3) Issue Of Civil Rights Flashcards
What did WW2 highlight?
The racism and discrimination that existed in the USA and its armed forces. This was a clear paradox because the USA was fighting against a racist state.
Which army did black Americans form and enlist in?
The Jim Crow army- they were aware that they would have to serve in segregated units.
What progress was evident for black Americans during WW2?
- The US supreme commander General Eisenhower supported integrated camp come back to unit and there were hundreds of black officers in the army and the Marines.
– By the end of the war 58 black sailors out of a force of almost 3. 5 million had risen to the rank of officer.
– Desegregation in the Navy came in 1946 and the other services in 1948
What were job opportunities for black Americans like during WW2?
Job opportunities in factories for black American women and older black men increased by were often treated poorly.
Which campaign was created after Pittsburgh corner newspaper readers commented on the second class status of black Americans during war time?
The double V campaign
During the war how many black Americans migrated from the south to the USA’s industrial centres?
Over 400,000
How did the number of black Americans employed in government service rise?
It rose from 50,000-200,000 and 2 million black Americans were involved in industry.
By the end of war what was the employment by black Americans like?
The number of jobs held by black Americans was at an all time high.
What effect did the migration of many black Americans to the industrial cities in the North have?
It increased racial tension, this increase lead to race riots in 47 cities. Worst was Detroit in June when 25 black and 9 white were killed.
Where else were there race riots?
At 9 black army training camps, where soldiers resented their unequal treatment.
What did an awareness of racial discrimination lead to during ww2?
An increase in membership of the National Association for the Advancement of coloured people (NAACP) during the war 50,000 to 450,000.
What did James Farmer found in 1942?
A new organisation called the congress of racial equality (CORE), it was inspired by the non violent tactics of Ghandi - used the ideas of sit-ins ect…
How did civil rights split the democrats in 1948?
Truman wanted to pass a civil rights bill and proposed an anti-lynching bill which the Dixiecrats rejected.
What did Truman’s ‘fair deal’ offer?
Hope
What did Truman set up in 1946 and who opposed it?
Truman set up a committee on civil rights. Republicans and Dixiecrats continued to block measures, the most important reform was the desegregation of the armed forces in 1948.
Why were black Americans in a better position to demand their full civil rights as American citizens after WW2?
Because of their efforts in WW2, their plight was constantly noticed by Truman who made countless speeches and though no new laws were introduced, he raised the nation’s awareness of the problems of civil rights. Confidence of NAACP was sufficiently high by late 1940s.
Which laws were passed in southern states at the end of the 19th century to segregate blacks from whites in daily life?
The Jim Crow laws
What was the separate but equal doctrine?
That if separate conditions for blacks and whites were equal then segregation was constitutional.
Why was the separate by equal doctrine not true?
Many US states had segregated schools and South Carolina spent 3x more on white education than black education.
What was the first ever case to challenge segregation?
Brown vs Topeka which originated in Topeka, Kansas
What was the Brown vs Topeka case?
Linda Brown’s parents wanted her to attend a Neighbourhood school rather rather than the school for black Americans which was far away. Lawyers from the NAACP led by Thurgood Marshall presented evidence to the Supreme Court that separate education was psychologically harmful.
How did the Supreme Court respond to the Brown vs Topeka case?
On May 17th 1954, chief justice warran of the Supreme Court gave a closing judgement banning segregation in education. However the judgement did not specify how integration should be carried out apart from at the earliest possible speed.
How did some states take advantage of the Brown vs Topeka ruling?
Although some areas began to desegregate and by 19 57 over 30,000 black children were attending schools that had been formally segregated, there were still 2.4 million black children still being educated in Jim Crow schools
How many senators and congressmen from the southern states signed the southern manifesto a document opposing racial integration in education?
More than 100
Over the next two years how many laws and resolutions did southern state legislators pass to prevent the brown decision from being enforced?
Over 450
What happened at Little Rock high school in 1957?
Little Brook high school decided to let nine black students to in role. On the 3rd of September 1957 and nine students led by Elizabeth Eckford were prevented from entering by the state governor Orval Faubus who ordered National Guard meant to block their entry. The following day the Guardsman were removed by faubus and the students run the gauntlet of a vicious white crowd
Why were the events at Little Rock ironic?
Press and TV coverage in the USA and across the world was An embarrassment to a country which put itself forward as the champion of freedom and equality.
How did Eisenhower respond to the events at Little Rock?
Eisenhower sent the 101st airborne division to little rock, each of the nine were assigned to a personal bodyguard.
How did Faubus respond to Eisenhower’s reaction to Little Rock?
He closed all schools in Arkansas is to prevent integration, many white and black students had no schooling for a year, schools in Arkansas were re-opened in 1959 following a Supreme Court ruling that schools must integrate.
What was the role of the Supreme Court in the James Meredith case?
They upheld a federal decision to force Mississippi university to accept black student James Meredith.
What action did Kennedy take in the James Meredith case?
He sent 320 federal Marshals to escort Meredith onto campus. There were riots and two people were killed. 166 Marshals and 210 demonstrators were wounded.
How did Governor Wallace react to the James Meredith case?
He tried to stop black Americans enrolling at university.
What happened to Rosa Parks on 1st December 1955?
Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery and sat with three other black people. When a white man was left standing, the bus driver asked before to move as according to the law black and white people could not share the same row. Three of the mood but Parks refused. Parts were subsequently arrested.
What did the Montgomery women’s political council decide to do on the day of Rosa park’s trial?
To hold a one day boycott of all the buses.
How did local civil rights activists become invoked in the Montgomery bus boycott?
Local civil rights activist became involved e.g. Martin Luther King. They held a meeting to plan a rally for the trial, at the meeting the Montgomery improvement Association (MIA) was set up.
Why was king chose to lead the MIA?
He was new to Montgomery.
How many people were involved in the Monday boycott and the one on 5th December?
20,000 and 7000 attended the rally and heard MLK make an inspirational speech.
What happened to Rosa parks at her trial?
She was fined $10 for her office and the MIA decided to continue the boycott until its demands were met.
What happened to bus companies during the bus boycott?
They lost money
What were organised to replace buses for the boycotters?
Churches bought cars to take people to and from work however this created problems because there had to be specific pick up points where people were often harassed by the police.
What were the violent reactions to the Montgomery bus boycott?
- Boycott has faced intimidation led by the Montgomery white citizens council (membership of this world to 12,000 x 19 56)
– King and others had their houses firebombed
Why were 90 leading civil rights activists including king and parks arrested in February 1956?
For organising an illegal boycott. King was sentenced to 386 days in jail but instead he paid $1000
What did the press do in the summer of 1956?
They covered events more closely helping to raise awareness of racism in the south.
What did the MIA do with the issue of segregation on transport?
They took it to a federal district court and it accepted that it was unconstitutional but the Montgomery city officials appealed and the case went to the Supreme Court however the boycott was successful and ended on December 20, 1956 when king and other leaders travelled on an integrated bus.
Why was the Montgomery bus boycott significant?
- Should the economic power of the black community
– highlighted the benefits of a peaceful approach
– show togetherness could win
– victory offered civil rights hope
– NAACP was vindicated in making a legal case
– success encourage King to consider further action to confront inequality
What happened on the 1st of February 1960?
For black students from the local college walked into an FW Woolworth store and demanded to be served at a white only lunch counter.
How did the four black students react in 1st February 1960?
On being refused they remain seated at the counter until the shop closed. The next day they were accompanied by 27 more students and the day after a further 80 join them by the fifth day there were 300 students
What did students end up doing after the first few sit-ins?
The students then boycotted any shops in Greensboro with segregated lunch counters. Sales immediately dropped and eventually segregation ended.
What did students have to endure during their sit-ins?
Violence and assault but they were careful not to retaliate copying Martin Luther King’s peaceful tactics.
By August 1961 how many people had the sit-ins attracted and how many arrests had it caused?
Attracted over 70,000 participants
Resulted in over 3000 arrests.
What did the direct action of leader of the civil rights movement through sit-ins lead to?
Challenging the deep rooted racism of the south even further in what became known as the ‘freedom rides’.
