Life for Black Americans before the Civil Rights Campaign Flashcards
(32 cards)
What is the KKK
A terrorist and racist group
What did the KKK believe and want
White people were better
They wanted African Americans to remain slaves
Where did the KKK begin
In the southern states
When did the KKK begin
End of the American Civil War in 1865
Who revived the movement and when did they do it
Willian J Simons, 1915
How many members did the KKK have in 1921
100,000
When was the movement at its strongest, and how many members did it have
1923
5 million members
Who could join the KKK
WASPS
WHITE Anglo-Saxon Protestants
Who did the KKK discriminate against
African Americans
Roman Catholics
Jews
Mexicans
How would klan members kill African Americans
Lynching- hanging without a trial
Taking the laws into their own hands
Very often called ‘Rope Law’
Could the local police protect the victims
No they couldn’t and they sometimes took part in the killings
Were the courts fair for African Americans
Those responsible weren’t brought before court
Klan members knew their friends in the courts wouldn’t find them guilty
Why was it difficult for the government to intervene
They couldn’t change white people’s attitudes in the south in case they lost votes
What happened in 1925
David Stephenson, grand Dragon of Klan Indiana, was found guilty of causing serious injuries to a woman on a train in Chicago
What happened to numbers of the Klan in 1928
It reduced to 300,000 members
What happened on the 8th August 1925
50,000 Klan members marched in Washington
What did the President do in 1877 and what happened
He took the army out of the south and life became harder for African Americans there
Jim Crown Laws were passed in the Southern Stated
What did these laws do
They introduced segregation
What things/places were segregated
Restaurants, schools, waiting rooms, swimming pools, water fountains, toilets and even hospitals
Was there equality between African American and white facilities
No, African Americans had much worse facilities
What did many African Americans do when the Jim Crow laws were passed
Moved north to find work in northern industrial cities where there weren’t Jim Crow laws
Where did the murder of Emmet Till take place and why was it a dangerous place to live
Mississippi
Several hundred African Americans had been lynched there
How old was Emmett
14
Where was Emmett from
Chicago, in the North
