Civil Rights under Eisenhower Flashcards
What was Eisenhower’s stance on civil rights?
Eisenhower was certainly less committed to the issue, though it certainly became more prominent during his presidency. He believed that legislation would not change the social climate, and therefore that laws would be ineffective. Despite this, it would certainly be unfair to suggest that he was a racist
BROWN vs BOARD OF EDUCATION of Topeka
What did the case rule?
Defendant Oliver Brown - who’s 7 year old daughter had to cross railroad tracks and wait for a bus to the other side of town to get to school, when there was a white school near by.
- Supreme Court had a new Chief Justice Earl Warren who was sympathetic to civil rights
17TH MAY 1954 - court ruled that in the question of education’ ‘separate but equal’ had no place - a monumental decision
IMPACTS OF BROWN vs BOARD OF ED.
- What did historian James T. Patterson argue?
- How many school districts had been desegregated by 1956?
- JAMES T. PATTERSON - suggested that Eisenhower should have offered more overt support, which would have resulted in less opposition
- By 1956, 723 school districts had been de-segregated, although 240,000 still attended segregated schools
How did southern schools find loopholes to allow them to segregate?
- Georgia and North Carolina gave grants to white students to allow them to attend private schools
- One county in Virginia closed all de-segregated schools
- Some authorities passed ‘public placement laws’ allowing them to give racially biased tests so white children could attend the best schools
By 1964, what percentage of southern children attended desegregated schools?
2%
LITTLE ROCK
LITTLE ROCK 1957
Orval Faubus, governor of Little Rock high school in Arkansas, used national guard troops to prevent 9 black children from entering.
Eisenhower sent federal troops to escort the children into the school
Why was the little rock case significant?
It was the only example of Eisenhower using his federal authority to intervene and enforce the Brown ruling. African Americans were beginning to realise that they couldn’t rely on the government to create change
The MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT
1st Dec 1955 - Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a bus
What was the significance of Rosa Park’s actions?
Rosa Park’s actions triggered a bus boycott including 50,000 black supporters and lasting 381 days - impressive display of black unity
In Nov 1956 the Supreme Court ruled segregation on buses to be unconstitutional
