African Americans Flashcards
(83 cards)
1
Q
Thirteenth Amendment
A
February 1865, neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the US
2
Q
President Lincoln
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President during the civil war. Emancipation proclamation and 13th amendment
3
Q
Andrew Johnson
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took office after Lincoln’s assassination. More concerned about the union than AAs. Sympathetic to the South, allowing them to pass Black codes.
4
Q
Black codes
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southern state laws to control freed slaves. restructed rights of AAs to compete against whites for work, gave states the right to punish vagrants
5
Q
Radical republicans
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Rep Thaddeus Stevens, Sent. Charles Summer. established the freedman’s bureau march 1865
6
Q
Joint Congressional Committee of 15
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est Dec 1865, pushed through 14th and 15th amendments and sanctioned military support for re-constructional measures in the south
7
Q
Civil Rights Act 1866
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birthright citizenship. equal benefit of the law and subjection to penalties
8
Q
First Reconstruction Act
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1867, state constituents, elected delegates, chosen by all male citizens over 21
9
Q
fourteenth amendment
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1866, not ratified until 1868. no state could deny any person full rights as an american citizenship
10
Q
fifteenth amendment
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- rights of citizens shall not be abridged on account of race/colour
11
Q
First Enforcement Act
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1870, banned discrimination based on race/colour/previous servitude
12
Q
second enforcement act
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1871, overturned state laws preventing aa from voting
13
Q
third enforcement act
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1871, federal offence for two/more persons to conspire to deprive citizens of their rights. kkk act
14
Q
Civil Rights Act 1875
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all citizens entitled to full and equal enjoyment of public accomodations
15
Q
President Grant
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succeeded A Johnson, worked more closely with congress to support reconstruction
16
Q
Race riots (guilded age)
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1866, memphis 46 killed. new orleans 35 killed
17
Q
why did federal promotion of civil rights decline after 1877
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congress did not defend changes, presidents didn’t support cr, state governments
18
Q
Hayes-Tilden compromise
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1877, Hayes removed federal troops from the South in exchange for their votes. ended reconstruction in the south
19
Q
United states v. Harris 1883
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supreme court ruled CRA 1875 was unconstitutional
20
Q
Williams v Mississippi 1898
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court declared discriminatory voting registration laws were not unconstitutional
21
Q
Plessy v Ferguson 1896
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‘separate but equal’ segregation was constitutional
22
Q
Voting measures (guilded age)
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literacy tests/grandfather clause. Louisiana 1896, 13000 AA voters fell to 5000 in 1900
23
Q
Lynching
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killing by violent mob, high proportion of AA accused. by the 1890s an AA was killed approximately every 2 days
24
Q
Smith v Allwright 1944
A
unconstitutional for black voters to be excluded from primary party voting
25
Brown v Topeka Board of Education 1954
segregation was ruled as illegal
26
Boynton v. Virginia 1960
confirmed segregation on interstate bus transport was unconstitutional, gave rise to freedom rides
27
Alexander v. Holmes County 1969
insisted on more rapid desegregation of schools
28
Swann v Charlotte Mechlenberg Board of Education 1971
approved plans to desegregate schools by bussing children from white suburbs into the inner city areas with more black children
29
Griggs v Duke Power Company 1971
court protected AAs from implicit discrimination by preventing firms from insisting on a high school diploma if it wasn't necessary
30
President Woodrow Wilson
believed in white supremacy
31
Civillian Conservation Corps
est 1933 to provide work for unemployed people. 'no discrimination shall be made on account of race/colour/creed' didn't uphold this
32
Roosevelt
Most radical administration since the reconstruction. New Deal provided aid for black and white people without official discrimination
33
Oscar De Priest
elected for Chicago 1928, first black republican congressman, single representative for 11mil AAs. lost his seat in 1935.
34
Executive orders under Roosevelt
1940- prevented discrimination on basis of race, colour, or creed
1941- prevent discrimination in the defense industries
35
Executive orders under Truman
1948- ended segregation in the armed forces
no formal civil rights legislation
36
Eisenhower
1955- executive order on the principle of ending segregation in federal employment
37
1957 Civil Rights Act
established a Civil Rights Section in the Justice Department, attorney general could interfer in cases where civil rights were threatened. AAs right to vote in law.
38
limitations of the 1957 civil rights act
many cases in the south where AAs rights were infringed and local juries failed to uphold the law. act failed to increase numbers of AA voters
39
why was there limited progress in the period up to 1960
-considered a lesser issue in the face of depression, WW2 and cold war
-influence of Southern democrats in congress preventing legislation from being passed
-limited electoral support for civil rights as many AAs were prevented from voting
-required federal intervention in the south
-influx of AAs north, racial hatred spread
-administration was scared of being labelled communist
40
factors that opened the 60s up to progress
-violence and discrimination in the South opened the USA up to criticism from the Communist bloc
-better communication meant average american families were more aware of radical violence
-Emmet Till
-pictures of Southern mobs attacking a black schoolgirl at Little Rock 1957 was bad for the image of the USA
-by 1960, AAs were better organised and able to make demands
41
progress under kennedy
-gave sympathetic speeches but failed to make any meaningful change
-submitted a general civil rights bill to congress 1963
-his assassination made it possibke for his successor LB Johnson to pass more and radical civil rights legislation
42
Medgar Evers
civil rights leader, murdered 1963 and his killer was acquitted by all-white juries. provoked more discussion and sympathy for civil rights
43
LB Johnson
saw a newly vigerous period of change, passing more civil rights legislation under the emotional, rallying cry that Kennedy's vision had to be fulfilled.
Despite changes to political status of AAs is was harder to effect economic inequality
44
24th Amendment
1964, stated right of citizens to vote could not be abridged by failure to pay poll tax or any other taxes
45
Civil Rights Act 1964
federal courts would hear cases involving discrimination in voting, public facilities and public education
46
Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States
1964- supreme court upheld the accommodation aspect of the civil rights act after a southern motel tried to challenge the legality of being forced to accept AA guests
47
United States v. Mississippi
1965- SC overturned state law discriminating against AA voter registration
48
1965 Civil Rights Act
voting rights- passed 15th amendment into law
49
executive orders under Johnson
1965- called for affirmative action to end under representation of minorities in the workplace
50
Immigration Act
1965- ended immigration quotas based on national origin, race, religion, or colour
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Executive orders under Nixon
required all employers to draft affirmative action policies to actively promote AAs
52
1972 Act under Nixon
extended employment legislation to all federal, state, and local governments
53
Civil rights Act 1991
Employment- put the burden on businesses to prove any discrimination in employment came from genuine requirement of the company not racial discrimination
54
Economic situation by early 1990s
-only 63% of AAs graduated high school (77% whites)
-11% graduated collage (21% of whites)
-unemployment 5% higher among AA than whites- higher than in the 1950s
-less managerial/professional positions, av household income was lower and hourly pay was less
55
Social situation by the early 1990s
-race riots summer of 1965 triggered by high unemployment, poverty, poor schools/housing, and unfair treatment by police. LA 34 killed
-failures of federal government led to re-emergence of serious riots in 1992 again in LA triggered by events surrounding Rodney King
-problematic social gap between suburbs and lower cities
56
Rodney King
-LA taxi driver Rodney King was speeding to get away from police who were chasing him. when apprehending they used excessive force, badly beating him when he was lying on the floor. The incident was video taped and sent to a local news station which was broad casted to the world
57
Different ideas of AA leaders throughout the period
-organise, resist violence/intimidation, hope to regain political influence
-withdraw from attempts at political/social equality and focus on education
-use the current legal system to challenge denial of constitutional rights
-establish a separate state
58
Resistance to violence
Colored farmers Association 1880s, Ida b. Wells who openly carried two guns. Emergence of black power and black panthers movements
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belief in remaining within the law
E.J. Waring, AA lawyer from baltimore. Anticipated the leaders of the NAACP by using lawsuits to test discrimination. Idea was advanced by thurgood marshall
60
separatism
Edwin McCabe, lost his job after 1877 tried to set up a black community in kansas, failed but the idea remained. Marcus garvey and Nation of islam advocated for the idea
61
Ida B. Wells
journalist/campaigner, wrote about conditions in the south under Jim Crow laws. sued a railroad company for being thrown off a first class train despite having a valid ticket. exposed horrors of lynching, active promoter of womens rights but fell out with white womens groups. encountered hostility and distrust from fellow reformers
62
other notable civil rights pioneers
Dorothy Hieghts- godmother of the CR movement
Charlotte Ray, first AA woman to qualify as a lawyer, 1911
Crystal Faucet, first AA women to be elected to state legislature in 1938
Shirley Chisholm, first black congresswoman, 1968
Mary Lou Hamer, orator
63
Booker T Washington
-guilded age
-believed in personal improvement and hard work and not resisting white supremacy. WAs invited to the white house and became an informal advisor to Roosevelt and Taft
-focus on economic improvement was semi successful and cooperation with white leaders did yield progress
-criticized by those who sought more radical aims but was respected by the white community
64
W.E.B Du Bois
-guilded age to 1950s
-impactful writer
-believed in the idea of an elite who would lead AAs to pol/soc/ec equality and integration
-appalled by lynchings and spoke out against them
-inspired Niagara Movement
-accepted alliance with white supporters
-published The Crisis
-encouraged need to publicize the civil rights movement
-interest in pan-africanism
65
successes inspired by Washington
by 1913, AAs owned
-550,000 homes, 937,000 farms, 40,000 businesses, 40,000 churches
-70% literacy rate
-made up 35,000 teachers and 1.7million students
66
failures under President Wilson
introduced segregation in federal bereaus, allowed lynchings and violence to continue unabated. Race riots 1917, wave of racial violence 'red summer' in 1919
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Marcus garvey
-early 20th century up to ww2
-1912 set up Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in Jamaica
-1916, set up a shipping company called the Black Star Line to trade with AAs worldwide
-believed in pan-africanism and a separate state
-saw the importance of economic development and set up Negro factories Corporation to promote manufacture and trade among AAs
-speeches drew large crowds, stressed importance of strength and worth of africans
-imprisoned for fraud
-attempted to take 12 million former slaves to Liberia, this came to nothing
-criticised by Du Bois for not focusing on legal rights
68
Phillip Randolph
-early to late 20th century
-influenced by Du Bois
-active union organiser
-pressured Roosevelt to end discrimination in the war industries threatening a mass march on washington in 1941
-used the power of non-violent mass demonstrations
-used the economic power of organised labour
-considerable pressure on Truman to end segregation in the armed forces in 1948
69
Martin Luther King
-mid 20th century
-worked with white supporters and received criticism
-supported groups in Montgomery in boycotting buses after rosa parks incident
-formed the Southern Church Leadership Conference
-bleived in the power of non violent mass demonstrations
aims were intergration and equality with white cooperation
-gave speeches, notably at the washington march appealing to white americans and the american dream
-arrested 29 times and treated poorly by white athorities although it added to his emotional appeal
70
King's impact on Civil rights
-scale of activity made it possible for civil rights legislation to be passed urgently
-received criticism for working too closely with white supporters and for hesitant and inconsistent leadership
-found that legislation did not have a great impact on social and economic inequality
-after 1965, King focused on economic equality but achieved very little before he was assassinated
71
Malcom X
-joined the Nation of Islam after a difficult childhood and time as a professional criminal and was responsible for rapid growth in membership due to speaking and writing
-400 -> 40,000+ in 8 years
-preached violent revolution, combining ideas of socialism, pan africanism, anti colonialism and radical islam
-broke with the NOI in 1965 but later became more focused spiritual values than radical politics
72
influence of Malcom X on civil rights
-major influence on the emergence of black power
-limited success in terms of legislation
-less popular support than garvey and less structure arguably
-influence in promoting african values/pride and identity that didn't depend on white acceptance
73
Methods of the KKK
-intimidation (white hoods, flaming crosses, oaths)
-physical attacks and destruction of property
-myths of savage black men attacking and raping white women
-targeting freedmans bureau members
-voter intimidation
-attacking desegregated schools
74
aims of the KKK
-white supremacist ideology, attempting to undermine Republican domination of the south
-mainly consisted of localised groups pursuing personal grudges and indulging in racist violence
-lack of national organisation
-use of guerrilla warfare
75
impact of the KKK
-2000 deaths in louisiana in the run up to 1868 election
-president grant was prepared to suspend habeas corpus and use federal forces to supress the violence
-state legislation turned against it and it withered away on the whole but individual acts of terrorism remained
76
attitudes and actions of state governments
-southern governments following 1877 declared legislation against the KKK unconstitutional and allowed official legislation to prevent AA political rights
-lack of care for lynchings
-segregation, sharecropping and random localised violence replaced slavery
77
resistance to civil rights in the 20th century
-rebirth of the KKK- birth of a nation shown in the white house
-membership reached 4 million but started dying out again by 1920
78
resistance to civil rights in the 1950s
-state governments, legislatures, senators and-police forces, local councillors, courts and juries representatives
-the klan and similar organisations- easy access to weapons and sympathetic juries
-waves of political violence reappeared after WW2
-waves of bombings of homes of prominent AAs
-police allowed klan members to continue attacking freedom riders for 15 minutes before intervening
-NAACP members in florida 1951
-medgar evers 1963
-church bombed in birmingham, muder of 3 civil rights workers in mississippi
79
National Association for the advancement of coloured people
-first major organisation for CR, not formed until the 20th century and not initially led by AAs (Du Bois and Wells involved but dominated by white jewish liberals)
-originated from concerns about race riots and lynchings
-focused on legal campaigns, protesting jim crow laws
-achieved SC ruling 1944 allowing AAs vote in primaries
-thurgood marshall
-steady attack on desegregation: brown v.board 1954
-Rosa parks and bus boycotts
-little rock nine
-march on washington 1963
-
80
Congress of racial equality
-freedom rides in 1947 and again in 1961 with more opposition but also more publicity (violence in birmingham and alabama)
-desegregation of interstate transport
-desegregation of schools in chicago
81
Nation of Islam
-links with islam increased emotional appeal
-stronger ideology and seperate from white america
-more spiritually intense
-believed civil rights legislation was meaningless when black people were still treated poorly
82
black panther movement
-weapons carried openly, defense groups against police brutality formed
-aimed for economic equality and compensation in the form of land and housing
-wanted black juries and protection from police intimidation
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