nadir of race relations

(noun)

The period in U.S. history, spanning from the end of Reconstruction in 1877 through the early 20th century, when racism in the country is deemed to have been worse than in any other period after the American Civil War. During this period, African Americans lost many of the gains in civil rights that had been achieved during Reconstruction. Anti-black violence, lynchings, segregation, legal racial discrimination, and other expressions of white supremacy increased.

Related Terms

Examples of nadir of race relations in the following topics:

  • The "Nadir of Race Relations" and the Great Migration

    • The early 1900s marked the low point in 20th-century race relations between white Americans and African Americans.
    • The nadir of race relations in the United States was an ideological era of nationwide hostility directed from white Americans against African Americans.
    • The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 erupted into mob violence that lasted several days, leaving 15 white people and 23 black people dead.
    • A white gang looking for African Americans during the Chicago Race Riot of 1919.
    • Evaluate race relations in the early 20th century, noting the tensions among whites, African Americans, and European immigrants

  • Freedom, Inequality, and Democracy in the Gilded Age

    • The development and fast acceptance of the sewing machine during this period changed the domestic lives of women.
    • The production of hand-sewn clothing and household linens chained all but the wealthiest of women to a life of toil, which can hardly be understood today.
    • The "nadir of American race relations" is a term that refers to the period in United States history from the end of Reconstruction through the early 20th century, when racism in the country is deemed to have been worse than in any other period after the American Civil War.
    • The Harlem Renaissance and the popularity of jazz music during the early part of the 20th century made many Americans more aware of black culture and more accepting of black celebrities.
    • The "Gilded Age" that was enjoyed by the topmost percentiles of American society after the recovery from the Panic of 1873 floated on the surface of the newly industrialized economy of the Second Industrial Revolution.

  • The Gilded Age

    • The term refers to the gilding of a cheaper metal with a thin layer of gold.
    • By the end of the Gilded Age, the United States was at the top end of the world's leading industrial nations.
    • Two extended nationwide economic depressions followed the Panic of 1873 and the Panic of 1893.
    • With the rapid growth of cities, political machines increasingly took control of urban politics.
    • The "nadir of American race relations" is a phrase that refers to the period in U.S. history from the end of Reconstruction through the early twentieth century, when racism in the country is deemed to have been worse than in any other period after the American Civil War.

  • Social Definition of Race

    • In the face of the increasing rejection of race as a valid classification scheme, many social scientists have replaced the word race with the word "ethnicity" to refer to self-identifying groups based on shared religion, nationality, or culture.
    • The social construction of race has developed within various legal, economic, and sociopolitical contexts, and may be the effect, rather than the cause of major race-related issues.
    • Sociologists Omi and Winant's theories of racial formation describe how "race is a concept which signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by referring to different types of human bodies. " The meanings and implications of race are produced and invested in by social institutions, as well as through cultural representations.
    • This map depicts the three great races, according to Meyers Konversationslexikon, of 1885-90.
    • The subtypes of the Mongoloid race are shown in yellow and orange tones, those of the Europid race in light and medium grayish green-cyan tones, and those of the Negroid race in brown tones.

  • Race

    • Historically, the concept of race has changed across cultures and eras.
    • While biologists sometimes use the concept of race to make distinctions among sets of traits, others in the scientific community suggest that this idea of race is often used in a naive or simplistic way.
    • This era was one of European imperialism and colonization, during which new - often exploitive - political relations were established between Europeans and other cultures of the world.
    • Contemporary conceptions of race illuminate how far removed modern race understanding is from biological qualities.
    • Interpret ''the ideology of race'' based on examples from the text

  • Race and Ethnicity

    • Racial classifications are rooted in the idea of biological classification of humans according to morphological features such as skin color or facial characteristics.
    • Conceptions of race, as well as specific racial groupings, are often controversial due to their impact on social identity and how those identities influence someone's position in social hierarchies (see identity politics).Ethnicity, while related to race, refers not to physical characteristics but social traits that are shared by a human population.
    • Some of the social traits often used for ethnic classification include:
    • Unlike race, ethnicity is not usually externally assigned by other individuals.
    • An example of an ethnic group in the U.S. is Hispanic or Latino.

  • The Functionalist Perspective

    • According to the functionalist perspective, race and ethnicity are two of the various parts of a cohesive society.
    • Given this emphasis on equilibrium and harmony, the functionalist perspective easily allows for specific macro-analyses of more contentious power imbalances, such as race-related issues.
    • It also allows for the micro-analyses that much of modern sociology is oriented around, such as identity formation and the socially constructed nature of race.
    • During the turbulent 1960s, functionalism was often called "consensus theory," criticized for being unable to account for social change or structural contradictions and conflict, including inequalities related to race, gender, class, and other social factors that are a source of oppression and conflict.
    • Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a functionalist approach to race

  • Culture, Ethnicity, and Race

    • In addition to considering the attitudes of the audience toward different cultures, races or ethnic groups, it is also important to consider how a diverse group will respond to certain parts of your message .
    • Before considering the role of culture, race and ethnicity in audience analysis it is useful to distinguish among the terms.
    • Ethnicity, while related to race, refers not to physical characteristics but to social traits that are shared by a human population.
    • race is the primary determinant of human capacities (prejudice or bias)
    • a certain race is inherently superior or inferior to others (prejudice or bias)

  • Social Construct or Biological Lineage?

    • In the face of the increasing rejection of race as a valid classification scheme, many social scientists have replaced the word race with the word ethnicity to refer to self-identifying groups based on shared religion, nationality, or culture.The understanding of race as a social construct is well-illustrated by examining race issues in two countries, the U.S. and Brazil.
    • Significant in terms of the economics of slavery, the mixed-race child of a slave mother also would be a slave, adding to the wealth of the slaveowner.
    • The point being, of course, that the classifications of race in the early U.S. were socially constructed in a fashion that benefitted one race over the others.
    • Proponents of using race in biomedical research argue that ignoring race will be detrimental to the health of minority groups.
    • Race and race-related issues continue to impact society.

  • Skin Color in the South

    • The belief in racial "purity" drove Southern culture's vehement prohibition of sexual relations between white women and black men, but this same culture essentially protected sexual relations between white men and black women.
    • The children of white fathers and slave mothers were mixed-race slaves whose appearance was generally classified as "mulatto," a term that initially meant a person with white and black parents, but grew to encompass any apparently mixed-race person.
    • Many mixed-race house servants were actually related to white members of the household.
    • Sometimes planters used mixed-race slaves as house servants or favored artisans because they were their own children or the children of their relatives.
    • Despite their familial connections and freedom, many mixed-race individuals still faced discrimination and prejudice due to the color of their skin.