US Rights & Freedoms Flashcards
What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)?
UN is created it at the end of WW2 from 193 countries to prevent another war by attempting to maintain peace and security for their countries.
The UDHR was a globally agreed document that marked out all humans as being free and equal, some examples include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education.
What was slavery like in the US?
Slaves were imported from Africa to America on cargo ships in inhumane conditions
In America, they worked long hours on cotton plantations which were the basis of the economy in the south
They were denied of basic human rights because it made them fully dependant on their owner and stopped them from rebelling.
Why was there a civil war in the US?
Slavery became a moral issue prompting the north to abolish it. However the south was dependent on slavery and rebelled by exceeding the north (union) to form the confederate.
The two sides of the country went to war from the 12th of April 1861 to the 9th of April 1865
The emancipation proclamation ensured the freedom of slaves on the 1st of January 1963 so the slaves switched sides, boosting Union numbers
In 1865, the Union (North) won the war
What was reconstruction like?
Also known as Reconciliation
It went from 1865-1877
It aimed to teach the southern states to become a free state and a part of the union by accepting the the new amendments
What were Jim Crowe laws?
Between 1877 and 1950s they were any of the laws that enforced racial segregation in the South e.g. different fountains/schools/cinemas for white people and black people.
They aimed to keep black people as second rate citizens
They were effective because of social expectation e.g. someone would be outcast from the white community if they intermarried
What were the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments?
Changes in the constitution.
13th abolished slavery
14th allowed former slaves equal protection of the constitution
15th gave male former slaves a right to vote
What was the Emmet Till case?
On the 28th of August 1955, a 14 year old black Emmet Till was kidnapped and brutally murdered to the point his face couldn’t be recognised because he allegedly flirted with a white woman.
The two men who killed him were freed by the biassed jury
Attention was drawn to the case after pictures of his open casket was published
Who were the Little Rock Nine?
September 4 1957 in Arkansas
Nine black students are blocked from entering the White School of Little Rock Central High School
President Eisenhower sends federal troops to escort the students but they continue to be harassed
Who were the Freedom Riders in the US?
In 1961, freedom riders (black and white activists) went on bus trips throughout the south to protest segregated bus terminals
They were met with extreme violence from white protestors but their protests led to greater federal enforcement of desegregation.
What was the March on Washington?
On the 28th of August 1963, around 250,000 people March in Washington for jobs and freedom
Martin Luther King Jr does his famous “I have a dream” speech
What are the Greensboro Sit ins?
On February the 1st, 1960, four African American college students refused to leave a Woolworths ‘white only’ lunch counter
Highlight discrimination in segregation laws in stores
It spread to 55 cities in 13 states and lunch counters became desegregated
What was the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
On the 2nd of July, President Lyndon B Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964, preventing employment discrimination due to race, colour, sex, religion or national origin
What was the Brown vs Board of Education?
Brown v. Board of Education was a case in 1954 in which the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.
The case was brought forward by Oliver Brown along with other plaintiffs, when his daughter, Linda Brown, was denied admission to a nearby all-white elementary school, forcing her to attend a school further from their home.
They argued that segregation in public schools, violated the 14th Amendment. The decision mandated desegregation of public schools across America.
What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
The Montgomery Bus Boycott occurred from from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956, in Montgomery, Alabama, aiming to end racial segregation on the city’s public buses.
It was inspired by Rosa Parks’ actions and meant that African Americans in Montgomery, refused to use the buses for over a year.
The boycott’s economic impact on the bus system, combined with persistent legal battles, led to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that declared bus segregation unconstitutional.
Key people in the civil rights movement?
Went from around 1950 to 1965.
Rosa Parks - refused to give up her bus seat for a white person
Martin Luther King Jr - a prominent leader in his role in the movement
Lyndon Bairnes Johnson - he president of the U.S. that signed the civil rights act of 1964, the voting rights act on 1965 and the civil rights act of 1968
Malcolm X - an African American leader and prominent figure in the Nation of Islam
