notes 14 civil rights USA Flashcards
(12 cards)
time period of slavery in USA
1619 - approximately 1865 (debatable) (civil war, US)
what is the first universal right
freedom (from slavery)
Dred Scott decision
1857
Dred Scott was black but never a slave, went to court to fight for rights
supreme court pretty much gave him less rights after that
some states agreed with court, others did not but were accused of going against the law
set the scene for the civil war (1861) (US)
debate of who gets what access to rights
significance of election of abraham lincoln
southern states secede from Union
republican party forms (goal: begin to end slavery)
election seen as rejection of laws/norms by southern states
divisions of the civil war (US)
southern: “confederate states”
northern: “union”
some states in between were still in the union, but still slave states
fought over the right of southern states to keep practicing slavery
end of the civil war (US)
3 amendments:
13th - abolishing slavery (unless as a punishment for a convicted crime though)
14th - established citizenship (first country to do so without relation to blood/birthright)
15th - right to vote regardless of ancestry
these were enacted very quickly, causing some to take advantage by misinterpretation or trying to change/ignore them
after the civil war (US)
black americans are free, but no education or travel money so remained poor
many became sharecroppers (indentured labour) which was very similar to conditions of slavery
black people still were unable to decide their own future
significant increase in number of black legislators
jim crow laws
most white southerners did not accept increasing black influence and resorted to intimidation (KKK) and killing innocent people (lynching)
passed laws to restrict right to vote (literacy tests, poll tax, etc.)
“separate but equal” laws (not actually equal)
tyranny of majority??
early 1900s in US regarding civil rights
lynching kills hundreds per year
~ww1 numerous “race riots” (protests against abuse that were often violently broken up by authorities)
US fighting the world wars in the name of democracy, while not acting like one inside
more white people began openly questioning this system and comparing it to nazism
1950-60s in US regarding civil rights
NAACP begins legal battles against jim crow laws, resulting in desegregation of public schools
montgomery bus boycott
increasing support for change in the south
civil rights act + voting rights act (eliminate various forms of segregation + injustice, ex. poll tax)
supreme court ruling against segregation
vietnam war further heightened need for change, as black people were still more likely to be drafted for service
montgomery bus boycott
rosa parks refuses to give up her seat to a white person on the bus
she gets arrested and black people stop using the bus system (they were the main customers of the bus system)
assists martin luther king jr’s popularity and his writings become very influential
reaction to change in the US in the 1960s
KKK activity increases
various key figures are assassinated
divisions in the black community between moderate and radical wings of civil rights movement
most black people’s lives are pretty much the same after these “changes”
“race riots” discourage white support
around this time more groups in the US and around the world are fighting for rights as well
