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To what extent did president Franklin D.Roosevelt fail to improve Race…
To what extent did president Franklin D.Roosevelt fail to improve Race Relations
Exclusion of Black voters
Poll tax disproportionately affected black voters as they were much poorer than the wA population. literacy tests restricted- 60% of bA's illiterate
in states where the Democrat party was dominant all-white primary elections- even when black Americans were effectively excluded from democratic process
introduction of registration to vote restrictions in the 1890s- led to major reduction of bA's entitled to vote.
attempt in Louisiana to restrict black voting through the intro of the Grandfather Clause in 1898 was overturned by US supreme Court in 1915 as unconstitutional. had a very limited impact on encouraging higher black participation in voter registration.
Legal restrictions on black voting were reinforced by the threat of violence and intimidation. the KKK has seen a Rapid Rise in support across the USA in the 1920s. Lynching the black Americans continued to be a major social problem.
Continuation of the Jim Crow Laws
although black and white Americans had very separate lives. by 1930s, racial segregation dominant in American life throughout all states. Racial segregation took place in two forms:
De facto segregation- referred to the provision of separate facilities for black Americans by private organisations or citizens in areas such as housing.
De jure segregation- referred to specific laws passed by state and city governments which created separate facilities for black Americans.
Neighbouring state of Georgia = in restaurants black and white Americans could not be served in the same room. at amateur baseball matches, black and white baseball teams could not play each other, but were forbidden from playing near each other neighbours. Public Parks= racially segregated.
former confederate states where Jim Crow Laws enforcing racial segregation was most prevalent in the south. in the state of Alabama no white female nurses were allowed to attend a ward with black American men. Railway stations = separate waiting rooms and separate carriageways for black and white Americans.
Even in the non-confederate states, black Americans faced Racial discrimination. Wyoming outlawed intermarriage ' The Equality State' between black and white Americans. in Oklahoma, black Americans suffered discrimination with public recreational facilities such as fishing, boating and bathing were racially segregated. even separate telephone booths.
separate public schools for black and white Americans. 1954- Court decision ended this racial segregation. The school district cited in that as the case was in Topeka, Kansas that fought against the Confederacy in the US Civil war and was a state that ever allowed slavery.
black Americans found restrictions on wide house and flats they could buy or rent and which clubs and social organisation they could join. The most popular sports game in the 1930s was baseball. the national professional baseball leagues were all-white. Separate Negro baseball league.
national level- US armed forces racially segregated. In US army, separate black America units existed with White American officers, lasted until 1948. federally administered national parks in southern states, legal segregation in catering,camping and hotel accommodations.
The Defeat of federal attempts at anti-lynching legislation
lack of presidential support doesn't explain FDR's failure to address key aspects of Race relations. Southern opposition, primarily in US senate, prevented legislation from passing. end of 1933- NAACP recruited two leading liberal Democrat senators to support anti-lynching proposal. Robert Wager- New York and Edward Costigan - Colorado. Costigan intro anti- lynching bill in the senate on 4th January 1934. Key provision was to punish state governments who failed to persecute mobs involved with lynching. mob= three or more people ;without the authority of law' with the aim of killing or injuring any person suspected. those found guilty could be fined $5,000 and/ or a 5 year gaol term. victims family would also receive $10,000.
two days later Gavagan anti- lynching bill passed by house but defeated by senate. USA now facing another economic backlash and faced backlash with southern Democrats and Republicans over his attempts to reform the supreme court. Southern Democrats engaged in filibuster- killed nay hope of an anti-lynching bill.NAACP felt that an anti-lynching bill would unlikely become a law. Walter White, executive Secretary of NAACP wrote in a personal letter to a colleague
explained the organisations limited support saying members felt there was disproportionate time and money spent on the anti-lynching law and was neglecting their own work. Failed to be a successful Anti-Lynching laws in New Deal years.
FDR extremely reluctant to deal with subject. Jan 1934- Secretary of Walter White unwilling to challenge the power of southern Democrat congressmen and senators
as he feared that lynching laws would alienate them, needed them to support New Deal to provide work and social welfare for poor and unemployed Americans. FDR remained silent about the issues of lynching.
before 1933- attempts made by southern states to campaign against lynching. Commission on Interracial Cooperation (CIC) created in 1919 to promote better relations between black and white Americans to help end Lynching. CIC's study on Lynching. 'The Tragedy of Lynching' by Arthur Raper - published in 1933- same year as Franklin Roosevelt gov promised social and economic transformation. NAACP saw the intro of anti-lynching laws and ending the denial of civil rights as a way to raise funds . proposed two anti-lynching bills in 1933.
bill sent to senate judiciary committee- dominated by northern Democrats- submitted it for debate in the senate- faced 2 month filibuster. senate Majority leader who was a southern Democrat Joseph Robinson of Arkansas wanted to kill the proposal. June 1974- senate adjourned no vote on the issue. Bill reintroduced in 1935- failed to go to vote - another southern Democrat filibuster. Northern Democrats didn't want to push the issue put of fears of dividing the party
1892- 230 highest figure, dropped below double figures in 1932. 1933 lynchings rose by 28 aggravated by Economic Depression. several attempts to declare lynching a criminal offence before 1933. 1922- congressional bill- Dyer bill introduced but failed to pass congress. 1930s Gavagan bills- passed House of Representatives in 1937 but failed to become a law- defeated by US senate. all attempts to pass anti-lynching laws failed due to the US congress filibusters led by Southern Democrats. Filibusters- use of extensive speech intentionally to prevent a vote on a proposal in the US senate
1937 and 1938 - another attempt to introduce anti-lynching segregation. Bill introduced into House of Representatives by Democrat congressman Joseph A.Gavagan- represented black American area of Harlem.
at this time high profile lynching cases were in the media. 2 black Americans seized by white mob in Duck Hill, Mississippi- tortured victims, seared flesh with gasoline blow torches then burnt bodies- rad in House of Representatives. two days later Gavagan anti- lynching bill passed by house but defeated by senate. USA now facing another economic backlash and faced backlash with southern Democrats and Republicans over his attempts to reform the supreme court. Southern Democrats engaged in filibuster- killed nay hope of an anti-lynching bill.
1930s- saw an attempt to end lynching. Campaign led by National association for the advancement of coloured people (NAACP) established in 1909 and the Association of Southern Women for the prevention of Lynching (ASWPL) established in 1930. Lynching was normalised in American society. Contravened two key aspects of the US constitution-right to life and the right to due process of law under 15th Amendment. Black lynching increased after 1882 drastically, 4,608 victims of lynching in the USA between 1882 and 1932, 7 out of 10 bA's .