Civil Rights Flashcards
Brown V Topeka
Date: 54
What:
- Linda Brown rejected by BOE from attending a white-only summer school and the NAACP brought the case to the Supreme Court where they then had to desegregate the blacks and the whites
Improved Civil Rights:
1) in 1952, a pro-segregation judge died hence, he was replaced by Earl Warren who wasn’t pro-segregation but ended up leading the Supreme Court
2) Hence, as a result, in May 1954, the NAACP won the case and the supreme court ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional because black children were made to feel inferior which was against the law. A year later, Supreme Court ruled that desegregation of All schools should be carried out with “ALL DELIBERATE SPEED”
Didn’t improve Civil Rights:
1) There was little change in south because by the end of 56, not one black child attended an integrated school in the South
2) The movement didnt increase as Blacks were too scared of the consequences that followed with the hatred
3) KKK membership increased as they saw the movement as a threat
Emmet Till Death
Date: 55
Improved Civil Rights:
1)Death inspired the Civil Rights activists.
2) The Death happened at the time when more black and white people were willing to listen.
3) Murder was seen as a catalyst for the next phase of Civil Rights and local leaders also stepped forward
Didn’t improve Civil Rights:
1) The trail didn’t work as the Jury was white hence, both suspects were found “not guilty” however, the suspects ended up admitting to their murder
1st Civil Rights Act
Date: 57
What: Brown and the Montgomery Bus Boycott had caused a violent white backlash which in turn led to increased sympathy for the Civil Rights cause hence, causing the Civil Rights Act. The CRA of 57 was passed to allow federal courts to prosecute states who refused Black people to vote.
Improved Civil Rights
1) Once Congress passed one civil rights act, it gave them the motive to pass more in the 60s.
Didn’t improve Civil Rights:
1) Civil Rights activists were disappointed that the Act didn’t go as far as they wanted hence, protests continued.
2) The act wasn’t efficient because it only increase the number of black people that could vote by 3%.
3) The act only focused on voting and did little to actually improve Civil Rights as a whole
Greensboro Sit ins
Date: 60
What:
1) 4 Black students sat in segregated counter at Woolworth to protest and didn’t respond with violence even if they were physically and verbally abused
2) The press publicized the protest and then hundreds and thousands of black and white people took part in these sit ins across the country. Thousands were arrested but this was a problem only for jails as they were getting overcrowded
3) There was widespread media attention which got more people participating
Why they were effective:
1) Sit ins were well organized and were very visible, unlike boycotts like the Montgomery Bus Boycott, they were a direct challenge to segregation.
2) Around 50k people took part hence, it was hard to ignore which helped build high valuable publicity for it.
3) They were peaceful
4) Protestors faced a violent backlash but their organisation, commitment and publicity succeeded in changing the policies of private businesses
Freedom Summer
Date: 64
What:
Many white students worked to register Black votes in Mississippi (The Deep South).
Improved Civil Rights:
1) After freedom summer, 1600 more black people had registered to vote in Mississippi however, this was only out of the 17000 who tried to register.
2) Brought widespread attention to the struggle for voting rights in the South, however, people were beaten up, lost jobs or were even murdered for standing up for their rights.
3) Helped build support for the Voting Rights Act of 65
4) Brought together a diverse group to achieve a common goal they both had and inspired others
Didn’t improve civil rights:
1) There was violence; the resistance from white people
2) KKK launched a terrorising backlash –> 3 members killed by KKK members (found dead on August 3rd) as their 10k members saw this as an invasion and burned 61 wooden crosses across the state to visually demonstrate that they were in control. This mostly brought awareness of violence in The Deep South as white activists had been killed.
March on Washington
Date: 63
What:
MLK gave ‘I have a dream’ speech where 250K+ people gathered at Lincoln Memorial where 40k people were white people. MLK shared his dream of equal rights.
Why was it significant?
- SIZE –> Showed huge support for civil rights across the USA. Neither federal nor state governments could argue it was a minor issue. The NAACP, SNCC and CORE were all involved in the march
- MLK’S SPEECH –> Gained more support for civil rights and meant many people saw King as the leader of the movement
- THE CROWD –> Black and white people protested peacefully together. Showed support for civil rights from all classes and famous people like Bob Dylan attended.
- helped the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 64 and Voting Rights Act of 65 because the government was under increased popular pressure to ensure the civil rights legislation passed
2nd Civil Rights Act
Date: 64
What:
The act prohibited discrimination of any kind
Improved Civil Rights:
1) Due to the civil rights movement and MLK’s “I have a dream” speech, the act helped dismantle the system of segregation and discrimination that was in the US for many years
2) Banned job discrimination
3) Gave the government the power to force school desegregation
Didn’t improve Civil Rights:
- On its own, it wouldn’t change racist attitudes nor would it immediately improve lives.
- it’s important to note that there was nothing in the law stating voter registration had to be ENFORCED. Black people were afraid to complain to the Equal Opportunities Commission and there were few resources to enforce the law itself.
- New rules were applied but they could be ignored unless they were enforced by federal officials (which they weren’t)
- Many black americans still faced racist violence, were not accepted and had low self esteem
Voting Rights Act
Date: 65
What:
The Voting Rights Act added extra safeguards to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as it enforced one voting registration requirement by the federal government.
Improved Civil Rights:
1) Increased political representation of minority groups like black people as all races were allowed to vote
2) On its own, the voting rights act still wouldn’t change racist attitudes nor would it immediately improve lives (Like the 2nd CRA of 1964)
3) However, by providing black Americans with the vote they could begin to put pressure on politicians to change things, as they now needed black votes too.
Black Panthers
Date: 66 to 82
What:
Organized by Huey and Bobby in order to protect black people from police violence. They carried guns for self-defence and intimidation and tape recorders to record the police harassment
Improved Civil Rights:
1) Provided education and health care to Blacks which was lacking from officials
2)
Didn’t Improve Civil Rights:
1) Attracted opposition where many members were arrested or killed - Fred Hampton and Mark Clark (2 leaders of the party) were killed as a result of officers firing over 90 bullets into their apartment. Hence, finally, they disbanded in 1982
2) By intimidating white officials, the Black Panthers made positive change less likely although it can be argued that they were only trying to provide black communities with the protection governments wouldn’t give them.
Rosa Parks
Date: 55 to 56
What:
She didn’t get up from a bus seat when her seat on the bus was deliberately changed to a ‘whites only’ seat.
Improved Civil Rights:
1) There was the Montgomery bus boycott which was a direct response to her arrest considering she was involved with the Montgomery NAACP and trained in non-violent protests - she knew how to behave as the ‘face’ of the boycott. The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted 381 days.
2) MLK became more popular as he gained more followers
3) The Supreme Court ruled that segregation in buses was illegal
Lasting effects:
1) Carpools were organized and more began sharing lifts
2) Like reactions to Brown VS Topeka, many white people reacted furiously. KKK Membership increased, MLK’s Home was bombed, other black homes and churches were bombed by the KKK.
2) The boycott didn’t continue as bus companies lost a lot and employees part of the boycott were laid off. This was all due to the carpools being put into place.
Little Rock Nine
Date: 57
What:
P. Eisenhower sent 1000 federal troops to escort the, 9 black pupils, Little Rock Nine into the school to draw their attention to the Civil Rights movement and he protected the Little Rock Nine from the racist white students. Governor Faubus closed all public schools in Sep 1958 only to reopen them in Sep 1959, integrated. Hence, Eisenhower enforced integration, using federal troops.
Improved Civil Rights:
1) The Little Rock Nine were willing to step forward for racial equality and it was due to integrate the black pupils and the white pupils
2) Civil Rights Act of 57 and Freedom Rights were factors for the victory
3) The Americans had a clearer idea of racism in the South hence, America’s International image was destroyed as the media was a powerful tool
Didn’t improve Civil Rights:
- Many schools only let a few black children at a time
- The KKK carried out intimidation and even some bombings
- Some schools let black pupils in and then segregated their classes
EVALUATION:
- However, the ‘victories’ both Little Rock and the Montgomery Bus Boycott were relatively minor when the ‘bigger picture’ was considered as progress was often prompted a violent backlash. They were local victories. They did, however, inspire other civil rights protests and so by the end of the decade there is a ‘civil rights movement’ building up rather than singular events.
McCarthyism
Date: 50
What: Gave a speech about how America was powerless because some were treated higher than others in the nation
Didn’t Improve CIvil Rights:
1) There was paranoia in the public about too many communists in the country and fear arose overall. This was the red scare
2) After the Hiss Trial, senator McCarthy had doubtful evidence consisting of a list of 205 communists in the US department. However, as he continued giving speeches, this number kept varying and reached 57, this was because he only had solid evidence for 57 people
3) McCarthy attacked high-profile figures like George Marshall to gain publicity however, it lead to many people being accused of being a communist for no reason
Watergate Scandal
Date: 72
What: Burglars tried breaking into the watergate office in Washington and they were working to re-elect Nixon. The administrations covered up the break in which lead to the discovery of more illegal activities they did like gaining intelligence of other opponents
Didn’t Improve CIvil Rights:
1) People questioned the political system and lost trust in the government
2) Fewer people voted and more campaigned for a more trustworthy president
3) Nixon’s reputation was destroyed and his career ended
4) There were 50+ government officials arrested and the republican party was hit hard next election as they lost a number of seats in the House Of Representatives
Alger Hiss and Rosenburg Trials
Date: Alger hiss =>50 Rosenburg => 51
What (Rosenburg): Convicted of spying on USSR
Improved Civil Rights:
Didn’t Improve CIvil Rights (Rosenburg):
1) This was significant only as it was the first instances of alleged espionage during the Cold War.
2) Both Rosenburgs were found guilty and were sentenced to death which created a widespread of controversy considering some people found them innocent
3) Rosenburgs executed in 53
What (Alger Hiss): Convicted of being a suspected communist and called for questioning however he constantly denied and was accused of spying on the USSR as well although never actually did
Didn’t Improve Civil Rights (Alger Hiss):
1) This was significant because it raised questions about whether or not communists were going to take over the US
2) His trial contributed to the rise of Senator McCarthy and his campaign against the Red Scare
3) People still believed Alger Hiss was a victim of a politically motivated prosecution
Hippies
Date: 60s
What: Hippies promoted lifestyles that embraced other forms of living
Improved Civil Rights:
1) They helped bring social and political change including the end of the Vietnam war
2) They had an impact on fashion and music
Didn’t Improve CIvil Rights:
1) The hippies weren’t able to achieve all their goals
