes, as well, with agreement on the basic principles of economic betterment and more aid to labor workers. This platform attracted black southerners, as their primary form of work was in agriculture. While it was successful in some aspects, the populist movement, or the “people’s party”, did little to equalize life between white and black Americans (Simms-Brown, 352-353). While some southern populist coalitions consisted of black farmers and others tried to get white and black farmers to work together, white politicians and even some populist members actively tried to keep black farmers out of the movement (Foner, 654). Most factions of the populist movement sought to expand rights for black famers with aims towards mutually beneficial reform. However, it’s still widely debated if the populist movement advocated for civil rights for votes, or for genuine reasons. The platform of the party didn’t include crucial needs of black members. Scholars today argue if their appeal to black voters was purely self-motivated, or if populists had a real desire to better the lives of their black members (Simms-Brown, 259). Regardless of intent, the populist party didn’t make many significant gains for black Americans, and violence towards them actually increased if they joined the populist party due to fear of black power. This is another example of an American political group that failed to fight for their rights.
Despite Populist efforts, democrats and republicans remained the two major political parties as America progressed further into the twentieth century. Shifts of voting populations began as Republicans sought to strengthen support in the South and Democrats embraced the New Deal. Both parties avoided making strong pro- civil rights declarations as not to cause splits in the party, and to not lose moderate and conservative members (Wright, 70). The Republicans attempted to maintain their base of black voters through minimalistic appeals (Fields, 39). The republican party hurt these chances on their own, as President Roosevelt, in attempt to gain southern support, requested to exclude men of color from the convention, as he believed they would hurt the process (Boles, 46). Race-based actions such as this often came from the Roosevelt administration in the early 1900s, which weakened his party’s hold on the voter block. While New Deal democrats were often racist and the policies themselves did little to advance black citizens, the economic appeal drove many of those voters to change party affiliations (Fields, 40-41). The democrats seen in the twentieth century presented themselves as a better option to black and African Americans, yet equal rights were still pushed to the side and ignored in policy (Wright, 74). Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt vetoed a bill that would make lynching a federal crime, in fear it would lose him support (Wright, 78). Both parties continued to fail black citizens into the mid twentieth century.
The violence and inequality seen during the period in between the Reconstruction Era and Civil Rights Movement demanded action from the American government, and yet was greeted with apathy. No matter the party or their ideology, America’s political institutions failed to acknowledge and protect the rights of black and African-American citizens. Party leaders selfishly sought to maintain and strengthen support from colleagues and voters rather than stand up for the most disenfranchised group in American history. This exhibit explores the egregious treatment of African Americans, and where their government failed them.