This blog will serve as a medium for communication and content for History 332 - The American South in the Twentieth Century - Taught at the University of Mississippi, Spring Semester 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
The Danville Riot
Post your discussion questions for the Jane Dailey reading below.
In many urban areas of the South following Reconstruction, African Americans were seen as violating the traditional norms of their "place" in society. These "violations" were so inflammatory toward whites that riots occurred in Southern cities, including the infamous Danville, Virginia riot of 1883. What were some of the ways that African Americans departed from the accepted standards of black behavior, and why were these departures so significant for both blacks and whites?
An important aspect of the "New South" focuses on the establishment of industry in cities throughout the South by southern "gentleman" (elites). In their effort to "out yankee the Yankee" prominent southern men understood the importance of creating factories to boost the power of the South and bolster their own honor and integrity.
Jane Dailey's writing details surfacing problems of interracial violence in the South (most notably in Danville, VA) between southern whites and African Americans. How will southern blacks' desire of racial equality, southern whites' belief in white racial-domination and the establishment of Jim Crowe Laws affect factories in which both races labor. Will the violence portrayed by Dailey carry over in to private business and how will this affect the image of the "New South's" goal of industrialization.
Dailey’s article, Deference and Violence in the Postbellum Urban South: Manners and Massacres in Danville, Virginia, talks about how “African Americans continued to assert their claim to civility, and to dignity, in public.” And how that assertion was challenged by Caucasian Americans during that time. Dailey’s article makes reference to the ideal that distinctions between the races was needed, and if those distinctions were blurred, then chaos would follow. For example, “In 1822 Charleston residents petitioned the legislature to prohibit African Americans from wearing "silks, satins, lace, and such costly stuffs, as are looked upon and considered the luxury of dress." The purpose of this appeal would uphold the distinctions/differences between African Americans and Caucasian Americans. How in today’s society are distinctions still used, and do you think that this ideology, that distinctions are needed, is true?
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In many urban areas of the South following Reconstruction, African Americans were seen as violating the traditional norms of their "place" in society. These "violations" were so inflammatory toward whites that riots occurred in Southern cities, including the infamous Danville, Virginia riot of 1883. What were some of the ways that African Americans departed from the accepted standards of black behavior, and why were these departures so significant for both blacks and whites?
ReplyDeleteAn important aspect of the "New South" focuses on the establishment of industry in cities throughout the South by southern "gentleman" (elites). In their effort to "out yankee the Yankee" prominent southern men understood the importance of creating factories to boost the power of the South and bolster their own honor and integrity.
ReplyDeleteJane Dailey's writing details surfacing problems of interracial violence in the South (most notably in Danville, VA) between southern whites and African Americans. How will southern blacks' desire of racial equality, southern whites' belief in white racial-domination and the establishment of Jim Crowe Laws affect factories in which both races labor. Will the violence portrayed by Dailey carry over in to private business and how will this affect the image of the "New South's" goal of industrialization.
Dailey’s article, Deference and Violence in the Postbellum Urban South: Manners and Massacres in Danville, Virginia, talks about how “African Americans continued
ReplyDeleteto assert their claim to civility, and to dignity, in public.” And how that assertion was challenged by Caucasian Americans during that time. Dailey’s article makes reference to the ideal that distinctions between the races was needed, and if those distinctions were blurred, then chaos would follow. For example, “In 1822 Charleston residents petitioned the legislature to prohibit African Americans from wearing "silks, satins, lace, and such costly stuffs, as are looked upon and considered the luxury of dress." The purpose of this appeal would uphold the distinctions/differences between African Americans and Caucasian Americans. How in today’s society are distinctions still used, and do you think that this ideology, that distinctions are needed, is true?