Changes

Blacks were originally brought to America to serve as slaves in southeastern states on large-scale plantations. During the [[Civil War]], all slaves were freed by [[Abraham Lincoln]] though the [[Emancipation Proclamation]], the 13th Amendment, and some state actions. During [[Reconstruction]] the Freedmen (freed slaves) gained citizenship and civil and political rights, including the right to marry, move about, and keep their wages.

Blacks were originally brought to America to serve as slaves in southeastern states on large-scale plantations. During the [[Civil War]], all slaves were freed by [[Abraham Lincoln]] though the [[Emancipation Proclamation]], the 13th Amendment, and some state actions. During [[Reconstruction]] the Freedmen (freed slaves) gained citizenship and civil and political rights, including the right to marry, move about, and keep their wages.

The system of [[sharecropping]] instituted after the end of the war left most Freedmen poor.  

The system of [[Sharecropper|sharecropping]] instituted after the end of the war left most Freedmen poor.  

[[Jim Crow]] policies of racial [[segregation]] were implemented after the end of [[Reconstruction]].  

[[Jim Crow]] policies of racial [[segregation]] were implemented after the end of [[Reconstruction]].  

Blacks left the rural south in two waves, the first around 1915-20, the second coming after World War II when machinery ended the need for large numbers of people to pick cotton by hand. The migrants headed to the large cities of the North and West, and also in the South, moving from very poorly paid farm work to wage labor.  

Blacks left the rural south in two waves, the first around 1915-20, the second coming after World War II when machinery ended the need for large numbers of people to pick cotton by hand. The migrants headed to the large cities of the North and West, and also in the South, moving from very poorly paid farm work to wage labor.

 

==Politics==

==Politics==

Blacks were Republicans from the 1860s to the 1960s, but few who lived in the South voted. The [[New Deal]] provided large-scale relief for blacks during the [[Great Depression]]. Some black Republican organizations, as in Chicago, switched overnight to the Democrats. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 allowed blacks to vote in the South, and has been vigorously enforced. Since 1964 blacks have voted 85% to 95% for Democratic presidential candidates, with an occasional black Republican elected to state office.

Blacks were Republicans from the 1860s to the 1960s, but few who lived in the South voted. The [[New Deal]] provided large-scale relief for blacks during the [[Great Depression]]. Some black Republican organizations, as in Chicago, switched overnight to the Democrats. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 allowed blacks to vote in the South, and has been vigorously enforced. Since 1964 blacks have voted 85% to 95% for Democratic presidential candidates, with an occasional black Republican elected to state office.