OCR Specification focus:
‘Assess progress in civil rights during c.1875–c.1895 across groups.’
Between c.1875 and c.1895, civil rights in the USA showed both significant progress and enduring limitations for African Americans, Native Americans, women, and workers amid profound social and political change.
African Americans: Freedom without Equality
Reconstruction Legacy and Retreat
Following emancipation in 1865, African Americans initially made gains during Reconstruction (1865–1877), including political participation and civil rights legislation. However, after Reconstruction ended in 1877, federal commitment to Black equality waned. The Compromise of 1877, which removed federal troops from the South, enabled white “Redeemer” governments to reassert control, rolling back many gains.
Progress:
Some African Americans held political office at state and federal levels during Reconstruction’s final years.
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 prohibited racial discrimination in public places.
Limits:
The Supreme Court’s Civil Rights Cases (1883) struck down the 1875 Act, declaring the 14th Amendment applied only to state actions, not individuals or businesses.
Jim Crow laws institutionalised segregation in the South from the 1880s.
Poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses disenfranchised Black voters.
Southern legislatures entrenched Jim Crow segregation, separating rail travel and public amenities and hollowing out the promise of the Reconstruction Amendments.
Photograph of racially segregated drinking fountains in the Jim Crow South. The labels show how “separate” daily life became under segregation statutes. Although photographed in 1950, the practice traces back to legislation and court sanction developing in the late nineteenth century. Source
Plessy v. Ferguson and Legal Segregation
In Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court upheld the doctrine of “separate but equal”, legitimising racial segregation. Although outside the 1875–1895 period, it reflected trends already underway.
The decision entrenched racial inequality, revealing that legal progress had not equated to social or political equality.
Native Americans: Forced Assimilation and Loss
Continued Conflict and Reservation Policy
By 1875, Native Americans were under pressure as westward expansion intensified. The Plains Wars concluded with Native defeat, and US policy shifted from removal to reservation and assimilation.
Progress:
Limited instances of Native leaders negotiating favourable terms or preserving elements of culture.
Establishment of reservations offered nominal recognition of tribal identity.
Limits:
Military campaigns like the Battle of Little Bighorn (1876) marked resistance but were followed by overwhelming federal force.
Reservation conditions were often harsh, with poor land and inadequate government support.
Allotment and Cultural Erasure
Policies increasingly sought to “civilise” Native Americans by erasing communal landholding and traditional culture.
The Dawes Act (1887) divided tribal lands into individual plots, aiming to promote private landownership and assimilation.
Land deemed “surplus” was sold to white settlers, leading to the loss of over 90 million acres of Native land by 1934.
The Dawes Act (1887) enforced allotment, fracturing communal landholding and accelerating the transfer of Native land to non-Native ownership.
Map showing progress of allotment in Creek Nation (1899). Shaded areas mark parcels filed in the first months after the land office opened, illustrating how allotment rapidly broke up tribal land. Although produced in 1899, it documents the practical effects of the 1887 Act. Source
Assimilation: A government policy seeking to integrate Native Americans into white American society by eradicating their cultural practices and communal structures.
Native children were sent to boarding schools like Carlisle to suppress Indigenous languages and traditions.
Despite these policies, Native sovereignty and cultural autonomy were dramatically weakened during this period.
Women: Campaigning for Change
Limited Legal and Political Status
Women in c.1875–c.1895 faced entrenched legal and social inequalities. They lacked the vote, had limited property rights, and were largely excluded from higher education and professions.
Progress:
Women increasingly engaged in social reform movements, such as the temperance and abolitionist campaigns.
The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), founded in 1874, became one of the largest women’s organisations, providing leadership experience.
Limits:
Political enfranchisement remained elusive at the national level.
Opposition from politicians and male voters was widespread, and suffrage movements were fragmented.
Emerging Suffrage Campaigns
The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) and American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA), founded in 1869, campaigned separately before merging into the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) in 1890. Despite organisational advances, progress remained uneven.
Wyoming (1869) and Colorado (1893) granted women the vote at state level, but federal reform lagged behind.
Workers and Trade Unions: Struggle and Fragmentation
Industrialisation and Labour Rights
Rapid industrialisation transformed the American workforce, but labour conditions were harsh: long hours, low wages, and unsafe workplaces were common. Workers attempted to organise collectively through trade unions, but faced powerful resistance.
Progress:
The Knights of Labor, founded in 1869, became a mass movement by the 1880s, advocating for an eight-hour day and improved conditions.
Some gains were made in wage negotiations and workplace safety.
Trade Union: An organised association of workers formed to protect and advance their rights and interests through collective action and negotiation.
Labour disputes forced governments and employers to address worker demands, even if outcomes were limited.
Industrial conflict climaxed in events such as Haymarket (1886) and the Pullman Strike (1894), revealing the limits of workers’ rights when authorities aligned with employers.
Photograph from 1894 showing troops and activity amid the Pullman Strike in Chicago. The image conveys state force mobilised to suppress industrial unrest, underscoring the constrained bargaining power of unions in the Gilded Age. Source
Limits:
The Haymarket Affair (1886) linked unions with violence, weakening public support.
The Pullman Strike (1894) was crushed by federal troops, demonstrating government hostility.
Judicial decisions, such as In re Debs (1895), upheld injunctions against striking workers.
Fragmentation among unions and exclusion of women, African Americans, and unskilled workers hindered collective strength.
Government and Judiciary: Inconsistent Support
Federal Attitudes and the Supreme Court
Government attitudes towards civil rights during this period were inconsistent and often hostile, prioritising economic growth and social stability over equality.
The Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the 14th and 15th Amendments, reducing federal power to protect rights.
State governments, particularly in the South, actively undermined civil rights for African Americans through segregation laws.
The Interstate Commerce Act (1887) and Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) indicated some willingness to regulate business, but had limited impact on labour rights initially.
Presidential Inaction
Presidents such as Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881) and Grover Cleveland (1885–1889; 1893–1897) avoided intervention in civil rights, reflecting prevailing attitudes of laissez-faire governance and white supremacy.
Regional Divides and Social Context
The North–South Divide
The pace and nature of civil rights change varied regionally:
South: Racial discrimination intensified under Jim Crow, and African Americans were excluded from political life.
North: While discrimination persisted, African Americans could often vote and participate in urban life, though social and economic inequality remained.
Urbanisation and Industrial Society
Industrialisation created new economic opportunities but also entrenched class divisions. Rapid urban growth worsened conditions for many workers, while women and minorities struggled to access the benefits of economic change.
Overall Assessment of Progress and Limits
Between c.1875 and c.1895, there was incremental progress for civil rights across different groups, but it was frequently undermined by entrenched social attitudes, legal setbacks, and state and federal indifference. African Americans faced systemic segregation and disenfranchisement; Native Americans suffered land loss and cultural suppression; women made modest organisational gains but remained politically marginalised; and workers struggled against corporate power and government hostility. Progress was real but partial, and limitations remained profound.
FAQ
The Supreme Court significantly weakened civil rights protections during this period by narrowing the interpretation of constitutional amendments.
In the Civil Rights Cases (1883), it ruled that the 14th Amendment applied only to state actions, not private discrimination, effectively legalising segregation by individuals and businesses.
Later decisions, such as Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), upheld “separate but equal” facilities, providing constitutional backing for segregation. These rulings set precedents that undermined Reconstruction-era legislation and allowed states, particularly in the South, to restrict African American rights with little federal intervention.
Rapid industrialisation created wealth and transformed labour, but benefits were uneven.
For workers, mechanisation and factory systems increased employment but led to poor conditions, sparking strikes and unionisation efforts that often faced violent suppression.
Women gained new employment opportunities in offices and factories, challenging traditional gender roles, though pay and status remained low.
African Americans in the South were excluded from most industrial jobs, limiting economic independence.
Native Americans suffered land loss as railways and settlers expanded westward, undermining economic autonomy.
Economic forces often reinforced inequality, shaping the limits of civil rights across all groups.
Social Darwinism, applying Charles Darwin’s ideas of natural selection to society, gained popularity in the late 19th century and justified inequality.
Many white Americans believed that African Americans, Native Americans, and immigrants were inherently inferior and that their marginalisation reflected “natural” social order.
This ideology was used to oppose civil rights legislation, arguing that intervention would disrupt societal “progress.” It influenced government policy, public opinion, and Supreme Court rulings, helping entrench segregation, assimilation policies, and labour exploitation during this period.
Civil rights conditions diverged sharply between regions.
In the South, the end of Reconstruction allowed white Democrats to impose Jim Crow laws, disenfranchising African Americans and legalising segregation. Violence and intimidation from groups like the Ku Klux Klan further suppressed Black political activity.
In the North, African Americans retained voting rights and could participate more freely in politics and urban life. However, they still faced discrimination in housing, employment, and education.
While the North offered relatively greater opportunities, neither region achieved equality, and prejudice remained widespread.
Boarding schools like Carlisle Indian Industrial School (founded in 1879) were central to assimilation policy.
Children were forcibly removed from their families and placed in institutions that banned Indigenous languages, clothing, and religious practices.
Names were changed to Anglo-American ones.
Traditional hairstyles were cut.
Curricula focused on Christianity, English, and manual labour skills.
The aim was to “kill the Indian, save the man,” erasing Native identity to integrate children into white society. This policy caused long-term cultural trauma and loss of heritage among Native American communities.
Practice Questions
Question 1 (2 marks):
Name two ways in which African Americans were prevented from exercising their civil rights in the period c.1875–c.1895.
Mark scheme:
Award 1 mark for each valid point up to 2 marks.
Examples include:
Introduction of poll taxes (1 mark)
Use of literacy tests to restrict voting (1 mark)
Grandfather clauses excluding those whose ancestors had not voted before the Civil War (1 mark)
Introduction of Jim Crow laws enforcing segregation (1 mark)
Question 2 (6 marks):
Explain how and why Native Americans’ civil rights were restricted in the period c.1875–c.1895.
Mark scheme:
Award marks for relevant, accurate, and well-explained points.
1–2 marks: Basic description of one or more ways Native Americans’ rights were restricted, but with limited explanation or detail. May be generalised.
e.g. “Native Americans were moved onto reservations.”
3–4 marks: Clear explanation of how their rights were restricted, with some reference to policies and events. Some attempt to explain reasons.
e.g. “Native Americans were confined to reservations after the Plains Wars, which restricted their freedom and sovereignty.”
5–6 marks: Detailed and well-structured explanation of both how and why their rights were restricted, showing understanding of policies, government motives, and consequences.
Points may include:
Reservation policy following military defeat curtailed autonomy and mobility. (1–2 marks)
The Dawes Act (1887) imposed allotment, undermining communal landholding and enabling the sale of “surplus” land to white settlers. (1–2 marks)
Policies aimed to assimilate Native Americans into white society by eroding tribal identity and culture. (1–2 marks)
Boarding schools like Carlisle were used to suppress Indigenous languages and traditions. (1 mark)
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