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African-Americans Flashcards

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1
Q

What is ‘reconstruction’?

A

Term used to describe the period 1865 to 1877 as the US attempted to rebuild physically after the Civil War, to reunite the union and to work out how to accommodate several million slaves who had been freed

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2
Q

What were the two different stages of ‘Reconstruction’:

A

Firstly Presidential Reconstruction (1865-67)

Congressional Reconstruction (1867-1877)

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3
Q

Legal changes to the position of African-Americans:

A

1865 - 13th Amendment to the Constitution

1866 - Civil Rights Act

1868 - 14th Amendment to the Constitution

1870 - 15th Amendment to the Constitution

1875 - Civil Rights Act

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4
Q

When was the 13th Amendment to the Constitution:

A

1865

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5
Q

What was the 13th Amendment to the Constitution:

A

Confirmed the illegality of slavery

Meant that all slave owners could restore their land yet they couldn’t regain their slaves - slaves not given any land and unclear what rights and status they were to have

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6
Q

When was the first Civil Rights Act?

A

1866

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7
Q

What was the 1866 Civil Rights Act?

A

Act intended to establish the equality of African-Americans with other American citizens

Asserted their right to equality before the law

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8
Q

When was the 14th Amendment to the Constitution:

A

1868

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9
Q

What was the 14th Amendment to the Constitution:

A

Important political landmark in that it began to change the balance of power between the state and federal governments

Gave African Americans citizenship and all rights

Stopped states taking away rights - foundation of civil rights campaign to come

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10
Q

When was the 15th Amendment to the Constitution?

A

1870

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11
Q

What was the 15th Amendment to the Constitution?

A

Intended to ensure that African Americans had the vote not only in the South but also in the North

Certain states however used voting qualifications such as literacy tests, grandfather clause and poll tax - limiting their rights to vote

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12
Q

When was the second civil rights act?

A

1875

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13
Q

What was the 1875 Civil Rights Act?

A

Aimed to prohibit segregation in public places, except in schools

Tried to uphold legal equality

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14
Q

Evidence of positive outcomes for African-Americans in the Reconstruction period:

A

Civil Rights Bill

School system

Political freedom

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15
Q

Evidence of negative outcomes for African-Americans in the Reconstruction period:

A

Federal government dictate who vote

No property rights

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16
Q

What was the Freedman’s Bureau?

A

Freedman’s Bureau was an organisation established by the Federal Government in March 1865 to support freed slaves in the short-term

Bureau also supported the work of black self-help groups in providing education for black children

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17
Q

When was the Freedman’s bureau?

A

March 1865

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18
Q

What were black codes?

A

Early indication of Southern white attitudes to newly freed slaves

Codes varied from state to state but one common feature was the wide definition of a ‘negro’ (one eighth of black blood was sufficient for this)

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19
Q

Factors of the black codes:

A

Marriages were allowed but inter-racial unions were outlawed

Property could be owned (though rarely afforded)

Legal rights were limited - a black person could testify in court, draw up a contract and sue if it was not kept, but they were barred from giving evidence against a white person, and serving in juries

They were not permitted to vote

Education was to take place in segregated schools

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20
Q

Thirteenth Amendment:

A

Slavery abolished (1865)

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21
Q

Fourteenth Amendment:

A

Citizenship guaranteed for all races (1868)

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22
Q

Fifteenth Amendment:

A

Voting rights guaranteed for all races (1870)

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23
Q

What were the ‘Jim Crow’ laws?

A

Laws passed across the southern states of America

Enforced segregation

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24
Q

When were the ‘Jim Crow’ laws?

A

1890-1910

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25
Q

When was Plessy v Ferguson?

A

1896

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26
Q

What did Plessy v Ferguson rule?

A

Ruled that separate but equal facilities were constitutional

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27
Q

When was the NAACP founded?

A

1909

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28
Q

What was the aim of the NAACP?

A

Founded with the aim of fighting racial discrimination by providing legal support for black citizens opposing segregation through the courts

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29
Q

When was CORE founded?

A

1942

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30
Q

What was the aim of CORE?

A

Created to fight for equality for black Americans - organised sit-ins during the war

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31
Q

When was Smith v Allwright?

A

1944

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32
Q

What was Smith v Allwright?

A

Abolished the Texas white primary

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33
Q

When was Morgan v Virginia?

A

1946

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34
Q

What was Morgan v Virginia?

A

Segregation banned on interstate travel

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35
Q

What happened in 1948?

A

Truman ended segregation in the armed forces and creates a Fair Employment Board

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36
Q

When was Sweatt v Painter?

A

1950

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37
Q

What was Sweatt v Painter?

A

Ruled that graduate education provision should be equal

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38
Q

What was established in 1951?

A

Committee on Governance Contact Complience (CGCC)

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39
Q

What was the Committee on Government Contact Compliance (CGCC)?

A

Intended to ensure that government defence contacts did not go to companies that discriminated on the grounds of race.

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40
Q

When was Brown v Board of Education, Topeka?

A

1954

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41
Q

What did Brown v Board of Education establish?

A

Segregation in education banned

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42
Q

When was Brown II?

A

1955

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43
Q

What was Brown II?

A

Desecration of education should proceed ‘with all deliberate speed’

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44
Q

When was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

A

1956

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45
Q

What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

A

Protest against segregation on town buses. MIA founded to co-ordinate the protest

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46
Q

When was the SCLC founded?

A

1957

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47
Q

What was the aims of the SCLC?

A

Aimed to widen participation in civil rights movement; did not take individual members

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48
Q

When was the Little Rock protest?

A

1957

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49
Q

What was the Little Rock Protest?

A

NAACP test the Brown and Brown II rulings

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50
Q

When was Eisenhowers First Civil Rights Act?

A

1957

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51
Q

What was Eisenhower’s First Civil Rights Act?

A

Intended to increase black voting, but is watered down so much it achieves little

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52
Q

When was the Greensboro’ sit ins?

A

1960

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53
Q

What were the Greensboro’ sit ins?

A

Protests against segregation of public places

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54
Q

When was the SNCC found?

A

1960

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55
Q

What was the SNCC?

A

Student-led organisation to co-ordinate protests

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56
Q

What did Kennedy create in 1961?

A

Kennedy creates the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity

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57
Q

What was the aim of the Equal Employment Opportunity (1961)?

A

Aimed to end racial discrimination by the federal government

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58
Q

When were the Freedom Rides?

A

1961

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59
Q

What were the Freedom Rides?

A

Protest organised by CORE to test inter-state transport rulings

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60
Q

When did the Albany Campiagn begin?

A

1961

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61
Q

What was the Albany Campaigns?

A

Protest designed to encourage black voter registration, and to fight for desegregation.

Widely seen as a failure

NAACP, SCLC, SNCC and Martin Kuther King take part

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62
Q

When was the Birmingham campaign?

A

1963

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63
Q

What was the Birmingham campaign?

A

SCLC campaign to achieve desegregation

Widely seen as a success

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64
Q

When was the March on Washington?

A

1963

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65
Q

What was the March on Washington?

A

March attended by 250,000 mixed-race campaigners

Martin Luther King delivered his ‘I Have A Dream’ speech

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66
Q

When was the Civil Rights Act?

A

1964

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67
Q

What was the 1964 Civil Rights Act?

A

Outlawed segregation and made the Fair Employment Practices Commission permanent

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68
Q

When was the Mississipi Freedom Summer?

A

1964

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69
Q

What was the Mississipi Freedom Summer?

A

SNCC-organised campaign to increase voter registration in Mississipi

Created the Mississipi Freedom Democratic Party as an alternative to the Democratic Party to provide black with political representation - met with resistance from the Democratic Party

70
Q

When was the Selma campaign?

A

1965

71
Q

What was the Selma Campaign?

A

Campaign led by Martin Luther King to encourage black voter registration in Selma

72
Q

What was the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and Higher Education Act?

A

Increased funding for education provision in poorer states: led to a four-fold increase in the number of black college students by 1975

73
Q

When were the Voting Rights Act introduced?

A

1965

74
Q

What was the Voting Rights Act?

A

Abolished literacy tests and any measures designed to prevent black people from voting

75
Q

When was the Moynihan Report?

A

1965

76
Q

What was the Moynihan report?

A

A report, commissioned by Johnson, into black social conditions: revealed high social problems

77
Q

When were the Los Angeled (Watts) riots?

A

1965

78
Q

What were the Watts riots?

A

A member of the black community was arrested for drink driving: large scale riots resulted

79
Q

When was the Black Pantehr Party founded?

A

1966

80
Q

What did the Black Panther Party establish?

A

Published the Ten-Point Programme and launched the Patrol the Pigs campaign

81
Q

When was the Chicago campaign?

A

1966

82
Q

What was the Chicago campaign?

A

Martin Luther King and SCLC led campaign to attack segregation in housing: widely seen as a failure

83
Q

When was the Fair Housing Act?

A

1968

84
Q

What was the Fair Housing Act?

A

Outlawed racial discrimination when renting or selling property

85
Q

When was Rodney King beaten?

A

1991

86
Q

Why were there riots in Los Angels in 1992?

A

Provoked by acquittal of policemen that beat King

87
Q

What was significance of Freeman v Pitts?

A

Supreme Court decision which had the effect of allowing local authorities to tolerate de facto school segregation

88
Q

What was ‘conflict leasing’?

A

Southern states exploited a loophole in the 13th Amendment which allowed “involuntarily servitude…as a punishment for a crime” to charge AAs not only with rape but testifying against whites in court, seeking another job or failing to say ‘mister’ to a white man

89
Q

What were vagrancy laws?

A

African Americans could be convicted as a criminal under the vagrancy laws simply because they were unable to prove that they worked for a white employer or landlord.

90
Q

What was ‘peonage’?

A

Peonage meant debt slavery: an AA was tied to working for a white employer or landlord until a debt was paid

91
Q

What was ‘sharecropping’?

A

Sharecropping was linked to peonage b/c the white landlord invariably controlled the financial records enabling him to “fiddle” them to make sure that the sharecroppers never got out of debt and could therefore never escape from working for him

92
Q

Reasons why the “Gilded Age” (1877-96) was a disaster for African Americans?

A

Convict leasing

Peonage and Sharecropping

Segregation

Lynching

Disenfranchisement

93
Q

Reasons why the “Gilded Age” (1877-96) was not a disaster for African Americans?

A

Education improved

Blacks sat in state legislatures in South Carolina until 1900 and Georgia until 1908

94
Q

Reasons Roosevelt and the New Deal improved the lives of African Americans?

A

FDR spoke out against lynching

Black CR movement received encouragement from the President’s wife, Eleanor Roosevelt

New Deal programme helped AAs by providing one million jobs, nearly 50,000 public housing units, and financial assistance and skilled occupations training for half a million black youths

Roosevelt attempted to encourage the raising of wages and cutting of working hours

WPA provided work for 350,000 AAs each year

95
Q

Reasons Roosevelt and the New Deal didn’t improve the lives of African Americans?

A

Federal programmes were administered through local authorities

Inaction over an anti-lynching bill and a bill to abolish the poll tax

Sharecroppers not covered by the Social Security Act or the National Labour Relations Act

Most New Deal programs discriminated against blacks

National Labour Relations or Wagner Act 1935 didn’t apply to agricultural or domestic workers (covering 2/3 of AA employers)

Many AAs were excluded from the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labour Standards Act

96
Q

Achievements of Black Power:

A

Social and economic achievements - set up 49 clinics across the USA, campaign to raise awareness of sickle cell anaemia, free breakfast programmes

Impact on black identity - influenced King into talking about “black” people rather than “negroes”, recognised heritage and gave AAs a new pride in history

Cultural impact - Black athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave the Black Power salute while receiving their medals at the 1968 Olympic Games

97
Q

Limitations of Black Power:

A

Divided the movement

Alienated even liberal whites - Black Panthers associated Black Power with violence

Black Power’s ideas were incoherent and unrealistic - foolish to talk of black supremacy and separation and to expel whites from the SNCC and CORE in a predominantly white society in which the majority of blacks were economically dependent on whites

98
Q

Arguments the aims of campaigners for African Americans civil rights didn’t remain the same 1865-1992?

A

Priority in 1865 was to end slavery

Hostile climate around 1900, all Washington could realistically aim at was to win white acceptance of gradual improvements in AAs education, training and economic status

Du Bois more radical in openly campaigning to enforce AA CR as theoretically granted by 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments

Garvey, Malcolm X and Carmichael aimed at enabling AAs to rediscover pride in their African cultural heritage

MLK and other CR campaigners in the moderate groups like the SCLC and NAACP aimed to achieve integration with fully equal civil and voting rights to be achieved through non-violent local activism and political lobbying with the aid of sympathetic media coverage to provoke fed govt.

After Civil and Voting Rights Act 1964-65 AA campaigners focussed more on the poverty of the AA underclass

1970s focus on affirmative action

Rodney King controversy 1991-92, highlighted issue of police violence

99
Q

Opposition to AA CR remained strong throughout the period 1865-1992?

A

Violence - lynching peaked in 1890s

White Public Opinion - “Social Darwinism” provided a pseudo-scientific basis for racism and Brown judgement 1954 provoked “Massive Resistance” from the South

Federal Government - Supreme Court was consistently hostile to AA CR in the 19th century, notably in the Plessy v Ferguson judgement in 1896 which gave a “green light” to the “Jim Crow” laws in the South and disenfranchisement removed AAs from political office from about 1900 until the 1970s

100
Q

Arguments that the quality of leadership shown by AA campaigners was the most important factor in the advancement of their civil rights 1865-1992:

A

MLKs inspirational non-violent campaigns and ability to gain white support, media attention and international recognition played a decisive role

Booker T Washington played an important role during a difficult time for AA CR by promoting AA education, training and economic self improvement through his Tuskegee Institute

Du Bois helped to found the NAACP and its strategy of litigation to promote AA CR, which ultimately bore fruit in the Brown judgement in 1954

Garvey and Malcolm X were inspirational leaders who instilled pride in AAs cultural heritage

101
Q

Arguments that the quality of leadership shown by AA campaigners was not the most important factor in the advancement of their civil rights 1865-1992:

A

Even most inspirational leaders need large numbers of followers and grassroots campaigns to back them - lack of such grassroots organisations helps to explain why Washington, Du Bois and Garvey could not achieve what MLK did

Nothing could be achieved without the three branches of the federal government - lack of such fed govt support between Reconstruction and the 1950s and again during the 1980s under Reagan and Bush prevented progress

Climate of white public opinion, aided by media coverage of racist violence, as at Birmingham and Selma, made the CR progress of the 1960s possible

102
Q

For progress to be achieved 5 factors had to be in place:

A

Inspirational leaders

Grassroots activism

Clear set of objectives

Sympathetic public opinion

Federal government action

103
Q

Aims of Booker T Washington:

A

To improve AAs economic position and gain more acceptance from whites

To improve AA CR in long term

104
Q

Methods of Booker T Washington:

A

Education and training e.g. Tuskegee Institute

Set up Negro business league

“Atlanta Compromise” speech 1895

Links with white politicians like Theodore Roosevelt and businessmen like Andrew Carnegie

Privately supported legal challenges to segregation

105
Q

Successes of Booker T Washington:

A

AA education and training improved and AA middle class began to develop

Invited to dinner at the White House

Financial support from white businessmen like Carnegie

Recognised as leading AA spokesmen from 1895 to at least 1905

106
Q

Failures of Booker T Washington:

A

Failed to stop development of “Jim Crow” laws and disenfranchisement of AAs; by 1908 segregation fully established in every southern state and hardly any AAs in the South could vote

Violence against AAs including lynching widespread and unchecked by police and courts

Uninspiring speaker and criticised by more radical AAs

107
Q

Aims of W.E.B DuBois:

A

To improve AA CR by challenging segregation, disenfranchisement, lynching, convict leasing ect

Equal rights in terms of education, employment, voting

Gain white support

Ensure CR theoretically achieved in 1865-75 could actually be enforced

108
Q

Methods of W.E.B DuBois:

A

Helped to found NAACP 1909 and edited its magazine, Crisis

Used journalism, campaigning and legal action to raise awareness in North of racial injustice in South

Wrote book challenging racist view of Reconstruction

Favoured academic as well as vocational education

Organised silent parade in New York 1917 to protest against East St Louis riot

Petitioned UN against racial injustice in USA

109
Q

Successes of W.E.B DuBois:

A

Some legal victories, e.g. Moore v Dempsey 1923 ensured verdict secured by mob pressure could not be upheld

Raised awareness of racial injustice in South e.g. anti-lynching bills in Congress in 1930s

110
Q

Failures of W.E.B DuBois:

A

Segregation and disenfranchisement continued until after his death (1963)

Attempts to get federal anti-lynching law failed

White historians ignored his writing on Reconstruction

DuBois’ links with Communists discredited NAACP

111
Q

Aims of Marcus Garvey:

A

Like BTW believed blacks should be self reliant and help themselves by developing own businesses, schools etc

Believed AAs should take pride in own culture rather than trying to integrate with whites and eventually concluded return to Africa only solution

112
Q

Methods of Marcus Garvey:

A

Founded Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) which focussed on AAs helping themselves by setting up own schools, businesses, newspapers etc

Garvey had own newspaper, The Negro World

Set up Black Star steamship line to promote emigration to Africa

113
Q

Successes of Marcus Garvey:

A

Effective orator

Seen as natural successor to BTW

Appealed to young urban working class AAs who thought integration with whites would never work; his ideas encouraged them to believe in themselves

Biggest inspiration for black radicals before Malcolm X

114
Q

Failures of Marcus Garvey:

A

Lacked coherent political strategy

Too concerned with showing off with uniforms and fancy ventures like Black Eagle Star steamship line which failed b/c of financial difficulties

Charismatic but lacked political and business skills

Unpopular with black trade unions and NAACP

Arrested 1925 for mail fraud and deported back to Jamaica 1929

115
Q

Aims of Martin Luther King:

A

Integration and equality with whites

Fully equal CRs including end to segregation and discrimination and full voting rights

Equality de facto as well as de jure, e.g. right to live in same areas as whites

Reduction of poverty for Americans of all races

116
Q

Methods of Martin Luther King:

A

Non-violent marches, boycotts, use of media and lobbying white politicians

In practice MLK deliberately provoked violence from racist police chiefs like Connor in Birmingham to ensure favourable media coverage and federal govt intervention

117
Q

Successes of Martin Luther King:

A

Civil Rights Act 1964 ended legal segregation and discrimination

Voting Rights Act 1965 gained equal voting rights and led by 1970s to significant numbers of AAs holding political office for first time since Reconstruction

118
Q

Failures of Martin Luther King:

A

Segregation ended de jure but not de facto, e.g. Chicago campaign failed to achieve residential integration b/c of this AAs still mostly attended separate and inferior schools

Poverty gap between whites and AAs actually widened in 1960s

Continued police violence and discrimination against AAs by legal system

119
Q

Aims of Malcolm X:

A

AAs to be proud to be black and see themselves as Africans not Americans

Black supremacy and separation from whites

AAs to have right to defend themselves

AAs to reject Christianity and convert to Islam

AAs to free themselves from poverty, drugs and crime

120
Q

Methods of Malcolm X:

A

Preached Islam and separatism but couldn’t get involved in politics directly b/c Elijah Muhammed insisted

Nation of Islam purely religious movement

Tried to collaborate with other CR groups after he left Nation of Islam in 1964

121
Q

Successes of Malcolm X:

A

Most charismatic black supremacist ever, inspiring Black power movement

Had ability MLK couldn’t match to reach angry young AA men in northern cities

Could intimidate whites into making concessions

122
Q

Failures of Malcolm X:

A

Inability to participate in politics until 1964 meant he couldn’t influence legislation as MLK could; nothing to match Civil and Voting Rights Act 1964-65

Seen by whites as “extremist” so couldn’t influence white politicians as MLK could; in fact his extremism made it harder for MLK to improve AA CRs

123
Q

Aims of Stokely Carmichael:

A

Initially campaigned for integration and voting rights but came to reject non-violence and co-operation with whites

Coined “Black Power” slogan 1966 and later advocated black separatism, condemning Black Panthers for not being separationist enough

Emigrated to Africa 1969 and changed name to Kwame Ture

124
Q

Methods of Stokely Carmichael:

A

Participated in Freedom Rides 1961, Freedom Summer in Mississippi in 1964, Selma March 1965 and March against Fear 1966

Expelled whites from SNCC, believing AAs must take freedom for themselves

Supported Black Panthers 1967-68 but later broke with them

From 1969 focussed on African and international issues

125
Q

Successes of Stokely Carmichael:

A

Early campaigns succeeded, his charism inspiring 20,000 AAs to register to vote 1965 in Lowndes County, Mississippi

“Black Power” slogan made him famous and FBI feared his charisma

Black Panthers made him their “honorary Prime Minister”

126
Q

Failures of Stokely Carmichael:

A

Divisive: SNCC split over expulsion of whites 1966 and expelled him 1967

FBI smear campaigns discredited him and contributed to his split with the Black Panthers

Move to Africa reflected declining influence in USA

127
Q

Aims of Jesse Jackson:

A

To secure equal employment rights

To relieve AA poverty by forming “Rainbow Coalition” including poor whites, Hispanics and other ethnic minorities

Tried to gain support from supporters of both integration and black power

128
Q

Methods of Jesse Jackson:

A

Operation Breadbasket (boycotting white businesses which didn’t employ AAs) and pushing for affirmative action

Stood for Democratic vice presidential nomination 1984 and 1988, hoping to exploit increasing poverty resulting from Regan’s policies

129
Q

Successes of Jesse Jackson:

A

Op Breadbasket and PUSH (affirmative action) campaigns created 1,000s of jobs for AAs

Gained 7 million votes 1988 and came 2nd in race for Democratic vice presidential nomination

Charismatic speaking style reminiscent of MLK

130
Q

Failures of Jesse Jackson:

A

Never as successful as MLK in uniting AA community or gaining white support

No legislative achievements

Failed in 2 bids for Democratic vice presidential nomination

131
Q

New Deal Legislation: Alphabet Agencies

A

Provided jobs to thousands of unemployed

132
Q

What was the Freedman’s Bureau?

A

Freedman’s Bureau was an organisation established by the Federal Government in March 1865 to support freed slaves in the short-term

Bureau also supported the work of black self-help groups in providing education for black children

133
Q

White reaction to 14th Amendment:

A

Granting civil rights to ex-slaves greatly alienated many white southerners and many found it psychologically impossible to see AAs as equal

134
Q

What was the Slaughterhouse Case of 1873?

A

Concerned with a meat monopoly

Supreme Court decided that the rights of citizens were under state + not federal control

135
Q

When was the Slaughterhouse Case?

A

1873

136
Q

When were the Black codes?

A

1865-1866

137
Q

What were Black Codes?

A

An early indication of Southern white attitudes to newly freed slaves

Codes varied from state to state but one common feature was the wide definition of a ‘negro’ (one eighth of black blood was sufficient for this)

138
Q

Examples of Black Codes:

A

Marriages were allowed but inter-racial unions outlawed

Legal rights were limited

Not permitted to vote

Education was to take place in segregated schools

139
Q

Evidence that AAs were made free and equal in the Reconstruction era:

A

13th Amendment - although slave holders could have their land back they couldn’t have slaves back

Civil Rights Act (1866) - Blacks had legal equality + rights would operate in favour of AA instead of whites

14th Amendment - Everyone born or naturalised in the US now citizens + no state could take the rights of a persons citizenship away

15th Amendment - Ensured that AA could vote in the South + the North

Civil Rights Act (1875) - enforce all previous laws + prohibit segregation in public places

Freedman’s Bureau - provided housing, food, education and medical care

Sharecropping - better than slavery + meant AA families could stay together

Churches - focus of community life + ministers natural leaders of AA community

140
Q

Evidence that AAs were not made free + equal in the Reconstruction era:

A

14th Amendment - was difficult to enforce in the South as contained loop holes

15th Amendment - allowed for voting qualifications + only needed because states weren’t honouring the 14th Amendment

Civil Rights Act (1875) - still segregation in schools

Black Codes (1865-66) - Southern whites still had bad attitudes to newly freed slaves + virtually restored slavery in all but name

Abolition of the Freedman’s Bureau - ended federal gov. support for AA education + welfare

Threat of violence - constant threat of violence from the KKK + other white supremacist groups

141
Q

Development of social segregation:

A

Segregation was developing in the South even before the end of Reconstruction in 1877

Between 1887 + 1891, “Jim Crow” segregation laws developed rapidly

8 Southern states introduced formal segregation of the races on trains, three of them extending this to waiting room facilities

After 1891, segregation laws were formally + rapidly extended to all kinds of public places

142
Q

Impact of Plessy v Ferguson:

A

1896 Supreme Court judgment ruled that racial segregation of railway carriages was constitutional + this therefore acted as a legal precedent for segregation in all forms of public life

Court declared that the facilities for black and whites should be ‘separate but equal’ yet in practice, black facilities were of a lower standard

143
Q

Between 1890 + 1908 the Deep South States passed laws to prevent AAs from voting:

A

Literacy tests - may be to interpret section of constitution

Barring people from voting if they didn’t pay local poll taxes

“Grandfather Clause” which barred blacks from voting because their grandfathers had been slaves + therefore unable to vote

Property Qualifications - only those who owned their house could vote

144
Q

What was the ‘Great Migration’?

A

Name given to the migration of over six million AAs from the rural South to the great cities of the North, Midwest and West between 1910 + 1970

145
Q

Impact of Westwards Expansion + Immigration:

A

Closing decades of the 19th century westward expansion was partially responsible for drawing people of different origins to the USA

‘Incomers’ were lured by the promise of cheap land, ‘buy now pay later’ finance + the vast range of opportunities that seemed to offer instant prosperity

After 1877, AAs increasingly began to enter the industrial market in the North

Before WW1, some 10% of AAs took advantage of the freedom of movement by leaving the South

146
Q

Why did so many AAs migrate?

A

Drawn by greater economic opportunities in the industrial North

147
Q

Impact of WW1 on AA:

A

Over 350,000 AAs served in WW1

About half of those drafted went to France - served with distinction alongside the France but in segregated regiments fighting alongside French colonial troops rather than their fellow Americans, AAs found the French to be less racist than white Americans

When White Americans returned home, found AAs had taken jobs - subsequent competition for jobs led to hostility + violence, referred to as the “Red Summer”

Chicago Race Riots of July 1919 were one of the worst examples of this post-war violence which left 23 black people + 15 white people dead

148
Q

NAACP’s key aims:

A

Abolish segregation

Achieve equal voting rights

Promote educational opportunities for black people

Enforce the 14th/15th Amendments

149
Q

What was the UNIA?

A

Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association

Began in 1914 in his native Jamaica

Message was so well received Garvey decided to stay + develop UNIA in the US

150
Q

How serious was the opposition to black civil rights posed by the KKK in the period 1915-1930?

A

KKK posed serious opposition to black civil rights as KKK at this time, after Hiram Evans took over as leader in 1922, widened its targets conveying how no one was safe

151
Q

Examples of racist politicians in the Southern states:

A

Theodore Bubo of Mississippi suggested that all African Americans should return to Africa

Eugene Talmadge, from Georgia, attacked integrated education

152
Q

By 1941 progress towards CR had stalled:

A

Successes of the NAACP had been limited

No charismatic personality had emerged to replace Garvey

Within the federal gov. little sympathy had been shown to take action on black civil rights

Educational inequalities were all to apparent

Blacks were still largely excluded from voting in South

Lynching was declining but climate of fear remained

Housing conditions were primitive + de facto segregation remained in the North

Poverty was endemic + discrimination in employment all-pervasive

White opinion, especially in the South seemed determined to maintain the status quo

153
Q

Harlem Renaissance:

A

In the North there was an outpouring of writers, poets, musicians + painters from black society, and the 1920a became known as the ‘Jazz age’

Many of the talented black people discovered during this period came from Harlem, hence the name of the movement ‘the Harlem Renaissance’

Helped change attitudes

154
Q

Impact of WW2:

A

The experience of fighting in Europe - tens of thousands of blacks were called up for the services, where their experiences radicalised them: segregation was preserved but they resented being treated as second class citizens

Employment + Migration - because of jobs created by the war, black unemployment in 1945 was only 16% of its 1940 level + black migration was north increased much more dramatically than between 1914-1918

Experience of WW2 made blacks more assertive + self-confident: the NAACPs membership quadrupled during WW2 to 200,000. It was now represented in virtually every state in the Union

155
Q

Black Trade Union Leader: A. Phillip Randolph

A

March on Washington in 1941 organised by Randolph forced President Roosevelt to set up the Fair Employment Practices Commission to ensure blacks got equal access to defence industry jobs controlled by the fed gov

Inspired James Farmer to form CORE

156
Q

CORE:

A

James Farmer founded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in 1942

Aimed to use non-violent protest to gain civil + political rights

In 1943, staged a ‘sit-in’ protest at a Chicago restaurant which had refused to serve AAs

157
Q

Actions of Roosevelt (1941-45):

A

1941 - Roosevelt issued an Executive Order in response to A. Phillip Randolph’s campaign against discrimination in employment which banned racial discrimination in employment and set up the Fair Employment Practices Commission

By 1553, 20 states and 30 cities had adopted his fair employment regulations

158
Q

Actions of Truman (1945-1953):

A

Truman commissioned a President’ Committee on Civil Rights in 1946 which issued a report, To Secure These Rights in 1947 identifying major civil rights problems

1948 Truman used his authority as Commander-in Chief of the Armed Forces to issue executive orders to desegregate the US Military

Truman also proposed a Civil Rights Bill to Congress in 1948

159
Q

Congress under Truman:

A

Congress rejected President Truman’s Civil Rights Bill of 1948

No Civil Rights Bill was passed between 1875 + 1957

In South Carolina, Strom Thurmond, felt so strongly about Truman’s desegregation of the military + his Civil Rights Commission that he deserted the Democrats at a time of the presidential election in 1948 + ran as a third party candidate

160
Q

What was the case ‘Brown vs. the Board of Education’ against?

A

Segregation in schools being unconstitutional

161
Q

Why was the decision in the ‘Brown vs. the Board case so important?

A

Highlighted the new generation attitudes

Conveyed importance of education

Overruled the Plessy v Ferguson case

Could be applied elsewhere - created a legal foundation for the Civil Rights Movement

162
Q

When was the ‘Little Rock’ incident?

A

1957

163
Q

Significance of ‘Little Rock’:

A

Only time Eisenhower intervened to force a state to implement the Brown judgement

Typical of the lengths to which white Southerners would go to resist integration

Showed that de jure change like the Brown judgement could lead to de facto change as at Little Rock

Arkansas schools reopened in 1959 on an integrated basis + the victory gave some black people more confidence in standing up for their rights

164
Q

The Kerner Commission:

A

Established by LBJ in 1967 to investigate the causes of the riots + provide recommendations

Report found that the riots resulted from black frustration at lack of economic opportunity

165
Q

The Black Panther Party:

A

Founded in 1966 by Huey Newton + Booby Seale

Most radical of black groups in the 1960s

Excluded whites + was prepared to use violence to revolutionise the US

166
Q

Black Panther Ideology:

A

Black Nationalism - unfairness of justice system

Anti-colonialism - called on Blacks not to fight in Vietnam

Marxism - BPPs main aim to liberate black working class from exploitation by white capitalists

167
Q

Black Panther Party Methods:

A

“Patrol the Pigs” - meant shadowing police patrols to observe any arrest by police of a black person + find any possible legal grounds to challenge arrest

“Free Huey” - campaign after arrest of Newton on a false murder charge in 1967

Free Breakfast Programme

Free health clinics offering tests for conditions predominantly affecting blacks like Sickle Cell Anaemia

“Liberation Schools” - teaching black history + culture

168
Q

Situation for AAs by the early 1990s:

A

In 1989, 77% of whites graduated from high school as opposed to 63% of AAs

21% of whites graduated from college whereas only 11% of AAs did

In 1988, unemployment among AAs was 5 points higher than that of whites

169
Q

Arguments progress had been made in terms of AA civil rights between 1960-1992:

A

Segregation in public places had disappeared

AAs had equal voting rights + AAs were increasingly elected to public office

All political figures in the main parties accepted the principle of racial equality

Violent opposition to civil rights legislation had largely disappeared

Educational attainment had vastly improved: 76% of blacks graduated from high school

170
Q

Arguments progress had not been made in terms of AA civil rights between 1960-1992:

A

Political involvement did not necessarily produce greatly improved conditions for AAs

Turnout among black voters remained low

Unemployment remained high, unemployment for male black teenagers was 50%

By 1992, blacks + whites often continued to live apart

A2 History (5 decks)

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