Civil rights and Vietnam Flashcards
How does the US government work?
Each individual state can pass its own laws(even though they can be overruled by the Federal Government if they are judged to be unconstitutional)
How were Black Americans discriminated against in the 1950s(in the North)
Blacks had the worst jobs
Lived in poorest parts of towns and cities called ghettos
How were black Americans discriminated against in the 1950s(in the South)?
Jim Crow laws enforced segregation - saying segregation was acceptable if the facilities provided were equal
Separate restaurants, cinemas, schools
Buses were segregated
Facilities in black schools were much worse as they had less money spent on them
Tactics of NAACP
Focused on fighting for civil rights in the courts
Provided evidence facilities were not equal, and focused on school segregation
Tactics of CORE
Many white members, used non-violent, direct action protests such as sit-ins, boycotts
Trained not to react even in the face of extreme intimidation/attack
Factors contributing to the growth of the civil rights movement in the 1950s
Education
New Ideas
Second World War
Television
Cold War
Migration
Growth of Southern Cities
How education contributed to the growth of the civil rights movement in the 1950s
Better education for blacks, especially in North, led to more black professionals. Some moved to cities in the South and changed white views of black Americans.
How new ideas contributed to the growth of the civil rights movement in the 1950s.
Research disproved some races were genetically inferior.
Research showed segregated education made black children feel inferior.
How the Second World War contributed to the growth of the civil rights movement in the 1950s
Some whites saw blacks as more able, having worked with them.
Around 150,000 of the US troops who came to Britain were black.
How television contributed to the growth of the civil rights movement in the 1950s
This brought events into the living room, making people more aware of racist injustice.
How the Cold War contributed to the growth of the civil rights movement in the 1950s?
This made the US government sensitive to international criticism about how black Americans were treated.
How did the growth of southern cities contribute to the growth of the civil rights movement in the 1950s?
New industries grew in southern towns and cities, giving black people different job opportunities.
Why did migration contribute to the growth of the civil rights movement in the 1950s?
Poor blacks moved north, liberal whites moved south. This changed southern communities, especially in cities and towns.
When was the NAACP set up?
1909
When was CORE set up?
1942
Aims of NAACP
Campaigned for integration
To overthrow Plessy v Ferguson law which meant equal but separate accommodations for white and black people
Aimes of CORE
Targeted segregation
When were Emmett Till,George Lee and Lamar Smith murdered?
1955
How many black Americans were registered to vote!
By 1956, only 20% of them had registered to do so as they were intimidated and made to sit unreasonable tests to register
Opposition to civil rights
The murders of Lee,Smith and Till
The KKK
Southern churches
Dixiecrats
Southern state governors
How did the KKK show opposition to civil rights?
Terrorised black American families by intimidation and extreme violence, including murder, often by lynching(illegal execution, usually carried out by a mob)
How did the murder of Emmett Till show opposition to civil rights?
Till’s mother had an open viewing of the body in Chicago, meaning extensive media coverage, fuelling widespread shock and outrage.
The defendants were acquitted(found not guilty)- They later sold their story to a magazine, admitting the murder
Who were the Dixiecrats?
A splinter group from the Democratic Party made up of Southern politicians, some Southern members of Congress
When did the Dixiecrats rejoin the Democrats?
In 1954, they rejoined the Democrats, after previously breaking away due to disagreements anout civil rights, because they believed they could have more influence from within the Democratic Party
How was their federal opposition to the civil rights?
The Dixiecrats had strong views about keeping segregation and maintained position on keeping segregation and protecting states’ rights to retain laws that guaranteed white supremacy.
Presidents had to take the Dixiecrats’ views on board when creating new laws - they were fearful the Dixiecrats would disrupt government
How was their state opposition to civil rights?
The views of Southern governors and local state mayors ensured there was strong opposition to the civil rights movement and desegregation.
How did southern state governors show opposition to civil rights?
Open ways(e.g, shutting down all state schools so they couldn’t be integrated)
Some school admission tests were deliberately biased against black students, to prevent them from joining white schools. Some states refused to end literacy tests and continued to disrupt opportunities for black voters to cast their vote at elections.
When was the White Citizens’ Council set up?
From 1954 onwards to stop desegregation.
How many members did the White Citizens’ Councils have?
Around 60,000 members in the mid-1950s
How did the White Citizens’ Councils show opposition to civil rights?
Began as organisation opposed to school desegregation in their local area.
Opposed desegregation in libraries or swimming pools
Used economic means to stop calls for desegregation
How did the WCC use economic means to stop calls for desegregation?
In some towns, WCC members sacked black employees who signed petitions or were involved in civil rights activities
Causes of the Brown v Topeka case
In 1954, Oliver Brown took the city of Topeka in Kansas to court to force his daughter to attend a school a long way away, instead of letting her attend a nearby whites-only school
When did the Supreme Court rule segregated schools were illegal?
May 1954
When did the Supreme Court call for desegregation in schools
May 1955
Significance of Brown v Topeka Case
Key turning point in Civil Rights, althoug there was still much opposition in the south to integating schools and many states refused to do so
How many school districts were desegregated in the aftermath of the Brown v Topeka case?
In 1957, 723 school districts had desegregated education
What did the Southern Manifesto declare?
That the Brown decision was illegal, because the states didn’t accept segregation was unconstitutional
When was the Southern Manifesto made public?
12 March 1958
Short-term evidence the Brown v Topeka case was unsuccessful
Threats and violence to black children that attemped to integrate into schools
Some southern Governors pledged to keep segregation
White Citizens’ Council set up in Misssissippi
KKK membership grew
Long-term effects of the Brown vs Topeka ruling
Black students faced hostility in integrated schools
White flight - Many whites moved away from areas with a large black population, creating a new kind of segregation
Some black teachers lost their jobs
Membership of NAACP fell
Evidence of school desegregation in Little Rock, Arkansas up to 1957
75 blacks applied, 25 were selected, only 9 still willing to go after threats of violence
