McArthy Flashcards
What external events amplified the red scare
- soviet expansion in Europe
-Truman Doctrine and Marshall plan
-atomic bombs
-Korean war
-china becoming communist
Who set up federal loyalty boards
J Edgar Hoover ( told president Truman that spying was a real concern)
What were the federal loyalty boards
FBI started creating files of evidence on gov members suspected of spying for communist Russia
How many people were investigated by the fedlob
over 3 million people
How many people were fired or forced to resign despite there being no evidence of actual spying taking place
3,000
What year was HUAC created and why
1938 , to monitor extremist groups
-in 1947 public hearing against the communist party of America presented
why were the Hollywood ten investigated
concern that communists would use the film industry to spread propaganda
who were the Hollywood ten
ten actors who refused to answer questions and pleaded the first amendment (the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly)
-all jailed for one year and blacklisted
effect of Hollywood ten
-brought huge publicity to the red scare eg Walt Disney investigated
-increased anti-Communist hysteria
Who was Alger Hiss
was an American government official accused in 1948 of having spied for the Soviet Union
What happened to Hiss
- despite his denial and fact he was never convicted of spying he was sentenced to 5 years in prison
-Pumpkin papers -found guilty of lying
How did the Hiss case further anti-comunist hysteria
member of the state department
Who were the Rosenbergs
scientists which worked on the atomic bomb , accused of giving the Russians nuclear secrets
-convicted and sentenced to death
-executed 1953
Who was senator Joseph McCarthy
-chairman of the government committee on operations of the senate
-took advantage of mass hysteria to elevate his position and influence
What did Mc do
-conducted public hearings of suspected communists using bullying and agressive questioning
-said he had the name of over 200 communists working in the government , was eventually only able to name 57 suspects
-his claims strengthened his reputation as an anti communist
what happened to people who criticised him
- accused by McCarthy of being communist or un-American
-eg senator tydings who was defeated in the senate elections after called him a ´fraud and hoax´ , scared others into speaking out
-destroyed people´s lives with accusations which scared others
What was the downfall of Mcarthy
INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE ARMY - hearing broadcasted on TV , target was general George Marshall ( US veteran ) , public saw what a bully Mc is , aggresive questions with no evidence
ROLE OF THE MEDIA - Tv program showed Mcarthy to be a liar , was called a communist , gave ed murrow (journalist ) confidence to speak out against him
Impact of the work of FBI and HUAC
-Americans believed communists were everywhere , even in highest positions of goverment
-many people believed they were surrounded by communist spies
-people suspicious of everyone and scared of being accused
What was the Macarran act
-all communists had to declare themselves
-not allowed passports or certain jobs
(USA couldn´t bad comm as it would be against their commandments )
2 effects of HUAC on red scare
- increased paranoia
-more extreme gov acts (macarran)
Why did other members of the republican party show their support for Mcarthy
being tough on communism got you more votes
against communism meant loosing your job
role of the media in red scare
intensified fear of communism eg red menace movie , therefore made more people believe Mcarthy
Senate role in downfall of Mc
publicly reprimanded him for his abuse
what was Plessey vs Fergurson
schools allowed to be separate as long as they are equal
what cr group was involved in brown v topeka
NAACP ( national association for advancement of coloured people)
what was the name of the lawyer in brown v t
Thurgood marshall ( AA , assured will fight hard )
by 1957 how many black children were attending formally segregated schools
300,000
Most important consequences of BvTop
- desegregation of schools , first time sc helps , 1st crack in Jim crow laws
- increased violence against AA´s in the south (emmet till) (catalyst for cr movement)
What happened in 18948 ( to do with Truman and cr act)
- president truman tried to pass a civil rights bill but it was blocked by the republicans and dixiecrats
Who filibustered the 1957 civil rights act
Storm Thurmond ( dixiecrat)
-filibustered the bill for over 24 hours so bill was not passed
-despite resistance Johnson (leader of democrats) managed to pass a watered down version of the cr act in sept 1957
what did the 1957 civil rights act aim to do
aimed to improve AA voter registration by setting up COMMISION TO INVESTIGATE how AA WERE PREVENTED FROM VOTING , allowing PROSECUTION OF STATES who tried to stop AA VOTING
significance of 1957 cr act
:) - showed congress was at least willing to do something about BCR - first time in 82 years , penalties for states found to be obstructing AA´s from registering to vote
:( - let do cr activists disappointed that the act did not go as far as they wanted , became even more determined to press for further reform , congress passed another cr act in 1960
limitations of the 1957 cr act
only improved AA voters registration by 3%
and cr campaigners not satisfied
not significant in improving CR for AA
significance of sit ins
-numbers who took part (70k)
-attracted huge publicity + sympathy (from eis)
-start of student protests
-succefully desegregated some facilities
-first truly mass cr protest
-more confrontational than boycotts
significance of MTG
-desegregated all buses
-1st time AA came together in peaceful protest and won
-led to setting up of more cr groups
why did CORE plan the freedom rides
to show Boyton v Virginia was not being followed , provoking a reaction from the southern racists (created media coverage)
background to the meredith case
- May 1961 James meredith applied for a place at Missisipi and rejected
-NAACP helped him take his case to court
-SC ordered the university to accept him but refused - governor encouraged legislative to pass a law denying admission to uni for poeple who had been previously been accepted into a crime ( sit in )
what happened when Kennedy intervened in the Meredith case
- ordered those obstructing the law to stop
-sent hundred of federal soldiers to escort M to register - officials attacked and riots , 2 died , 300 injured
- 2k federal troops to stop the rioting
what did selma pressure LBJ to do
pass a voting right act
what happened after selma
cr movement split ( SNCC began to question strategy of non-violence)
why was Malcolm X significant
- superb speaker
-increased membership of NOI to about 100,000
-felt violence should be justified for self defence
-helped set yo educational + social programs aimed at black youth in ghettoes
-teaching ab black history
-uniform and shows for black children in ghettoes
-´by any means neccesary´
-highlighted huf¡ge economic+social problems facing AA´s
biggest race riot
WATTS RIOT , started because of police brutality , man arrested , police attack his mum and pregnant gf , 1400 NATIONAL GUARDSMEN sent in to restore order , after 6 days 34 died oover 100 injured over 4000 arrested
LEADERS OF BLACK PANTHER MOVEMENT
BOBBY SEALE AND HUEY NEUTON
main things black panthers did
patrolling the pigs to prevent police brutality , free healthcare , black history classes
CHICAGO FREEDOM MOVEMENT 1966
(mainstream cr movement , not black power)
announced SCLC would move their campaigns to the north
what were the 3 main things the chicago freedom movement were focused on
IMPROVING HOUSING
EDUCATION
EMPLOYEMENT
limitations of the Chicago freedom movement
operation breadbasket , boycott to pressure business owners into employing black people , progress slow , north so no violence response
MLK reached agreement with mayor , goes back on agreements , nothing done
POOR PEOPLES CAMPAIGN (MLK´s last campaign)
designed to help poor people of ALL RACES
-improve wellfare
- education
-minimum wage
why couldn´t the poor people´s campaign be finished
MLK MURDERED april 1968
-without MLK diff groups disagree on tactics
-seen as a disaster , damaged public image of cr movement
presidential action after 1965
-Johnson hoped action might help reduce violence , cut federal funding to shcools which resisted integration
-encouraged ´BUSSIN´- transporting AA kids from ghettoes to white areas to go to school
-encouraged ´AFFIRMATIVE ACTION´ - giving black people jobs even if they had lower qualifications than whites
what did Nixon do for civil rights
-less commited to cr than J
-spoke out against bussing - tried to overturn the sc case that allowed it
-aprovved affirmative action
-increased black workers from 1%-12% of the total workforce
-pushed through congress the 192 equal opportunity act
reasons for the march on washington
-civil rights groups wanted to show their support for the cr bill which was being debated in congress
-thought if large numbers came to show their support for the bill then congress would be pressured to pass it
-to draw attention to problems faced by AA´s (difficult to get jobs, paid less than whit epeople , more likely to be unemployed)
why was the date for the march on Washington significant
marked 100 years since slavery was ended
why did kennedy try to stop the protesters from marching
-afraid there would be violence
-sent in 1000 extra police and 2000 guardsmen on standby
(not necesary , the protesters marched peacefully until they reached the Lincoln memorial)
instead of 100,000 people how many showed up and how many were white
250,000 showed up , 60,000 where white
-not a march displaying black solidarity but RACIAL UNITY
what events happened at the march which made it special
-musical performances aswell as speeches
-celebrities eg Bob dylan and Marlon brando present
-MLK keynote speaker - gave his I HAVE A DREAM speech
