Summary

Americans like to think of American history as a steady march towards progress, but residential integration declined from 1880 to the mid-twentieth century, and has stagnated since then.

Following emancipation, former slaves spread throughout the country seeking work. In 1877 when President Hayes took office, reconstruction ended and Jim Crow segregation spread across the South. Violence against African Americans, the transformation of slaves into sharecroppers, and institutionalized racism hindered all progress towards meaningful integration. Benjamin Tillman, senator from South Carolina, led a militia to massacre African Americans in his own state, was indicted—along with 93 other militiamen—on murder charges, and still had a 24-year-long career in the U.S. Senate.

The anti-African American sentiment of the Jim Crow South spread across the country to impact other regions that had previously made significant progress towards racial integration. In 1890, African Americans resided in every county of...