'I have a dream' Flashcards
what was the ruling in Brown v Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas
Supreme Court ruled de jure segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional and a violation of the 14th amendment
how was the brown ruling important
set an important precedent as school segregation in the south had been maintained on the basis of the principle - ‘separate but equal’
which case established the principle ‘separate but equal’ and legitimised wider de jury segregation in the south
Plessy v Ferguson
what was the response of the south to the Brown ruling
- by the end of 1956, not one public school in the south was integrated
- southern white segregationists established the citizens council
- 100 southern members of the US congress signed the southern manifesto
- Mississippi governor, Ross Barnett, openly challenged the federal governments right to intervene in the south
what was Eisenhowers attitude towards integration
he was a gradualist and worried about going to fast with integration as he believed that change should be gradual
how did local whites react after the announcement of integration of Little Rock high school
a white mob formed outside the school and shouted threats at the black students
how did the state governor, Faubus, react to the integration of Little Rock
- brought in the Arkansas army to block the black students from entering the school
- Faubus used state troops to prevent enforcement of federal law
how did Faubus force Eisenhower’s hand when it came to federal government intervention
Faubus removed national guard (yet kept state police) which resulted in the mob of local whites being out of control
what did Eisenhower do in reaction to Faubus removing national guard at Little Rock
Eisenhower sent paratroopers of the 101st air borne division which were federal troops
how did the NAACP use the Cold War to publicise the cause of the Little Rock riot
NAACP played on the fear of the Soviet Union and communist sympathisers using racial discrimination to destabilise American society
in the following school year, what action did Faubus take to prevent integration and what was the wider impact in other southern states
- he shut down all the schools in the state
- this tactic was also used in Virginia which also shut down schools and called for the rejection of integration
who was chosen by the NAACP to begin the challenge to bus segregation and what did they do
Rosa Parks
she got herself deliberately arrested, triggering a black bus boycott of the city’s buses
who was the leader of the bus boycott campaign
Martin Luther King
what was the name of the organisation that formed to organise the boycott
Montgomery Improvement Association
how did MLK help the civil rights movement during the bus boycotts
his eloquence, respectability and political philosophy garnered protest nationwide media coverage and sympathy from black and white Americans across the country
what was the SCLC, when was it formed and who was its president
- Souther Christian Leadership Conference
- founded in 1957
- King was its president
what was the main aim of the SCLC
to continue the fight for black American civil rights through non-violent means
what were the other aims of the SCLC
- encourage all black Americans to seek justice
- encourage the use of non-violent protests
- encourage white Americans to participate in the organisation to bring change
how did the SCLC affect the south
- spread across southern states
- acted as an umbrella organisation, absorbing smaller civil rights groups
- organised protests in the south
what were some key points of MLKs political philosophy
- segregations immoral nature overrides its legality
- black people must have the courage to stand up for themselves, despite the risks
- meeting oppression with violence is counter-productive
- non-violent protests exposes to society injustices of the political system
- black people must not let racial prejudice lead them to develop racist attitudes towards whites
what happened with the Bus Boycotts
- Dec 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery
- her arrest inspired black leaders to mount an one-day bus boycott
-the one day boycott was extremely successful and so it continued - ministers persuaded MLK to lead the boycott
- boycott lasted until Dec 1956
- bus company suffered economically and violence erupted, especially with the Citizens council and KKK
what was the local outcome of the bus boycotts
- 15th Nov 1956, the supreme court upheld the Browder v Gayle ruling that declared Montgomerys bus segregation laws to be unconstitutional
- boycott ended and the bus system in Montgomery desegregated
why did black people feel aggravated at policies of department stores in southern States
black people were able to pay at department stores but not eat there
what institutions in the south become recruiting grounds for civil rights groups during the Greensboro sit-ins
workshops in non-violent activism, mostly students getting involved
what methods did protestors use to challenge segregated lunch counters
‘sit-ins’
what was the reaction to the sit-ins of local law enforcement
- the police did nothing to protect the students from the ‘gangs of tough’
- they’d arrest a wave of students but then more students came
what power did black residents of Nashville use to bring pressure on authorities during the Greensboro sit-ins
- black merchants supplied food to jails
- payed for bail money
- Looby, a lawyer, went to court
- black people didn’t go to stores and created a boycott in Nashville
what was the local impact of the sit-ins
the disruption - particularly economic - caused lunch counters being quietly desegregated
what was the wider impact of the sit-ins
- sit in movement spread to 69 cities across the southern states
- black communities organised economic boycotts of down-town stores
- economic pressure on businesses caused many towns to desegregate
- MLK was arrested and imprisoned for participating in a sit-in in Atlanta
- Presidential candidate, JFK, used his influence to obtains MLKs release (led to him narrowly winning the election)
- SNCC was founded and worked with SCLC organisers
what was the SNCC and when was it formed
Student nonviolent coordinating committee formed in 1960
what was Ella Baker, an SCLC organiser, concerned about
that the SCLC was out of touch with younger blacks who wanted the movement to make faster progress
what happened in the Greensboro sit-ins
- a group of black students staged a sit-in at a white only lunch counter in North Carolina. The sit-ins would soon spread across the south
- stores responded by closing the counters and police arrested activists for disorderly conduct
what were the facts of Boynton v Virginia 1960
- Supreme Court banned segregation on interstate travel facilities
- however the southern states widely ignored the ruling
what were the facts of Morgan v Virginia
- banned segregation on interstate transport itself
- also widely ignored by the southern states
what happened in Freedom rides 1961
- CORE sent a mixed-race group of non-violent volunteers on bus trips from the north to the southern states
- the freedom riders were met with violence
- In Birmingham, a bus was met by Klansmen
- outside Alabama, mobs bombed the bus and 12 passengers were hospitalised
what was the purpose of the freedom rides
to prove the southern states were ignoring the law and to make JFK force them to comply
what was the wider impact of the freedom rides
- Rob Kennedy called in US Marshalls and the governor of Alabama was forced to dispatch the Alabama national guard to protect the riders
- JFK got the interstate commerce commission to enforce the ban on segregation in interstate travel
- in Mississippi, the riders encountered a heavy police presence and no violence but they were arrested (300 riders) in Jackson and sent to prison
what was the crusade for citizenship
a voter registration drive from 1958 - 1960 that failed to double the number of black voters registered
why did the crusade for citizenship fail
- poor organisation
- limited finances
what two main organisations formed the Albany Movement in nov 1961
- NAACP
- SNCC
what was the aim of the Albany movement
to end police brutality and all forms of racial segregation and discrimination in the city
what did the Albany movement organise to do
- mass meetings were called
- protesters marched
how many demonstrators were jailed by mid-December
600
what was the role of Chief Pritchett
- Pritchett realised that news media coverage of segregationist violence against non-violent activists turned many Americans against Jim Crow
- so Pritchett had his officers show restraint and ordered them to not harm protesters
- Pritchett scattered those arrested in Albany to jails throughout the surrounding counties
why was King called to the Albany movement
- because although more than 500 protestors were jailed, negations with city officials stalled.
- King was hoped to help reinvigorate the movement
after kings arrest, what did the city officials and the Albany movement leaders come to an agreement about
If King left, the city would…
- desegregate buses
- postpone trials
- return bond money
- set up a biracial committee
what happened with the agreements after Kings departure
city didn’t uphold the agreements and so protests and arrests continued
what were the failures of the Albany movement
- King left in August 1962 with the movements goals unfulfilled
- tensions emerged between civil rights groups. The more radical elements with the SNCC became increasingly aggrevated at Kings too gradual and moderate approach
what was the importance of the Albany movement
- created later campaigns to be more useful
- helped inform the strategy for the campaign in Birmingham
what was the wider impact of the Birmingham campaign
- civil rights movements gained sympathy from many more moderate whites
- images of police dogs being sent on children were broadcast nationwide and horrified the nation
- images from Birmingham convinced JFK of the need to introduce more stringent civil rights legislation
- later that year, JFK announced the civil rights bill
when did Lyndon Johnson announce an ‘unconditional war on poverty’
in his first state of the union address in January 1964
how many pieces of legislation was the war on poverty centred on
four pieces of legislation
what were the four pieces of legislation and what did they do
- economic opportunity act of 1964: established the job corps, the federal work study programme and other initiatives
- food stamp act of 1964: made the food stamps programme permanent
- social security act of 1965: created medicare and medicaid
- elementary and secondary education act 1965: subside school districts
what was the larger reform that the war on poverty was part of
‘the great society’
how did the Americans involvement in the Vietnam war begin
- viet-minh movement was led by Ho Chi Minh who established a communist gov in North Vietnam
- US supported the establishment of an anti-communist gov in the south which eventually led to a civil war
- by the mid 1960s, it was clear that south Vietnam wouldn’t be able to resist the North Vietnamese offensive without the assistance of American troops
when did President Johnson deploy ground troops and what was the consequence
- in 1965
- it proved disastrous for his presidency
what was the % in increase in defence spending between 1965-1968
60% increase in defence spending between 1965-1968
when did MLK first speak out against the Vietnam war and why was it significant
- spoke out against it in 1965
- SCLC was opposed to any identification with the space movement against the war
at what speech did MLK address the Vietnam war
speech at Riverside Church, NYC
what did MLK say at the speech at Riverside Church, NYC
- expressed sympathy for the Vietnamese communists
- expressed support for other left-wing revolutionary movements
- compared US tactic to the Nazi’s in WW2
- claimed that US forces destroyed land and crops and killed women and children
where did MLK become the main speaker and what was it an attempt at
- at the spring mobilisation to end the war in Vietnam
- attempt to align himself with the younger, more radical element of the black civil rights movement
what were the consequences of MLK’s stance on the Vietnam war
- alienated President Lyndon Johnson and his administration
- two important black civil rights leaders condemned MLS’s position
