Unit 9 Lesson 2: The End of Segregation Flashcards
During his presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy had shared his support for civil rights, and he won the African American vote. What was Kennedy’s strongest focus
His strongest focus was on securing the voting rights of African Americans.
Kennedy’s strongest focus was on securing the voting rights of African Americans. What did he do about it?
In January 1964, the Twenty-Fourth Amendment was finally ratified.
What did the 24th amendment do
It specifically prohibited the imposition of poll taxes on voters. Poverty would no longer serve as an obstacle to voting.
What lead to Kennedy making the Civil Rights Act
In response to violence on college campuses where African Americans tried to enroll, as well as to violent discrimination that had been increasing throughout the South, Kennedy started work on a bill that would help end segregation in education. It would also prohibit segregation in public accommodations and discrimination in employment.
Johnson also introduced a bill in Congress that would remove obstacles for African American voters. What was the Voting Rights Act of 1965
. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited states and local governments from passing laws that discriminated against voters based on their race. Literacy tests and other barriers to voting that had kept ethnic minorities from the polls were outlawed
Kennedy would not live to see this bill pass. Instead, it became law during Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration as the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Impact of the voting rights act of 1965
Following the passage of the act, a quarter of a million African Americans registered to vote. By 1967, the majority of African Americans were registered voters.
Johnson’s final piece of civil rights legislation was the Civil Rights Act of 1968. What did that do
Johnson’s final piece of civil rights legislation was the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which prohibited discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, national origin, or religion.
When the bill that eventually became the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was sent to the Senate, a group of southern politicians, ? , aggressively opposed it.
Congressional Bloc of Southern Democrats
Who were the Congressional Bloc of Southern Democrats and what did they do and what was the outcome
This group of 18 southern Democrats and one southern Republican decided to stall the bill using a filibuster. They hoped that public support for the bill would eventually decrease. President Johnson used his political skill to help break the filibuster.
Dixiecrats
. Southern Democrats, who came to be called the Dixiecrats, continued to oppose the advances made by the civil rights movement.
In the century before, starting with the formation of the Republican Party, the Democratic Party had tended to dominate the South. How did this change with the passing of the civil rights act
But when Democrats Kennedy and Johnson aligned themselves on the side of civil rights, party loyalties were challenged and broken.
In the 1968 presidential election, many Dixiecrats backed third-party candidate George Wallace. Why
Wallace was the former governor of Alabama and a strong supporter of segregation.
When is the last time the south voted for a democratic president
Since 1960, no Democratic candidate for president, with the exception of Georgia governor Jimmy Carter in 1976, has been able to win the majority of southern states.
Kennedy’s and Johnson’s terms saw the passage of laws that protected the rights of African Americans. As these laws were discussed, passed, and enforced, opponents reacted with rage. Their outbursts made leaders realize the need for stronger enforcement and more explicit laws. What happened with African American student James Meredith
For example, when African American student James Meredith, encouraged by Kennedy’s speeches, attempted to enroll at the segregated University of Mississippi in 1962, riots broke out on campus. The president responded by sending the U.S. Army and National Guard to Oxford, Mississippi.
Despite the Twenty-Fourth Amendment and strong federal civil rights legislation, attempts to register southern African American voters encountered white resistance. Protests against this interference often met with violence. What was “Bloody Sunday”
On March 7, 1965, a planned protest march from Selma, Alabama, to the state capitol building in Montgomery turned into “Bloody Sunday.” Marchers crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge encountered state police who assaulted the marchers with batons and tear gas.
Similar violence erupted at the University of Alabama when two African American students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, attempted to enroll in 1963. Alabama’s governor, George Wallace, stood in the door of the school, claiming he would not allow the school to be integrated. How did Kennedy respond to this
Kennedy responded with a bill that would give the federal government greater power to enforce school desegregation, prohibit segregation in public accommodations, and outlaw discrimination in employment. This bill eventually became the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
How did civil rights legislation lead to a political shift throughout the South?
Southerners who had long been loyal to the Democratic Party abandoned it because they disagreed with its support of civil rights in the 1960s. Some supported third-party candidate George Wallace in the 1968 election. In future elections, the same people tended to swing toward Republican candidates.
What were the main points of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968?
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited segregation in public schools and public accommodations and discrimination in employment. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited states and local governments from passing laws that discriminated against voters based on their race. The Civil Rights Act of 1968 prohibited discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, national origin, or religion.
How did Wallace tailor his message for his audience?
Because the woman asked him about his views and could possibly vote for him, Wallace had no problem expressing his strong opinions in favor of segregation. The voter was from the North, so Wallace pointed out the reasons he believed that things were done differently in the South. His blaming “outside agitators” would explain away media criticism of his actions to uphold segregation.
