Eisenhower’s Civil Rights Flashcards
1
Q
What did Eisenhower say in 1948?
A
Whilst fighting in a desegregated army, he said that he didn’t think the army should be fully desegregated
2
Q
What popular suspicion did Eisenhower supposedly believe in?
A
Miscegenation
Mixed race marriage
Didn’t like the idea of an african american man marrying his daughter
3
Q
What did Eisenhower’s speech writer have to say about his civil rights stance?
A
He was neither emotionally or intellectually in favour of combating segregation
4
Q
Where did Eisenhower stand on federalism?
A
He believed that the constitution placed an importance on states rights, and so opposed too much federal intervention into the issue
5
Q
What date was the State of the Union address?
A
2nd Feb 1953
6
Q
What happened during Eisenhower’s State of the Union Address?
A
He put an emphasis on the equality of all Americans, no matter their colour, and reaffirmed Truman’s commitment to desegregation within the military.
He mainly spoke of action through persuasion and wanted to bring about a good conscience rather than action enforcing change.
7
Q
What specific goals did Eisenhower set during the State of the Union?
A
He wanted to end segregation in the Federal Government and the Armed Forces
8
Q
When was Executive Order 10489 signed?
A
August 13th, 1953
9
Q
What was stated in Executive order 10479?
A
Aimed to ensure that all qualified candidates seeking employment on government contracts wouldn’t be racially discriminated against.
10
Q
What was created by Executive Order 10479?
A
the Government Contract Committee, chaired by VP Richard Nixon, to ensure that contracts were given to equal opportunities employers
11
Q
What was positive about Executive Order 10479?
A
Showed leadership by the federal government. So early on in his term, he was endorsing and developing what Truman had started, and continued to put pressure on private firms to reject racist hiring practices
12
Q
What was negative about Executive Order 10479?
A
It lacked the teeth to actually ensure that firms working on contracts within the federal government were actually equal. It only had a small budget.
13
Q
When was Earl Warren appointed as Chief Justice?
A
October 1st 1953
14
Q
Why did Eisenhower want Warren as chief justice?
A
He wanted to appeal to liberals and law-and-order conservatives in his party
15
Q
What was Warren’s key role on the court?
A
He led the court and persuaded his fellow members to take a more active approach in standing up for civil liberties.
16
Q
What was Warren’s tactic whilst on the court?
A
To get a 9-0 unanimous vote, as he did for BvB. This was key to the moral authority of the court as it created a strong moral basis.
17
Q
What was the court like before Warren?
A
Already pretty liberal, as it was made up of democratic justices appointed by FDR and Truman. They had already authored several cases and judged in favour of the NAACP.
18
Q
When was Brown v Board passed?
A
May 17th 1954
19
Q
What was the basis for why Linda Brown’s education was not ‘Separate but equal’?
A
She had to walk through a switching yard of a local railway to reach the bus to attend her school, whilst being unable to attend another school seven blocks away.
20
Q
Why did the Supreme Court take on Brown v Board?
A
18 separate cases had been ruled on by lower courts, stating that the facilities themselves were equal and they were architecturally and academically equal (there was more African American teachers with MAs than white ones). The Court took them all on as one consolidated case.
21
Q
What was thee argument of Brown’s lawyers?
A
The fact of desegregation was detrimental to African children so unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment. Thurgood Marshall used sociological evidence that 10/16 black children preffered a white doll to a black one.
22
Q
How was the decision made?
A
Warren drafted a basic opinion and kept on revising it, talking with justices and encouraging them to talk with each other. Eventually Brown managed to to convince all the judges to agree.
23
Q
What was Eisehower’s view on the case?
A
Eisenhower invited Warren to a white house dinner, where the president expressed sympathy for the segregationist’s viewpoint. He thought they weren’t bad people just because they were really racist.
24
Q
What was the final decision?
A
The court sided with Brown, finding that education was one of the most important function of state and local government, and that the badge of inferiority put upon minority children hindered their development no matter how equal the facilities.
25
How was the ruling hindered?
It said nothing about de facto segregation outside the south, nor did it set out how the structures of segregation would be eliminated.
26
What followed the Brown v Board ruling?
The DoC and some on its border states began to desegregate, and 70% of school districts in DC, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wests Virgina all desegregated within a year.
27
When did events surrounding Claudette Colvin occur?
March 1955
28
What did Claudette Colvin do?
Colvin had been studying inspirational black leaders such asHarriet Tubman and Sojjourner Truth, and was inspired by their stories to protest when she was asked to move on the bus home. She said she had paid her fare and it was constitutional right. She was arrested.
29
What followed Colvin’s arrest?
She became shunned by some parts of her community, faced many difficulties and became pregnant.
30
When was Brown II passed?
May 31st 1955
31
Why was Brown II necessary?
Brown v Board didn’t give an end date to segregation as it was feared asking for immediate desegregation would unleash turmoil in the south.
32
What was decided on in Brown II?
It was said that desegregation of public schools was to proceed “with all deliberate haste” and left the detail of desegregation to lower courts as they would perhaps understand the situation better.
33
What were the consequences of Brown II?
Some school districts complied immediately, including those in Washington D.C, but some schools in Boston, Charlotte and Louisville were forced in the 70s to implement plans.
34
Who was E Frederick Morrow?
In 1955 he was made Administrative Officer for Special Projects, making him the first African-American to serve in an executive position at the white house. He was said to have had “correct in conduct, but cold” interactions with Eisenhower’s family and faced many issues with a staff on an at best cautious civil rights policy.
35
When was the trial for Emmet Till’s killers?
September 1955?
36
WHy was Emmet Till killed?
He had supposedly been flirtatious with a white woman whilst visiting relatives in Mississippi, and said woman had then sent out her husband to kill. him. August 1955
37
What happened during the trial?\
The case attracted strong national attention
There was an all white jury
The two murderers were acquitted.
38
What happened to Till?
He was brought back to Chicago where his mother Mamie Till Bradley insisted that an open coffin was used at his funeral as she wanted the world to see the damage done to him
39
What happened to the two murderers?
In 1956, protected by the double jeapordy in the 5th amendment, they told New Look magazine that they had killed him.
40
What was Eisenhower’s reaction to the Emmet Till case?
Non-existent
41
How long did the Montgomery us boycott last?
381 days
42
Did the bus companies lose any money?
They lost 80% of their shares
43
Who was Rosa Parks
Former NAACP secretary who refused to give up her seat in December 1955
44
How was the boycott managed?
They distributed leaflets to publicise the cause, organised taxis to people who didnt have cars. Private car-pools were organised after authorities said any taxi drivers who charged less than standard fare would be arrested.
45
When did the boycott end?
21st December 1956, after the Federal District Panel ruled that segregated buses were unconstitutional
46
What tactics were used to disrupt the boycott?
January 24th-26th, more than one hundred traffic citations ordered to car pool drivers to disrupt it, including MLK. King’s house was bombed Jan 30th 1956. People used a law against boycotts from the 1920s to prosecute the community, and on March 22nd 1956 King and 88 others were arrested under the law.
47
What was the impact of the bus boycott?
Was a strong demonstration of African American morale - especially with the time it took to organise, the length it lasted and the fact people walked
48
How did Autherine Lucy end up at the University of Alabama’s?
She took the Uni of Alabama to federal court to gain admission in 1952, and after three years, in the 1955 Lucy v Adam’s case, the court ordered that she should bee admitted.
49
When did Lucy start at the school?
Friday Feb 3rd, 1956, studying library science, and becoming the first African-American ever admitted to a white public school or university in Alabama.
50
When did things start to go wrong for Lucy?
Monday February 6th, when riots broke out and a mov of more than a thousand men attacked Lucy as she was driven between classes. Threats were made against her life and the University President’s house was stoned. The university ended up suspending Lucy for her own safety.
51
What followed Lucy’s suspension from school?
She and the NAACP filed contempt-of-court charges against the university for suspending her, however she was then expelled permanently as the university claimed that their being back in court was slander on the university.
52
Did Eisenhower get involved?
No! These were the most violent post-brown demonstrations and he didn’t get involved.
53
How did Southern states initially react to Brown v Board
Many presumed that lower courts would ignore the implementations of desegregation, however by Jan 1956 19 lower courts had invalidated school segregation.
54
What was the massive resistance campaign?
Announced by Democrat Senator Harry Byrd of Virginia on Feb 24th 1956, the massive resistance campaign meant avoiding implementing public school integration in Virginia at any and all cost. Virginia passed a series of laws due to the influence of Byrd in the state which opposed desegregation.
55
What laws were passed by Virgina to oppose desegregation?
Sep 21st 1956: Any integrated school would not receive state funding and the governor can order the closure of any such school
A three-member pupil placement board was created to determine which school a student would attend, of which the decisions were made entirely on race.
Created tuition grants which could channel funds from closed schools to white students so they could attend non-integrated private schools whilst the public ones were closed.
Other states joined Virginia on this.
56
When was the Southern Manifesto released?
March 1956
57
What was the Southern Manifesto?
The “Declaration of Constitutional principles” was drafted by Strom Thurmond and signed by 101 of 128 members of congress (only two of which being democrats) from 11 southern and border states.
58
What was the message of the Southern Manifesto?
They called the Brown decision “a clear abuse of judicial power” and that their actions were posing a threat to safety and order in the south, commanding the states to resist enforced integration by any means.
59
How was the Southern Manifesto backed up?
They stated that the 14th amendment or the constitution itself doesn’t mention education and nowhere in debates for the 14th amendment was education mentioned. Was backed up through discussions of peace and stability, or of states rights.
60
How did grassroots organisations against desegregation grow?
White citizens councils spread through the south and by 1956 more than 250,000 members were involved.
61
How did the KKK develop?
They had been quashed by the federal government during the reconstruction years following the civil war, however had been revived in 1915 gaining support across the USA, especially in areas affected by great migration. The Brown decision revitalised the Klan in the south.
62
Was congress representative of the African-American people?
No, the Hor had two new representatives from Michigan and Pennsylvania, but the senate remained completely white.
63
When was the Browder v Gayle decision made?
November 13th 1956
64
What was the Browder v gayle case?
Whilst the Rosa Parks case was being handled at a state level, the NAACP took the cases of Claudette Colvin and four other women of similar stories and compiled them into a federal action lawsuit. All cases found in favour of the women, however appeals from the city and state made the case in the Supreme Court dossier. The state rulings were upheld and the State of Alabama had to segregate its buses.
65
When was the SCLC created?
January 10th 1957
66
How was the SCLC created?
King invited 60 black ministers to a church in Atlanta with the goal of forming an organization to coordinate and support nonviolent direct action to desegregate bus systems across the South. Out of this meeting and another in New Orleans the SCLC was created with King as it’s president
67
What does SCLC stand for?
Southern Christian Ledership COnference.
68
How did the SCLC give momentum to the civil rights movement?
It provoked non-violent direct action in the south, where there had been a lack of actual organisations like Core or the NUL.
69
How did the SCLC. weaken the movement?
Contributed to a divide over tactics. The NAACP were focused on litigation, the SCLC wanted direct. action and the SNCC were more radical, creating a weakened movement.
70
Why was the SCLC controversial among the civil rights community?
Many black leaders believed that segregation should be challenged in court and that direct action excited white resistance. Sometimes criticised for a lack of militancy by younger activists in groups such as CORE who were participating in sit-ins and Freedom Rides.
71
When was Eisenhower’s second State of the Union Address?
January 10th 1957
72
What four proposals did Eisenhower call for action upon?
1) Creation of a commission to investigate violations of civil rights
2) creation of a civil rights division in the Justice Department
3) enactment by the Congress of new laws to aid in enforcing voting rights
4) amendment of law to allow the federal government to seek help from civil courts in civil rights cases.
73
What year did the Little Rock crisis occur?
1957
74
Who were the children attending integrated school?
Nine high performing black students
75
What happened on the first day of school?
The little rock nine didn’t show up on advice of the school board
76
Why was Eisenhower’s action during the little rock crisis significant?
First time since Reconstruction that a President had sent military forces into the South to enforce federal law. However, he seemed more concerned with law and order than with supporting desegregation. He was concerned over the way the incident was lowering national prestige and how the communists could use it to misrepresent the country.
77
On which day did the students face an abusive mob?
Monday 23rd September. They arrived at the school and got in by a delivery entrance, and a white mob became angry once discovering they had made it inside, so their anger spilled out onto the surrounding African Americans.
78
How did the mob mentality develop?
There was only 150 local police on standby and there were fears that a lynching may occur. The mayor of Little Rock rang the white house to ask for federal help. Eisenhower did nothing and simply asked for the mob to go home.
79
What happened following Eisenhower’s inaction on the 23rd?
The next day, another hate mob turned up outside the school.
80
How did Eisenhower respond to the white mob on the 24th September?
Dispatched 1,1000 paratroopers to establish law and order. Federalised the Arkansas National Guard. The students were brought to school under armed protection.
81
Who did Eisenhower’s actions in Little Rock please?
No one!! North and Wet felt he had been too slow to deploy troops and the South thought he had breached their states rights, likening his paratroopers to Hitler’s storm troopers.
82
how long did the troops stay for?
The paratroopers stayed until the end of november and they national guardsman remained for a whole year.
83
What happened to the Little Rock Nine?
Eight of them stayed the entire academic year, and in Spring 1958 Ernest Green graduated, the first Af-Am to graduate college from Central High.
84
What negative things happened to the Nine students following the crisis?
They were pushed down stairs, had chemicals and burning paper thrown in their face. The school principal also. had his life threatened and threats were made to bomb the school.
85
How did the 1957 Civil Rights Act begin?
-Was initially in 1956 in the run up to the election to appeal to black voters
-In 1957 it made its way through Congress.
86
Did Eisenhower support the 1957 Civil Rights Act?
He did at first as he was likely shocked by the Little Rock crisis.
87
Why did LBJ not support the bill + what action did he take?
He was democrat party leader and saw how it could tear apart his party. He sent the bill to a judiciary committee which would examine it for its flaws and amend any weaknesses.
88
What happened in the committee stage?
It was sent to a committee chaired by Senator James Eastland, Mississippi senator who was anti-civil rights, and he weakened the bill especially following public outrage about its weakening of state’s rights.
89
What happened during the senate debates for teh CRA 1957?
Senator Strom Thurmond held a 24 hour filibuster in protest of the bill. He read random things, such as the Bill of Rights and his grandmother’s biscuit recipe.
90
How did the bill make it through the white house?
Passed with a vote of 185-126 and the senate 72 to 18.
91
What did the Civil Rights Act 1957 do?
Created a Civil Rights section of the federal Justice Department to monitor civil rights abuses
Established a federal civil rights commission with authority to investigate discriminatory conditions.
92
What was significant about the CRA 1957?
Was the first civil rights act to pass through Congress since the Civil War. It barely changed anything at all, but was an effective symbol of hope that things could e changed.
93
When was the 2nd Birmingham church bombimg?
April 1958
94
What happened in the 2nd Birmingham church bombing?
A bomb was left outside CRM leader Fred Shuttlesworth’s Bethel Baptist Church, however it was noticed and moved to the street. It damaged the surrounding area a lot.
95
Who was responsible and where they charged?
J.B Stoner, a white supremacist, claimed credit for it and demanded a 2,000 payment that was on offer. This was ignored by the FBI at the time however he was finally indicted for the bombing in 1977.
96
What does the second birmingham bombing show about the opposition to the CRM?
-Shows its extreme nature
-The failure of teh FBI highlights a reluctance to protect African Americans.
97
How did the bombings influence Eisenhower?
They apparently shocked him and were one of his motivations for a more positive stance on civil rights in his last few years.
98
Who was Jacki Robinson and what did he do?
Robinson was a superstar baseball player who publically criticized Eisenhower in May 1958 for his lack of leadership.
99
What was the consequence of Jackie Robinson’s calling out?
Eisenhower met with civil rights leaders such as MLK of the SCLC and they presented him with a list of demands but Eisenhower didn’t act upon any of them.
100
When did the lost year start?
September 1958?
101
Who instigated the lost year and where was it?
Governor Orval Faunus, who had just won all 75 counties in his primary, and it was in Arkansas.
102
What happened during the lost year?
High school teachers worked in empty classrooms, and three private schools opened to accommodate displaced white students. No private schools for black students emerged.
103
What happened to teachers during the lost year?
They passed a law requiring teachers to identify all organizations to which they belonged. They immediately fired any teachers who were members of the NAACP. By May 1959, 44 teachers were fired without due process.
104
What happened to school children during the lost year?
They went to nearby segregated schools and some moved in with relatives across all of Arkansas. 93% of white students found some form of alternative schooling. 50% of displaced black students found no schooling.
105
What happened to African American students?
Went to the military, went to work,, married early or simply dropped out. Had long lasting consequences because of the denial of a free public education.
106
How did the Lost Year end?
In June 1959 a federal district court declared the law making the closing of the schools a violation of due process and equal protection.
107
When did schools reopen?
1959 with desegregation but was really only tokenism. Federal courts had other encourage integration through the use of buses which went into force in 1971.
108
What was shown through the lost year?
Popularity of extreme measures against desegregation
Evidence of weakness of supreme court
Evidence of Eisenhower’s reticence to get involved
109
When did Eisenhower hold his special hearing on Civil Rights?
February 5th 1959
110
What did Eisenhower do in his special civil rights hearing?
Suggested ways of addressing loopholes in the 1957 act. Made 7 suggestions, including extending the commission an extra two years and creating an aid programme to help schools desegregate.
111
What was shown through the Civil Rights address in 1959?
Eisenhower was publicly supportive of civil rights, hoping that moderate forces would win. Not all of his measures found themselves in the 1960 act, but they formed the basis for the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
112
When were the lunch counter sit ins?
Feb 1960
113
Where were the first sit ins?
They were held by students in Greensboro North Carolina at Woolworths white only cafeteria. The students would do it for as long as it took to get taken out every day.
114
How did the sit ins spread?
Through the media.
Newspaper reporters and a TV cameraman covered the second day, allowing it to spread, and on the third day more than 60 people came to the store. On the 4th more than 300 people took part.
115
When did the sit ins reach their peak?
They spread across the south and ended up involving more than 70,000 students.
116
Who helped the students?
Eisenhower expressed sympathy to them and commended them.
NAACP didnt want to help.
MLK offered the support of the SCLC.
117
How did the sit ins end?
They ended up boycotting the stores, and their sales dropped by a third, leading their owners to abandon their segregationist policy.
118
What was significant about the sit ins?
They popularised the sit in concept especially because of the media coverage, which was very significant.
Eisenhower sounded positive but didnt have any direct involvement. r
119
When was the Civil Rights Act 1960 passed?
May
120
What was most significant about the CRA 1960?
Made obstruction of court ordered school desegregation a federal crime and introduced penalties for obstructing black voting.
