In the Face of Death: Black Erasure, Carcerality, and Resistance in the Post-Reconstruction South Open Access

Abstract

This honors thesis explores how Southern legislatures and white Southerners in the aftermath of the Civil War attacked the freedoms and civil rights of Black citizens. Through an emphasis on the role of laws and public discourse, “In the Face of Death” details the efforts to curb Black advancement and agency. The methods by which Southern legislatures attempted to restrict African Americans’ rights are referred to as forms of death within this thesis. During Reconstruction and Jim Crow, Southerners mobilized various forms of death—civil death, physical death, and freedom’s death through the use of carceral states—to circumscribe the lives of African American citizens and their political agency. These strategic attacks on Black life were attempts to uphold white supremacy and the white power structures that had prevailed before the war. Black freedom, but especially the Black vote, threatened the social order of the South, and the citizens and legislatures worked to prevent a change in the status quo. Nonetheless, Black advancement continued, showcasing the resiliency of millions of people across the United States. Through the analyses of state constitutions, published documents, newspapers, and additional primary and secondary sources, “In the Face of Death” confronts the white Southerners’ methods of attack on Black freedom and rights and the overarching goal of upholding white supremacy by denying Black sovereignty.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Epicenter of Death……………………………………..… 1

Chapter 1: Civil Death……………………………………………………....... 10

Chapter 2: Physical Death…………………………………………………..... 25

Chapter 3: Freedom’s Death……………………………………………...….. 42

Conclusion: Facing Death Head On……………………………………….... 59

Bibliography……………………………………………………………….......... 65

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	African American Studies
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	History, United States African American Studies History, Black
Keyword	Lynching Jim Crow Criminalization of Blackness Reconstruction Felon disfranchisement Incarceration
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Walter C. Rucker, Emory University
Committee Members	Carl Suddler, Emory University Carol Anderson, Emory University

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