1 The Civil Rights Movement, 1954-60 Flashcards
<p>What was <b>Plessy v. Ferguson</b>?</p>
<p>A decision by the US Supreme Court in 1896 that declared segregation was allowed under the constitution, as it was ‘separate but equal’. This allowed for Jim Crow laws</p>
<p>What were the <b>Jim Crow Laws</b>?</p>
<p>The Jim Crow Laws were a set of laws that enforced segregation in all aspects of life including Education, Housing and Transport in the Southern states of America</p>
<p>Why were so few black Americans registered to vote?</p>
White people could stop black people from voting using a variety of official and unofficial methods:
<ul><li>Employers threatening to sack black employees who tried to vote</li><li>White gangs gathered outside registration and voting places</li><li>Black campaigners and the lawyers and activists who went to court to defend the right to vote frequently faced beatings or murder</li><li>Unfair voting registration tests, including literacy tests, that would be biased towards white people</li></ul>
<p>What was the Brown vs Board Case (1954)?</p>
<p>In May 1954, the Supreme Court declared that separate but unequal was unconstitutional. They ruled that school were to desegregate</p>
<p>In May 1955, Brown II said that desegregation should be carried out 'with all deliberate speed'</p>
<p>What was the impact of Brown v. Board?</p>
<ul><li>The Brown case reversed Plessy, sparking off many more desegregation campaigns</li><li>The Supreme Court set no timetable for desegregation, but in 1955 another Supreme Court case ruled that desegregation should be carried out by states ‘with all deliberate speed’. A vague statement that gave Southern states flexibility</li><li>In the Deep South progress was slower. Governors of some states, such as Kansas and Mississippi did not accept desegregation</li><li>A white backlash began as can be seen from the Southern Manifesto, a declaration signed by 11 Southern States that claimed desegregation was against the US constitution</li></ul>
<p>Which two main groups opposed African Americans?</p>
<ul><li>White Citizens Council</li><li>Ku Klux Klan</li></ul>
<p>What were the <b>WCC</b>?</p>
<p>The White Citizens Council was a network of white supremacists concentrated on the Deep South. Their main aim was to preserve segregation</p>
<p>They campaigned against desegregation and, like the KKK, carried out threats and violent actions against black families and civil rights activists</p>
<p>What happened in <b>Little Rock, 1957</b>?</p>
<p>In 1957, 9 black students attempted to enrol in the all white Little Rock High School in Arkansas</p>
<p>The students were prevented from entering by a white mob and the National Guard who were called in by the Governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus</p>
<p>What was the significance of Little Rock?</p>
Photographs of Eckford and the white mob were in the newspapers worldwide with the Little Rock Nine becoming famous. The federal government became embarrassed by the publicity. As a result:
<ul><li>President Eisenhower, who did not initially agree with legally enforcing integration, sent in 1000 federal troops to force Arkansas to obey the law</li><li>Governor Faubus’ state troops were put under federal control using a presidential order</li><li>Eisenhower explained his actions on TV saying how states had to respect the law</li><li>At the end of the school year, Governor Faubus closed every Little Rock school for the next school year in order to avoid integration</li><li>Parents forced schools to re-open as integrated in September 1959</li></ul>
<p>When did Rosa Parks refuse to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus?</p>
<p>Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus on 1st December 1955 and was arrested</p>
<p>What percentage of African Americans boycotted the buses in Montgommery?</p>
<p>90% of African Americans boycotted the buses in Montgommery</p>
<p>How long did the Montgommery Bus Boycott last?</p>
<p>The Montgommery Bus Boycott lasted 381 days</p>
<p>What does the MIA stand for?</p>
<p>MIA stands for Montgommery Improvement Association</p>
<p>Why was the MIA set up?</p>
<p>The Montgomery Bus Boycott (MIA) was set up to improve the lives of African Americans and to support the Montgomery Bus Boycott</p>
<p>Who was the leader of the MIA?</p>
<p>Martin Luther King, a well respected clergyman</p>
<p>What was the <b>Browder v. Gayle Case (1956)</b>?</p>
<p>The Browder v. Gayle case was a court case in the Supreme Court that argued for the desegregation of buses in Montgomery</p>
<p>The NAACP argued the bus segregration broke the 14th ammendment</p>
<p>The Supreme Court ruled in favour of the African Americans and buses were to desegregate in Montgomery</p>
<p>Who were the <b>Dixiecrats</b>?</p>
<p>The Democrats were the dominant political party of the South. Many politicians opposed integration. The most significant opponents were nicknamed ‘Dixiecrats’ after Southern Democrats who had formed their own breakaway party</p>
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<p>Who was <b>Emmett Till</b>?</p>
<p>Emmett Till was a 14 year-old boy from Chicago in the North</p>
<p>What happened to Emmett Till?</p>
<p>In 1955, Emmet Till went to visit his family in Mississippi. He was dared to talk to the shopkeeper of a sweetshop. He wolf-whistled at her and she told her husband. The next day her husband and his half-brother kidnapped Emmet</p>
<p>They beat him, shot him and threw him into the Mississippi river with a heavy weight around his neck, attached with barbed wire. His body wasn't found for three days and was only identified by a ring with his initials</p>
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