USA Civil Rights 1 Flashcards
When was the Brown v Topeka case?
1954
When was Emmett Till murdered?
1955
When was Rosa Parks arrested?
1955
When was the beginning of the Montgomery bus boycott?
1955
When did the Supreme court uphold the decision of Browder v. Gayle case that buses should be desegregated?
1956
When was the founding of the SCLC?
1957
When was little rock?
1957
When was the civil rights act?
1957
What discrimination did black Americans face?
They usually had the worst paid jobs, they had to live in the poorest parts of towns and cities, called ghettos. The buildings were rundown, the equipment was poor and the schools weren’t good.
What were Jim Crow laws?
Laws that enforced segregation in the south.
What are federal laws?
Laws which cover the whole country
What are state laws?
Laws that only affect one state.
What is a bill?
A proposed law
What does a bill become when passed?
An act
What can congress do?
Pass laws
What can the supreme court do?
Overrule state laws if unconstitutional
What are the presidents powers?
Controls federal troops, can issue executive orders
What is a state supreme court?
Highest court of appeal in a state
What were the attitudes in the south?
They were racist and refused to see black people as equals, they regularly carried out acts of violence and hate.
What was the effect of the second world war?
Many people who worked or served with black people were more open to civil rights. Even in the south. It was a political embarassment for the USA because they saw themselves as a free country but black people weren’t treated as equals in their own country.
How many black americans were registered to vote in the South?
20%
How many black people were regisered to vote in the south before the war?
3%
How were black people stopped from voting?
- White employers threatened to sack black employees.
- White gangs gathered outside voting places.
- Black people who went to court to defend their rights faced beatings and murder.
- States set their own rules for elections
- Harder tests for black people
How did education contribute to the growth of the civil rights movement?
Educated black people changed the views of white people.
How did migration help grow the civil rights movement?
Poor black people moved north, liberal white people moved south and this changed southern communities.
How did the growth of southern cities help the civil rights movement?
Black people had more job opportunities.
How did the Cold War contribute to the growth of the civil rights movement?
The US government was sensitive about international criticism.
How did new ideas grow the civil rights movement?
- Research disproved the idea that some races were genetically inferior.
- Research showed segregated education made black children feel inferior.
Who were the main civil rights organisations in the 50’s?
CORE
NAACP
Small local organisations, often church based.
What was the NAACP’s focus?
Fighting for civil rights in courts.
What did seperate but equal mean?
Segregation was acceptable if the facilities provided were equal. However in reality southern states used this as a reason for segregation.
How did NAACP lawyers overcome plessy?
They provided evidence that facilities were not equal. Secondly, they argued that equal facilities was not the same as equal opportunity. They used physchological studies to show that black children felt inferior.