Woodrow Wilson: Racism, Religion and The Rise of White Supremacy in the Early Twentieth Century

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2024-06-26

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Southern New Hampshire University

Abstract

Woodrow Wilson’s segregationist policies of the early twentieth century produced a significant economic setback for black Americans. Following the Civil War and Reconstruction, the slow but steady path toward economic mobility experienced by middle-class blacks came to a screeching halt during Wilson’s tenure. Wilson’s arrogant pomposity, combined with his Southern heritage, deeply compromised his reasoning for the place African Americans would hold in the twentieth century. This led to institutionalized changes in both the federal government and nation that would thunder through the American fabric for the next fifty plus years. This capstone reexamines the consequences of the Wilson presidency. While recent historians have acknowledged his racism, little has been written of the impact on black families regarding economics, mentality, and practicality. There exists a major gap between Wilson’s eloquent ideology vs. his actions as President of the United States. Woodrow Wilson’s legacy has been examined in majestic detail, but without attention to the profound consequences on black Americans in the practical sense. Using the social, political, and economic lens, this work takes a closer look at Wilson’s cabinet, filled with Southern white supremacists who worked overtime to deny blacks upward mobility. The methodology is both quantitative and qualitative. Many secondary works point out Wilson’s dereliction on civil rights but group the twenty-eighth president with the shortcomings of his predecessors, from Hayes to Taft. This capstone argues that Wilson’s tenure was not just another chief executive who dropped the ball on civil rights. Wilson took the ball away and benched black Americans who would not be allowed on the playing field for the next eight seasons. This work stands apart from previous scholarship as its traces how Wilson’s federal policy of segregation trickled down to future generations of color.

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