African American turning points

Question 1

Reconstruction Era 1865-1877, political

Answer 1

For

• Activity of congress
• 14th Amendment 1868 gives citizenship to all AA
• 15th Amendment 1870 gives voting rights
• 700,000 AA could vote, 22 representatives in congress

Against

• Opposition of the supreme court
• 1875 US v. Reese eroding voting rights
• The Compromise of 1877 leading to the dismantling of reconstruction of the south
• The Mississippi constitution change of 1890, voting stats going down from 67% to 6%

Question 2

Reconstruction Era 1865-1877, economic

Answer 2

For

• As AA were no longer slaves they had the right to property and to earn a living as free citizens
• By 1970 only 30,000 owned land

Against
- Sharecropping, 50 year contracts which were of little benefit to them, many of them being forced to hand over 90% of profits

Question 3

Reconstruction Era 1865-1877, social

Answer 3

For
- 1875 Civil Rights Act outlaws discrimination in public services

Against

• All changed after the compromise of 1877
• The 1883 Ciivil Rights Cases

Question 4

The New Deal 1933-41, political

Answer 4

For

• Mary Mcleod Bethune rising to the head of the Youth Administration
• Robert Weaver becoming the head of the Public Works Commission
• Roosevelts Black Cabinet

Against
- No significant change for the masses and their political rights

Question 5

The New Deal 1933-41, economic

Answer 5

For

• New level of assistance and direct action to help AA find work
• 500,000 AA youths assisted
• 3 million employed in New Deal Agencies

Against

• It was not until the world war the the economy turned itself around from the Great Depression
• 50% unemployment rates still persisted

Question 6

The New Deal 1933-41, social

Answer 6

For

• 50,000 new public housing helping the poorest in society
• $45 million being made available for AA

Against
- No challenge to desegregation which persisted

Question 7

World War Two 1941-1945, political

Answer 7

For

• Smith v. Allright 1944, first significant federal government action to improve AA political rights since reconstruction
• The Civil Rights Commission 1946, improvement for all rights, Truman’s admittance that the tides are changing in AA Civil Rights

Against
- It was still a long time before the Voting Rights Act in 1965 and any other political improvements

Question 8

World War Two 1941-1945, economic

Answer 8

For
- The industrial boom of the war brought American out of the Great Depression, AA greatly benefited from this

Against
- Not much of significance

Question 9

World War Two 1941-1945, social

Answer 9

For

• Philip Randolph bridges the gap between AACR and workers rights as the AACR movement gains the mass movement techniques, CORE being established in 1942
• In 1941 he threatens to march 10,000 on Washington forcing through EO 8802
• EO8802 was a massive turning point as it lead to Truman fully desegregating the army by the end of the war

Against

• Use arguments from 1954 as a turning point
• Essentially it could be argued that the gap was too great between WWII and the CR movement

Question 10

Brown v. Board of Education Topeka 1954, political

Answer 10

For
- Marked the beginning of the Civil Rights Era which lead to the Voting Rights Act

Against
- Argument for WWII, the origins can be traced back to there

Question 11

Brown v. Board of Education Topeka 1954, economic

Answer 11

For
- Marked the beginning of the Civil Rights Era which lead to the Civil Rights Act 1954 which lead to a banning in discrimination of employment

Against

• Argument for WWII, the origins can be traced back to there
• The Civil Rights Era was limited in its impact on economic rights (use Black Power and affirmative action)

Question 12

Brown v. Board of Education Topeka 1954, social

Answer 12

For

• It in itself lead to the desegregation of the education system, as evidenced by the presidential support of the desegregation of Little Rock 1957
• It lead to a mass desegregation movement with the Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955, The Greensboro Sit ins 1960, the Freedom Rides 1961 and ultimately the Civil Rights 1954

Against

• Argument for WWII, the origins can be traced back to there
• The Civil Rights Era was limited in its impact on social rights (use Black Power)

Question 13

Affirmative Action of the 1970s, economic

Answer 13

For
- Giggs vs Duke Power Company 1971, by 1972 300,000 businesses bound by quotas of %ages of ethnic minorities

Against

• Had no longevity, Reagan small government took away any positive discrimination
• AA made up 43% of those needing federal aid but only 11.7% of the population, Reagan impacted them the most