The following timetable documents some of the most important events in American history which led to the inclusion and exclusion of African Americans at the World`s Fair in Chicago.
1619 – 1865
Period of Slavery
- African Americans were hold as slaves for
Ø economic reasons: labor was in great demand on growing plantations
Ø ideological reasons: black race was considered to be inferior to white race
1857 Map of the United States showing the free and slave states. The dark green states were the free states. The light green were the free "Territories", which were not yet states. The red states were slave importing states, and the pink states were slave states that exported slaves.
1861 – 1865
Civil War
- conflict between the Northern and Border States (United States of America), which were fighting to preserve the federal Union and to liberalise slaves, and the Southern States (Confederate States of America) which were fighting for independence
è war between free states in North and slave states in South
- Results:
Ø war put an end to slavery and brought about 4 million African Americans to citizenship and independence (see amendments)
1865
Amendment XIII
- this constitutional amendment abolished slavery in the United States.
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime where of the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
1865 – 1866
Black Codes
- Codes which were enacted by the former Confederate states to define the status of the freed blacks. It provided the freed blacks with limited rights which included the right to marry, to own personal property and to sue in court. But in fact, these Codes were an attempt to control African Americans and to ensure they did not claim social equality.
1866
Civil Rights Act
- was the first Civil Rights Act which was passed to nullify the Southern Black Codes and gave civil equality on the former slaves
1868
Amendment XIV
- a constitutional amendment to preserve the results of the Civil War
- protected the Civil Rights Act of 1866 against a rejection by the Supreme Court and gave civil equality on former slaves
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
1870
Amendment XV
- declared the right to vote for black men
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
1875
Civil Rights Act (Grant administration)
- ensures the social and political equality of freedmen
- Act was declared unconstitutional in 1883 after the Civil Rights Cases
1883
Civil Rights Cases
- decisions of the Supreme Court in five cases testing the Civil Rights Act of 1875
1890 – 1910
Jim Crow Laws
- were passed by the Southern states and denied blacks social, economic, and political rights and segregated almost everything
Ø de jure segregation in South = racial separation forced by law
Ø de facto segregation in North = racial separation that occurs "as a matter of fact"
Green coloured events constitute the inclusion of African Americans whereas black coloured events aimed for the exclusion of African Americans.
