Background:
Robert Sengstack Abbott was origianlly from South Carolina, but migrated to Chicago in order to seek a better life for himself. In 1905, Abbott started the Chicago Degender by paying a printing press twenty five cents, which is now worth about seven dollars, to print his hand-made newspaper made of complied clippings. Abbott had much economic difficulties because he was a black man in the early twentieth century. At thi time, blacks were very poor and lived in rural areas because they were only hired for unskilled labor that didn't pay next to anything. Even though slavery had been abolished the majority of blacks nationwide were wage slaves.
What was it ike living as a black person during this time?:
During the early 1900s many blacks were farmers or unskilled workers and were payed the same as their white counterparts. However, blacks didn’t have many counterparts because they worked the bottom barrel jobs, which is why they were payed the cheapest. Additionally the majority of blacks lived in rural areas because of poverty and not many black children went to school (say why). Going to school gave you access to better jobs and increase your social and economic status because educated workers were a high commodity. Even if blacks wre to be educated they wern’t gadunteed better jobs because due to continued ehite racial speriority even after the end of slavery and segregation it was hard for blacks to be employed for more than unskilled labor. The situation for blacks in America, transfers over to Abbott because he starts his newspaper with twenty five cents, which is about eight dollars today, by paying for about three hundred copies to be printed. As an initial investment that is quite low and considering Abbott was working out of his apartment, it shows that Abbott was struggling financially like many blacks.
Economic Poverty and Racial Tensions:
Though slavery had ended in 1865 and blacks were free but had few rights. Roughly ninety percent of blacks lived in the South still in 1900 including my person of foucs, Robert Sengstacke Abbott, and this percentage mirrors the black Southern population from 1870, right after the end of slavery. Three-quarters of black households were in rural areas, only one-fifth of black household heads owned their land, blacks worked jobs mostly as farmers, unskilled workers, and today’s equivalent of hospitality workers, and it was very unlikely for black children to attend school. The majority of income in the SOuth came from cotton still in the early 1900s and many blacks worked the field to harvest cotton, the difference from the past being, they had white coworkers who were payed similar wages too, however black were the majority of the workers and their pay was meager, this situation is mirrored in many of the other jobs blacks worked. Additionally, legal rights of blacks were also hindered, namely in the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson allowed segregation to happen legally henceforth and in larger waves. Henceforth, blacks were separated from doing the same as whites in almost all aspects in lies, even what fountain they could drink from.
Then, in the mid-1910’s there was the Great MIgration ,where many blacks would continue moving North until 1970, with a total force of six million, namely in search of the many jobs opening up in the North because of the recession of European immigrants, who were originally Northern cheap workers, because of World War I, which interrupted international migration. Other reasons fueling the Great MIgration were that blacks were dissatisfied with their lower social and economic status in the South. However, segregation in the north isn't much different in the South and racial tensions were growing, marking America's 1910s with deadly race riots.
In the North blacks were employed by many companies because of the labor shortages, however blacks worked many dangerous jobs, like the killing and cutting areas of meat packaging plants. Additionally, not until the mid 1930s blacks were always denied access to unions, but this was changing because blacks were becoming prominent in manufacturing industries, which sourced blacks for their need of unskilled labor.
Again in the 1940s there was a need for black workers in the North because of the war efforts dedicated to the second World War. Blacks were much more willing to move to the than in the 1910s because there were many established black communities as a result of the first Great Migration. However, because of the Great Depression there were many unemployed and employers would hire the whites before the blacks, so conditions were still harsh.
I will end my synopsis here because Robert Sengstacke Abbott died in 1940 so whatever happened afterwards didn’t affect his life, but it can be said that the Chicago Defender must have suffered economically because of the Great Depression towards his death. I didn't know of the specific struggles Abbott faced starting and growing his newspaper, which was founded in 1905, however I know that at the bare minimum Abbott did face the ideological barrier of racial superiority, as my argument states. I know this because during the early 1900s blacks faced the disadvantages of being segregated, majority poor, and majority working as unskilled laborers, definitely not owner a newspaper.
Robert Sengstack Abbott was origianlly from South Carolina, but migrated to Chicago in order to seek a better life for himself. In 1905, Abbott started the Chicago Degender by paying a printing press twenty five cents, which is now worth about seven dollars, to print his hand-made newspaper made of complied clippings. Abbott had much economic difficulties because he was a black man in the early twentieth century. At thi time, blacks were very poor and lived in rural areas because they were only hired for unskilled labor that didn't pay next to anything. Even though slavery had been abolished the majority of blacks nationwide were wage slaves.
What was it ike living as a black person during this time?:
During the early 1900s many blacks were farmers or unskilled workers and were payed the same as their white counterparts. However, blacks didn’t have many counterparts because they worked the bottom barrel jobs, which is why they were payed the cheapest. Additionally the majority of blacks lived in rural areas because of poverty and not many black children went to school (say why). Going to school gave you access to better jobs and increase your social and economic status because educated workers were a high commodity. Even if blacks wre to be educated they wern’t gadunteed better jobs because due to continued ehite racial speriority even after the end of slavery and segregation it was hard for blacks to be employed for more than unskilled labor. The situation for blacks in America, transfers over to Abbott because he starts his newspaper with twenty five cents, which is about eight dollars today, by paying for about three hundred copies to be printed. As an initial investment that is quite low and considering Abbott was working out of his apartment, it shows that Abbott was struggling financially like many blacks.
Economic Poverty and Racial Tensions:
Though slavery had ended in 1865 and blacks were free but had few rights. Roughly ninety percent of blacks lived in the South still in 1900 including my person of foucs, Robert Sengstacke Abbott, and this percentage mirrors the black Southern population from 1870, right after the end of slavery. Three-quarters of black households were in rural areas, only one-fifth of black household heads owned their land, blacks worked jobs mostly as farmers, unskilled workers, and today’s equivalent of hospitality workers, and it was very unlikely for black children to attend school. The majority of income in the SOuth came from cotton still in the early 1900s and many blacks worked the field to harvest cotton, the difference from the past being, they had white coworkers who were payed similar wages too, however black were the majority of the workers and their pay was meager, this situation is mirrored in many of the other jobs blacks worked. Additionally, legal rights of blacks were also hindered, namely in the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson allowed segregation to happen legally henceforth and in larger waves. Henceforth, blacks were separated from doing the same as whites in almost all aspects in lies, even what fountain they could drink from.
Then, in the mid-1910’s there was the Great MIgration ,where many blacks would continue moving North until 1970, with a total force of six million, namely in search of the many jobs opening up in the North because of the recession of European immigrants, who were originally Northern cheap workers, because of World War I, which interrupted international migration. Other reasons fueling the Great MIgration were that blacks were dissatisfied with their lower social and economic status in the South. However, segregation in the north isn't much different in the South and racial tensions were growing, marking America's 1910s with deadly race riots.
In the North blacks were employed by many companies because of the labor shortages, however blacks worked many dangerous jobs, like the killing and cutting areas of meat packaging plants. Additionally, not until the mid 1930s blacks were always denied access to unions, but this was changing because blacks were becoming prominent in manufacturing industries, which sourced blacks for their need of unskilled labor.
Again in the 1940s there was a need for black workers in the North because of the war efforts dedicated to the second World War. Blacks were much more willing to move to the than in the 1910s because there were many established black communities as a result of the first Great Migration. However, because of the Great Depression there were many unemployed and employers would hire the whites before the blacks, so conditions were still harsh.
I will end my synopsis here because Robert Sengstacke Abbott died in 1940 so whatever happened afterwards didn’t affect his life, but it can be said that the Chicago Defender must have suffered economically because of the Great Depression towards his death. I didn't know of the specific struggles Abbott faced starting and growing his newspaper, which was founded in 1905, however I know that at the bare minimum Abbott did face the ideological barrier of racial superiority, as my argument states. I know this because during the early 1900s blacks faced the disadvantages of being segregated, majority poor, and majority working as unskilled laborers, definitely not owner a newspaper.