CHRONOLOGY OF WHITE SUPREMACY

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Chronology of white supremacy

White supremacy in the United States was legal before the civil war; however, the civil war acted to end the civil war as it brushed off most people’s minds. Yet, it was not finished in the whites’ minds in the southern end of America, and therefore it was a difficult time for the black people as some of the whites formed a group called the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). This was a group that was initially created in 1865, and it was made as a group of white supremacists who were against the blacks and what the blacks were about. It came about especially with the rise of blacks into freedom and power (Chalmers, 1987). Therefore herein, I will discuss how the southern people encouraged white supremacy and how it was hard for them to live without it even after being legally abolished after the civil war. The discussion will be a chronological one from the time this white supremacy began to the current events and how this has affected American society in an efficient negative manner.

During the period of the civil war, white supremacy did not exist. However, afterward, there came the KKK club, which was involved in lynchings for the black people and affected them greatly. The main reason for these lynchings was that the whites did not like how the republican government-supported and made the rights of the black people a priority in what was being done. Therefore the white supremacists, most of who were part of the KKK club, still believed black people did not matter, and thus, they could be trodden upon and made to remain backward in the society. In the book “What This Cruel War Was Over,” we see the civil war period and what it meant for the American culture. Therefore, upon this, white supremacy came from as the blacks got to be realized as human beings and given their rights after this war. However, those who still believed in white power did not want to give in to this (Manning, 2007). 

After the civil war came the period between the 1870s and 1930s, this is when the KKK club had many members, and it was also the period when it was tough for black people to voice their issues. Therefore it is a period associated with many conflicts and issues to deal with them. One of the significant problems in white supremacy is the frequent dying and rising of the KKK club, whereby it has always come to the people in deferent forms and different leadership and other ways and manners of operation. Therefore they continued to fight the black population and its dominance and be given freedom till the 1930s when the great depression happened. Its membership went down in a very significant manner.

It was also during the period of 1870s to 1930s, there began the segregation of the black people geographically and through other means such as education whereby white kids could not attend the same school as black kids. However, violence was the most prevalent during this time, especially the lynchings.

In the 20th century, however, it was a time for change as more black people got to fight for their rights, and there were many structural changes in the way they were treated. Therefore, this was when people realized that they were complete human beings who deserved respect and dignity. This they demanded through different ways, even though demonstrations and talks as well as writings. The current society also includes people like Dylan roof, among others like Ida B. Wells. These two contrast to one another as Dylan is a serial killer who is a white supremacist, and Ida fights for black people’s rights.

Therefore, in conclusion, we can say that it was a time for a change from the time of the civil war to the time of the great depression and then up to today, whereby there have been changes. Even though the black population’s poor treatment has not been eliminated from American society, it is not as much as before.References

Chalmers, D. M. (1987). Hooded Americanism: The History of the Ku Klux Klan. Duke University Press.

Manning, C. (2007). What This Cruel War Was Over. Vintage.

Taylor, Q. (2011). The Forging of a Black Community: Seattle’s Central District from 1870 through the Civil Rights Era. University of Washington Press.

Wells-Barnett, I. B., & Gates, H. L. J. (1991). Selected Works of Ida B. Wells-Barnett. Oxford University Press on Demand.