Lesson 10: Laboring for Civil Rights
(1890-1918)
Directions: As you read the lesson, use this worksheet to help
organize your thoughts and newfound information. Answer these
questions carefully and review them before completing the
corresponding submission.
I. Introduction
A. What will I learn about in this lesson?
B. How does this lesson relate to the course overall?
II. African Americans and the Progressive
Movement
A. What factors helped businesses grow so rapidly at the end
of the 19th century?
B. Define or state the significance of the following:
1. Progressive Movement
2. Theodore Roosevelt
3. strikebreakers
4. muckraking
C. How did the Progressive Movement help inspire African
Americans to push for more rights?
D. How was striking an effective tool for African American
laborers?
E. Why did strikebreaking often cause racial tension?
F. How did Ida B. Wells embody the muckraking tradition of
this era?
G. What is the main idea of this section?
Women’s Suffrage
A. How did the Progressive Movement help influence African
American women to fight for more rights?
B. Define or state the significance of the following:
1. Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin
2. Mary Church Terrell
3. National Association of Colored Women
4. The Alpha Suffrage Club
C. What is the main idea of this subsection?
III. African American Professional
Organizations
A. Why did African American laborers and professionals
decide to form organizations?
B. Define or state the significance of the following:
1. Madame C.J. Walker
2. Newport and New York Ugly Fishing Club
3. National Negro Business League
C. Why was the spread of successful black businesses so
important to African Americans in this era?
D. What is the main idea of this section?
IV. Booker T. Washington
A. What did Booker T. Washington believe about civil rights?
B. Why did Washington advocate so strongly for education?
C. What were the main courses of study in the Tuskegee
Institute?
D. What was the message behind Washington’s 1895 Atlanta
speech?
E. Why did Washington depend on support from white
philanthropists? How was he able to get funding from
them?
F. Define or state the significance of the following:
1. The Tuskegee Machine
2. Andrew Carnegie
3. Julius Rosenwald
G. Why was W.E.B. Du Bois critical of Booker T. Washington?
H. What is the main idea of this section?
V. W.E.B. Du Bois and Criticism of
Washington
A. What was W.E.B. Du Bois’s background?
B. What was life like for African Americans in the South
during the late 19th century?
C. Define or state the significance of the following:
1. The Talented Tenth
2. disenfranchisement
D. What was W.E.B. Du Bois’s view of education?
E. How did Booker T. Washington’s position as an African
American leader differ from Du Bois’s?
F. What is the main idea of this section?
VI. The Niagara Movement and the NAACP
A. What was the first main focus of the Niagara Movement?
B. Who were the men involved in the Niagara Movement?
C. How did Booker T. Washington react to the Niagara
Movement?
D. What is the main idea of this section?
VII. The National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
A. How did the NAACP fight for African American rights?
B. How did the NAACP slowly take the mantle of black
leadership away from the Tuskegee Machine?
C. What was a major tactic used by CORE and why was it
successful?
D. Define or state the significance of the following:
1. William English Walling
2. The Crisis
E. What is the main idea of this section?
VIII. The First Great Migration
A. For what economic reason did most African Americans
move to the North?
B. What were some of the struggles facing African Americans
in the South at this time?
C. How were northern job recruiters received in the South?
D. Define or state the significance of the following:
1. The First Great Migration
2. The Urban League
E. What was Booker T. Washington’s stance on African
American migration?
F. Where did most African Americans settle when they moved
to the North?
G. What services did the Urban League offer African
Americans?
H. Explain the meaning of the Urban League’s motto Not
Alms, but Opportunity.
I. What is the main idea of this section?
IX. Urban Race Riots
A. How did black migration to the North sometimes increase
racial tension?
B. How was the late 19th century the nadir of American race
relations?
C. Briefly summarize why racially motivated violence erupted
in these cities:
1. Springfield, Illinois, 1908
2. East St. Louis, Illinois, 1917
3. Chicago, 1919
4. Elaine, Arkansas, 1919
5. Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1921
6. Rosewood, Florida, 1923
D. Why do many scholars argue that this period may have
been worse for African Americans than slavery?
E. What is the main idea of this section?
X.
World War I and African Americans
A. Why did many African Americans eagerly support
America’s entry into World War I?
B. Why was morale often low among African American
troops?
C. How were the few African American officers in the military
treated?
D. How did French officers treat the African American troops
under their command?
E. Did black participation in World War I alter racial attitudes
in the U.S.?
F. What is the main idea of this section?
XI. Lesson Review
A. In a paragraph, describe the main ideas/theme of this
lesson.
B. How did this lesson relate to your prior knowledge of these
topics and prior lessons in this course?
C. Are there any topics you would like to know more about?
Are there any you feel that you need to review before
taking the submission?