The Shifting Actions of a Rising Government
..., which stated, "equal protection." However, in reality there was no equal part to the segregation of blacks and whites. One place they were separated unequally was in schools. With most of the African American population in the South and many being illiterate, the education of black children suffered greatly. The federal government seemed to want to do nothing about this situation and a man by the name of Booker T. Washington helped to promote African American education in the South. Another man, Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois had a great deal of influence on the political issue of black-white equality. He demanded that blacks have complete equality--both socially and economically. In 1910 he helped to found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He rejected Booker T. Washington's idea of gradualism and insisted that the "talented tenth" of the black community have complete and direct access to the same American life that whites of the day had. It was hard for African Americans to gain any cooperation with the government while President Woodrow Wilson was in office. He was always a closet racist to blacks and during his time as president, African Americans did not improve their status in anyway. However, this discrimination could have later on motivated African Americans to gain the respect they deserved. Workers also were greatly influenced by the federal and judicial actions between the years 1880 and 1920. Many labor federations had been formed to help people find jobs and make a living. On May 4, 1886 the Knights of Labor in Haymarket Square in Chicago gathered together to go on strike and protest. When things got out of hand, a bomb was thrown that killed or injured several dozen people. Soon the police had eight anarchists, without evidence. However the judge and juries said that since they had preached incendiary doctrines they would be charged with conspiracy. Five of the men were put to death and three were given very harsh prison sentences. This Haymarket Square incident was an illustration of the judicial punishment to rioting laborers without hard evidence. Also in 1886 Samuel Gompers formed the American Federation of Labor. Gompers' federation consisted of an association of self-governing national unions, with each one keeping its independence. Gompers had no problems with capitalism; he just demanded a fairer share of labor. One of Gompers' major goals was the "trade agreement" which authorized the "closed shop"--or all-union labor. By the 1900s the public began...