1. After the Civil War, the system that replaced the brutal, inhumane practice of slavery was sharecropping. Despite being "free" men and women, black Americans were still tied to the plantation, and its ownership (history.com, internet). Simply put, sharecropping meant that former slaves were allowed to rent a small parcel of farmable land on a yearly basis (history.com, internet). At the end of each year, the sharecropper gave an allotted portion of his crops to the owner(s) of the land (history.com, internet). This system sidestepped the receipt of a wage for working an owner's land, a dismal system that, in some ways, was just as bad as slavery, as sharecroppers toiled under intense discipline and supervision (history.com, internet). As the price of cotton fell, many black sharecroppers went into enormous amounts of debt just to stay in business, a circumstance that subjected even more to the unfair practices of rich landowners (history.com, internet).
2. The "crisis of masculinity" is, in essence, ongoing. Before the turn of the 20th century, many social phenomena were rapidly changing (suny, internet). For example, the white male, for whom power was a given, was rapidly losing his power -- to many social changes (suny.edu, internet). These changes included the meteoric rise of capitalism, as dominance in the arena of the free market demanded a special type of manhood (suny.edu, internet). Moreover, women, children, and minorities such as blacks were gaining more and more social standing, which men generally perceived as a threat (suny.edu, internet). These phenomena all gave rise to a crisis of masculinity, which, in essence, was a crisis that entailed the erosion of white male privilege and power (suny.edu, internet).
3. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the lives of black Americans in the North and in the South were different, but both populations were still targets of racism. For example, the Great Migration of blacks from the North to the South (which occurred at the beginning of the 20th century) may have helped improve the economic conditions of many blacks in the industrial North, but racism raged on, even in the North -- where segregation was illegal (history.com, internet). Moreover, the jobs available were usually extremely physically-demanding (history.com, internet). Meanwhile, many blacks who stayed in the South were subjected to racist Jim Crow laws, and toiled in agricultural working conditions (history.com, internet).
4. The Wounded Knee massacre was the last battle between Native Americans and U.S. cavalrymen (legendsofamerica, internet). Not only was it a brutal battle where many indigenous women and children were killed, it also marked the end of the Sioux nation (legendsofamerica, internet). The Wounded Knee massacre was the final blow to the attempted resurgence of Native Americans through their ceremonial Ghost Dance (legendsofamerica, internet). After many years of resistance, Native Americans had little choice but to conform to the ways of the advancing white settlers (legendsofamerica, internet).
5. Until 1920, many arguments were made against women's suffrage. For example, some opponents of women's voting rights said that, since 80% of women were married, they would end up reiterating their husbands' vote (Barkhorn, internet). Moreover, others were afraid that, since women outnumbered men in many states, the government would end up under "petticoat rule" (Barkhorn, internet). However, the main argument against women's voting was that 90% of women "do not want it or do not care" (Barkhorn, internet). The main argument for women's suffrage was that it furthered the ability of women to participate in the democratic process.
Works Cited
Barkhorn, Eleanor. " 'Vote No on Women's Suffrage': Bizarre Reasons For Not Letting Women Vote." The Atlantic. 06 Nov, 2012. Web. 01 Mar, 2016.
History.com. (n.p.). "Great Migration." 2016. Web. 01 Mar, 2016.
History.com. (n.p.). "Sharecropping." 2016. Web. 01 Mar, 2016.
Legends of America. (n.p.). "The Wounded Knee Massacre." 2016. Web. 01 Mar, 2016.
