Civil Rights Qs Flashcards
Explain two effects of the women’s liberation movement on the USA
Campaigning for reproductive rights (e.g. contraceptive pill) and for reform of abortion law culminated in success, e.g. with Roe v Wade (1973) allowing abortion.
Provocation of a conservative reaction, e.g. Phyllis Schlafly and the STOP ERA campaign portrayed the movement as damaging to the family and the American way of life.
Explain two effects of supreme court decisions on the women’s movement in the 1960s and 1970s
Roe v Wade, 1973, legalizing abortion
Griswold v Connecticut 1965,
Eisenstadt v Baird 1972 allowing access to contraception for 1. married, then 2. unmarried people.
Explain two effects of McCarthyism on the USA in the 1950s
major damages to lives of thousands of Americans. damaged reputations, govt jobs lost. 3mil accused govt workers, 25k left jobs or fired from govt, actors and creative workers blacklisted
govt departments weakened. those in communist nation relations fired due to communist suspicions.
Explain two effects of Black Power on the civil rights movement.
The growing influence of Black Power moved the civil rights movement away from the goal of racial integration, encouraging black Americans to focus their efforts on organizing their own institutions, and typically excluding whites from campaigns
Black Power marked a significant shift in the civil rights movement, with a more confrontational approach, and a more dispersed approach, both geographically and in terms of its social and cultural reach, beyond mere political rights
Explain two effects of the Montgomery Bus Boycott on civil rights in the 1950s.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott ended segregation on buses in Montgomery, and thus was an important step in challenging Jim Crow laws in the South
The Montgomery Bus Boycott led to the creation of a grassroots African American organization, the Montgomery Improvement Association, demonstrating that such groups could be effective in achieving improvements in civil rights, along with bringing Martin Luther King to national prominence in the struggle for civil rights as the chairman of the MIA.
Explain two effects of the work of Betty Friedan on women’s rights in the USA.
An effect was Friedan’s work encouraged many women to become involved in campaigns, e.g. NOW had tens of thousands of members by the 1970s
An effect was Betty Friedan helped to secure rights on a range of economic and educational issues, as well as rights relating to pregnancy and abortion. She along with other feminists set up NOW as a pressure group towards authorities, which helped settle disputes on unequal pay, organized strikes and increased awareness on gender equality.
An effect was that Friedan published her book ‘Feminine Mystique’, which highlighted how many women were dissatisfied working at home but were afraid speak out as they thought that others did not share their view. This was one of the sparks of the woman’s movement, as the book was a bestseller.
An effect was Friedan’s work contributed to federal government policies including Johnson’s Executive Order 11375 (1967) banning gender discrimination in federal employment, and Supreme Court cases such as Roe v Wade (1973).
Explain two effects of the anti-Vietnam War movement on the USA.
The anti-Vietnam War movement encouraged criticism of the failure of the government to fulfil promised domestic reform, e.g. the Great Society
Protests by the anti-Vietnam War movement attracted significant attention from the media and public, e.g. criticism of the violence and injuries seen at protests
The movement had an impact on US politics, e.g. it contributed to LBJ being challenged for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.
Explain TWO effects of Supreme Court decisions on civil rights in the 1950s
Brown v. Board of Education/Topeka declared racial segregation in schools unconstitutional and created a new legal precedent over Plessy v. Ferguson which overruled the ‘separate but equal’ stance. However, progress was slow, as there was no set date of when schools had to be desegregated, and there was still prominent discrimination against Blacks, such as resistance towards the Little Rock Nine.
Browder vs Gayle 1956. Ruled that segregation on public transport is unconstitutional. Result of Montgomery bus boycott.
TWO effects of watergate on the United States
One effect of Watergate was that it ruined Nixon’s political career and reputation. The Watergate scandal revealed recordings of Nixon abusing his power in the Oval Office and Nixon’s foulmouthed nature. This led the public to doubt if the president was always doing the moral thing.
Another effect of Nixon’s scandalous involvement in Watergate was that he resigned from his second term of presidency in 1974. As a result, Gerald Ford, Nixon’s vice became the president. Ford’s weak leadership and the fact that he pardoned Nixon’s crimes contributed to the republican party losing the next election.
