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Question 1

1863 The Emancipation Proclamation

Answer 1

the Emancipation Proclamation was a speech made by Abraham Lincoln on the 1st January 1863 during the American Civil War. In this speech he declared that all slaves and people classed as belonging to the state where be “forever free” and that the military, naval and government autorities “will recognise and maintain the freedom of such persons”. He stated that all slaves woud be freed

Question 2

13th Amendment

Answer 2

the 13th Amendment was granted in 1865 and this freed the slaves, most people see this as a good thing as it meant that they were no longer bound to an owner and treated like a commodity. However the majority of ex-slaves had no education, no money, no home and nowhere to go, so stayed working for the plantation owners.

Question 3

14th Amendment

Answer 3

the 14th Amendment 1868 can be argued to be one of the most greatest political advancements for African Americas as it saw the Political rights of African Americans advance from that of slaves to citizens. The 14th amendment gave all African American’s US citizenship and equal protection under the law, which they had been denied previously, as slaves were not viewed as citizens- rather as property.

The 14th Amendments gave African Americans the rights of normal White Americans although they still could not vote and in many states, particually the South, they were treated as second class citizens.

Question 4

15th Amendment

Answer 4

the 15th Amendment was passed in 1870 and granted men the right to vote (women were excluded). These amendments to the constitution theoretically, in the eyes of the law, gave African Americans equal political standing to their White American counterparts. To an extent, at the beginning of this period during reconstruction, this view was embraced, resulting in 700 000 African Americans registering to vote in the early 1870s. This highlights how great progress was beginning to be made as in a matter of years, African Americans political rights had been transformed, going from being non-existent to them actually having a political voice.

however their right was often blocked by white men using Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws which segregated them from society. This meant that by 1877 most African American men were barred from voting.

Question 5

The Freedman’s Bureau

Answer 5

the freedman’s bureau was established by the federal government in 1865 that provided financial support to African Americans to help them to establish new lives- so that they could provide for their families. During slavery, their lack of citizenship prevented them from exercising their civil right to own property or land (4th amendment).

Question 6

1896 Plessy Vs Ferguson -

Answer 6

this was a test case, testing the laws on Segregation.Homer Plessy a man classed as black although he had more white hertitage then black. Plessy was arrested in 1892 for sitting in the White carriage of a train on the East Louisiana Railway. the Judge John Howard Ferguson foudn him guilty in court dispite his own view that the law was “unconstitutional on trains that traveled through many states”. Plessy appealed and it went to the Supreme Court in 1896. Plessy was found guilty once again as Louisiana Law did not violate the 13th and 14th Amendments. The judge said that he was not forced to be a slave and that he was treated the same just separately. This case coined the trem ‘Separate But Equal’.

Question 7

Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws

Answer 7

the Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws were a way that the White men made black people second class citizens. the reason for these policies were that the Whites just couldn’t see African Americans as equals, they were so use to being able to order them around as slaves that they couldn’t except them as equals. Black Codes meant that inter-racial marriages were taboo, a black person could not give evidence against a white person and even if you had one eighth of African American Blood you were classed as Black. The Jim Crows Laws were applied later then the Black Codes but they made segregation legal.

Question 8

The Ku Kluk Klan

Answer 8

the Ku Kluk Klan was a group set up in the 1860’s which persecuted African Americans. The group fizzled out in the 1880’s but experienced a revival in 1915. With the revival came an increase of race related hate crimes, including lynching, arson, and near fatal attacks. One black women after the death of her son, the victim of the KKK who had lynched him and set him on fire, had her son presented in an open coffin at his funeral as a form of protest and to raise awareness of the danger.

Question 9

NAACP

Answer 9

the NAACP was founded in 1909 and stands for the National Assoication for the Advancment of Colored People. The founding of this group signalled the start of the more formal African American civil rights movement. A number of other groups including CORE, UNIA, The Black Panthers and SNCC were also founded which controbuted to the civil rights Movement

Question 10

Booker T Washington

Answer 10

An ex-slave who believed that if they worked with White leaders they could achieve equality. He also believed that showing that they were hard worker they could prove their worth in society.

Question 11

WEB Dubois

Answer 11

The first African American to get a PHd from Harvard. He disagreed with Washington he believed that African Americans should be more active in the fight to gain their rights.

Question 12

Marcus Garvey

Answer 12

His views were more in line with Washington but he did not want African Americans to intergrate with the Whites as Washington and Dubois. Garvey wanted to reclaim Africa from the White man. However he discredited himself by meeting with the KKK.

Question 13

what was the situation like Between 1915 and 1941

Answer 13

Many African Americans feared lynching which was more prevalent in the south, they were still excluded from voting, rarely treated equally before the law, discrimination in employment became for more obvious during the depression (they were normally the last in and the first to go) and there were still much social inequality when it came to housing and education. However education was becoming better, Afircan Americans were becoming more prominant in the world of sport and music and opinions in the Northern states was becoming more libera

Question 14

significance of the AA fighting in ww2

Answer 14

In the 50’s and 60’s the Civil Rights movement acclerated but the World War Two and African Americans role in the War effort meant that segregation and discrimination could no longer be justified and set the ball rolling

Question 15

1954 Brown Vs Board of Education

Answer 15

A test case against segregation laws. A group of families took the Topeka Board of Education to court over the segregation of schools. they wanted their children to the white school down the road rather then the black school which was miles away. The families won the case and segregation in schools was stopped. The case did not just test segregation in schools but segregation in general.

Question 16

1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott

Answer 16

the Montgomery Bus Boycott was started when an African American women called Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat to a white man on a segregated bus. Her arrest sparked a one day protest where African Americans would not use the buses on the day of her trial. The one day protest became a year long protest against segregation. The bus companies lost money and after a year segregation on buses was removed in Montgomery. Rosa Parks died in 2005, 50 years after refusing to give up her seat and making her controbution to the change of civil rights in America. This also started the importance of the media in highlighting segregation.

Question 17

1957 Little Rock

Answer 17

Little Rock in Arkansas was a high school that was forced to desegregate. Nine African American students, known as ‘The Little Rock Nine’ were to go to school at Little Rock High School. The Governer, Orval Faubus, requested that the Arkansas National Guard be used to stop the children going to school. However after meeting with Eisenhower, the Arkansas National Guard was to protect the students and escort them to school. However Faubus dismissed the troops leaving the nine children subject to the violence of the mob of angry white parents outside. They threw bricks at the school and attacked reporters. the police had to evacuate the ‘Little Rock Nine’ from the building. when Faubus did not restore order, Eisenhower took over sending paratropers to Little Rock and put the national Gaurd under Federal control. At the end of the school year Faubus closed all the High Schools. Only in late 1959 were the schools reopened again but only 4 of the ‘Little Rock Nine’ returned under police protection.

Question 18

1960 Sit Ins

Answer 18

A groups of black student decided to sit at the all white lunch bar in Woolworth and asked to be served. They sat there quietly until police dragged them out and arrested or until they were beaten up. The idea spread throughout America and this form of passive protest took hold. This showed the violence that African American were victims off and the media helped show it. This also led to many other minority groups and white students joining the Sit Ins

Question 19

1961 Freedom Rides

Answer 19

the Freedom Rides were groups of young people of all backgrounds, black, white, asian, native and hispanic, riding on Greyhound Buses and in cars through America. They tended to pick states were segregation on public transport was still enforced. The ‘Freedom Riders’ were often beaten up and buses burned. The Freedom Rides even caused riots in Montgomery but it gained media attention.

Question 20

1963 “I Have A Dream” and Martin Luther King

Answer 20

Martin Luther King was a Church Minister from the south. His involvment with the NAACP came to public attention with Montgomery Bus Boycott. From there his involvment with Civil Rights went from strength to strength. He was even arrested and put in prison for his involvement with the Sit Ins. The ‘I have a dream’ speech was part of a March on Washington. He stood on the steps of the Lincoln memorial and made the speech which many remember as the most inspirational speech he ever made. Ella Baker a fellow NAACP member however critised King saying “the movement made Martin, rather then Martin making the movement”.

Question 21

malcolm X

Answer 21

Malcolm X was an opponent of Martin Luther King but he was still a civil rights activist. Malcolm X had famously given the white man back his name and had changed it to X. His ideas were similar to that of Marcus Garvey, meaning that he didn’t want to be intergrated with the Whites. He was far more militant in his attitudes. He was assassinated in 1965.

Question 22

President Kennedy’s assassination

Answer 22

John F Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, he had been president for 3 years when he died. Many doubt how much difference he made to civil rights during his presidency but he made a huge controbution in death. Johnson who succeeded Kennedy passed two laws which have said to have been passed in his honour.

Question 23

1964 Civil Rights Act

Answer 23

The Civil Right Act was passed the year after Kennedy’s death by President Johnson. It’s said to be passed in his honour as he had supported Civil Rights and equality. The Civil rights Act made everyone equal before the Law, over ruled Black codes and the Jim Crow Laws, and gave everyone equal rights.

Question 24

1965 Selma March

Answer 24

This was a march in Selma Alabama. the march was part of a voting rights campaign and at this march Martin Luther King was arrested agian.

Question 25

1965 Voting Rights Act

Answer 25

Johnson passed this act to make voting a universal thing so everyone could vote and they could not be hindered by Black Codes or Jim Crow Laws. Again it is said to have been passed in memory of Kennedy.

Question 26

Martin Luther King’s assassination

Answer 26

Martin Luther King was assassinated on 4th April 1968 Memphis Tennessee. By the time of his assassination he had switched his focus to the social and economic problems facing African Americans and other minorities. His death caused riots and disturbances all over the country were his influence was felt. His funeral 5 days later became an international event and in 1986 2nd November was made Martin Luther King day in his honour.

Question 27

how did the AA civil rights progress politically at the start of the 1865 period
voting rights

Answer 27

African Americans were starting to gain political positions of authority. There were two black senators in Mississippi and 8 African Americans in congress by 1875, inferring that progress was being made at an alarming rate as now, it can be seen how African Americans were actually in positions which enabled them to contribute to justice at a state and national level and ensure that the momentum of African American political authority would be sustained. However, this promising start is a misrepresentation of the entire period,

Question 28

how did the AA civil rights NOT progress politically at the start of the 1865 period
voting rights

Answer 28

However, this promising start is a misrepresentation of the entire period, after a peak of voting in the early 1870s, upon the end of reconstruction in 1877, numbers of African Americans registered to vote declined significantly. By 1898, only 9% of African Americans were voting compared with 71% in 1874. There are a number of reasons for this, all with the same fundamental cause, White Americans- particularly (although not exclusively) those in the southern states, maintained their pre civil war attitudes towards African Americans.

Question 29

why did the register for AA decline in 1877

Answer 29

They would not entertain thoughts of them as political equals thus did all in their power to prevent this from ever becoming reality in practice- regardless of what the law stated. Finding loopholes in the 15th amendment, many southern states imposed voting qualifications to significantly reduce numbers of African Americans eligible to vote.

Question 30

give an example of a clause that prevented the AA from voting

Answer 30

One such clause being commonly referred to as the ‘grandfather clause’ that stated that a person could only vote if their grandfather had been eligible to vote. As the great proportion of African Americans had been born into slavery, this meant that they were denied the right to the vote. Thus, it can be seen how de jour discrimination was preventing progress of their political civil rights.

Question 31

how did AA push to gain their rightful political status despite the great opposition they faced.

Answer 31

In 1894, the political fusion experiment between the populists and the Republican Party in North Carolina was a great success for African American political civil rights. Not only did it result in a number of beneficial reforms aimed at the African American population but also, 1000 African Americans were elected or appointed into office that year.

Question 32

how did AA push to gain their rightful political status despite the great opposition they faced.
negative effect

Answer 32

However, once more, this success for African Americans was short lived as by 1898, political fusion had been destroyed by the red shirts (a white paramilitary group) who ensured that by 1898 all African Americans had been expelled from office as a result of threats, violence and anti-black campaigns aimed to spread white supremacist values. Thus, what temporary progress had been made was all but eradicated.

Question 33

what was on main factor that prevented the AA from progressing

Answer 33

White supremacist values in the south were upheld to such an extent that it became increasingly impossible for African Americans to exercise their legal right to the vote, meaning that by 1900, only 3% of African Americans voted. By 1910, the near elimination of the vote was almost complete in the south; the system of federal government being responsible for no interventions being made by the north. In addition to this, the democratic president at this time- Grover Cleveland, supported white supremacy.

Question 34

did AA experience significant political progress

Answer 34

African Americans briefly experienced significant progress in their political civil rights- which peaked in the early 1870’s as a result of reconstruction with African Americans beginning to gain positions of political authority and taking advantage of their right to vote, but as the period progressed and it became apparent to anti-black groups that African Americans were beginning to gain political equality, actions were taken both through finding loopholes in the law in addition to using social tactics- such as violence and campaigns, to prevent African Americans from ever gaining this equality.

Question 35

how were the south allowed to get away with treating the AA so badly

Answer 35

As the north was no longer monitoring the behaviour of the south- maintaining the compromise of 1877, the federal system in the USA giving each state independence in matters of domestic affairs in addition to the domination of the supreme court by southerners at this time meant that the south were allowed to get away with enforcing increasingly strict voting qualifications which further and further restricted the political civil rights of African Americans.

Question 36

small conclusion

did AA experience significant political progress

Answer 36

So, by the end of this period, African American political civil rights had only progressed marginally in practice despite the theoretical suggestion of political equality for blacks and whites that was written into the constitution. Nevertheless, African Americans still pushed to gain their rightful political status despite the great opposition they faced. Overall, progress was limited by both white supremacist groups in addition to the failure of the federal government to intervene in what it viewed as domestic issues.

Question 37

did the AA progress economically

Answer 37

The economic civil rights of African Americans did progress during this period, however, with this progression once more came increasing opposition as a result of hostility from white supremacist groups. In some cases, this hostility actually served to increase economic prosperity for African Americans- particularly the introduction of segregation, supporting the idea that economic civil rights did indeed progress during this period.

Question 38

what act rectified the 4th amendment

Answer 38

With the passing of the 14th amendment, this was rectified and so African Americans for the first time could sustain their own economic needs through owning a small business or farming their own land. This economic progress in civil rights is reflected through the homestead act of 1866 which gave 44 million acres of land to African Americans so that they could grow and sell their produce in order to earn a living- thus they could in theory become economically independent for the first time demonstrating great progress in economic civil rights as they had gone from being slaves- being exploited for the economic gain of their masters, to being able to be financially independent and sustain a living for themselves and their family’s.

Question 39

why was economic progression a de jure

Answer 39

although in theory the idea would have resulted in economic stability for African Americans, in practice, it became yet another way for the southern states to repress African Americans in a poverty cycle so they would not have the means to rise up and fight for the economic equality that was rightfully theirs.

Question 40

what was a main issue of the homestead act

Answer 40

The greatest issue was the fact that the Homestead Act was administered by southerners- being a matter for state government control rather than federal government as it was a domestic issue. As a result of this, the African Americans were given the worst land available so that not only was it not economically profitable to them but instead it was incredibly expensive to maintain so any money they did make out of the venture was merely used up in the process of farming the land.

Question 41

were the AA better off as slaves

Answer 41

The African Americans made no economic profit- so they were trapped in a viscous cycle of poverty arguably worse than when they were slaves. Now, it could be argued that their lives were much worse because no one had to keep them alive and with the small amount of money they did make, there was little hope of economic advancement- they were instead being repressed.

Question 42

why were AA dependent on whites?

what were the results of AA being poor

Answer 42

As a result of this maintained poverty, sharecropping became ever prominent throughout this period, as it was the only way for them to earn a living- doing a job that, thanks to slavery, they were able to do. In this process African Americans rented land from White landowners so that they could grow food. This ensured economic dependence on the whites continued.

Question 43

why were the AA s poor even though they were working on farms

Answer 43

crippling rates of tax on the land rented and their produce on the part of the landowners prevented any chance of economic prosperity for the large proportion of African Americans- highlighting economic repression rather than advancement.

Question 44

how was progress made in some areas of economic civil rights.

Answer 44

African American organizations- such as the Afro-American league set up in 1890 by Thomas Fortune, set to promote the economic rights of African Americans. the National Negro business league was set up in 1900 by Booker T Washington to support African American enterprise.

Question 45

how did afro American League and the national negro business league demonstrate great progress

Answer 45

These organizations demonstrate great progress to economic civil rights as for the first time, African Americans were seeking methods to protect and empower their own businesses- highlighting how although for the majority, they were stuck in a cycle of extreme poverty and economic repression, for some, economic civil rights did progress greatly.

Question 46

how did the hostility towards black aid them economically

Answer 46

segregation inspired the move towards parallel businesses-which gave African Americans the opportunity to become economically independent as well as providing great opportunity for African American businesses that would not have to compete for customers with their white counterparts.

Question 47

factual evidence that parallel businesses were a great economic success for AA

Answer 47

• by 1915, there were 30,000 businesses which provided the opportunity to end the vicious cycle of poverty many would otherwise have been stuck in.

Question 48

the negative side of parallel businesses

Answer 48

Even so, with this success came resistance from white supremacist groups wishing to put a stop to this success- for example, in 1892, three Memphis grocers were lynched as a result of jealousy from white business owners. Thus it can be seen how the failure of the southern states to administer the law justly in addition to the federal government refusing to get involved resulted in economic repression being maintained in the main through this period and those who did make progress were always at risk of being targeted by violence.

Question 49

what did blacks do if they did not have the money or skills to set themselves up in business

Answer 49

they were left with no other option than sharecropping or farm labor which, as a result of exploitation on the part of white land owners, resulted in poverty and conditions worse than slavery.

Question 50

economic progression conclusion

Answer 50

Therefore, although overall economic civil rights did progress during this period they were only taken advantage of by the few who were able to do so and even then, there was great personal risk involved in being economically successful.

Question 51

did social civil rights progress

Answer 51

no Although there were moments of slight progress in this area, these were brief and by no means typical of the period as a whole. Without support of the Supreme Court in particular, social civil rights during this period for African Americans were largely ignored meaning that at times, their treatment was worse than during slavery.

Question 52

what is one area of progress in social civil rights

Answer 52

During slavery, African Americans had not been allowed to travel etc. and now that they could, those who could afford it took advantage of it. This is supported by the fact that the African American population of the ten largest southern cities doubled from 1865-70 and many also chose to migrate north- for example between 1880-1900, the population of Chicago increased from 6,480 to 30,150.

Question 53

the negative for AA being able to travel

Answer 53

, although they were allowed to move where they wanted to, they were always treated as second-class citizens- particularly in southern states but increasingly in the northern states as well- despite the fact that by law, they were the social equals of the whites.

Question 54

what did the into of segregation mean

Answer 54

The introduction of segregation in the 1870’s as a result of the black codes- better known as the Jim Crow laws, meant that many public facilities were segregated- blacks and whites being separated, often to the detriment of the blacks who were given worse seats on busses etc. than the whites, simply as a result of their skin color.

Question 55

what was de jour discrimination causing

Answer 55

was causing regression in African American social civil rights. In particular, segregation distinctly eroded the rights given to them by constitution in the 14th amendment. The practice of segregation was fully supported by the Supreme Court most notably demonstrating this view through the Plessey vs. Ferguson case

Question 56

what’d the success f the Plessy vs feurgonson case show

Answer 56

The fact that the supreme court- the highest court of justice in the land, supported segregation so openly only goes to show how little social civil rights progressed. Despite it being written into the constitution that African Americans were socially equal to whites, throughout this time period, there was never any social indication that this was the case.

Question 57

why can it be argued that social civi rights did not progress
lynchings
statistics

Answer 57

lynching became a part of normal everyday life for African Americans and whites. There were 3320 African Americans lynched from 1880-1930. From 1887-1906, there was a peak of one lynching almost every four days in the south. States ignored this, refusing to take any action against it- thus in their silence, supported it.

Question 58

socially why were the AA better of when they were saves

lynching

Answer 58

The increasing violence of white supremacist groups such as the Klu Klux Klan only served to reduce the social civil rights of the African Americans further- even more than when they had been in slavery, because at least then they were kept alive if only for the economic gain of their owner.As a result of this, as the period commenced, the social civil rights of African Americans plummeted.

Question 59

conclusion social progress

why it did to progress

Answer 59

They were routinely murdered, segregated from people who were their legal equals and they no longer had the support from national authorities such as the Supreme Court as they had done through reconstruction. As a result of this, there was not progress made in social civil rights, rather great regression.

Question 60

did African American cultural civil rights progress

Answer 60

yes Despite the fact that they were still at a great disadvantage in many areas in comparison to their white American counterparts- e.g. in education, they used what they were given and built upon it. In doing this, they set the foundations for civil rights in other areas to begin to progress, although this change was not felt to a great extent in this period.

Question 61

why did experience much less rrepression in their cultural civil rights than any of the others

Answer 61

this was felt to be the least threatening aspect of African American life to white authority. One of the areas where there was progress was in education. Education was supported financially by the freedman’s bureau- whilst it was still running. This lead to the establishment of university’s such as Howard- which would go on to educate Civil rights leaders of the future.

Question 62

what was given greater attention to

cultural civil rights

Answer 62

great attention was given to the general education of African Americans particularly to improve basic literacy rates to help them partake more actively in society. The effectiveness of this is highlighted through the act that in 1860, 90% of African Americans were illiterate compared with 45% by 1900 showing that, despite anything else, education of African Americans was improved greatly by the end of this period.

Question 63

was proper educational advantages given to everyone

Answer 63

proper educational advantages were only given to the minority of African Americans- for example by 1890, 65% of school aged children were unable to write compared with only 15% of white children. Showing how although African Americans were given a basic education, the level of education given to the whites was much greater- showing how there was no cultural equality in civil rights in this period for whites and blacks.Nevertheless, any education was more than the African American people would have had at the beginning of this period, whereas whites had had the right to education for much longer.

Question 64

even though some AA had education why were still at a disadvatge

Answer 64

whites had education for much longer. Thus, although comparatively, the African Americans seem to be at a disadvantage, it must be taken into consideration that in the brief amount of time that they had been entitled to education, great progress had been made to this extent. This was the first generation of educated African Americans that set a precedent for education amongst them- which lead to many African Americans being able to gain higher education and have successful careers etc.

Question 65

what was Another cultural advancement in civil rights that greatly inspired leadership within African Americans

Answer 65

was their use of the 1st amendment right to practice religion. This lead to the development of the church and its leadership that played a very important part in the lives of African Americans. Not only did the church provide a community center where groups could meet to organize protests etc. but this also facilitated a tradition of strong church leaders who would go on to become civil rights leaders.

Question 66

give examples of first national AA leaders to emerge

Answer 66

Individuals such as Douglass Washington and W.E.B de Bois were and and this strong leadership facilitated national movements such as the NAACP being set up in 1909 which by 1917 had 9000 members and by 1919 had 90,000 members. This organization established in this period went on to become one of the core organizations in the civil rights movement.

Question 67

show proof that there was cultural progress fromloobking at civil rights group

Answer 67

by 1915, the national association of colored women had 50,000 members. This shows great progress for cultural civil rights as at the beginning of this period, African American women were in a worse position than the men and for them to now be part of an organised national group demonstrated a great amount of progress had been made in terms of cultural civil rights.

Question 68

why can it be argued that the only reason that there was significant progression in cultural civil rights was because …

Answer 68

white supremacists did not see them as a threat. In fact they actively encouraged African Americans to become heavily involved in the church as they believed it to be good for them to be disciplined and bowing to the authority of the church.

Question 69

what’s another reason why AA were able to develop their cultural civil rights more than the others

Answer 69

African Americans already had developed their own culture greatly in response to years of slavery forcing them to seek things such as music and the church to establish their own communities within slave plantations. Thus it could equally be argued that the only reason that cultural civil rights progressed during this period is because, unlike other civil rights, throughout slavery, African Americans had been able to establish cultural traditions that they only built upon when they were freed- they did not have to start from scratch as regards to exercising their right to culture.

Question 70

why did the Civil rights of African Americans during this period- with the exception of cultural civil rights progressed very little.
social Darwinism

Answer 70

Although there were peaks in progress during reconstruction, progress was not sustained for long enough for it to impact on the lives of all African Americans- only a small minority actually saw significant progression in their civil rights during this period. There are several reasons that this was the case, most notably the fact that white attitudes at the time were heavily against the progress of African Americans in any area- particularly in their civil rights. The majority of whites- particularly those in the south were caught up in beliefs of social Darwinism- embodied in white supremacist values, thus did all they could to prevent the advancement of Blacks in any way.

Question 71

effects of white ppl being against the progress of civil rights for aa

Answer 71

groups such as the Red Shirts and the KKK were supported and allowed to get away with what in any other society would be viewed akin to genocide. This attitude was reflected at state level with state governments in the south holding these same views- thus they were more than willing to turn a blind eye to cases of lynching and endorse segregation and any other way to prevent African Americans from gaining equality in civil rights as if they could become equal to the whites there would be nothing to stop them from dominating the whites and having power over them- something which was greatly feared.

Question 72

impact of the federal gov failing to intervene

Answer 72

The fact that federal government failed to intervene in the south also provides explanation for the lack of progress in civil rights. With the Supreme court openly supporting segregation it was clear to see that the reconstruction attitudes which had supported the passing of the 13, 14 and 15th amendments to the constitution were long gone and it is arguably this failure which is responsible for the lack of progress.If the federal government had got involved, civil rights for African Americans may well have been upheld thus progress would have been allowed to occur without the restriction of white supremacists in authority.

Question 73

another reason why their was a lack of progress for the AA

AA attitudes

Answer 73

it was the attitudes of the African American population themselves, which was responsible for their lack of progress. Having just come out of slavery, it is impossible to expect great progress in terms of civil rights as it could be argued that they did not have enough experience of life in American society to make great progress- particularly in areas such as economics where they would have had no previous experience.

Question 74

give proof that white intervenes was a main reason why they couldn’t progress

Answer 74

the fact that African Americans did make great progress in areas such as cultural civil rights suggest that, if they had been free to progress without the interference from others and with the support of the federal government they would have made greater progress in all areas of civil rights during this period.