A Short History of America from 1865-2003

Paper Summary:

This paper studies significant events in American History from the Reconstruction Era {1865-1895} to the Progressive Era {1895-1920}. The author also examines major historical developments from the Era of Prosperity and World War 1{1920-1945} to Post War Era {1945-2002}. The paper touches on the issues of slavery and women's rights and the ways in which these topics have fit into the events of American history.

From the Paper:

"At the end of the civil war, the South was still a devastitated region, now was the time to start healing the wounds of war, which has divided the nation. The victorous federal commanders supported harsh penalties against Southern white leaders; the nation now tolerated new and humiliating kinds of discrimination against blacks. The last quarter of the 19th century saw an introduction of "Jim Crow" laws in Southern states. "The Jim Crow laws were a response to a new reality that required white supremacy to move to where it would have a rigid legal and institutional basis to retain control over the black population. What had shifted was not their commitment to white supremacy but the things necessary to preserve it" . Such system segregated public schools, forbade or limited black access to many public facilities, such as parks, restaurants and hotels, and denied most blacks the right to vote by imposing poll taxes and literacy tests. The Supreme Court ruling in 1896 in Plessy v. Ferguson that separate facilities for whites and blacks were constitutional encouraged the passage of discriminatory laws that wiped out the gains made by blacks during Reconstruction."

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