Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The U.S. Civil war ended in 1865, and the Reconstruction Act created five
Confederacy districts essentially under Martial law protecting the blacks
and keeping the peace with Federal troops. The 14th Amendment in 1868 gave
blacks citizenship, and the 15th Amendment created the black vote. The
U.S. Supreme Court left the responsibility for citizens rights up to the
individual states.
In the early 20th Century the Socialist movement began preaching socialism
would solve the problems of the working classboth black and white. Many
Black churches began to preach that religion and socialism had the same
goals. Some of the most influential white socialist leaders helped the
black leaders found organizations like the NAACP in 1909. And the black
voter found themselves the central focus of the Communist party. When the
movement for desegregation and integration came about there was a loud cry
that it was a communist plot to bring about the destruction of America.
Finally during the Truman administration in the 1940s, Truman issued an
Executive Order ending racial segregation in the U.S. military, and from
that point on the black vote has been a big part in the Political party
competition and struggle in the combination class and racial problems of
America.