Figure 1.--These unidentified children were photographed in the early 20th century, probably about 1905. At the time this portrait was taken, most American Blacks still lived in the South. They were beginning their life in perhaps the most vicuiosly racist era of American history. All we know about these children for sure is their names, Helen, Earl, Everett, Doris, and Hermen. Unfortunately we do not have their last name. Note how much the little boy looks like Flip Wilson.

Race has been a major factor in American history. The importance an ramificaions of race are factors still not fully appreciated by many Americans. The overiding issue has been slavery. Slavery in America was limited to blacks, in part because theIndians proved impossible to enslave. There were Whites subjected to indentured servitude. It took the Civil War to end slavery, but the impact of slavery continue to affect America. America is a multi-ethnic society. A series of immigrant waves from Europe have left their imprint on the United States. The prominence of the Civil Rights Movement in America gave many the impression that racism was an American phenomenon. The Movement suceeded in ending state-sponsored rascism, but thelingering impact of racism continues. Blacks have been the largest ethnic minority in america. Vlacks have now been replaced by Hispanics as the largest minority. The immigration in the 19th and early 20th century was largely from Europe. This changes with new immigration laws in the 1960s. Immigration now occurs from all over the world and this is changing thecracial makep of the United States.

Importance

Race has been a major factor in American history. The importance an ramificaions of race are factors still not fully appreciated by many Americans.

Slavery

The overiding issue has been slavery. Slavery in America was limited to blacks, in part because theIndians proved impossible to enslave. There were Whites subjected to indentured servitude. It took the Civil War to end slavery, but the impact of slavery continue to affect America. America is a multi-ethnic society. The European countries which conquered native American civilizations in the 16th century enslaved millions in Brazil and South America to work in mines and the tremendously profitable sugar plantations. The conditions were so brutal and European disesases so virlulent that native American populations were descimated. The Spanish and Portuguese turned to Africans. Millions of Africans were transported across the Atlantic and sold into slavery in the Americas. Slavery in earlier epochs had no racial connotations. With the growth of the African slave trade, slavery in the Western mind became associated with race as with the collapse of Native American populations, it was Africans who were enslaved in huge numbers. European Christian who would not have tolerated the enslavement of other Europeans found little objection to enslaving black Africans.

Freed Blacks

The Civil War was not fought because abolitionist sentiment dominated the American Republic, but President Lincoln turned abolition into a major goal of the War. The idea of black civil rights had even less support, but Republicans in Congress turned this into a reality with the the 14th and 15th Amendments. Terrorism persued by the Ku Klux Klan effectivly denied these rights to blacks in the southern states. Thus while blacks wee emancipated, many faced very restricted opportunities. Problems existed throughout the country, but were most severe in the southern states. There are relatively few photographic images of slaves. Daguerotypes were relatively expensive. The new CDV and cabinets cards were much less expensive, but only became available in the 1860s as the slaves were being liberated by the Civil War. Thus we have many more images of blacks in America after emancipation. These images provide fascinating insights into life for blacks in the period from Emancipation (1863-65) to the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement after World War II.

Immigration

A series of immigrant waves from Europe have left their imprint on the United States. Here race at first was not an important factor as most immigrants in the 19th and early 20th century came from Europe. An exception was Asian immigration from China and Japan. Immigration was severely resricted after Wirld War I, but immigration reform opened the immigrant pool to people all over the world. In addition, sizeable numbers of immigrants began to flow into America from Latin America.

Asians

Civil Rights Movement

The prominence of the Civil Rights Movement in America gave many the impression that racism was an American phenomenon. The Movement suceeded in ending state-sponsored rascism, but thelingering impact of racism continues. The American Civil Rights Movement is one of the most momentous epics in the history of the American Republic. I date it from the Brown vs. Topeka Supreme Court deseggregation decission (1954) to the passage of the Voting Rights Act (1965), but of course the struggle began long before that and continues today. The hope of real freedom for the emancipated slaves after the Civil War was quashed by racist state governments after the withdrawl of Federal trops in the 1870s. The gains achieved by blacksere gradually eroded by racist Jim Crow legislation and extra legal terror fomented by the Klu Klux Klan. Lynchings and mob vilolence througout the South cowed blacks into submission and precented them from voting. The economic deprivation and terror caused a small numbers of blacks to migrate north and after World War I (1914-18) this migration increased significantly. The Supreme Court countenced segreagation in the Plessy vs. Fergusson decission (1898) and a system of racial apartaid enforced by law and the lynch rope ruled the American South until after World War II (1939-45). President Truman prepared the groundwork for the Civil Rights movement when he desseggregated the military (1948) and took other steps which led to the landmark Supreme Court Brown decission. Brown Although the Brown decission did not immediately desegragate Southern schools, it did help foster a decade of nonviolent protests and marches, often carried out by teenagers and youths. These ranged from the 1955-1956 Montgomery bus boycott to the student-led sit-ins and Freedom Rides of the 1960s. These protests were finalized by a massive March on Washington (1963). The Civil Rights Act (1964) which provided a frange of legal protections including access to public accomodations. The Voting Rights Act (1965) was the capstone of the movement, guaranteeing access to the voting booth and in the process fundamentally changing America.

Hispanics

Blacks have been the largest ethnic minority in America. Blacks have now been replaced by Hispanics as the largest minority. The immigration in the 19th and early 20th century was largely from Europe. This changes with new immigration laws in the 1960s. Immigration now occurs from all over the world and this is changing thecracial makep of the United States.

Created: 2:42 AM 12/16/2004
Last updated: 11:05 PM 3/20/2005