IMPERIO,

GLOBALIZACIÓN Y
DIVERSIDAD EN
LOS PAÍSES DE
HABLA INGLESA
Mariola Ruiz Rodríguez (l82rurom@uco.es)
JESÚS BLANCO

IMPERIO,
Jueves

GLOBALIZACIÓN Y
DIVERSIDAD EN
MARIOLA RUIZ
LOS PAÍSES DE
Viernes
HABLA INGLESA
Mariola Ruiz Rodríguez (l82rurom@uco.es)
UNIT III. DIVERSITY
-ETHNICITY AND NATIONALISM
-GENDER AND SEXUALITY

Mariola Ruiz Rodríguez (l82rurom@uco.es)

UNIT III. DIVERSITY
-ETHNICITY AND NATIONALISM
-GENDER AND SEXUALITY

Mariola Ruiz Rodríguez (l82rurom@uco.es)

 ETHNICITY

BLACK HISTORY IN USA:

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

Mariola Ruiz Rodríguez (l82rurom@uco.es)

 INTRODUCTION

-America's slave past is one of the most tragic chapters in its history. The
country was founded by British settlers who arrived in the east of the country
in the 17th century. Even then, slavery was permitted in the thirteen British
colonies.

-But they were not the first to traffic slaves in the Americas. Empires such as
the Spanish or the Portuguese had already done it before.
SLAVES IN THE FIELDS OF THE SOUTH
-The slaves who arrived in the country from Africa were violently seized and
transported to the American continent in slave ships. Many lost their lives along the
way due to famine and disease spreading on the ships. The Africans travelled
crowded together, as if they were merchandise.

-In the United States black slaves were bought to work mainly on agricultural
plantations of rice, tobacco or cotton, which would become an important product.
-Between 1775 and 1781, the War of Independence took
place, which ended the relationship between Great Britain
and its colonies and the creation of the United States.
In 1787 the Constitution of the United States would be
signed. In the text, although the word slavery was not
mentioned openly, it was supported.

-The northern states gradually banned slavery and the abolitionist movement,
against any type of slavery, gained strength. However, the slave-owning states of
the south depended on slaves because they worked on their large cotton
plantations, which were economically very important in the region.
 WAR TO END SLAVERY
-The division between the slaveholders and the abolitionists became more intense
in 1860. Abraham Lincoln, from the Republican party, won the election.
Republicans supported a ban on slavery in all US territories.

-In 1861, the American Civil War or Civil War broke out. The United States was
divided into different regions, and the southern states, which were in favor of
slavery, joined together to form the Confederate States. They wanted to become
independent from the rest, which was increasingly opposed to slavery, and form
their own country. The northern states joined to form the Union.
The Union won in 1865.
 THE CONFEDERACY
-Pro Slavery
-Anti Tariffs (aranceles)
-Anti Federal Power
 THE UNION
-Anti Slavery (mostly)
-Pro Tariffs
-Pro Federal Power
-President Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of conflict, approved the Emancipation
Proclamation. It went into effect in 1863 to free slaves from the Confederate
States. The territory was not yet under Union control, but as they gained territory
in the south, the slaves were freed.

-In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was
approved, officially abolishing slavery. Shortly after, number 14 was approved,
which (in principle) guaranteed constitutional rights to every American citizen,
including slaves, and number 15, which guaranteed the right to vote for citizens,
men, regardless of their race.
 INEQUALITY, UNTIL TODAY
-After the abolition of slavery, in some states and cities, especially in the south, Jim
Crow laws* were implemented to maintain segregation between whites and blacks.
Their motto was "separate but equal", but in practice it was a way of discriminating
against the black population.

-Government posts and important jobs were reserved for whites. In addition,
blacks found it difficult to vote and could not mix with whites.

*Jim Crow laws were a collection of state and local statutes that legalized racial
segregation
 EXAMPLES OF JIM CROW ETIQUETTE NORMS

◦ A black male could not offer his hand (to shake hands) with a white male because it implied being socially equal. Obviously,
a black male could not offer his hand or any other part of his body to a white woman, because he risked being accused of
rape.
◦ Blacks and whites were not supposed to eat together. If they did eat together, whites were to be served first, and some sort
of partition was to be placed between them.
◦ Under no circumstance was a black male to offer to light the cigarette of a white female -- that gesture implied intimacy.
◦ Blacks were not allowed to show public affection toward one another in public, especially kissing, because it offended
whites.
◦ Jim Crow etiquette prescribed that blacks were introduced to whites, never whites to blacks. For example: "Mr. Peters (the
white person), this is Charlie (the black person), that I spoke to you about."
◦ Whites did not use courtesy titles of respect when referring to blacks, for example, Mr., Mrs., Miss., Sir, or Ma'am. Instead,
blacks were called by their first names. Blacks had to use courtesy titles when referring to whites, and were not allowed to
call them by their first names.
◦ If a black person rode in a car driven by a white person, the black person sat in the back seat, or the back of a truck.
◦ White motorists had the right-of-way at all intersections.
Restaurants with separate entrances for blacks and whites, differentiated seats on the bus,
shops and stores exclusively for whites
-Little by little, and thanks to the work of civil rights activists, such as Martin
Luther King Jr., black people were gaining rights in the country. In 1964, the Civil
Rights Act was passed, ending racial segregation.

-In 1965, the Voting Rights Act was approved to remove the difficulties blacks
encountered when voting, and in 1968, the Fair Housing Act. This act prohibited
discrimination when buying or selling real estate on the basis of race, religion,
origin or gender.

-Despite advances in terms of equality, there are still differences between the black
and white population in the United States.
 CULTURAL NOTES
-Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) was the most important person in the movement. He
supported only non-violent means of protest but was assassinated by James Earl Ray, a white man
who opposed equality of rights for black people (though many people believe that a conspiracy has
covered up the true details of the crime)

-As well as the Montgomery Bus Boycott described in the text of the practice sesion, another
important event was the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom which ended with a
massive rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King gave his most famous I
have a dream speech.

-Rosa Parks had grown up in a very segregated Alabama in which the Ku Klux Klan (a group of
extremely violent white people) threatened the safety and lives of black people. There had been
many situations of discrimination before the famous bus incident; this was simply the point at
which she decided that it was time to make a stand. Later in her life, she was given many awards as
the long-term impact of her actions became more widely understood and respected. She died in
2005. Her body lies in honour in the US Capitol building.
 SHORT SUMMARY VIDEO

◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ppTiyxFSs0