172430 Southern Politics

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What every American should know about Politics in 20th century southern history

United States of America is a country which prides in its history. America owes its

present to its past events. The southern history forms part of the larger history which

shapes contemporary America. The Souths history is traceable to colonization days

and largely shapes todays Southern United States of America. The rich cultural

influences which inter-played during the 20th century are still visible today. As a matter

of fact, the politics in 20th century southern history are an indispensable part of

reminiscing the American history. Many notable events occurred during this period

including the American Revolution, the end of slavery, the American civil strife, as well

as the famous American civil rights movement (The Mothers League 12).

Understanding the 20th century politics of the south requires an understanding of

the events recorded in the mid-1870s. Prior to the 20th century, the whites successfully

put in place systems which prevented blacks participation in the regions politics

(Perlaman 45). This is the period when the famous Jim Crow laws came into force,

locking out blacks in all decision making arenas. The famous Jim Crow Laws were

coupled by the phrase, separate but equal, as upheld in Plessy vs. Fergusson in 1896

(Citizens Council 26). Capping the events of the 20th century, an extremist white

senator proudly expressed delight at having successfully barred blacks from voting and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_lawhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_law


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went ahead to declare that he felt no shame about it. In essence, the politics of the 20th

century southern United States intertwines with racism during this period.

The 20th century was a time of change. Denying the black southern citizens a

right to vote, they became politically vulnerable to archaic decisions by the all-white

leadership. This explains the discrimination they faced during the preceding period. Not

only were the blacks made to attend separate schools but also denied the opportunity to

hold strategic offices irrespective of their qualifications. This is a time when laws making

the blacks inferior to the whites came into force (Citizens Council 28). It is also during

this period that lynching occurred across the southern United States. However, what

makes the 20th century stand out is not the oppression, but the will of the people to fight

for their rights. The 20th century southern politics is a time when the blacks sought to

break away from a tradition where all the work considered filthy were left to them

(Sugrue 45). These completely altered Americas political landscape.

At one point, the Citizens Council is reported to have said, This extraordinary

migration is trying to break away our endeavor to preserve our rights not to associate

with the inferior race (17). Despite Civil Rights movements being present all across the

United States all focused on eradication of the Jim Crow Laws enforced in the south

(62). In essence, this is where the history of the United States converges to the south.

Most of the outstanding movements took place in the south starting from the

Montgomery Bus Boycott, the match of Selma, Mississippi Freedom Summer, and the

much publicized assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Sugrue 57). The mid-1960s

civil right laws finally saw off the Jim Crow Laws.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Bus_Boycotthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Summerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Summerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Bus_Boycott


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Works Cited

Citizens Council. What have I personally done to maintain segregation? Selma

Times Journal, July 1963. Print.

Perlaman, Michael. Struggle for Mastery: Disfranchisement in the South, 1888-

1908. Chapel Hill, N. C.: University of North Carolina Press, 2001. Print.

Sugrue, Thomas. J. The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar

Detroit, The meanest and dirtiest jobs. New Jersey: Princeton University

Press

The Mothers League. Do you want Negroes in our school? Citizens Council. 1956.

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172430 Southern Politics