USA Civil Rights 1 Flashcards
(81 cards)
1
Q
When was the Brown v Topeka case?
A
1954
2
Q
When was Emmett Till murdered?
A
1955
3
Q
When was Rosa Parks arrested?
A
1955
4
Q
When was the beginning of the Montgomery bus boycott?
A
1955
5
Q
When did the Supreme court uphold the decision of Browder v. Gayle case that buses should be desegregated?
A
1956
6
Q
When was the founding of the SCLC?
A
1957
7
Q
When was little rock?
A
1957
8
Q
When was the civil rights act?
A
1957
9
Q
What discrimination did black Americans face?
A
They usually had the worst paid jobs, they had to live in the poorest parts of towns and cities, called ghettos. The buildings were rundown, the equipment was poor and the schools weren’t good.
10
Q
What were Jim Crow laws?
A
Laws that enforced segregation in the south.
11
Q
What are federal laws?
A
Laws which cover the whole country
12
Q
What are state laws?
A
Laws that only affect one state.
13
Q
What is a bill?
A
A proposed law
14
Q
What does a bill become when passed?
A
An act
15
Q
What can congress do?
A
Pass laws
16
Q
What can the supreme court do?
A
Overrule state laws if unconstitutional
17
Q
What are the presidents powers?
A
Controls federal troops, can issue executive orders
18
Q
What is a state supreme court?
A
Highest court of appeal in a state
19
Q
What were the attitudes in the south?
A
They were racist and refused to see black people as equals, they regularly carried out acts of violence and hate.
20
Q
What was the effect of the second world war?
A
Many people who worked or served with black people were more open to civil rights. Even in the south. It was a political embarassment for the USA because they saw themselves as a free country but black people weren’t treated as equals in their own country.
21
Q
How many black americans were registered to vote in the South?
A
20%
22
Q
How many black people were regisered to vote in the south before the war?
A
3%
23
Q
How were black people stopped from voting?
A
- White employers threatened to sack black employees.
- White gangs gathered outside voting places.
- Black people who went to court to defend their rights faced beatings and murder.
- States set their own rules for elections
- Harder tests for black people
24
Q
How did education contribute to the growth of the civil rights movement?
A
Educated black people changed the views of white people.
25
How did migration help grow the civil rights movement?
Poor black people moved north, liberal white people moved south and this changed southern communities.
26
How did the growth of southern cities help the civil rights movement?
Black people had more job opportunities.
27
How did the Cold War contribute to the growth of the civil rights movement?
The US government was sensitive about international criticism.
28
How did new ideas grow the civil rights movement?
- Research disproved the idea that some races were genetically inferior.
- Research showed segregated education made black children feel inferior.
29
Who were the main civil rights organisations in the 50's?
CORE
NAACP
Small local organisations, often church based.
30
What was the NAACP's focus?
Fighting for civil rights in courts.
31
What did seperate but equal mean?
Segregation was acceptable if the facilities provided were equal. However in reality southern states used this as a reason for segregation.
32
How did NAACP lawyers overcome plessy?
They provided evidence that facilities were not equal. Secondly, they argued that equal facilities was not the same as equal opportunity. They used physchological studies to show that black children felt inferior.
33
What type of protest did CORE use?
Non-violent direct action, such as boycotts, pickets and sit ins.
34
What were the key features of CORE's non-violent direct action protests?
Don't fight back, get publicity now, don't resist arrest, explain our aims but don't argue and don't break the law
35
Why were black clergymen often involved in the civil rights movement?
- Most were paid by the church so they wouldn't lose their jobs
- They were educated, effective speakers
- They could negotiate with the white community because of their status in the black community.
- They had a network of contacts
- They could gain support
36
Why were some white people suspicious of black american groups?
They thought they were too organised and could call on too much support.
37
Who were the KKK?
A group of violent, racist thugs who threatened, attack and killed black people. Often prominent members of the white community such as police officers and officials were members.
38
What was the significance of the murder of Emmett Till?
It started the rapid growth of the civil rights movement, it showed how public outrage and publicity won support for civil rights.
39
Who were the dixiecrats?
Breakaway democrats from the south who were strong supporters of segregation.
40
What were the key features of the brown vs topeka case (1)
In 1952 the NAACP bundled all five school desegregation cases and took them to the supreme court.
41
What did the NAACP lawyers argue during the Brown v Topeka case?
They argued that seperate was not equal in education, even with equal provision, because segregated schooling made black children feel inferior. They argued the 14th amendment was being broken because segreagtion made black children feel unequal.
42
What significant event happened before the retrial during Brown V Topeka?
A pro segregation judge died and he was replaced by Earl Warren who was not pro-segregation.
43
What did the supreme court rule on 17 May 1954?
They ruled that life had changed since the Plessy ruling. A good education was vital to progress. Segregated education was unconstitutional. 'Seperate but equal' had no place in education and schools had to desegregate.
44
What did Brown II rule in May 1955?
Desegregation should be carried put 'with all deliberate speed'. It was deliberately vague to allow time to make changes.
45
What was the immediate significance of Brown?
Brown reversed Plessy so it sparked off many more desegregation campaigns.
46
How many school districts in the Southern border states desegregated by the end of the 1957 school year?
723 school districts
47
What was black monday?
Extreme white violence and backlash against black people as a result of the Brown ruling.
48
What happened with school desegregation in the deep south following Brown?
- School boards said they had plans and did nothing.
- Senator Harry F. Byrd of Virginia demanded massive resistance and said he would close schools that tried to desegregate.
- WCC set up
- KKK membership and attacks grew
- Many black people felt worse because it was clear desegregation was difficult and dangerous.
49
What was the long term significance of Brown?
- White violence became more extreme and common.
- Black teachers lost their jobs
- It became very dangerous to be black in a white school.
50
Who were the little rock nine?
Black students willing to go to Little Rock highschool in Arkansas despite threats and violence.
51
What happend on the 3rd of September 1957?
Faubus sent 250 state troops to 'keep the peace' in reality they stopped the black students from going in.
52
What was the impact of the publicity of little rock?
It created outrage in the USA and around the world.
53
What happend on the 23rd of December at little rock?
Faubus removed his troops, but there was rioting. The police chief took the black students out of the school saying the rioting was their fault.
54
What happened on the evening of 24 september? (Little rock)
Eisenhower signed a presidential order sending over a thousand federal troops to little rock. State troops were federalised.
55
What was the outcome of the events at little rock?
Federal troops remained and protected the black students. When the school year ended Faubus then closed every little rock school for the next year.
56
How did schools resist?
- They drew up plans for gradual desegregation.
- They only allowed a few black children into each year group.
- Segregated black and white students within the school.
- Testing was skewed against black pupils.
- Excluded black students from schools as a result of riots claiming it was for their own safety.
57
What were CORE's integration rules?
- Be clean and neat at all times.
- Be polite to the teachers and other students.
- Don't shout or fight
- Stick together
58
Why was Rosa Parks arrested?
She refused to give up her seat for a white man
59
How long did the Montgomery bus boycott last?
381 days
60
What was the significance of Rosa Parks?
- Her arrest was the last straw
- Parks was a respectable woman who was well regarded within the black community.
- She was the secretary of the montgomery NAACP. She had been trained in non-violent protest.
- She knew how to behave as the public face of the boycott
61
What was the MIA?
The Montgomery Improvement Association. Its aims were to improve the lives of black people in montgomery.
62
Why was MLK chosen as the leader of the MIA?
- He was new in montgomery so had no friends or enemies in montgomery's white officials.
- He was a clergyman who was well respected and couldn't be sacked.
- He was well educated
- He supported non-violent direct action.
63
When did the first car pools begin?
12 December
64
Why were the MIA arrest significant?
They increase publicity
65
What was the significance of the Browder v Gayle case?
The court stated that buses should be desegregated.
66
Why was commitment a reason for the success of the boycott?
They persisted depsite threats, loss of jobs, jail and bombings.
67
Why was publicity a reason for the success of the boycott?
Existing groups in montgomery already had contacts in the press. Leaflets were spread in the local press and through church services.
68
Why was organisation a reason for the success of the boycott?
Existing groups helped. The MIA organised car pools to lessen the impact.
69
Why was the leadership of MLK significant?
He was was devoted to civil rights and gave passionate speeches. He also had widespread appeal amongst black and white people.
70
Who was Jo Ann Robinson?
She was the president of the WPC in montgomery and taught english at Alabama state college. She was one of those who first suggested the one day boycott.
71
Who was E.D Nixon?
He was an NAACP member and helped rosa parks, he was also well respected within the black community.
72
Who was Ralph David Abernathy?
He was clergyman and a montgomery NAACP member. He worked closely with MLK. When MLK left Abernathy took over as leader of the MIA.
73
What was the importance of the boycott?
- It showed black people could organise mass resistance and they'd achieve support with good publicity.
- MLK entered the spotlight
- Showed the importance of Publicity
- Rules of non-violent direct action clearly laid out.
- Black action set off negative white responses.
74
Why did Eisenhower speak against the 1957 civil rights act?
He didn't want to force change on people. He though it would be better to change peoples views.
75
How did the Dixiecrats try and stop the bill for the 1957 Civil Rights Act?
They used filibusters. For example Strom Thurmond, a leading dixiecrat, spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes to stop the first vote on the bill.
76
When was the 1957 Civil Rights Act signed?
9 September
77
What did the 1957 Civil Rights Act do?
It allowed federal courts to prosecute state violations of voting rights. However, these prosecutions would be tried in the state by a jury,
78
What was the significance of the 1957 Civil Rights Act?
It showed that the federal government supported civil rights. However it also showed the power of Southern opposition to civil rights legislation, in its ability to slow it down and block its enforcement.
79
When was the Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC) set up?
January 1957
80
What was the aim of the SCLC?
To coordinate church based process across the South.
81
What were the key features of the SCLC's policies?
- All segregation to be rejected and protested against.
- non-violent direct action tactics.
- mass action
- Broad-based black and white membership.
