Editing Delaware (section)

===Reconstruction and industrialization===
During the [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction Era]] that followed the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Democratic [[Redeemers|Redeemer]] governments led by the South's [[Bourbon Democrats|Bourbon aristocracy]] continued to dominate the region and imposed explicitly [[white supremacist]] regimes in the former slave states. The Delaware legislature declared Black people to be second-class citizens in 1866, and restricted their voting rights despite the 15th Amendment, ensuring continued Democratic success in the state throughout most of the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |first1=John |title=History of Delaware |date=2001 |publisher=University of Delaware Press |location=Newark, DE |pages=146–150 |edition=4th}}</ref> Fearful that the [[1875 Civil Rights Act]] passed by Congress might establish racial equality, Delaware legislators passed [[Jim Crow laws]] that mandated [[racial segregation|segregation]] in public facilities. The state's educational system was segregated by operation of law.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brown v. Board of Education |url=https://archives.delaware.gov/delaware-historical-markers/brown-v-board-education/ |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=Delaware Public Archives - State of Delaware |language=en-US}}</ref> Delaware's segregation was written into the state constitution, which, while providing at Article X, Section 2, that "no distinction shall be made on account of race or color", nonetheless required that "separate schools for white and colored children shall be maintained."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chapter - Delaware General Assembly |url=https://legis.delaware.gov/SessionLaws/Chapter?id=21337 |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=legis.delaware.gov}}</ref>

Beginning in the late 19th century, the Wilmington area grew into a manufacturing center. Investment in manufacturing in the city grew from $5.5&nbsp;million in 1860 to $44&nbsp;million in 1900.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |date=2001 |title=History of Delaware |page=156}}</ref> The most notable manufacturer in the state was the chemical company [[DuPont]], which to this day is heavily credited with making the state what it is today in many ways.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Editorial |date=2020-06-23 |title=The Dupont Legacy |url=https://delawarebusinesstimes.com/supplements/innovation/the-dupont-legacy/ |access-date=2022-10-14 |website=Delaware Business Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Because of Wilmington's growth, local politicians from the city and New Castle County pressured the state government to adopt a new constitution providing the north with more representation. However, the subsequent 1897 constitution did not proportionally represent the north and continued to give the southern counties disproportionate influence.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |title=History of Delaware |date=2001 |pages=165–169}}</ref>

As manufacturing expanded, businesses became major players in state affairs and funders of politicians through families such as the Du Ponts. Republican [[J. Edward Addicks|John Addicks]] attempted to buy a US Senate seat multiple times in a rivalry with the Du Ponts until the passage of the [[Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|17th Amendment]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |date=2001 |title=History of Delaware |pages=173–180}}</ref> The allegiance of industries with the Republican party allowed them to gain control of the state's governorship throughout most of the 20th century. The GOP ensured black people could vote because of their general support for Republicans and thus undid restrictions on Black suffrage.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |title=History of Delaware |date=2001 |pages=180–181}}</ref>

Delaware benefited greatly from World War I because of the state's large gunpowder industry. DuPont, the most dominant business in the state by WWI, produced an estimated 40% of all gunpowder used by the Allies during the war. It produced nylon in the state after the war and began investments into [[General Motors]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |date=2001 |title=History of Delaware |pages=185–189}}</ref> Additionally, the company invested heavily in the expansion of public schools in the state and colleges such as the [[University of Delaware]] in the 1910s and 1920s. This included primary and secondary schools for Black people and women.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |date=2001 |title=History of Delaware |pages=190–205}}</ref> Delaware suffered less during the [[Great Depression]] than other states, but the depression spurred further migration from the rural south to urban areas.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |date=2001 |title=History of Delaware |pages=216–217}}</ref>