Civil Rights Revision Cards 1945-68
________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ BACKGROUND – KEY LAWS TO 1945 . 1866: Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolishes slavery in the U.S. 2. 1868: The Fourteenth Amendment - guaranteed all citizens equality before the law and declared that federal government could intervene if any states tried to deny this. 3. 1870: Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right of male citizens of the United States to vote regardless of race, color or previous condition of servitude. However … . Individual states controlled voting, education, transport and law enforcement. Southern States introduced laws that legalised segregation – known as Jim Crow Laws. Examples = laws that separated white from black on trains, buses, restaurants, schools, theatres etc) . By 1890S most blacks in the south were disfranchised through voter registration restrictions – eg - poll taxes, residency and literacy tests. This shut them out of the political process, including service on juries and in local offices. 2. The grandfather clause provided exemption for illiterate whites to voter registration literacy test
Revision notes - the USA 1945 to 1980
Divided Union 1945 to 1980 After the First World War the USA had returned to a policy of isolationism, but when war broke out in 1939, President Roosevelt wanted to help Britain and prepare the USA for war against Germany. He asked congress for $1,300,000,000 to build up the army. He signed a deal to send destroyers to Britain. He signed the lend lease act which allowed the USA to "lend" military equipment to Britain, to be returned or paid for at the end of the war. What was the effect of the Second World War on the USA ? . The economy. The USA had suffered before the war in the great depression, and there had been much unemployment. The war changed this. Employment fell rapidly. In early 1941 there were 8 million people out of work. By the end of 1944 it was only 1.4%. 16,000,000 Us citizens joined the armed forces. Many had never travelled abroad before. Many students left education early to fill jobs as there was so much work. Federal spending rose 1000% during the war. Wartime production of goods carried on into peace time. Europe was devastated by the war and the US had very little competition in the world for her manufactured goods. This means the US economy did very well out of the war. Big firms like General Motors, Chrysler, General Electric and Ford, exported their goods around the world. The USA became the richest country in the world, and was the leading
Research on the major Civil rights events between 1963 to 1968
Birmingham: Civil Rights March, 1963 Birmingham held a key role in the movement because of a number of reasons: whether it was through the activities of Bull Connor or the bombed church which killed four school girls, or the activity of the Ku Klux Klan which also had a stronghold in the Alabama capital which would have clashed with the strong in number black population. In 1963 Martin Luther King organised a civil rights march in Birmingham, Alabama. Six years after the Montgomery decision, this city had still not been desegregated (desegregation of buses in Alabama). Its police force was notoriously racist. It had links to the Ku Klux Klan. The aim of the march was to turn media attention on Birmingham to expose its policies to national attention. King knew that, with civil rights now a national issue, the American and international media would cover the march in detail. The Police Chief, Bull Connor obliged. In the full glare of media publicity, police and fire officers turned dogs and fire hoses on the peaceful protesters. The police arrested over 1,000 protesters; including King himself and many were put in jail. Critics accused King of provoking the violence by staging the march. King stipulated to this in a statement as he comments on his tactics, as he mentions that they were “forcing our oppressor to commit his brutality openly- in the light of day- with the rest
To what extent were Malcolm X and the subsequent Black Power Movement the 'Evil Twin' of the Civil Rights Movement in the late twentieth century in the United States of America?
To what extent were Malcolm X and the subsequent Black Power Movement the 'Evil Twin'1 of the Civil Rights Movement in the late twentieth century in the United States of America? Malcolm X2 and the subsequent Black Power3 Movement (BPM) stemmed from the nationalist African American population and so took a different stance in their fight for Civil Rights than other leaders such as Martin Luther King4 (King). With this distinction, has come a historical debate into whether Malcolm X and the BPM aided or hindered the Civil Rights Movement (CRM); something that has been debated between historians such as Sitkoff and Cook. The purpose of this study is to decide whether Malcolm X and the BPM are indeed the 'evil twin' of the CRM or whether this title is unjust. Malcolm X was a black nationalist5 and a member of the Nation of Islam6. Malcolm X, through his father, garnered the beliefs of Marcus Garvey7 and his 'Back to Africa' campaign. He also believed in militancy as a method to attain black independence through the notion; 'fight violence with violence'. He believed that rather than allowing the continual persecution of African Americans by whites, it was rational for African Americans to defend themselves with as much force as was necessary as advocated in his 'by any means necessary'8 speech. This caused much tension between the two distinct civil rights movements because it
Linguistic Study - Linguistic Analysis of Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream', and Abraham Lincoln's 'Gettysberg Address'
Linguistic analysis of Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech, and Abraham Lincoln's 'Gettysburg Address' I have chosen to investigate the use of linguistic devices and how they are used to persuade the audience. I will study a spoken form of language, as I think the spoken mode illustrates emotion better than a written mode. The speech I have chosen to study was spoken by Martin Luther King in 1963, and has been given the popular name of 'I Have a Dream'. I will also look at the Gettysburg address, spoken by Abraham Lincoln in 1863, as this links in closely with Martin Luther King's ideals, and is referred to in his speech. Martin Luther Kings 'I Have A Dream' speech is a very moving and interesting speech as it symbolises Freedom of Speech. It is rousing, motivational and filled with emotion. The aim of my investigation is to see how Martin Luther King uses language to create a speech of this nature that will persuade the audience to support the Civil Rights movement in America. It has become almost an defining moment for the cause. Alongside King's speech, I have also chosen study the similarities between King's speech and Abraham Lincoln's 'Gettysburg Address', as Martin Luther Kings refers to this in his speech, and are related as both aim to promote peace and equality. As this is much shorter speech, I will be looking at it in less depth. I have chosen to
Discuss the influences on Malcolm X and how they helped form his ideology in the years 1949 to 1965?
Plan of Procedure I have always had a keen interest on the life of Malcolm X and the many differing views presented by historians, media and his contemporaries. I thought it ideal therefore to look into his life story. Rather than delving into whether he or Martin Luther King was the more effective, I decided to look at how Malcolm X became the person he was and hence the question. The outline form details all that I shall be researching including: * Affiliations * Contemporaries * Travels * Religion * International Politics Having received my outline form, the moderator suggested I be able to form a debate as it could lead to narrative. Keeping this in mind I have decided to read half a dozen books and get as many views as possible which shall allow a thorough analysis of the question. (Please see bibliography) After reading Critical Lives and The Judas Factor I realised my question needed amending as it didn't allow a big enough scope for a true analysis of the "influences on Malcolm X". This I decided to amend from the period 1957-1965 to 1949-1965. Since changing this title I have realised I have delved into periods before this, but I decided this was only to provide an all round picture to the reader so it didn't warrant another change to the question. My complete essay numbers 3697 (not including plan and bibliography), I understand I have exceeded the word
Assess the view that the Supreme Court was the most important branch of federal government in assisting African Americans to achieve their civil rights in the period 1865-1992.
Assess the view that the Supreme Court was the most important branch of federal government in assisting African Americans to achieve their civil rights in the period 1865-1992. The three main branches of America federal government often show great divergence of opinion - something that has a huge impact on the way laws and attitudes in the US change over time - and this is blindingly obvious in terms of the Civil Rights movement and the fight for African American civil rights - for example, even at times when Congress was highly conservative, the Supreme Court was able to make rulings, based on previous legislation, that dramatically improved the rights of African Americans, and even at times when the Supreme Court and Congress were both heavily opposed to further movement on the issue, the President was able to step in and issue Executive Orders. One of the first steps, of course, on the journey toward equal rights for African Americans was the 13th Amendment. Ultimately, unless the slaves had been freed, there could never have been equality for them with the rest of society. Followed by the 14th and 15th Amendments, which further extended the de jure rights of African Americans - indeed, the Amendments gave African Americans equal rights, in a de jure capacity. All three of these amendments were passed by Congress, and are indicative of the positive attitude towards the
Caeric Blackhammer and the Quest for the Sword
Caeric Blackhammer and the Quest for the Sword Ignobly born yet blessed with a heart and soul as pure as any Angel's, Caeric was born the son of Goerin, a humble blacksmith, and spent his childhood days working in his father's smithy, forging weapons for the endless wars that plagued his people. In the summer of his seventh year the boy's life changed forever when he saw Cambruin and his Champions riding through his village on the way to battle. Thinking the shining warriors were angels, Caeric was overjoyed to learn that they were but men, and vowed to join them when he came of age. Five years later Caeric left home to seek the King, wearing armour forged by his own hand and carrying only his hammer for a weapon. He met the haughty Knight Sir Rovennor upon the road, and the Champion told him, jesting, that fifty victories in battle were required before a squire could be dubbed a Knight. Prompted by Sir Rovennor's jest, Caeric bested a full fifty Knights and Warlords, armed in every battle only with his hammer and his unyielding Virtue. Caeric bound each Knight with an oath, demanding that they go to the court of the King Cambruin and pledge their featly to him. After sending the fifty vanquished foes to Cambruin, Caeric finally came to the King at Caledorn. Cambruin knighted Caeric on the spot, naming him one of his Champions. So knighted, Caeric took up a sword and served
Why were the Liberals defeated in the general election of 1874?
Why were the Liberals defeated in the general election of 1874? While it has to be conceded that these were conceived with good intentions, it was their implementation and the attendant disastrous results that proved to be the party's undoing. Reform had been the very soul of the party, which it had assiduously built from its inception. Yet, in carrying out these reforms, the Liberal Party went overboard, much to its own detriment. Its reformatory zeal, which saw it carry out a series of reforms when it was in office in the period from 1868 to 1874, worked eventually to the advantage of the Tories, for most of its reforms, though carried out in earnest, were implemented without taking into account the intricacies and sensitivities of the constituencies they hurt. If the reforms were carried out to cater to one section of society, they invariably ended up antagonising another. Unable to balance these entrenched political institutions and lobbies, the party slid to defeat in 1874. To this core cause of their defeat were added some secondary factors such as the legendary organisational and oratorical skills of the leader of the Conservative (Tory) Party, Benjamin Disraeli, who used these to good effect in the years his party was out of power and mobilised public opinion in its favour, and the fallout of economic difficulties caused by the corn crisis, and the depression of
America's Reconstruction as Revolution
America's Reconstruction as Revolution November 28, 2007 There are many reasons one may describe the Reconstruction era as America's unfinished revolution. It was a time that promised great change and progress, not only in the Southern United States, but across the entire country, and many of these changes were realized, if only for a short time. But it is not sensible to assume that the age after the progress had been reverted was the same as the antebellum South or even of the South before Reconstruction began. Though the Republican reformations did not stick, the South, and America, after Reconstruction was a new place. It operated on different systems with different ideals. A logical place to view as the beginning of Reconstruction is the first of January, 1863. This is the day that President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln was able to make such a declaration because the nation was at war, and as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, he could make military orders. Because of the logistics of the position, Lincoln could not free all slaves. He could only free slaves in the areas that had seceded from the union and taken military action against the United States. This included the ten states of the Confederacy that were not under Union control. Emancipation did not apply to slaves in Maryland, Missouri, Delaware, and Kentucky,
