Why is World War 2 seen as a turning point in civil rights? Flashcards
What process started following the First World War and continued after the second?
-migration->4 million left Southern farms: 2 million migrated North and West
What followed this in the same way as it had after WW1?
-large scale migration gave blacks greater economic and political power and also greater safety
-better treatment and opportunities
In what ways did the migration help African Americans?
-gave them greater political and social power and safety in numbers
In what ways did the migration hinder African Americans?
-urban housing shortages were severe in Detroit
-1943->dozens of race riots across the country->worst was in Detroit where 9 whites and 25 blacks died and 800 people were injured
-several hundred black homes were demolished to make way for the War Department’s Pentagon building
-tensions in workplace eg Alabama Dry Dock Company->men didn’t want black men working with white women
How did African Americans begin to assert themselves? Give evidence of this
-NAACP numbers increased from 50,000 to 450,000 during WW2->most new members were Southern (1/3)->interest/need for activism
-cooperation between the NAACP and trade unionists in New Orleans->radicalised the NAACP leadership into effective work on equal educational opportunities and voter registration
-Northern blacks cited wartime America’s anti-fascist propaganda which called for freedom and equality, pointing out that the USA itself had not attained true democracy until all Southern blacks could vote
-white Americans became increasingly and uneasily aware that American racism was not that different from that of Hitler->Jews etc pushed government into action
-wartime demand for black labour gave greater bargaining power
-boycotts and sit-ins led power activism
Why did many African Americans feel unwilling to get involved in the increase in boycotts and sit-ins?
-one black activist said most blacks considered activism as eccentric
-most blacks remained quiescent in WW2 not wanting to appear unpatriotic and fearing disorder especially after violent race riots in Detroit and Harlem (summer 1943)->those riots convinced many blacks that Randolph and the radicals were irresponsible
-wartime prosperity also militated against activism
What was the FEPC and how effective was it?
-Fair Employment Practices Committee
-promoted equality in defence industries
-2/3s of the 8,000 job discrimination cases referred to the FEPC were dismissed and only 1/5 of Southern cases were black victories
-Southern congressmen successful decreased the FEPCs funding after it was given greater power in 1943
-FEPC accomplished too little to be considered a great success but enough to show the importance of federal aid
Why was the Smith vs Allwright decision important?
-increased Southern black political rights in 1944
-resulted from the NAACP’s Texas campaign against white primaries
-the Supreme Court declared the exclusion of blacks from the primaries unconstitutional under the 15th Amendment
What does Primaries mean?
-when presidential candidates for a particular political party vie to be chosen as that party’s candidate
