Having constructed a plantation economy in the Yazoo Mississippi Delta, white Delta planters struggled to retain control of African-American labor after the start of the Civil War. In their effort, the planters manipulated the Freedmen's Bureau; passed the Black Code; sought out foreign labor; and condoned extralegal intimidation. The Civil War disrupted the plantation economy of the Yazoo Delta, prompting the planters to pursue innovative means to preserve the status quo. To achieve this end, they fought with the Confederate government for control of the militia, attempting to stabilize an economy rocked by military incursions, deserters, and outbreaks of lawlessness. Emancipation, the ultimate disruption to the plantation, precipitated a struggle between these former masters and African-Americans seeking to find the meaning of their freedom. The United States government also attempted to restructure the plantation economy of the Delta after the Civil War, but planters often manipulated federal authority to their advantage. Charged with protecting the interests of the freedmen, the Freedmen's Bureau, for example, frequently accommodated the labor needs of Delta planters, even transporting labor to the plantations when necessary. Similarly, Union military commanders frequently supported the planters in their attempt to control black labor. Delta planters, however, wished themselves entirely free of outside governance. Thus, in 1865, they helped formulate the Black Code, seeking to limit the labor options of the freedmen. When Congress negated this code, the planters sought foreign laborers to force African-Americans into economic desperation. Under congressional patronage, moderate Republicans, led by Delta planter James L. Alcorn, attempted to build a party led by white men and supported by African-American votes. When this moderate "Alcorn Republican" system failed in 1873, the planters aligned themselves with the "straight out" Democratic party, rather than support the pro-black Republicans led by Adelbert Ames. Using a system of fraud and brute violence, the white planters ultimately seized power from the Republican party in 1875. This "Mississippi Plan" allowed the planters to remove labor from politics, free the state from authority inimical to their interests, and ensure continuation of the plantation economy.

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Thesis (M. S. - Landscape Architecture)--University of Arizona, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 175-187).

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A state of conflict has existed in the Niger Delta for fifty years. The nature of the conflict, whether it is terrorism or civil insurrection, has not been resolved by the respective legislative entities. This qualitative case study was designed to explore the nature of the Niger Delta conflict from the perspective of several members of the Nigerian National Assembly and determine whether terrorism in Nigeria is related to the general conflict. Social conflict theory provided the basis for the exploration. An ancillary question explored whether antiterrorism legislation in 2006 alleviated the Niger Delta conflict. Interview data were collected from 1 senator and 5 representatives of the Nigerian National Assembly. These data were inductively coded and manually analyzed for major themes, and then triangulated with a review of internal and public documents pertaining to the relevant legislation. The study established that the root causes of the Niger Delta conflict were economic inequities. Three conclusions were drawn from the case study and data regarding legislative attempts to address the conflict: (1) the antiterrorism legislation of 2006 did not criminalize the Niger Delta conflict, (2) the legislation did not have an impact on fiscal resource allocations to the region, and (3) no link between the conflict and current terrorism activities in Nigeria was evident. Recommendations are given for the Nigerian state to engage in fiscal federalism as a means of equitable allocations of resources to the region, thereby contributing to positive social change.

This research discusses the impacts of oil and gas extraction in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria on the right to health and the right to a healthy environment of the Niger Delta people. It highlights the importance of FDI in oil and gas sector development and the responsibility of multinational corporations towards human rights and environmental rights protection in developing host States where national laws and regulations may not be properly developed and adequate in protecting the people’s human rights. The work argues that BITs should rightly be employed in efforts to protect the right to health and a healthy environment against the excesses of oil and gas multinational corporations. The Niger Delta is used as a case study.