Such is written by William D. Wasson about the stipulations that had to be kept in order for him to sell his property. This clause was not added during the Gilded Age or the 1800s, neither was it written in the deep South. This contract between Mr. Wasson and the property's purchaser was written in September of 1943 in Los Altos, California. To be more exact, the property William D. Wasson was selling was a plot of land on the Jordan Tract (currently Jordan Avenue) where my house currently stands.
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| Ku Klux Klan parade on East Main Street in Ashland, Ore., in the 1920s. (Oregon Historical Society) |
The KKK saw a rise in membership during the 1920s as nationalism swept the country under the idea of "America for Americans" (foreshadowing the Japanese idea of "Asia for Asians"). This growth was not limited to the South as the KKK gained control in Oregon and 6 other states. In fact, the largest KKK membership West of the Mississippi River was in Oregon. Seemingly liberal states such as Oregon and California have surprisingly --and disturbingly-- racist pasts. When Oregon entered the Union in 1859 it did so as a “whites-only” state; the state constitution excluded nonwhites from living there. Oregon's racist beginnings continued to impact the state into the 1920s. In 1922, Walter Pierce, a member of the Ku Klux Klan, was elected governor of Oregon and later served for 10 years as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Acts of racism strengthened in the Bay Area during the 1930s. The Watsonville riots began after the opening of a dance club where Filipino men could allegedly pay to dance with white girls. Violent riots lasted roughly for five days in San Francisco, Stockton, San Jose and Salinas, culminating in the death of 22-year-old Fermin Tobera. In 1965, the oppressed Filipino farmers would begin organizing to protest their harsh working conditions and joining forces with the newly emerging Latino rights organization lead by Cesar Chavez.
The oppression of minorities and immigrants was widespread in America. Just because we live in California, we cannot believe that the North and West held morally superior and equal views of all people. White supremacy and the idea that minority races are nothing more than "servants" lasted far past Reconstruction and was far wider than the South.
Sites
"The 1920s" Worksheet
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/06/07/when-portland-banned-blacks-oregons-shameful-history-as-an-all-white-state/
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/article/ZZ/20110904/NEWS/110908006
Contract between William D. Wasson and purchaser of plot (passed down from previous owners of our house)
This is a really interesting post about the idea that segregation and racism was everywhere in America, not just in the South. Even at the time of the civil war, when the majority of the North was anti-slavery, people were still racist. Just because they believed in abolishing the enslavement of black people didn't mean they didn't believe that they were superior to them still. Following the original pattern, it is true that the northern parts of America reduced racist tendencies and segregation much quicker than the South, but to this day there are people from both regions who still believe in these ideas. As much as we'd like to think that we are progressed and educated, many are still being raised and taught these primal values and beliefs regarding racial and often sex based discrimination.
ReplyDeleteKarenna, I completely agree with you that prejudice will exist no matter where they are, and it does not stop within that proximity.Even it might not seem like it but the spread of prejudice against minorities is probably rooted back to when some physical quality was deemed more valued than others whereas now it is based on academic achievements. NO matter where they are, if they are within a society it is almost a guarantee that discrimination and prejudice will exist, and it does not have to have a violent reaction such as the discrimination in the north,
ReplyDeleteI find that very cool that you were able to find a document from Los Altos in 1943. Whenever we learn about history we always learn about members at the very top of society, like presidents, kings, generals and others of the sort, but I've always found it very cool to see things from ordinary individuals. That quote from a past Los Altos resident makes history not seem so far away and disconnected from us today. I think it's easier for us to understand things like racism and segregation when we see evidence of it right in our own backyards.
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