Civil Rights Movement Background

Flashcards reviewing the background and context of the Civil Rights Movement based on lecture notes.

States' Rights

The idea that states have rights to govern themselves, which became a point of contention during the Civil Rights Movement.

Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments

Constitutional amendments that abolished slavery, granted birthright citizenship and due process, and gave all men the right to vote, respectively.

Jim Crow

System of racial segregation and discrimination enforced in the Southern states after Reconstruction.

De Jure Segregation

Racial segregation enforced by law.

De Facto Segregation

Racial segregation arising from custom and practice.

Plessy v. Ferguson

Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the doctrine of 'separate but equal'.

Great Migration

The mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North in the early to mid-20th century.

Disenfranchisement

The intentional prevention of African Americans from exercising their right to vote.

Three Co-Equal Branches of Government

The executive branch, legislative branch, and judicial branch.

Executive Branch

The branch of government responsible for executing the laws.

Legislative Branch

The branch of government responsible for making the laws.

Judicial Branch

The branch of government responsible for interpreting the laws.

Precedent

Legal principle that court decisions are based on previous court decisions.

GI Bill of Rights

Legislation that provided benefits such as housing and education to veterans of World War II.