Reconstruction Historians

Guion Griffis Johnson:
concentrated on the radical ideologies in the United States, in especially the different views that southerns took when slaves were emancipated, in the after math of the Civil War(92 years later). Griffis claims that there were five different kinds of Southern paternalism and that each had a different range of hostility towards people of color (a.k.a racism): 

1. modified equalitarianism: African-Americans are dumber and less advanced, but they only need education and good treatment to rise to the level of the white race

1. benevolent paternalism: African-Americans are dumber and less advanced, and they perform the labor work for the South, so they deserve something for that.

1. separate but equal: African-Americans are less than whites, and can get better with education; however, they should be kept separate from the white race for the comfort of both.

1. separate and permanently unequal: African-Americans are less than whites, and they can get a little better with education; however, they should only be allowed to rise within their own race and to those limits.

1. permanently unequal under paternal supervision: African-Americans are less than whites, and it would be a waste of money to try to teach them; additionally, they should be used to for unskilled labor work.

C. Vann Woodward:

These mix ideals of the placement of people of color in society brought the question of equality dealing with: political, economic and social position and stance. That soon brought to light the extreme differences between people of color and the white moderate and what position in society took. With some believing that African Americans were not worthy of education, political position or voice and blaming it on anatomy and Darwinism. The white and black races suffrage to be equivalent in all aspects was a hard battle and according to Griffis: at any time of crisis, the black person would be mistreated. However both World Wars had the long range effect of improving the black person’s position.

argued that the South did not originally subjected to segregation and the Jim Crow laws. Instead, that culture was imposed on the South by the North who set the example for those laws. With the formation of supremacy ideals and the enforcement of segregation between people of color and whites.

• the first institutions to be segregated were churches and schools
• that the conservative, upper-class whites supported civil rights initiatives while poor whites did not probably because they were in place to protect their social status.
• expansion of terror tactics as well as the rise of white supremacy groups.
• “racism was conceived of by some as the very foundation of Southern progressivism”  essentially stating that progress created the racial issues that came to a head in the 1960’s.

Kenneth M. Stamp:

believed that the only way for African Americans to integrated into society, was from the assistance of homesteads. In order to be equal they would also have to work there own land. However people of color at the time lived in poverty, due to there lack of resources given during their time of enslavement. To assist with this issue, the Freeman's Bureau that aided freed slaves. By providing food, shelter, medical care as well as helping African Americans to be working citizens of the community. Even though the program brought a positive impact, the life changing organization was vetoed by President Andrew Jackson. However the monumental cause for people of color was saved by Congress as well as improved. Adding Congress the right to verify contracts and illustrate a judicial system amoungst African American.