l'histoire Flashcards
Why did American southerners want to keep slavery from 1930-1945
Black slaves were needed for work on cotton, tobacco and sugar plantations, they could be exploited.
What were the Jim Crow Laws?
The Jim Crow laws were named after a character in a plantation song that Black slaves used to sing. institutionalized racial discrimination.
How were Black people in the south prevented from voting?
To prevent black people in the south from voting, they would be made to pay a large amount of money in which they could not pay, they also made them sit a very hard literacy test to see if they were intelligent enough.
Describe the beliefs of the KKK?
established in 1865, after the American civil war, the Ku Klux Klan wanted to make sure white people would stay supreme, only White Anglo Saxon Protestants (WASP) who promised to defend the US from Black people. They paraded in the evenings in white robes and hoods to symbolize white supremacy and purity.
What was the migration north?
In 1910, 89% of all black Americans remained in Southern states, and nearly 80% of those lived in rural areas. However, between 1915 and 1920, atleast 500,000 blacks migrated north. some estimates double that number to a million. Reasons for their departure from the south are as follows:
- from 1913, falling cotton prices brought an economic depression across the South.
- In 1915, severe flooding caused many Black southerner houses alongside the Mississippi river to be destroyed.
Black Southerners were attracted to the north because:
- Northern industries were going through an economic boom as war in Europe created a demand for goods.
- Due to many White as well as Black Americans having to leave for war in Europe, this left many open job opportunities.
- Salaries were higher in the north.
What was the impact of the Wall Street Crash of 1929?
- by 1933, 25% of the population of the US were unemployed (14 million)
- 2 million black farmers were forced off the land.
- 60% unemployment rate for blacks in northern cities
What was the New Deal and what did it do for Black Americans?
Signed by Roosevelt, the New Deal set up lots of schemes to help the unemployed, starving and homeless and therefore a lot of Black people, as well as white people, were helped.
Improvements? B.A employed in government, 1 million B.A employed job schemes, FERA gave aid to B.A. and NAACP established for the advancement of coloured people.
However,
Continuity? no anti lynching laws, CCC payed lower wages for Black americans
Describe the Scottsboro Trial?
In 1931, nine young black men were accused of raping two white girls on a train in Alabama. After a series of bitter trials, four of the young men were sentenced to long prison sentences - even though the lawyers argued that the accusations were false. It was to be later discovered that the women were lying.
How was WII a Catalyst for change for black americans at home?
Change:
- 400, 000 B.A migrated north from the South to the US industrial centres
- on average, they doubled their wages
- the 1943 Detroit riot sewed the seeds for the C.R movement to begin!
Continuity:
- Still faced racial discrimination
- workers of both skin colours had racial tensions, over the war, there were riots in 47 cities
- NAACP membership rose from 50,000 to 450,000 during the war
How was WII a Catalyst for change for black americans away (armed forces)?
Change:
- over 1 million Blacks joined the army
- they could eventually fight where they weren’t seen as worthy enough to
- Supreme Commander Eisenhower strongly supported it
- 1946 government ordered navy to end racial discrimination
Continuity:
- segregation continued within the forces
- Blacks weren’t given ‘proper’ jobs e.g supplies, cooks etc, referred to as “mules”
- Blacks given dangerous jobs, accident of July 1944, 323 people died, mostly blacks.
- Black soldiers posted in Britain saw an alternative society with no segreagation
Why was the Brown Case of 1954 important?
The Brown Case was important because it was the corner stone of legal challenges against segregation. The Brown Case was specifically important because Judge Earl Warren of the Supreme Court went in favour of Linda Brown.
furthermore it officially ended segregation in all schools, this gave the civil rights movement momentum.
However, by 1960, there were still 6 southern states which had no integrated schools and after the ending of segregation in the education system, there was a white backlash.
- led to little rock
In terms of Change/progress and continuity, how important was Little Rock High School 1957?
Progress:
- Central High School was somewhat integrated
- The President was clearly in support of integrated schools
- media exposed racial segregation and violence
- galvanised the C.R.M
Continuity:
- Only 9 students, they experienced racial abuse.
- many schools in the south privatised to stem the tide of integration.
- By 1960, still 6 Southern states that had no integrated schools
Why was the Montgomery Bus Boycott of Dec 1955-Nov 1956 significant?
Progress:
- All transport (bus) was desegregated by the Supreme Court
- Rosa Parks and MLK became significant names to the black community
- showed the importance of the Black community
- segregated buses were made illegal by the supreme Court
What was the significance of the lunch counter sit-ins and the freedom rides?
Both forms of protests were non violent and were successful.
What happened in Birmingham Alabama 1963?
- MLK and Ralph Abernathy were arrested
- Police chief “Bull Connor” arrests any protestors - set dogs/hoses
- Childrens crusade, 1000 children at 10AM leave school and protest for MLKs imprisonment
- JFK intervenes personally
- in 1964, after JFKs assassination, Civil Rights Act 1964 is enacted.
Summarize Birmingham, Alabama, 1963?
B’ham, Alabama, was the most racist and segregated city in the US. MLK and CRM decided to focus on it to bring change and make a point. MLK and Ralph Abernathy were arrested by the Racist polic chief Bull Connor. As word was spread that MLK was imprisoned, 1000 school children decided to protest against the police’s racist actions. they were met by Police dogs and hoses. the children were arrested and put into prison. This continued until JFK intervened to restore peace.
What was the 16th street Baptist Church Bombing?
in 1963, 4 young girls attending Sunday school went to the basement of their church to get their robes, a loud explosion took place, wrecking the church and killing the girls. The suspected person who set the explosion was Robert Chambliss, however he was only charged with possession of dynamite.
How Much Progress had been made with the CRM by 1963?
Progress: - montgomery bus boycott - Brown Case - SNCC, SCLC - end of Jim Crow laws - MLK emerges as leader of CRM Continuity: - privatised schools to avoid intergration - ku klux klan still around - White backlash e.g Emmett Till, Little Rock & 16th street baptist church bombing - no civil rights enacted - Black activists consistently discriminated e.g MLKs home being bombed, Malcolm X life threatened
What was the significance of the March on Washington?
- There was no violent backlash
- it was televised nationally
- it put pressure on the government to make the Civil Right actions
- MLK became a significant character “I Have A Dream” speech
Other than MLK, who else contributed to the CRM in the form of non violence?
- James Bevel
- Ralph Abernathy
- Daisy Bates
Other than Malcolm X who else led Black power movements?
- Stokely Carmichael
- Angela Davis
- Marcus Garvey
What were the reasons for the race riots which peaked from 1965-67
The riots were mainly made up of angry Black youths influenced by the ideology of Black power movements that were advocated by Stokely Carmichael, Angela Davis and Malcolm X (before he converted to being a Sunni Muslim)
- The riot in the Watts district of L.A left 1072 injured, 34 dead and 4000 arrested, furthermore it caused about 40 million dollars in damage
How much Black progress was made In the 70s and 80s in terms of Politics, Economics and Sport?
POLITICAL PROGRESS:
- Many Blacks became mayors and councillors
- Colin Powell becomes first C.O.S
CONTINUITY:
- Only 121 B.A representatives of US Congress since 1880
ECONOMIC PROGRESS:
- The number of Black families wages within $20,000-$49,000 increased
CONTINUITY:
- Large number of B.A still continued to live under the poverty line
- Still faced discrimination, as banks continued to hesitate to grant mortgages to B.A even though they could afford the exspenses
SPORT PROGRESS:
- Carl Lewis won 9 Olympic gold medals
- Mohammed Ali inspired a generation
CONTINUITY:
- Interracial policy took a long time in golf
- Still some White exclusive sports
How much Black progress was made In the 70s and 80s in terms of Music, TV + Films and Literature/Education?
MUSIC PROGRESS:
- 1982, Michael Jacksons album “Thriller” topped music charts around the world
- Rap music became a phenomenon
EDUCATION PROGRESS:
- Tom Morrison won Nobel Prize in 1993
- Cornel West became notable figure through his books on philosophy and racial matters
CONTINUITY:
- 1978, still barely any racial mixing in some cities
- Opposition to intergration after C.R.A 1964
TV/FILM PROGRESS:
- Oprah Winfrey becomes media mogul
- Cinema has shown the public the horrors of racism
- 1999, 16% of television characters on network TV were Black
CONTINUITY:
- B.A found it very hard to break into the world of Sports presentation
- Only Greg Grumbel and Robin Roberts have moved into prestigious network positions
Describe the Rodney King beating?
The Rodney King beating took place in L.A, 1991, when several police officers pulled Rodney King out of his car, to arrest him, however, they decided to beat him profoundly, luckily a passer by managed to film it. It was observed at the hospital that King had several fractures and bruises, and even some permanent brain damage.
What were the L.A Riots of 1992?
The L.A riots were not caused by the actual beating of Rodney King, but the Jury’s verdict of not penalising the Police Officers, that had clearly beaten Rodney King from the footage recorded.
This enraged people, especially in L.A, especially as it suggested racial discrimination was still present even within the Police force!
Give some facts about the L.A Riots?
- The Riots caused 5000 buildings to be burned
- it is estimated that during the riots, at any given moment, there were 3 fires taking place within L.A
- 17 government buildings were destroyed
- there many reports of rape and looting and even drive by shootings
- 11,000 arrests were made, 5500 latinos, 5000 black and 500 whites.
What is Affirmative Action?
Affirmative action is positive discrimination, it refers to policies that take factors including race, religion, colour, sex, or national origin into consideration in order to benefit an under-represented group in areas of employment, education and business.
The concept of Positive Discrimination was introduced in the early 1960s as a way to combat racial discrimination in the hiring process, and in 1967, the concept was expanded to include gender.
ESSAY QUESTION: CHANGE AND CONTINUITY BETWEEN 1930-1969 FOR BLACK AMERICANS Part 1
In the 1930s:
- B.A faced much discrimination, particularly in the South where the Jim Crow laws were enacted, Black Peoples liberty was much more restricted in the South than in the North, however whether a Black person lived in the north or the South, they’d still face segregation. Whereas, in the North Black people didn’t suffer as much discrimination, in the south, Organisations like the KKK carried out lynchings, castrations and whippings predominantly in the South of the US.
During the 1940s:
- We see the involvment of B.As in WWII, this acted as a catalyst for change at home and away. during the war 400,000 Black Americans were able to move North, and on average due to industries booming in the north because of the war, the Black workers would on average have their wages doubled. However, poor workers of both skin colours had racial tensions during the war, there race riots in 47 different cities over the war.
- In the armed forces, over 1 million Black American men joined where they were not seen as worthy enough to, however they still faced a great deal of discrimination, the navy officially banned segregation however, the Army did not.
Perhaps the most progress was made during the 50s and 60s:
- Shocking attrocities such as the Emmett Till case in Money, Mississippi 1955, and the 16th street Baptist Church bombing in 1963, brought media attention to the ‘grand’ American notion as being twisted and troubled, this media attention sparked people to become more aware of racism as being wrong. The Brown Case of 1954 and the Little Rock High School incident in 1957, brought change to the American Education System, for the first time, we see the law being in favour of black people which was seldom seen, not only this, but the president was in favour of intergration as well! However, much white violence was shown upon the arrival of an intergrated school system in the US, and 6 southern states refused to intergrate schools.
- During the 50s and 60s we saw MLK and his passive resistant movement emerge for the fight for civil rights amongst B.A. However, where we had this peaceful, non violent protest movement, a different group emerged. Led by Malcolm X, a member of the Nation of Islam, where he advocated violence to be used where necessary, Malcolm X, for the 12 years he was a member of the Nation of Islam, advocated for a separate society for blacks and whites.
- By 1964, the civil rights act was enacted and a year after the voting Right was enacted as well. However we still see some continuity after the summit of black equality has been reached, race riots occurred in 125 cities across the states from 1965-1967, made up, by mainly angry young black youths brought up in poverty and amongst racist whites.
ESSAY QUESTION: CHANGE AND CONTINUITY BETWEEN 1970-2000 FOR BLACK AMERICANS Part 2
During the 1970s and 1980s:
- vast amounts of prgoress was made by Black individuals.
Within Music, very popular stars like Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder etc. found huge success.
For the first ever in American history, Black councillors and mayors were emerging around the country. However, in contrast from the brilliant progress made, most Black people still lived in poverty. There was still barely any racial mixing seen in any cities around the U.S.
In the 90s:
- We saw the Rodney King beating by several white officers in L.A 1991, some doctors that treated him described his bones as being turned to “powder”.
When the court ruled the officers as being innocent, although video footage contradicted this judgement, there were riots in L.A. The riots caused over 5000 buildings to be burned and 11,000 arrests were made. The Rodney King Beating is perhaps a suggestion to racial discrimination still occurring
