Week 3

Tuesday, October 17, 2017 3:30 PM

Emancipation and reconstruction

• How was it that reconstruction was defeated
○ Pointed out that after civil war- emancipated
needed land to be independent and wealthy
without depending on the rich
○ Former slave masters (planter class) - knew that
if land reform program went through they
would be destroyed as a class
§ They would not have any workers
○ The trick was to get the formerly enslaved to
come in and work for them
○ 12 years of violent class struggle
§ Crash black resistance
○ Once was the planter class won the battle - one
of the things they did to force black Americans
to work for them was to have work contracts
§ Sheriff could stop you and ask for work
contract and if you couldn’t show one you
were under arrest
§ Government put you on trial and you'd
have to pay for expenditure
§ Found guilty - leased out to anyone who
wants to pay your lease expenses
§ Work off your lease by working for that
person for however much time
□ Prison labor
§ Another trick was to put a lot of black
people and poor whites - arrest them on
any flimsy charges and hire prisoners out
to work as mine workers
□ Prison labor
○ So many people died in these chain gang
prisoner labor work forces that they are buried
across south in unmarked graves
• Class that owns the means of production (capitalist
class) cannot function without workers- needs people
 ○ Class conflict model
• You live on so little that you have to go and live borrowing (credit cards)
• Economic desperation

American revolution
• Class conflict model
• In 13 colonies - there was a colonial ruling class who took care of day to day
things while British ruling class was master
• 3 factions that developed political and economic interest that were the opposite
of the British ruling class
• Import export people wanted free trade
○ Because they could get a higher price than they could get from England
and English said no
• Real estate speculators
○ Sold maps of Native American lands
○ Colonists were going into these lands and when Indians made deal with
English to be on English side if they were protected from real estate
speculators
○ Nobody else can leave colonies and settle in native American lands
○ King has limited natural expansions
• Slave master class
○ Worried about political implications of Somerset
§ The men who escaped from slavery and made it to England would
be free
○ English ended slave trade
• Local factions all had economic interest opposite of British and they knew the
only way to get their way is to be politically independent

Class conflict and racism

• In a private enterprise system in which workers are exploited (so capitalists can
make profits) , racism (and sexism) is profitable (needed desire need of system)
• Ruling class has no interest in abolishing racism
○ Main interest is managing racism