Interpret the Evidence
According to Henry Grady, why was it important for the South to industrialize (Document 16.9)? How does Grady describe the relationship between whites and blacks in the South?
What was life like for southern mill workers (Document 16.10)? Do you think working in the mills provided any advantages over agricultural jobs? How did the employee at the Randolph cotton mill describe the working conditions?
What did the Grimes family provide for its sharecroppers (Document 16.11)? What did it expect in return? Why do you think anyone would enter into a sharecropping agreement?
How did the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 codify race and racial discrimination (Document 16.12)? Which statutes were explicitly based on race?
How does Justice Henry Billings Brown justify segregation (Document 16.13)? Whom does he blame if African Americans feel inferior because they are forced to sit in separate seating? Why does he believe that legislation cannot shape social change?
Put It in Context
How “new” was the New South in terms of its labor conditions and its race relations?