History Exam Flashcards
What was the purpose of creating the United Nations?
Allied powers wanted to prevent the dismissal of human rights in WW2 from happening again, and to create conditions where future world peace could occur.
What is the UDHR?
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a document created in 1948 that states all the human rights and freedoms countries and people should strive to protect.
Who was a central Australian figure to the United Nations?
‘Doc’ Evatt was an important Australian politician that made important social and economic contributions to the UDHR (‘right to education’, ‘right to own property’, etc).
What was ‘Terra Nullius’?
‘Terra Nullius’ is a concept that proposed land belonging to no one could legally be taken by a foreigner. This justified the colonisation of Australia and the treatment of aboriginal peoples.
What was the initial impacts for aboriginal peoples after European settlement?
In 1788, when the First Fleet arrived, aboriginal people experienced…
- dispossession of land, specifically access to sacred sites
- free access to food and water
- disease and death
Outline the Protection policy?
The Protection policy was a means of controlling the Aboriginals. Implemented by the Australian government in the mid-19th century, it segregated them from Australian society under the guise of ‘protecting’ them (from themselves?). This meant placing them on missionaries and included deciding where they could live and work and taking their children.
What was the Assimilation Policy?
It proposed that people of Aboriginal blood could be ‘bred’ out and blended into white society by removing children of mixed-race from their homes and letting those who were ‘full-blooded’ to ‘die out’. This justified the Stolen Generations and the complete removal of aboriginal culture.
What were the acts that allowed for the forced removal of aboriginal children by authorities?
Protection Acts.
What was the Self-Determination policy?
After the referendum, the Self-Determination policy made its so aboriginal people were actively involved in the political processes, such as discussions on an organisational and community level.
How was inequality present in North America?
Jim Crow Laws (particularly in the South) allowed for segregation of coloured and white people in public spaces, such as theatres, swimming pools, buses, etc., leading to unequal opportunities. Additionally, they experienced mistreatment and abuse through casual use of derogatory terms and prelevant violence, such as lynchings and other mob activities.
What was the civil rights movement?
In 1950s-60s, African Americans led protests against policies that obstructed their civil rights (political and social rights and freedoms).
What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
Inspired by Rosa Parks’ arrest, Martin Luther King Jr. led a bus boycott in Montgomery that lasted just over a year to de-segregate buses.
Outline the significance of the Sit-ins to the civil rights movement?
The sit-ins were a part of the civil disobedience. In the 1960’s students began to occupy the ‘whites-only’ section of the cafeteria until they were served. Often, these students endured verbal and physical abuse and many were arrested. However, they continued without retaliation. This act of determined non-violence eventually led to de-segregation in restaurants, and inspired ‘swin-ins’ and ‘pray-ins’, etc. to protest segregation in other public spaces. The sit-ins were significant to the civil rights movement because it led to desegregation in public spaces, marking a gradual equality between coloured and white people.
What were the Freedom Rides?
Even though the federal government ruled segregation on buses illegal, it still remained present, and African Americans could still be prosecuted under state laws. The freedom rides challenged this, where African Americans made a display of sitting wherever they wanted as they rode through the southern states. Here, they faced hostility, specifically in Alabama and South Carolina.
What was the significance of non-violent protests in the American civil rights movement?
By staging an event that would attract a hostile response and therefore, media coverage, which would initiate awareness and pressure governments to protect the rights of African Americans.
