why did desegregation cause a problem in the usa

Why did desegregation in schools become a major problem in the USA in the 1950s?

Desegregation of schools became a major problem in the USA due to many factors during the 1950s. Desegregation is the racial elimination of segregation. However desegregation was a major problem for America internationally and socially. A lot of people were still bitter about the end of slavery and so racism was a main issue which gradually led to segregation which made it difficult to desegregate.

The Ku Klux Klan was a white supremacist group with all the members consisting of WASPs. They terrorised and enforced fear upon African Americans and non-WASPs. They did things like public lynching and hangings to show the people of America that white people are superior. This had a big effect on school desegregation because they made black people scared to send their children to school as they thought they would get hurt. During the events at little rock, Arkansas in 1957, the mob outside the school had members of the KKK and they stopped the 9 children from entering the school by terrorising and threatening them. The KKK created an atmosphere of fear among black people in the south.

Another reason why desegregation of schools became a major problem in the USA was because of southern state governors and the President. During the crisis at Little Rock High School in Arkansas, the governor, Orval Faubus was up for election. To get the votes he had to keep segregation and the only way for this was to stop the 9 black students from entering the school. There was a hostile crowd outside the school and Faubus sent state troops to turn the students away because he said it was not safe. The courts insisted that the schools be desegregated, so President Eisenhower met with Faubus to complain how bad it looked. During this time the cold war was going on between USA and Russia. Eisenhower was worried that the Russians would say that the Americans went to war against Hitler because of discrimination against the Jews but they are doing it themselves against the black people. Faubus agreed that he would leave the 9 students alone so he removed the state troops which left the students in the mercy of the mob. As a result of this Eisenhower was embarrassed and sent the National Guard and the 101st airborne paratroopers to protect them. This was one of the biggest problems the USA had been through as Faubus slowed down desegregation as much as possible and the President was more worried about the cold war and how America looked instead of getting involved with desegregation.

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The schools boards and the schools themselves had a big role in slowing segregation down and causing problems. The southern school board of Atlanta desegregated one grade at a time starting with the 12th grade which meant it would take 12 years for the schools in Atlanta to desegregate. The Atlanta school board also wrote letters to the parents of white pupils warning them about desegregation so that they could make their children change schools. These school boards had caused problems as it meant desegregation took a long time and allowed white parents to keep their children separate. The schools themselves made black children feel unwelcome. For example George Mclaurin was accepted to the University of Oklahoma but the university authorities would not let him integrate with white students by not letting him work in the same room and not eat with white students. This caused problems with school desegregation because black students didn’t feel comfortable and they wouldn’t want to go to school.

Lastly the Supreme Court and Congress had a major role with school desegregation. Congress didn’t really help with desegregation because they didn’t pass any laws. This caused problems because it meant that people like governor Faubus would be able to twist and go around the issue of desegregation. There were to major judges who affected desegregation in schools and they were chief justice warren and justice frankfurter. Justice Warren believed in judicial activism which is when a judge decides to action to change things whereas frankfurter believed in judicial restraint which is when judges do not try to change the constitution. By Warren saying “separate but equal has no place in education”, it would help speed up desegregation. However when frankfurter said desegregation should happen with “all deliberate speed” he meant will slow down desegregation. People didn’t really understand the speech so they assumed he meant to slow down desegregation. This caused problems with school desegregation because the Supreme Court doesn’t give a clear message about desegregation.

The most important reason why desegregation was a problem in America was because the Supreme Court didn’t give a clear message about desegregation. This meant people carried on with segregation and people like governor Faubus created problems in the USA by trying to stop black people from going to schools. White people in the south were so used to the fact that black people were below them as they had been for many years, that they could not take the fact that black people are equal to them. White people wanted to show that they are the superior race so they made it very difficult for black people to become equal. However groups like the NAACP helped the African Americans and showed the white citizens that they are not alone and they have support. The long term reason why desegregation was a problem was that after slavery had ended in 1863 the white people carried on with segregation and the children could not go to school as they were slaves so they did not know how to read or write. After many years black people were forced to be untrained and uneducated which they had to accept. There were also many short term reasons why desegregation was a problem and they were things like the little rock crisis, the school boards, the president and governors and the supreme court. All in all the 1950s became a big turning point for African Americans and led to people like Martin Luther King fighting for black peoples rights and changing the face of the USA.

BY TALHA RAJA

10S