Civil Rights Essay Test Flashcards
(19 cards)
What is the central argument of the essay?
Federal efforts to advance civil rights were real but often reluctant and reactive. State and local governments resisted change fiercely, forcing federal intervention only after public outrage. (Taylor Branch)
Who is the one historian used in the essay, and what is their main argument?
Taylor Branch argues that civil rights progress came not from proactive federal leadership, but from grassroots activism that exposed the moral contradictions of democracy, forcing the government to act.
What federal action triggered the Little Rock crisis?
Brown v. Board of Education (1954) – Supreme Court ruling declaring school segregation unconstitutional.
How did Governor Orval Faubus resist desegregation?
He sent the Arkansas National Guard to block Black students from entering Central High School.
What did President Eisenhower do in response?
He sent the 101st Airborne Division to escort the students and enforce desegregation.
What does Taylor Branch say about federal action in Little Rock?
Branch argues Eisenhower acted out of a need to maintain order and international reputation, not out of civil rights conviction—showing federal hesitation.
Who led the civil rights protests in Birmingham?
Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
How did Bull Connor respond to the protests?
He used fire hoses, attack dogs, and arrested hundreds of peaceful protesters, including children.
What was the federal response to the violence in Birmingham?
President Kennedy proposed the Civil Rights Act only after national outrage over the televised brutality.
What does Taylor Branch argue about Birmingham?
Branch says Birmingham marked a moral crisis that forced Kennedy’s hand; the federal government acted only after being publicly shamed by local violence.
What right were protesters in Selma demanding?
Voting rights guaranteed by the Fifteenth Amendment.
What happened on “Bloody Sunday”?
Alabama state troopers violently attacked marchers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge
How did the federal government intervene?
President Johnson federalized the National Guard and passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
What does Taylor Branch say about Selma?
federal intervention only came after a moral tipping point.
What common pattern is seen in all three events (Little Rock, Birmingham, Selma)?
State and local governments used legal obstruction and violence to resist federal civil rights efforts, and federal action only came after public outrage forced it.
How does Taylor Branch’s work support the essay’s thesis?
Branch shows that the federal government’s role in civil rights was mostly reactive; moral crises created by grassroots activists and media coverage made inaction untenable.
What role did media play in civil rights progress, according to Taylor Branch?
Media exposure of violence (e.g., children in Birmingham, Bloody Sunday in Selma) created moral pressure that pushed federal leaders to act.
What is a strong thesis sentence you can use to start your essay?
While the federal government formally supported civil rights, Taylor Branch argues that it only acted decisively when grassroots activism and local brutality created moral and political crises it could no longer ignore.
What sentence connects all three case studies in your essay?
In Little Rock, Birmingham, and Selma, federal civil rights goals were opposed by state and local authorities, and only enforced when national outrage demanded it.
