A Level OCR History: African Americans & WWI
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African Americans proved their worth as equal citizens of the USA. Over 350,000 black soldiers served in the US army during the war. Now, the majority of these soldiers were prevented from playing an active role on the front line. The racist white attitudes of Social Darwinism were prevalent amongst many whites who believed African Americans were incapable of making a useful contribution. Instead , the majority were used to dig latrines (the toilets used by soldiers in camp) or loading and unloading the supply ships. However, 40,000 African Americans did see active service and are recorded as having served with distinction. Of these some of the most famous were the “Harlem Hellfighters”. It was from their ranks that there emerged the first two black soldiers to be awarded the French gallantry medal, the Croix de Guerre. It was this contribution by black American soldiers that helped to underline why it was that they deserved to be seen as citizens of the USA – a status that had already been awarded to them nearly half a century earlier in 1870, but which they had been consistently denied by the racist effects of the Jim Crow laws in the South.
Economically, start of the “Great Migration” – movement of millions African Americans from the south to the north over the next fifty years. During WWI the demand for armaments created a demand for workers in areas such as the steelworks, railroads, meat packing and automobile industry, and many African Americans were eager to turn their backs on sharecropping in favour of the wages that factory work would bring. WWI saw wages rise by 25% making this a period of economic prosperity for those AAs who had made the journey north. However, there would be serious short term consequences for those same black Americans. The return of white soldiers at the end of the war saw them come into conflict with those African Americans who were seen as having taken their jobs in the factories. This resulted in outbreaks of racially fueled violence
Socially - large communities in specific areas of cities, such as Harlem. These areas were frequently underfunded and as a result African Americans suffered from poor living conditions and inadequate schools. However, these ghettoes also allowed African American culture to flourish. Harlem in New York City is a great example of a place where black writers, writers, painters, poets and musicians such as Duke Ellington and Count Basie emerged. This was hugely significant as it allowed a sense of black identity – distinct from white America to form and represent African Americans. This sense of culture and identity was important in giving early civil rights leaders, such as Marcus Garvey Dubois a foundation upon which they could build their arguments for black power and black pride.
Politically, more progress at grassroots levels rather than at a federal level. Those black Americans who migrated from the south to the north did benefit from the voting rights they enjoyed in the north, rights they had been previously denied in the south. Consequently they were able to have a say in electing their own representatives onto local councils. However, this increased presence did alarm some northern whites who disliked the changes they were witnessing in their neighbourhoods. The black soldiers who travelled to Europe experienced life in countries where there was no segregation and this pushed them to consider changes that could be made within the USA. However, at federal level the government was guided through WWI by Woodrow Wilson. When you studied for your GCSEs Wilson was largely seen as the idealist responsible for trying to ensure world peace through the establishment of the League of Nations. However, the dark side of Wilson was that he was a racist president who actively tried to hinder the progression of African Americans within the White House. He supported segregationist laws and set about dismissing African American civil servants. At a federal level, the black voice and input was diminished in political rights.
So overall, WWI does have an impact upon the progression African Americans are making at this time. However, it perhaps a bigger impact economically than politically as it is responsible for pulling many black Americans from the agricultural south to the industrial north where they have the chance to earn better wages. This also allowed for growth in the sense of black identity as a range of art, written, spoken and musical, emerged and this was truly reflective of many black Americans for the first time. However, politically there was little change to their rights, this hindrance lay in the fact that the president was hostile to their progress and without strong, sympathetic support at the top significant political progress would prove impossible.