Causes of the radicalisation of the Civil Rights Movement
How far was Vietnam responsible for the radicalisation of the Civil Rights Movement? There are many reasons for the radicalisation of the Civil Rights Movement among which the Vietnam War was undoubtedly a significant one. Firstly, the campaign to such a small country, compared to US - a global superpower, as Vietnam was expected to end quickly by Americans overthrowing the communism. However, this proved not the case. The prolonging war, huge casualties on American side and no visible progress resulted in a massive resentment towards the government. It started the era of social resentment and Civil Rights Movement’s radicalisation was its obvious consequence. The activists knew they would be permitted to do more in those times because of the anti-government feelings throughout the society. Moreover, some Americans realised that the war was impossible to win which caused anxiety in the society, additionally fueled by the awareness that Americans were intruding in domestic affairs of a foreign country. USA were interfering with a country’s freedom meanwhile stating in their constitution that all people should be free. This provoked anti-war marches to spread and, since Civil Rights activists frequently led them, the cooperation between the government and Civil Rights Movement decreased. As a result of not being able to negotiate reform with the government, the
'Johnson alone bears the responsibility for the escalation of war in Vietnam in the years 1965-68.' Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Amrit Singh Thabal 16MB History Johnson alone bears the responsibility for the escalation of war in Vietnam in the years 1965-68. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Only a few years of becoming president, Lyndon B Johnson had to do something about Vietnam, to get a victory; and fairly quickly. This escalation was set in the cold war, where the USSR and the USA were up against each other, and mutual destruction was only one bad move away. This escalation is where LBJ upped the ante in Vietnam and increase troop numbers vastly. From the start of 1965 23,000 US advisors were in Vietnam and by the end of the year 184,000 US soldiers were in Vietnam. This still increases over the years and by 1968, there are nearly 525,000 US troops in Vietnam. Not only troops, but spending and logistical support increased, therefore escalating the war. For this escalation, stalemate theorists blame a weak president (LBJ) for not backing out of Vietnam and for not being strong enough to stand up against the people and the military. But post-revisionists say that it’s a lot more complicated than one person and his weaknesses, it goes back 30 years. The war could have been escalated solely by Johnson. This may have been down to his personality; that he was the wrong man, in the wrong point of time in Vietnam. LBJ was very patriot and thought that the USA was the best
Explain why the Southern Manifesto was issued in 1956
Explain why the Southern Manifesto was issued in 1956 The Southern Manifesto was a document written in February and March 1956, in the United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The Congressmen drafted the document to counter the landmark Supreme Court 1954 ruling Brown v. Board of Education, which determined that segregation of public schools was banned. School segregation laws were some of the most enduring and best-known of the Jim Crow laws that characterized the American South and several northern states at the time. Plessy v. Ferguson was lead to the build up of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. Plessy attempted to sit in an all-white railroad car. After refusing to sit in the black railway carriage car, Plessy was arrested for violating an 1890 Louisiana statute that provided for segregated “separate but equal” railroad accommodations. Those using facilities not designated for their race were criminally liable under the statute. Plessy was found guilty on the grounds that the law was a reasonable exercise of the state’s police powers based upon custom, usage, and tradition in the state. Plessy v. Ferguson case slowly helped to work against segregatedschools in the low courts, slowly eroding the 'separate but equal' descision of the Supreme Court with the help of the NAACP. This is when the NAACP decided to
The Action of President Johnson were far more important to the Civil Rights Movement than that of President Kennedy in the years 1960 to 1965 Explain what you agree or disagree with in this view. (24)
Lorraine Klauser “The Action of President Johnson were far more important to the Civil Rights Movement than that of President Kennedy in the years 1960 to 1965” Explain what you agree or disagree with in this view. (24) President Kennedy was slow to help blacks during his short time in power during 1961 to 1963. Due to him having a close electoral victory he was hesitant to help blacks as he would become less popular amongst the whites, although he had a lot of power to do so anyway. Civil Rights legislation simply was not part of Kennedy's agenda, he did use the power of the executive to back up Brown v. Board of education, but he supported no legislation to enforce or extend Civil Rights. However Kennedy had been so shocked by the number of blacks employed that he put pressure on the civil service to employ blacks. Even Kennedy himself promoted 40 blacks to top positions within the White House. However down south the situation was harder to change and Kennedy had to balance morality and practicality as he didn’t want to lose white southern voters. He’d been most helpful with his symbolic gestures by inviting more blacks than any other previous President. His group the EEOC also didn’t have much impact amongst the blacks but left a lasting impact by reminding employers of their obligations. In President Kennedys last attempts of the Civil Rights Bill to help
The growth of Radicalism among African Americans was important in helping them gain their Civil Rights in the 1960s Why do you agree or disagree with this view? (24 marks)
Lorraine Klauser ‘The growth of Radicalism among African Americans was important in helping them gain their Civil Rights in the 1960’s’ Why do you agree or disagree with this view? (24 marks) The growth growth of radicalism among African-Americans was important in helping them gain their civil rights during the 1960s as it gave the movement strength and a sense of presence; this was also spread to the North. Malcom X and Stokeley Carmichael were public speakers with a strong message of black power; attracted younger Afircan- Americans to the cause of the Civil Rights movements and therefore managed to widespread the appeal. Violence acts such as the riots were mostly caused by the constant change of presidents during the 1960’s as there was no sense of leadership for the country although they all wanted the same thing. Therefore the riots were heated and attracted media attention in huge numbers world-spread; putting pressure on the President; especially during the time of the Vietnam War. The worldwide media attention on the riots in America meant that racism was made visible to everyone and therefore made it difficult for the politicians and President to ignore the issues of brutality. The situation was humiliating for the President as he tried to reate a perfect picture of America. This pressure led to noticeable results of more Civil Rights legislation.
I disagree that the decision made by the Supreme Court in the Brown v. Board of Education was a positive development for African-Americans to a large extent.
I disagree that the decision made by the Supreme Court in the Brown v. Board of Education was a positive development for African-Americans to a large extent. The decision made by the Supreme Court was a positive development for African-Americans for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the Brown Decision had resulted in a positive development for the Blacks in terms of social development and impacts. The Brown Decision was seen as very symbolic to the blacks. For the first time, the National Association for The Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) had won a case that struck at the heart of segregation. The Supreme Court, under the new leadership of Earl Warren, had shown it was sympathetic to the civil rights cause. The blacks thus see this as a real turning point in the civil rights struggle. As a result, black campaigners started to strongly believe that the Supreme Court would back legal challenges in other segregated areas of life too. This in turn, led to a notable increase in local activism groups, particularly by groups such as NAACP and Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), who organised new voter registration campaigns and local protests. Hence, it is evident that many blacks began to believe that the Brown case was the beginning of the end of segregation. Therefore, the Brown decision was a positive development for African-Americans because it not only had shown that
A contented, successful and united nation. How far is this an accurate comment on the United States of America between 1820 and 1850?
Jessica Ellis ‘A contented, successful and united nation’. How far is this an accurate comment on the United States of America between 1820 and 1850? On the surface America appears to be extremely contented and successful as its economy was booming and many American’s shared in the growing prosperity. The North’s transportation and communication aided its industrial growth and the profitability of the South’s agrarian economy was constantly growing with the invention of the cotton gin and ever increasing exports. However it is obvious that not everyone participated and gained from the apparent success of the nation and although united by a shared language, history and internal trade, there was deep resentment between the North and South, particularly in relation to their opposing stances on slavery. There are many reasons for the growth of the very successful antebellum economy in northern America, including the Market Revolution, technological developments and the ‘American System’. The huge internal improvements – the creation of roads, canals and extensive railways helped with the production and transport of coal, iron and steel, allowing for American produce to be sent throughout not only the continent but the world. Tariffs on imports protected the domestic industry and funds were raised for further investment in the infrastructure. The economy was
How Far Did Black Power Hinder Civil Rights In The 1960s?
How far do you agree that the Black Power movement hindered Black civil rights in the 1960s? (June 2009) Despite being only a small minority wing of civil rights the emergence of black power caused significant internal divisions within the movement, not only by alienating the majority of white liberal support through the introduction of new beliefs and philosophies but also by radicalising already existing civil rights groups such as SNCC and CORE. Although Black Power is also often accredited for the development of black consciousness, and unity it began to create amongst black ghetto communities. 1966 saw the formation of a radical socialist group known as the Black Panthers, founded by Newton their main support came from black Americans living in the ghettoes who wanted social and economic change. However the group quickly adopted militant beliefs and began arming its members as they believed they should be able to defend themselves from the brutality of the police, although this undermined the idea of peaceful protest that had already become a focal point of the civil rights movement. This new belief along with events such as the Watts Riots which lasted 6 days and resulted in 34 deaths caused a complete withdrawal of support from the Federal Government, thereby causing a significant delay in any legal changes during the 1960’s which can be seen as civil rights
Why was progress towards racial equality so slow in the period 1945 - 1955?
Lee Turner Why was progress towards racial equality so slow in the period 1945 – 1955? The main reason that racial equality progressed so slowly was down to how the limitations of each attempt hindered both the efforts and progress made. These problems stem from different influences involved within the civil rights movement. Those involved include the Government and Legal means, alongside the American public and opposing organisations. In this essay I will be assessing the limitations of each effort made to improve racial equality and how these limitations slowed down the overall progress keeping in mind factors that are already in place such as tradition that may also have an impact. Political factors play a critical role in the progress towards racial equality, mainly considering the opposition from senior politicians in the Southern states. The main problem lies deep within the structure of the American political system. Any laws made by the federal Government are first passed by a two third majority of states to enable a national law to be passed. Not only is this a slow process in itself, however the white, racist Southern states had more control of national laws in terms of racial equality. Any help towards racial equality that would come from the government would need the placement of politicians that are committed and more importantly willing to support the
In the context of the years 1865 to 1969, to what extent was Federal Legislation the most important factor for improving the Civil Rights of Black Americans in the USA? (Extract)
In the context of the years 1865 to 1969, to what extent was Federal Legislation the most important factor for improving the Civil Rights of Black Americans in the USA? In the context of the years 1865 to 1969, it is evident that Civil Legislation had the biggest impact on Black Civil Legislation in the USA. Throughout the time period Civil Legislation formed a timeline of success for Black Americans in their fight for fair rights and freedom. From the very beginning of this time period Civil Legislation proved to provide a strong bases for change. In 1869, for instance, the 15th Amendment was ratified, giving Black men the right to vote as citizens of the United States of America. This was mass improvement from their treatment in the earlier parts of the 1800s and saw them treated with more equality. However, without the support of other factors, such as Martin Luther King JR and War, the advances made in this period wouldn’t have nearly been as strong. Martin Luther King’s astute media personality meant that he brought more attentions to the Blacks cause, particularly through his speeches, which added further weight to Civil Legislation and more pressure for politicians to take action on the inequalities suffered by Blacks. Civil Legislation were pieces of law passed by Congress which stated how Blacks could and couldn’t be treated, within this context. Civil
