Holt African American History Chapter 9. Holt African American History Chapter 9 Section 1 Section 1...

Holt African American HistoryHolt African American History Chapter 9Chapter 9


Section 1Section 1 Depression and Recovery

Section 2Section 2 African Americans in World War II

Section 3Section 3 Social and Cultural Changes

The Great Depression and World War II The Great Depression and World War II


Reading Focus• What caused the shift from prosperity to depression in the

United States in the 1920s?

• What were the economic and social effects of the Great Depression?

• How did the New Deal bring relief to the American people?

Main Idea The economic hardship of the Great Depression led to widespread unemployment and poverty, with increased challenges for black Americans.

Section 1:Section 1: Depression and Recovery


Building Background

Following World War I, the United States enjoyed prosperity and growth during the 1920s. The Roaring Twenties, however, ended in a dismal time when jobs were scarce and poverty was widespread. African Americans were especially hard hit.


From Prosperity to Depression

Prosperity in the 1920s• Automobile industry offers a good example

– Cars initially too expensive for the average consumer; Henry Ford’s affordable Model T changed that

– Made on an assembly line; each worker performed one step

– When Ford saw workers as potential car buyers, he raised wages

• Some African Americans benefited from the boom times of 1920s

– African Americans moved to cities to work; better jobs available in northern factories

– Agricultural laborers in the South saw little economic benefits

• Although employment increased, most black workers labored for low pay and worked under difficult conditions

The early 1920s saw a dramatic upsurge in America’s economy. New industrial practices led to great wealth for some and to more consumer options.


• Growing economic problem hidden; few truly prospered• Ordinary Americans investing in the stock market• Market a place where stocks are bought and sold; stock is sold in

units called shares; with shares person owns a piece of a corporation; stock owners lose or gain money they have invested

• Investors used credit to purchase stocks; common practice in 1920s

Stock Market Crash

• During fall of 1929 signs of trouble; products not selling as predicted• Businesses began to fail; rumors circulated • October 24 selling began; market flooded with worthless stock • Stock market crashed; investors still obligated to repay loans• Stock market crash one factor in the Great Depression, most severe

economic depression in the nation’s history


Identify

What was the Great Depression?

Reading Check

Answer(s):

a difficult time in the nation’s history in which many people were out of work; stock market crash was one factor


Effects of the DepressionConditions around the Country• Manufacturing-based economy in the North, black

workers lost jobs• White employees kept and black employees let go;

practice legal• Domestic workers lost their jobs when their employers

could no longer pay them• African American communities had some of the highest

unemployment rates in the country during the Depression• In Harlem unemployment rate reached 50 percent in

1932


In the South

• Southern economy primarily agricultural; the Depression affected farmers—especially black farmers

• Prices so low farmers could not fulfill their basic needs • Many lost their land and had to plant or pick crops for

others for starvation wages • African Americans barred from some relief—religious

and charity organizations; government jobs for white applicants only

• Government gave money to families in need• In some communities black families received much less

than white families


Describe

What forms of discrimination did many African Americans face during the Depression?

Reading Check

Answer(s):

were often first to lose their jobs; were refused aid by some charity organizations


The New Deal Brings ReliefPolitical Shifts• Significant political change with

shift in party affiliations

• African Americans frustrated with the Republican Party

• Seemed to neglect blacks to ally with white candidates and voters

• Alignment with white voters gave the Republicans new popularity in the South

• Southern voters helped Republican Herbert Hoover win in 1928

• To carry the South, Republicans limited the power of previously influential black party leaders

Feared Democrats • Feeling abandoned in 1932 many

black voters had decided to vote for non-Republican candidates

• But few willing to support Franklin Delano Roosevelt

• Possible resurgence of turn of century discrimination

• Fear heightened with choice of a southerner as vice presidential running mate

• As result Roosevelt never received the full support of the African American community some had predicted


Black Cabinet• Roosevelt met with black leaders to hear their views on civil rights

and included Bethune; named her an official presidential advisor• Roosevelt named more African Americans to federal positions than

any president; appointed the first black federal judge, William Hastie• By 1939 some of Roosevelt’s influential appointees called the Black

Cabinet

Roosevelt and Black Americans• Roosevelt administration one most sympathetic to African Americans

since Reconstruction• Many black voters rewarded Roosevelt with their support, shifting

allegiance to the Democratic Party• Among Roosevelt’s chief supporters, Mary McLeod Bethune


Rescue from Depression

• Roosevelt’s primary goal as president to rescue country from the ravages of the Great Depression

• Created a far reaching program of reforms called the New Deal

Active Federal Government

• Programs forced businesses to work together to set fair prices

• Others provided money for people in need

• Massive work programs to help people find employment

Three Goals

• Provide relief for those suffering the effects of the Great Depression

• Bring about the recovery of the depressed American economy

• Enact reforms to prevent any other economic depressions

Benefits for African Americans

• Still faced discrimination

• Many never saw real benefit from New Deal programs

• Roosevelt claimed all his efforts had been blocked by southern Democrats in Congress

The New Deal


• In 1941 new law banning discrimination in hiring practices– Union organizer A. Philip Randolph had secured pay raises and

increased rights for the railway porters and maids he represented

– Randolph organized a march in Washington, D.C. after blacks were being turned away from military and defense organizations

– Adamant about need for jobs and equality of opportunity

• In response to Randolph’s demand, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, also known as the Fair Employment Act– The order decreed: “There shall be no discrimination in the employment of

workers in defense industries and in Government because of race, creed, color, or national origin.”

– The decree also set up the nation’s first Committee on Fair Employment Practices

– This group was charged with investigating violations of the executive order. Triumphantly, Randolph called off the march

A. Philip Randolph


Explain

How did Randolph help fight discrimination?

Reading Check

Answer(s):

fought for pay increases and more rights for union members; organized a protest march against unfair hiring practices


Reading Focus• What events led to the outbreak of war in Europe and the

Pacific?

• What parts did African Americans play in World War II?

• How did African Americans contribute to the war effort on the home front?

• What forms of discrimination did blacks face during World War II?

Main Idea During World War II, African Americans made heroic contributions both in battle and on the home front, though many still faced discrimination.

Section 2:Section 2: African Americans in World War II


Building Background

Imagine going to bed one night and waking up the next

day to find out that your country is at war. That situation

happened on December 7, 1941. Japanese fighter planes

had dropped their deadly payloads on the U.S. fleet

anchored in Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor. The United States

was at war.


War in Europe and the PacificWar Begins in Europe • Hitler infuriated people worldwide with his expressions of racism

– Believed in a “master race” and promoted a belief in the racial superiority of the German people

– Blamed Jews for the world’s problems and claimed that other groups were subhuman

– Many other groups were targets for Nazi prejudice

• Hitler tried to force the Austrian government to agree to union with Germany in 1938

– Austria refused and Hitler sent troops into the country

– Also seized land from neighboring Czechoslovakia

– Invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, World War II began

• Great Britain and France declared war on Germany and Italy, Germany’s ally


U. S. Not Involved• At first, the United States

stayed out of the conflict• After victory in World War I,

many Americans thought that the United States should remain uninvolved in new war

Isolationism

• Many Americans favored a policy of isolationism

• Preferred noninvolvement in world affairs

European Problem

• Isolationists thought that World War II was a European problem

• Need not concern the United States at all

Roosevelt Disagreed

• President Franklin Roosevelt disagreed

• Public attitudes against the war prevented him from getting the country involved


The Attack on Pearl Harbor• Attitudes changed when Japan attacked the Pearl Harbor in 1941• Japanese hit eight battleships, sinking four, and destroyed nearly 200

aircraft; more than 2,000 American soldiers died • Roosevelt asked for a declaration of war against Japan• In response, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. • The nation had entered World War II

The Course of the War• World War II a global conflict; largest and bloodiest war in history• The major turning point in the war in Europe came with the D-Day

Invasion when Allied troops stormed Normandy, France• German counterattack known as the Battle of the Bulge but the

surrender on May 8, 1945 meant the war in Europe was over• Attention turned to Pacific


Pacific War• After Pearl Harbor, Japanese with a string of victories in the Pacific• In late 1941 the Japanese invaded the Philippines; but after the

loss of the Philippines the Allies’ fortunes changed• Led by the Americans, the Allies won significant victories in the

Battles of the Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal• Allies began island hopping strategy; used air, sea, and ground

forces to capture key islands, launching strategic offensives to advance on Japan

• Japan refused to surrender• U.S. president Harry S Truman ordered the atomic bomb be

dropped• Hiroshima and Nagasaki destroyed by atomic bombs• Japan finally surrendered on August 14, 1945


Identify Cause and Effect

What was the turning point for the Allies in the Pacific?

Reading Check

Answer(s):

employing the strategy of island hopping


At home and on the war front, African Americans contributed to the eventual victory over Germany and Japan; serving in the segregated armed forces.

African Americans Do Their Part

African American Soldiers• 22 black combat units fought in Europe; the 969th Field Artillery won a

Distinguished Unit Citation for outstanding courage

• At the decisive Battle of the Bulge, black and white soldiers fought side by side; General George S. Patton, “I don’t care what color you are, so long as you go up there and kill [Germans]”

• Segregation returned to all units after the German surrender in 1945

• Some black soldiers managed to rise through the ranks; Benjamin O. Davis became the first African American general in the army in 1940

– Earned the Distinguished Service Medal and the Bronze Star

– Won the Croix de Guerre with Palm from France

– After 50 years of service, he retired in 1948


The Tuskegee Airmen• Members of Army Air Corps

who fought valiantly in WW II • Division formed in 1941 after

black soldiers protested that they were not being allowed to take an active role in the war

Combat Units• With help from NAACP and

black newspapers, soldiers finally convinced the army to allow them to fight in combat

• The fighter pilots trained at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama

Mission Totals• Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin

O. Davis Jr., first commander• Escorted bombing missions

and attacked installations• Tuskegee Airmen won great

acclaim for their bravery

Citations• Flew 16,000 missions;

destroyed enemy aircraft• Won more than 900 medals

and honors• In 2006 Congress voted them

the Congressional Gold Medal


African American Women in the War• African American women made great contributions to the war effort

• U.S. Congress created the Women’s Army Corps July 1943

• At first African Americans women only allowed such duties as hospital service for black soldiers

• Tasks later expanded to lab technicians and librarians

• In 1944 army allowed black nurses to treat white soldiers

• On March 8, 1945, Phyllis Mae Daley became the first black woman in the Navy Nurse Corps

• In 1945 some 800 black women formed the 688th Central Postal Battalion in Europe

• Battalion given mission of establishing a central postal directory in Europe

• Unit received praise for its performance, which included arranging for the delivery of 3 million pieces of backlogged mail


Describe

What roles did African Americans play in World War II?

Reading Check

Answer(s):

fighter pilots, soldiers, service personnel, nurses, lab technicians, librarians


Not all of the contributions that African Americans made to winning World War II happened in Europe and the Pacific. Thousands of blacks in the United States worked to ensure victory by fighting the war on the home front.

African Americans on the Home Front

Working on the Home Front• Factories faced with labor shortage;

blacks welcomed into the workforce with other people of color

• Black men found factory jobs

• Black women part of the industrial workforce for the first time

• Joined labor unions as never before

• Took on prominent roles in the United Auto Workers and the Congress of Industrial Organizations

Contributing to the War Effort• Worked alongside white neighbors

to raise financial and moral support

• Bought war bonds; held rallies to encourage others to support the war and to buy bonds

• African Americans joined in efforts to conserve food and other goods during the war

• Planted “victory gardens”; worked on ration boards

• Sacrifices worthwhile to win war


Describe

How did African Americans contribute to the war effort at home?

Reading Check

Answer(s):

working on the home front, buying war bonds, holding rallies, conserving food and other goods, planting victory gardens


Blacks Face Discrimination• Widespread discrimination continued; many civilian organizations did

not want to accept black volunteers

• Volunteers found their offers of help met with suspicion and distrust

• As one journalist later noted, African Americans were fighting Adolf Hitler abroad even as they were fighting Jim Crow at home

• During the war thousands of African Americans left the South and moved to cities in the North and West in search of better jobs

• Possibilities of racial tension and violence because of the rapidly changing demographics

• Limited availability of housing and jobs contributed to racial tensions

• During the summer of 1943 major race riots broke out in Harlem, NY, Detroit, MI, Los Angeles, CA and Beaumont, TX


Detroit Riots• Perhaps the bloodiest of the riots was in Detroit on June 20, 1943• Minor conflicts escalated into mob violence; rumors spread quickly • The riot continued over the course of three days• 25 black residents and 9 white residents were killed• Hundreds more were arrested for looting and other crimes• Federal government finally intervened• President Roosevelt declared a state of emergency• Sent 6,000 troops into Detroit• Troops occupied city of Detroit for six months• Some cities made efforts to prevent interracial problems• Diffused tense situations by planning ahead to prevent violent

outbursts


Explain

Why did the African American population of many cities in the North and the West increase after the war?

Reading Check

Answer(s):

Many African Americans left the South in order to look for better jobs.


Reading Focus• What opportunities were available to black soldiers returning

from World War II?

• How did prominent African Americans contribute to the fight for equality?

• What contributions did African Americans make to the arts?

Main Idea After World War II, African Americans fought to win equality and create social and cultural changes in the United States.

Section 3:Section 3: Social and Cultural Changes


Building Background

After World War II, African Americans began to play a

larger role in the nation’s cultural activities. The success

of black artists, actors, writers, and athletes brought to the

nation’s attention the achievements of African Americans

throughout the country.


Returning from War

The GI Bill and Higher Education

• Difficult to take full advantage of the GI Bill; an act designed to help soldiers attend college or receive advanced training in a career

• The bill also provided loans to returning soldiers who wished to buy farms or homes

• Still more black students enrolling in college; more institutions of higher learning opening their doors to black students

• With depressed post-war economy donations to colleges decreased• Dr. Frederick Patterson, of Tuskegee Institute, proposed a solution• Suggested schools collectively appeal to the nation for donations• April 1944, the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) was created to

give financial support to African American students pursuing a higher education


Confronting Racism• Although racism and discrimination continued after World War II, the

federal government made effort to end it• “It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there

shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin.” —Harry S Truman, Executive Order 9981, July 26, 1948

• Despite resistance armed forces began the slow process of integration

• At first, blacks admitted into the armed forces on the basis of a quota system; many continued to serve in segregated units

• Military segregation officially ended in 1954 when the secretary of defense declared that the last remaining all black unit had been disbanded


Explain

What was the purpose of the GI Bill?

Reading Check

Answer(s):

to help returning soldiers attend college, receive career training, or get loans for homes or farms


Many African Americans were striving on their own to win recognition for their abilities and talents. They hoped to use their newfound recognition to gain acceptance for African Americans throughout the country.

The Push for Equality

African American Athletes• In one week, Jesse Owens, the

son of a sharecropper and grandson to a slave, accomplished what no Olympian had ever achieved before, winning four gold medals in track and field in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany, then under Nazi rule

• Owens proved himself the fastest man in the world and crushed the myth of white supremacy.

Joe Louis• Joe Louis another popular athlete

• Known as the “Brown Bomber,” became the world heavyweight boxing champion in 1937

• Louis regarded by many as the greatest heavyweight boxer

• Earlier boxer Jack Johnson first black man to win international recognition as a sports figure when he became world heavyweight champion in 1908


Marian Anderson and Eleanor Roosevelt • First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt—public supporter of equality for African

Americans; personal friend of Mary McLeod Bethune

• Helped Bethune gain influence with the government

• Eleanor Roosevelt was photographed walking with two black Howard University ROTC cadets

– Blacks around the country circulated the image as example of Roosevelt’s commitment to promoting equal rights

• Renowned concert singer Marian Anderson won the admiration of public figures such as Roosevelt

• In 1939 Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)—refused Anderson permission to schedule a booking at the famous Constitution Hall

• Roosevelt resigned from the DAR in protest

• Anderson performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in D.C.

• The performance before a crowd of 75,000 became the most famous of her career; many notables, including the first lady, attended


Elaborate

What steps were some blacks taking to gain mainstream acceptance?

Reading Check

Answer(s):

honing skills in order to achieve recognition for their talents and abilities, and ultimately, to achieve broad acceptance from white America


The Swing Era• In the 1930s a new type of music popularized called swing, a type

of jazz that featured complicated, carefully planned orchestrations• Pioneers of swing music included African Americans• Edward “Duke” Ellington a top creative genius of the Jazz Age• In the early 1920s Ellington made his way to New York and began

working with a band called The Washingtonians • By 1927 Ellington and his band had a permanent gig at the famous

Cotton Club in Harlem• Ellington’s career spanned fifty years with compositions displaying

one musical innovation after another

African Americans in the Arts.From music to film to literature, black artists made major contributions to American culture in the 1930s and 1940s.


African Americans on Stage• Paul Robeson won great fame for his dramatic roles on stage; in New York,

Robeson spent much of his spare time with the black literary crowd, which included some white writers as well

• Eugene O’Neill asked him to take the lead role in his controversial new play All God’s Chillun Got Wings, with its daring theme of interracial marriage

• An activist who openly criticized racism Robeson was later blacklisted in the 1940s for his refusal to deny his suspected Communist leanings

• Black female playwrights of the period examined such issues as lynching, superstition, poverty, and ignorance; May Miller’s 1933 play Nails and Thorns deals with the mob killing of a mentally handicapped black man

• African American culture and black historical figures were also topics of examination

• Composer, playwright, and biographer Shirley Graham

– Her 1932 opera Tom-Tom is credited by some as the first opera written by an African American woman


Scat • A popular trend in swing

music was the introduction of scat

• Form of singing that uses random syllables rather than distinct words

Cab Calloway• Black bandleader who was

among the masters of scat• Scat features prominently in

his biggest hit, “Minnie the Moocher,” released in 1931

William “Count” Basie• Brilliant piano player, Basie’s

band known for lively playing and excellent recordings

• Billie Holiday, great female jazz singer, performed with Count Basie

Louis Armstrong• Famous New Orleans musician

and bandleader; known as a phenomenal trumpet player

• Armstrong—nicknamed Satchmo—continued to play trumpet and sing into the 1960s


African Americans in Flim• Criticized by some for playing stereotypical roles, Hattie McDaniel won an

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress; was the first African American to be nominated for an Oscar and first to win an Oscar

• Positive leading roles in films, however, remained the exception

• Lena Horne, a talented singer and actor, was one of the most popular African American entertainers of the 1940s and 1950s

• As the first African American actor to sign a long-term contract with a major movie studio, MGM; .a pioneer in the entertainment industry, she broke down racial barriers by refusing to play the subservient roles usually reserved for black actresses at that time

• The studio, unwilling to risk losing the mostly segregated southern market, cast her in scenes that could be cut easily when shown in southern theaters

• Horne appealed to both black and white audiences; was the country’s highest paid black actor in the mid-1940s


Jacob Lawrence • Encouraged to pursue his interests

in art and African American history

• Subjects that are evident in his many paintings, prints, and murals

• In 1941 Lawrence completed his best-known series of paintings, The Migration of the Negro

Richard Wright• Talented writer of the 1930s and

1940s; wrote bestseller Native Son, a telling commentary on racism

• Black Boy, published in 1945, told of Wright’s own experiences with prejudice growing up in Jim Crow South

Gwendolyn Brooks• Her stirring, lyrical poetry won her

a Pulitzer Prize

• She won the prestigious award in 1950 for her book Annie Allen

• Poems loosely chronicle the life of an African American woman growing up in Chicago

Ralph Elison• Another prominent black author

• Invisible Man won the National Book Award in 1953

• A fictionalized autobiography, it tells the story of a young black man who feels overlooked by society because of his race


Identify

What were some ways in which African Americans influenced the arts?

Reading Check

Answer(s):

among the pioneers of new styles of music, discussed racial issues and concerns in literature

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