Civil Rights Sources Questions

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HISTORY GCSE COURSEWORK

a. In source 2 the type of discrimination shown is segregation. The blacks have to use separate drinking water fountains in the south.

b. Source 1 supports what is happening in source 2 because they both refer to segregation and they both refer to separate drinking fountains.

2. Source 1 shows that black children would be born in Jim Crow hospitals and would live in a ghetto. When blacks went to school they would be segregated and only blacks went there. When blacks wanted a job they would have to settle for menial work and not to expect promotion because a white employee would get it before you. When they were eating they would have to sit in a separate place and drink from a separate water fountain labelled coloured. Most blacks weren't allowed to vote either. Source 3 shows us segregated taxis in Atlanta where there were white drivers for white passengers and blacks drivers for black passengers. In Virginia there were separate facilities in airports. In 1933 there was no inter-racial boxing or wrestling allowed. An Arkansas law of 1937 required segregation in racetracks and gaming establishments. Source 4 tells us that blacks could be killed for not showing respect or obeying laws (e.g. Emmett Till). Source 5 tells us that a black kitchen maid was killed for spilling orange juice on a young white male. The young man killed her and he only received six months in jail because the courthouse was corrupted.

3. Source 7 could be reliable because sources eight and nine back it up. It could also be unreliable because the journalists were portraying southern whites as bigots and these journalists could also be biased because the northern papers were against segregation. It could also be unreliable because it is only an extract and we need more evidence to say whether it is reliable or unreliable. Source 8 could be reliable because it's a primary source and sources seven; nine and ten back it up. This source may also be unreliable because photographs only show one caption and it cant tell us what the people are shouting abuse or nice things. Photographs only show one incident and we cant make a proper conclusion. Source nine may be unreliable because Elizabeth Eckford may be biased and she may not have been aware of everything that is going on around her. Although it could be reliable because she said a white man said to her "don't let them see you cry". Source ten could be reliable because Gallup is a registered organisation. But again it may not be reliable because we don't know how many people were asked, what types of people were asked (e.g. young, old, black, white). It could also be unreliable because the opinion poll may be influenced by recent events or whether the questions were asked in private or public because this can influence your decision. What tends to add to the reliability of each source is that they back each other up.
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4. Source eleven is useful because it is from a southern white US Senator who is expressing his views on segregation. The senator is trying to justify segregation because he is saying that its not discrimination. The white man also claims that blacks support segregation and that the Constitution allows each state to make laws on internal affairs within their own state. The Senator is also raising the point of the State Governments versing the Federal Government. The source is also a primary source from the time of the Supreme Court decision over declaring segregated schools illegal. The ...

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