Obstacles To Civil Rights (why?) Flashcards
Intro
In 1865, slavery was abolished by the US Congress, therefore marking the beginning of the fight for civil rights.
Furthermore, many Black Americans fought for democracy during the Second World War after the US intervened in 1941,
but still did not have basic democratic rights themselves, further encouraging a greater desire to fight for these rights.
Factor summary
Divisions in the black community
Divisions in the black community was important in the obstacles to the achievement of Civil rights for black Americans.
WEB Dubois was the founder and president of the NAACP, through this group he encouraged activism by directly demanding full civil rights in his movements.
and providing legal help to drive an improvement in things such as housing, voting, education for blacks.
However, Marcus Garvey founder of the UNIA, argued racial bias was ingrained in white’s and he taken every white to be a potential Klansmen.
He therefore encouraged blacks to break free from white culture and embrace their own heritage.
An example of this was his proposal saying all black Americans should return to Africa to start their own self-governing republic there.
Arguably, this shows that distance remained between members of the black community as even though the intention with both was to improve the lives of the blacks, as leaders their methods were divided, and so it was clear these divisions weakened the movement and so proved as an obstacle to the civil rights movement pre-1941.
Furthermore, Historian Sanders said, “The black community was divided, ex-slaves resented free-born blacks who saw themselves as superior”.
The freeborn never seen the true extent of slavery and the effects it had on the people who experienced it.
The ex-slaves in return did not appreciate this ignorance.
This difference in terms of experience and background helped to prevent the emergence of a unified movement before 1942.
In evaluation, Divisions in the Black Community was somewhat important as an obstacle to civil rights as key black leaders disagreed on the best strategies to adopt that would help attain civil rights for all black people, however Lack of Political Influence was the most important factor as the Grandfather Clause was a law that allowed only those citizens whose fathers and grandfathers had been eligible to vote in January 1st 1857 to vote.
Overall, LPI is more important as no matter how effortful black community activism was, or how divided, it was occurring on the periphery and not gaining the ear of the central power or policymakers.
Popular prejudice
Popular prejudice was an important obstacle to civil rights for black people before 1941 as the Great Migration greatly changed the racial makeup of Northern cities as in the decade between 1910 and 1920, Chicago’s Black population was up by 148%.
The subsequent racial tension in these cities led to an outbreak of riots such as the East St Louis riot of 1917 which erupted after 2 white police detectives were shot by black youths.
Arguably, this shows that the violent incidents caused by the racial prejudice and socioeconomic resentment because of the increasing population of black people led to further division between the races and caused tensions to grow, which prevented the progression of a civil rights movement up to 1941.
However, the movement of many black people to the North encouraged black culture such as art, music, food etc to flourish, in places such as Harlem, New York, and was named the Harlem Renaissance, with cultural icons such as Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.
This meant that over time, because of this revival of African American culture, a more positive outlook on black communities developed throughout the US, which would ultimately help advance a civil rights movement for black people.
In evaluation, popular prejudice is somewhat important as an obstacle to the achievement of Civil rights for black Americans as social pressures ignited more widespread discrimination against black people/communities; however, lack of political influence is more important as out of c.130,000 black voters registered in Louisiana in 1896, only c.5300 remained by 1900.
Overall, lack of political influence is more important than popular prejudice as Black people were decreasingly involved and represented within politics therefore elected politicians had no incentive to improve the lives of Black people, and so discrimination continued.
Legal impediments
Legal impediments were (amount) important as an obstacle to the achievement of civil rights (CR) for black people before 1941
as Jim Crow Laws (passed from 1870-1900) legally enshrined the practice of ’Separate But Equal’ facilities for black and white people.
Homer Plessy, classified as one-eighth Black, (arrested in 1892 for refusing to move from a whites-only seat),
challenged segregation laws as unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment, however the Supreme Court ruled against him,
as they stated that the separation of races doesn’t imply that one is inferior.
Arguably, this shows that the US federal system was constructed in a manner that made it extremely difficult for all US citizens to have equality,
with Black Americans being denied legal rights which forced them to have a more restricted involvement in society than white people,
therefore the legal endorsement of such practices was a significant obstacle to the growth of CR pre 1941.
Furthermore, historians Green and Cheatham said, “[Jim Crow was] the legal means by which white superiority was maintained” this shows that legal impediments deliberately created a culture where there was an imbalance between citizens, resulting in white people being viewed above black people, therefore making it that much harder for Black Americans to achieve CR.
In evaluation, legal impediments are somewhat important as an obstacle to the achievement of civil rights as legislation clearly obstructed and depleted the rights of Black Americans; however, it was not as important as lack of political influence where by 1915 almost every Southern state had introduced voting qualifications which tended to disadvantage black Americans.
Overall, LPI is more important because these impediments were often laws passed at State level, but despite federal government having the power, they lacked the will to force States into line.
The activities of the KKK
The Activities of the KKK were important as an obstacle to the achievement of civil rights for black people before 1941. By 1924/5 the KKK’s membership was at around 3 million comprising of high authority figures therefore giving the KKK stronger influence.
Then in 1925, 40,000 Klansmen marched through Washington. This was endorsed by not just the American public but from strong and powerful government officials which is proven by law figures allowed the march to occur with no intent on stopping it.
There is a clear relationship between activities of the KKK and legal impediments as shown by the dire anti-lynching bill being defeated in 1922. This further proves the widespread support for the Klan where the practice of lynching was allowed to continue and resulted in the execution of 416 Black Americans.
Arguably, this shows that the Klans widespread popularity and support made a significant barrier to civil rights and caused a great support for segregation which was extremely difficult to overcome as they now had support from both southern and northern states.
In evaluation, the activities of the KKK were important as an obstacle to the achievement of Civil rights for black Americans as the widespread acceptance of this hateful organisation demonstrated a discriminatory mindset amongst many Americans;
however, lack of political influence was more important as by 1915, only 3% of blacks could vote.
Overall, lack of political influence was more important than the activities of the KKK as membership and influence of this organisation declined well before 1941, yet lack of political representation for black communities persisted,
as shown by the very minimal political voice present for black people in Washington DC, the nation’s capital.
Lack of political influence
Lack of political influence was an important obstacle to the achievement of civil rights for black people before 1941
as States tried to prevent this from happening to reduce Black’s political influence by introducing literacy tests that many black citizens would struggle to pass due to limited education.
The grandfather clause was another obstacle as it meant that anyone who’s father or grandfather could vote on 1stJanuary 1898 were given voting rights. This would exclude black people as most black people did not have the vote at this time.
Arguably, this shows that significant barriers were put in place to prevent the black community from having an impactful voice in America.
As long as black citizens struggled to vote, the political system and politicians had no incentive or will to give black people the opportunity to further their civil rights before 1941
As their voices weren’t heard on an equal level as white voters.
Furthermore, historians Paterson, Willoughby and Willoughby state “President Wilson supported segregation laws in the south and rejected the efforts of activists” which clearly shows an obstacle to achieving civil rights due to the President being against black people having equal rights then it would be very difficult for black people to increase their political influence if the leader of the country was unwilling to give them a voice.
Note: you can create a LPI evaluation by flipping another factor
