Part I
1. Women in the North had major differences with women in the South. Wealthy white women in the South had invested most of their finances in buying slaves. Their wealth was depending on slaves. Slaves worked in field, in houses, and in other place they were told to. White women, just like white men, were very much conscious that by freeing slaves they would lose most of what they had. In the North, on the other hand, things were very much different. Slaves were already free and ready to fight for other slaves’ freedom. During and after Civil war many women supported the ideas of their men. They fought for and against slavery with each other.
2. The emergence of the new South had a great impact on women. To start, many freed slaves began to look for their brothers, sisters, and spouses who were sold years ago. Some women found their long lost partners, who already had a new family. Many others ended up working for white employers. Nevertheless, black men didn’t want their women to work in the fields anymore. Black women started to perform housework. Most importantly, they had the opportunity to receive education in number of schools that opened during the times of Reconstruction. On the other hand, elite white women, who had spent most of their fortune in buying slaves, lost much of their financial power. Lower class white women, however, didn’t seem much affected by the emancipation of the slaves. They worked in textile factories, where black women weren’t allowed to work.
Part II
1. The underlying tension and larger conflicts that led to the lynching of Thomas Moss was racial. When black slaves were freed, they still worked for white employers. However, many ex-slaves were getting their own lands. Additionally, they were becoming more and more independent from white men by forming their communities. White men, on the other hand, were beginning to feel somewhat threatened or intimidated by these ex-slaves, whom, not long ago, they had treated like animals. And so some white men had to do something to create a negative image of these black men. Thomas Moss was one of the victims whose name was intentionally involved in a crime, he had never committed. Therefore, he was unjustly punished.
2. Wells was determined to find out the truth behind every single lynching that was going to be published. When it was announced in the new paper that a black men was lynched because he had raped a seven-year-old women, Wells decide to go and see the little girl. Instead she found a young woman. This young lady was emotionally involved with the black man. However, to protect her image in the community, her father, the sheriff, had invented the story of her being raped. By investigating many similar stories, Wells concluded that some white people hadn’t assimilated the idea of blacks being free. Consequently, they tried to kill them by promoting lies.
3. Looking back through the history, Wells realized that the justice system was unfair. When black women were slaves, they were treated as objects. White men sexually abused their female slaves. Additionally, many of these slaves became pregnant. Most masters didn’t take responsibly in taking care of their mulatto children. Instead, they sold them as slaves. While some wealthy white men did free their mulatto children and bought lands for them, that wasn’t always the case. And yet these men were never punished. Their actions were never considered wrong or bad. On the other hand, Wells saw how black men were being charged for rape and murder, when they were innocent.
5 comments:
R#2
Tatev
Hi Marianna. I am very glad that you are finally back and I can discuss the subject with you. When I was reading your blog for a minute I thought I was reading my own. We have similar ideas on a lot of things and that is kind of interesting. I agree with you absolutely about how unfair it is to punish people for something they did not do. Isn’t it sad that just because you were black, you were known to rape white women? But that was not the case, most of the time white women who were “raped” were emotionally involved with that man. The only reason they blamed everything on the black man was to save their reputation. Wells saw that and tried to do everything to bring justice to court. I also agree with you about how white men who were raping black women got away with it, but where black men had relationships with white women without any abuse, they were punished. It seems as if black men were punished for what white men did. Fortunately that has changed now.
It is sure nice to have you back. See ya later.
it is actually r#1
sorry
Mariam R#1
Hi Marianna,
I really enjoyed reading your blog. You did a great job by clearly explaining yourself. I, as well believe that racism lead to lynching in Well’s document. It was clear that white people were not ready and did not want to accept the fact that black slaves were now equal to them. They felt that they were still superior and found ways and reasons to get rid of black men who were successful. What I also found interesting was that white men were allowed to get into relationships with black women, and some married black women; however, they did not allow white women to get involved in a relationship with black men. I’m not sure if they valued white women more, or they did not trust black men with white women. I think that white people had closed their eyes on all of their wrong doings. They did not consider raping black slave women a crime. They were never punished for mistreating women; however, they accused black men of crimes that they did not even commit. Racism was clearly a great issue during this time period. It is sad to see that while slaves gained their freedom, they still faced discrimination and racism which did not make their lives any easier.
Annies Response #2 to Tatev:
It is interesting how Marianna’s and your response to the questions are very similar to each other. This topic we covered was very unrealistic to me. It was as if I could almost not believe the unfairness that was among these people. White men, could not stand to see white women with black men, it was like a stab in the back for them. White men seemed to be competing with black men in every way possible from business to fighting for love. In reality white women were attracted to black men; unfortunately they would make it seem as if the black man was being committed of rape. Wells, as you have brought him up in your response, decided to step up and prove the white men wrong. The examples brought up from the past, of white slave owners raping their slaves. No one did anything about that rape issue. Basically, white men could not bear to see free black men progressing more than white men. This really helps us see the differences in different social classes, and that equality was not yet in place. It would take much more time for the blacks to get complete equality.
Xochitl R#2
Hi Mariam,
I think that until these days we still facing racism in every culture. But going back to the time of slavery, it was very difficult for those people to accept that slaves were in the same class level as white people. Furthermore, after the abolition white people that was in the bottom class needed to fight against the freed slaves for the same job. The freed slaves now were able to receive money in exchange of their labor. Until, these we still fighting for equality between races, sex or gender. I think we have gain a lot however we still have a long way to go in his unfairness battle that will take many more years before ends because human beings are not ready, yet, to accept egalitarianism.
Post a Comment