Civil Rights Flashcards
When was the emancipation proclamation created
September 22 1862
What was the emancipation proclamation
A proclamation that said that any slaves living in rebelling states (confederacy) shall be freed and that no authority can repress such people or take away their freedom.
What are the aspects of Jim Crow
Ripped and ragged clothes which symbolise the fact that he is poor. Dancing which suggests that he is silly and unintelligent. He is surrounded by animals which suggest that he is also an animal. The worst part is that he is smiling and this suggests that he is happy and encourages segregation
Define segregation
The action or state of setting someone or something apart form others
Why did ex-slaves lives not get much better after the proclamation
They did not have anywhere to go so they just stayed willingly at the plantations they worked at. The only differences were that they could leave and that the plantation owners wouldn’t lose money if they killed the slaves so they were more likely to die
How many black people were living in the south in 1900
90%
What were the Jim Crow laws
Laws that enforced segregation in the southern states
What was the 14th amendment and when was it implemented
1868 after the civil war and it was designed to protect the rights of slaves in the reunified USA. It claimed that all men are created equal and that all men have certain unalienable rights, life, liberty and happiness. Everyone was also deemed to have equal protection of the law
Why were the Jim Crow laws allowed under the 14th amendment
They were justified by seperate but equal
By who and when would the idea of seperate but equal be challenged
In Topeka, Kansas, 1954, Oliver Brown challenged at the Supreme Court after his 8 year old daughter was denied entry to her local school because she was black
How does the US legal system work
The House of Representatives approves a law and then the senate(legislative) and then the president can veto any law(executive). The Supreme Court (judicial) can argue Wether a law goes against the constitution
What is the NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People. A group founded in 1909 which raised awareness for civil rights abuses and helped to eliminate discrimination
What did NAACP argue in Supreme Court in the Brown vs Board of Education in 1954
That ‘seperate but equal’ created low self esteem and was physiologically harmful as it made black students feel inferior to white students and less deserving
When was seperate but equal finally eliminated
The 17th of may 1954
How and why was Martin Luther King punished for leading a boycott
He was charged for obstructing the work life of bus drivers and was charged $500 or 386 days of hard labour
Where was Little Rock high school
Arkansas
Who led the Little Rock 9, when was it and what happened
Elizabeth eckford led 9 students into the school on the 3rd of September 1957. Governor Orval Faubus ordered the state national guard to guard the entrance and “keep the peace.” Pres. Eisenhower sent 1000 troops to protect the black students.
What did Faubus do a year later
He closed the school and held a vote on wether to integrate or not. They were voted against and the school remained closed until august of 1959
Why were peaceful protests becoming more popular
Young people were getting more and more fed up with the slow progress of the movement but they still followed martins policy of non-violence. They wanted their struggle to be seen on a national scale
What was the first form of peaceful protest
Sit ins
How many sit in participants were there to begin with and what did that number grow to
4 —> 50,000
What was the second form of peaceful protest
Freedom rides
Why was the Birmingham location so important for the civil rights movement
It was a KKK stronghold and King described it as America’s most racist city.
When was the Birmingham march held
In April of 1963
Who punished the demonstrators and how
Bull Connor, an Alabaman politician, set police dogs on the black people and allowed firemen to spray them with fire hoses
When was a settlement reached by one of Kennedy’s advisors
On the 9th of may 1963 they decided that desegregation would take place in 90 days.
When was the Washington march
The 28th of august 1963
How many Americans were present at the Washington march
250,000
What was the purpose of the Washington march
To show support for Kennedy’s civil rights bill and gain mass exposure to the wants of the civil rights movement.
What was the civil rights act of 1964
A legislation which prohibited segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of sex, race, colour, or religion
Why was the civil rights act finally passed
Many politicians showed sympathy for the bill following the death of JFK. Lyndon B Johnson wanted to be elected president and wanted to secure the black vote.
What was the voting rights act of 1965
A bill that banned the usage of literacy tests and enabled federal oversight of voter registration areas where less than 50% of the non-white population were registered to vote
What was the 15th amendment
An amendment that allowed all Americans the right to vote
When did the unfair restrictions on voting start to pop up
In 1870.
Who was Malcolm X
A black American who was getting fed up with King’s methods of peaceful protesting and how long it was taking.
What was Malcolm x trying to do
He was promoting a concept called separatism to the youth who were growing more and more impatient with the speed of change. Separatism wanted a seperate black nation and felt violence was justified if it were to secure this.
What changed in Malcolm after Mecca
He changed his views and ditched separatism to set up an organisation to promote closer ties between Africans and African-Americans. He believed that Islam could unite the nations and make everyone equal.
When did Malcolm die
February 1965
What is Malcolm credited to
Being the man that raised the self-esteem of black Americans more than any other individual in the civil rights movement.
What was black power
A phrase that meant power to black people. This phrase would become an anti white phrase later on.
Why did the NAACP condemn black power
It was seen as a menace to peace and prosperity and it went against civil rights and integration.
What happened as a result of the civil rights movement
Black unemployment rates dropped significantly, more and more black people were becoming officials. The amount of black people living in poverty also dropped.
