Research History Paper

8/14/2019 Research History Paper

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African Americans in the Nadir

Historian Rayford W. Logan has characterized the period from the end of Reconstruction

to the early twentieth century as the Nadir. African Americans lost many civil rights as

segregation, racial discrimination, and lynchings increased. Despite such hostile conditions,

some scholars have argued that more emphasis should be placed on how African Americans

challenged racial oppression and sought ways to establish their own independence and

communities. While some African Americans did rise and have an impact on the progress

towards acceptance of the black race during this time period, none of them were exempt of the

terrible treatment of the race as a whole. This time period was the nadir for African Americans

because of unequal treatment under the law, the horrific acts of violence they endured, and the

general nonacceptance of blacks and feeling of supremacy by the white race.

It was a common belief among African Americans that if they were equal in the eyes of

the law, they could be set free of racial prejudice.1Unfortunately, during this time period they

were never able to achieve this equality. After the official abolishment of slavery, whites

continued to look for any way possible to be able to control the black population. One of the

ways they did this was with the Black Codes. The Black Codes were the ultimate display of

racial segregation. It included rules such as, no negro or freedman shall be allowed to come

within the limits of the town of Opelousas without special permission from his employers.2

With these codes, blacks had to have approval to do things that were a natural right for all white

people. In an article by Ida B. Wells-Barnett, she stated that the Negro in the South he has no

rights that the law will enforce.3A good example of this comes in an article documenting a

lynching at Aiken. A woman by the name of Bertha Lowman was taken from her cell by officers

1Wells-Barnett, Ida B. Lynch Law in Georgia. Chicago: Chicago Colored Citizens, 1899: p. 1-11.

2Louisiana Black Codes, Condition of the South. Senate Executive Document. No. 2, 39 Cong., 1 Sess.: p.92-93.

3Wells-Barnett, Ida B. Lynch Law in Georgia. Chicago: Chicago Colored Citizens, 1899: p. 1-11


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and placed in the hands of the mob along with Clarence and Demon Lowman. In all my

experience, I have never before seen such a reign of lawlessness as exists in and near Aiken,

stated Walter White. White also stated that he had reasons to believe that the officers were

involved in these heinous crimes.4Due to extreme discrimination that resulted in unfairness

within Americas system of law, African Americans could trust no one to protect them against

the violence that was being committed against them.

One of the biggest reasons this time period can be classified as the nadir is because of the

intense hatred and brutality blacks endured. Lynchings were becoming more and more common

at this time and there are many written accounts of these horrific actions. A song by Billie

Holiday says, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black body swinging in the Southern

breeze.5The song goes on to quote many more graphic depictions of what a typical lynching

might look like. While these crimes are almost unimaginable to our society today, they were a

reality for many African Americans. Elias Hill wrote about a visit from the Ku Klux Klan. The

KKK accused him of preaching against them and their beliefs. Despite his attempts at trying to

convince them otherwise, Hill was brutally beaten. Hehad a horsewhip, and he told me to pull

up my shirt, and he hit me.6He also documented the men pointing pistols at his head and

threatening to kill him numerous times.7Elias Hill was lucky enough to survive his encounter,

but many other African Americans were not as lucky to survive these acts of violence.

As is apparent by the violence and inequality the blacks faced, there was a general feeling

of feeling of supremacy by the whites. Some white people aimed to instill a fear of the black

4Walter White Documents a Lynching, (1925). Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and

Manuscript Library, Yale University.5Strange Fruit, Billie Holiday Song (1939).

6Elias Hill, KKK Account. Report to the Join Select Committee to Inquire into the Condition of Affairs in the

Insurrectionary States. 42 Cong., December 4, 1871-June 10, 1872, Vol. 1, Serial 1483: p.44-46.7Elias Hill, KKK Account. Report to the Join Select Committee to Inquire into the Condition of Affairs in the

Insurrectionary States. 42 Cong., December 4, 1871-June 10, 1872, Vol. 1, Serial 1483: p.44-46.


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population among other white people. They did this in the hopes that it would allow the feeling

of white supremacy to expand to and encompass the small number of white people who were still

doubtful about the treatment of blacks. The Ku Klux Klan had a strong belief that, The white

race must be supreme, not only in America but in the world.8Even some African Americans

themselves felt that the white race was superior to their own. As Langston Hughes stated, there

was an urge within the race toward whiteness, the desire to pour racial individuality into the

mold of American standardization, and to be as little Negro and as much American as possible.9

These feelings of supremacy were depicted through various outlets of segregation. For example,

blacks were made to ride in inadequate cars on the railroad even after paying the normal price

for a ticket.10

The Black Codes were yet another example of the nonacceptance of African

Americans. The codes restricted almost every aspect of the blacks lives and included

punishments for those who disobeyed those laws.11

The African American community did benefit in several ways from this time period. Not

only were they able to come together as more of a community, but they also were able to inspire

change to create the society we know today. Despite these things, this time period should be

considered the nadir for blacks because of unequal treatment under the law, horrific acts of

violence inflicted upon them, and having to endure the era of white supremacy. While there is

much solid evidence proving why this was a trying time for them, perhaps the most convincing

evidence lies in putting oneself in their shoes. This way, it is not hard to see why this period

would not have been easy to live through, why it was necessary to make changes, and how these

changes have inspired the way society functions today.

8Evans, Hiriam Wesley. The Ku Klux Klans Fight for Americanism. North American Review. March-May 1926.

9Hughes, Langston, The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain, The Nation (23 June 1926).

10Resolutions of the National Association of Colored Women. Minutes of the Fourth Convention of the NACW.

Jefferson City, MO: 1904.11

Louisiana Black Codes, Condition of the South. Senate Executive Document. No. 2, 39 Cong., 1 Sess.: p. 92-93.


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Works Cited

Elias Hill, KKK Account.Report to the Join Select Committee to Inquire into the

Condition of Affairs in the Insurrectionary States. 42 Cong., December 4, 1871-

June 10, 1872, Vol. 1, Serial 1483: p.44-46.

Evans, Hiriam Wesley. The Ku Klux Klans Fight for Americanism.North AmericanReview. March-May 1926.

Hughes, Langston, The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain, The Nation (23 June1926).

Louisiana Black Codes, Condition of the South. Senate Executive Document. No. 2, 39

Cong., 1 Sess.: p. 92-93.

Resolutions of the National Association of Colored Women.Minutes of the Fourth

Convention of the NACW. Jefferson City, MO: 1904.

Strange Fruit, Billie Holiday Song (1939).

Walter White Documents a Lynching, (1925). Yale Collection of American Literature,Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Wells-Barnett, Ida B.Lynch Law in Georgia. Chicago: Chicago Colored Citizens, 1899:p. 1-11.

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