In the USA, until recently, there was a separation of the white population, blacks and Indians, the so-called racial segregation. The definition of this phenomenon is best disclosed through its legal and factual aspects.
Background
De jure segregation began in 1865 after the official abolition of slavery in America. The famous 13th amendment prohibited slavery and at the same time legitimized the existence of individual Negro schools, shops, and military units.
In the United States, at the beginning of the 20th century , a whole series of laws on the segregation of ethnic Japanese were adopted, for example, the "Law on the Exclusion of Asians" made it practically impossible for them to obtain American citizenship.
Household segregation
In settlements where the way of life has not changed for many decades, people of different nationalities traditionally settled in areas isolated from each other. So, in most cities, household segregation initially occurred. What this means can be explained by the example of New York, where throughout the history of its existence isolated black, Chinese, and Japanese quarters were formed.
Household segregation took many different forms. For example, separate training for blacks and whites has existed in the United States for more than a hundred years. The first legal ban on segregation at school was adopted in several US states only in 1954, and its implementation was accompanied by active opposition from the white population.
The ugly phenomenon was a ban on mixed marriages of "white" and "color". Children from such marriages were subjected to cruel ridicule and bullying. Often they did not want to accept black schools and schools for whites.
Army matters ...
The legal foundations of segregation in the US Army at the legislative level were laid back in 1792. The law on the militia established that only a “free able-bodied white man” could serve. Only in 1863 was the official procedure for calling up blacks established. Moreover, the blacks served in separate parts, where even the majority of officer posts were occupied by whites. They were discriminated against in the assignment of non-commissioned officer ranks, as well as in the award of medals and insignia.
Until the 1950s, the situation in the army remained practically unchanged. Separate service, a ban on participating in hostilities, discrimination in the appropriation of ranks - all this is army segregation. That this unconstitutional phenomenon will be consistently eradicated, it became clear only after the adoption of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.
Current state of affairs
The problems of segregation remain relevant today. A 2006 report by Harvard University professor Gary Orfield noted that over the past decades, virtually all of America’s achievements have been lost, which has eradicated segregation. What this means in modern conditions, it is not difficult to understand by examining the maps showing racial stratification in the USA depending on the area of residence.
Based on the passport data of residents of several dozen states, these cards provide a visual representation of the existence of serious household segregation. In particular, the black urban population of Detroit, St. Louis, Birmingham continues to settle separately from the white.
There is an opposite opinion, according to which the general tendency towards mutual integration of the population is clearly traced in the United States. Over the past 10 years, racial segregation has declined in all major US cities.
It is believed that the election of the US President of the African-American Barack Obama allowed to minimize such a shameful phenomenon as segregation. That this phenomenon is almost obsolete in American society, is declared in a report by economists Edward Glauser from Harvard University and Jacob Wigdor from Duke University.
Their study notes that in 2010 only 20% of American black people lived in black ghettos , while in 1960 this figure reached 50%. However, the degree of integration in major US cities is still uneven, and the populations in Atlanta, Houston and Dallas are more integrated than in New York. Of the 13 cities with the highest proportion of African Americans, New York has the least desire for color integration. Despite all the existing loyalty programs, it remains one of the most segregated cities in the United States.