the opposition to civil rights Flashcards
most notorious opposition to AA civil rights
klu klux klan
origins of klu klux klan
- secret society formed in tennessee in dec 1865
- overall coordination attempted in 1867 at meeting in nashville (confederate general nathan bedford forest was ‘gran wizard’)
- ideology was white supremacy
- political aim was to undermine republican domination of south
- strongest characteristic was localised groups of people with variety of grievances, pursuing personal grudges & indulging in racist voilence/intimidation
methods of the klu klux klan
- used intimidating methods (eg. white hoods, flaming crosses, secret oaths)
- physically attacked, beat, lynched & murdered AA, destroying their property & occasionally setting off bombs
- spread myth of ‘savage’ black men, particularly playing to fears of black men raping white women (recurred for next century)
- freedmen’s bureau members were targeted in 1860s & again in 1950/60s, when civil rights workers were killed
- efforts made to stop AA voters registering & voting (later institutionalised as jim crow laws)
- attacked AA to stop them attending desegregated schools (formidable precedent set in this period for white opposition to civil rights)
outline the scale of voilence under the klu klux klan
- 2000 deaths & injuries in louisiana alone in run-up to 1868 presidential election
- klan’s methods led to republicans & AA uniting against it = had opposite effect of its supporters
why did the klan wither away?
- effective indictiments by federal courts began to have effects by early 1870s
- national organisation wasn’t strong enough to resist federal powers
- state legislatures turned against it
however, individual acts of terrorism continued
attitudes & actions of state governments towards the klu klux klan
- supreme court declared legislation against the klan unconstitutional in 1882
- situation in south descended into official restrictions on AA political rights with jim crow laws & voting qualifications
- traditions of klan period were maintained in growth of lynchings, which the local/state authorities didn’t do much to control
- federal government saw klan activities & did little
- situation reverted to pre-civil war period where south was able to regulate own affairs with regard to race
- segregation, sharecropping & inequality in place of slavery, alongside random/terrifying localised voilence
= klu klux klan became inactive as no real reason for it to exist
revival of klu klux klan in the 20th century
- reborn in 1915 on basis of a myth
- the film ‘the birth of a nation’ portrayed klan as part of heroic struggle against northern domination & black control
- group led by william joseph simmons in georgia
- agenda was considerably wider
- attracted anti-urban, anti-immigrant protestant tactics
- enemies included AA, jews, catholics, foreigners & opponents to prohibition of alcoholic drinks
- targets more widespread = effects on AA civil rights were much less
–> klan in decline by mid-1920s
–> racial attacks continued but voilence was sporadic
–> lingered in south during period
decline of klan membership
1920
1930
1920 = 4 million
1930 = 30,000
civil rights activists faced resistance from number of sources during 1950s
- state governments, legislatures, senators & representatives
- republicans didn’t penetrate ‘solid south’
- democrats political dominance built on defence of segregation/supremacy & presented formidable barrier even to strongest presidents (eg. truman, kennedy) - entrenched position of judicial system in many southern areas
- police forces, local councillors, courts & juries being determined to hold back change - vestiges of klan/similar organisations & traditions of voilence/lynchings among white population
- access to weapons was easy
- white juries unwilling to convict racial crime
- civil rights often seen as northern interference
revival of political voilence in south (after changes stemming from WW2 & greater pressure for change)
- wave of bombings of AA homes who had become more prosperous in birmingham, alabama
- sympathisers of eugene ‘bull’ connor allowed attacks to go ahead without investigation
- when freedom riders appeared in birmingham, connor allowed klan members to attack them for 15 minutes without taking action
- attacks on homes of members of the NAACP in florida in 1951
- assassination of civil rights leader medgar evers (mississippi 1963) was not isolated incidence of political violence
- 16th street baptist church bombed in 1963 & murder of 3 civil rights workers in mississippi showed failure of radical white opposition to appreciating any change in public opinion
- impossible to prevent acts of voilence (like 1870s)
turning point for voilence against AA (going unpunished/allowed)
- conviction of klan member (henry francis hayes) in june 1997= executed for kidnapping/murder/lynching of AA teenager (michael donald) in mobile, alabama
- killed 1981 = took 16 years for punishment to be carried out
- bankrupted klan, as victims mother gained $7 million in damages in 1987
–> no white man had been convicted & executed for racial murder in the south since 1870s
describe the white citizens councils
- formed in south after brown decision in 1954
- more middle-class membership than klan but similar aim
- wanted to intimidate AA into not claiming their rights
- members used voilence & economic power
- councils active into the 1960s
why was opposition to civil rights by southern authorities, individuals & groups (eg. white citizens council) not as effective in 1950/60s compared to reconstruction period
defiantly segregationist governors (eg. orval faubus who tried to prevent desegregation of schools in arkansas, george wallace in alabama) only pushed reluctant administrations to use federal authority to enforce supreme court decisions because of media attention
what did greater television coverage mean for opposition to AA civil rights
- discrimination, segregation, voilence & disregard for the law couldn’t be hidden (as it had been 1877-1940s)
- effective opposition depended on support from supreme court decisions & political indifference of federal government
- once this changed (result of more effective civil rights organisation/inspiration of individual leaders), opposition seemed merely old-fashione, desperate & dangerous to USA’s reputation
