OCR A-Level History - Civil Rights in the USA - African Americans

Emancipation Proclamation

- Issued by Abraham Lincoln September 1862

- Declared that all slaves in the confederate states would be free

- Slaves in loyal states weren't freed

Reconstruction

President Johnson

- The 17th President of the United States

- A Southerner form Tennessee, when Lincoln was killed he became president

- He aimed to make a quick return to normality

- He opposed radical Republicans who passed Reconstruction Acts over his veto

Reconstruction

Black Codes

- President Johnson allowed for their implementation

- Restricted the right of African Americans to compete against white Americans to work

- Gave states the right to punish vagrants and unemployed former slaves and force them into labour

- Allowed those who attacked African Americans to go unpunished

Reconstruction

Radical Republicans

- Led by Representative Thaddeus Stevens and Senator Charles Sumner

- They believed blacks played a huge role in US economy

- They were helped by Congress to establish the Freedmen's Bureau

Reconstruction

Freedman's Bureau, 1865

- Set up to provide food, clothing, medical care, and education to freedmen and white refugees following the civil war

- Set up two universities

- It's 900 agents were subject to intimidation and violence by white Southerners

Reconstruction

Civil Rights Act 1866

- Should have guaranteed legal equality to blacks

- Could be undermined by the South as it "infringed on states' rights"

Reconstruction

14th and 15th Amendments

14th

- Declared no state could deny any person full rights as an American citizen

15th

- Ensured 'the rights of citizens ... shall not be denied or abridged by any State on account of race'

Reconstruction

Memphis in May 1866

- 46 African Americans were killed in race riots

- In New Orleans 35 also died

- State officials and police often participated in attacking African Americans

Reconstruction

After 1877

- The Southern states were allowed to deprive African Americans of their rights

- It was not until the 1960s that anything radical was done to help them

Role of African Americans

Booker T. Washington 1856-1915

- "Accommodationist"

- Ran the Tuskegee Institute as thought African Americans should establish status "bettering themselves through education"

- He was criticized for lack of activism but secretly funded civil rights groups

Role of African Americans

W.E.B. Du Bois 1868-1963

- Founded Niagara Movement and NAACP

- Criticized for involvement with whites and failure to relate to working class African Americans

- Believed in the Talented Tenth - lead African Americans to social and political equality and integration

Role of African Americans

Martin Luther King Jr. 1929-1968

- Used peaceful / non-violent methods

- His main initial aim was political freedom and equality

- Washington march of August 1963

- Montgomery Boycott 1955

Role of African Americans

Black Panthers

- Founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966

- Carried weapons openly and formed defense groups against police brutality

- Aimed for economic equality, compensation in form of land and housing, separate juries for black people and protection from police intimidation

Role of Federal and State Governments

Supreme Court - Barrier

United States v. Harris

- 1883

- Ruled the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional

- It decided private discrimination didn't fall under federal jurisdiction

Role of Federal and State Governments

Supreme Court - Barrier

Williams v. Mississippi

- 1898

- Declared discriminatory voter registration laws which prevented African Americans from voting not unconstitutional

- This was due to a lack of specific mention of race in voting qualifications

Role of Federal and State Governments

Supreme Court - Barrier

Plessy v. Ferguson

- 1896

- Separation was ruled to not imply inferior treatment of people of different race or colour

- 'Separate but equal'

Role of Federal and State Governments

Supreme Court - Promoter

Smith v. Allwright

- 1944

- Ruling that it was unconstitutional for black voters to be excluded from party primary voting

Role of Federal and State Governments

Supreme Court - Promoter

Brown v. Topeka

- 1954

- Radical decision ruling that segregation was illegal

- Started by a group of parents and helped by the NAACP

- The leader, Oliver Brown, said his daughter had to walk a mile to a segregated school as opposed to a white school

Role of Federal and State Governments

Supreme Court - Promoter

Boynton v. Virginia

- 1960

- Confirmed segregation on interstate bus transportation unconstitutional

Role of Federal and State Governments

Supreme Court - Promoter

Griggs v. Duke Power Company

- 1971

- Protected African Americans from implicit discrimination by firms who insisted high-school diploma qualifications for jobs which didn't really need them

Role of Federal and State Governments

Presidents - Barrier

Woodrow Wilson

- 1913 to 1921

- Believer in white supremacy

Role of Federal and State Governments

Presidents - Promoter

Roosevelt

- 1933 to 1945

- New Deal which included aid for black people and white people without official discrimination

- Fair Labour Standards Act

- Executive Order 8587 prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, colour, or creed

- Created the Civilian Conservation Corps

Role of Federal and State Governments

Presidents - Promoter and Barrier

Eisenhower

- 1952 to 1960

- Executive Order in 1950 stated principle for equal opportunity in federal employment

- Against ending 'separate but equal'

- Gave federal support for desegregation of schools

Role of Federal and State Governments

Presidents - Promoter

Truman

- 1945 to 1953

- Executive Order 9981 ending segregation in the armed forces

Role of Anti and Pro-Civil Rights Groups

Anti - KKK

- 1865

- White supremacist ideology

- Physically attacked and lynched African Americans

- Targeted Freedman's Bureau in 1860s, and 1950s and 1960s

Role of Anti and Pro-Civil Rights Groups

Anti - White Citizens' Councils

- Formed following Brown v Topeka

- Wanted to intimidate African Americans into not claiming their rights

- Used violence and economic power

Role of Anti and Pro-Civil Rights Groups

Pro - NAACP

- 1909

- Concerned with suffrage, equal justice and law, education, and equal employment opportunities

- Initially dominated by white Jewish liberals

- Brown v Topeka

- Little Rock integration 1957

- Black lawyer Thurgood Marshall

Role of Anti and Pro-Civil Rights Groups

Pro - Nation of Islam

- 1930

- Nationalist and separatist

- Not as interested in voter registration and equal political rights

Role of Anti and Pro-Civil Rights Groups

Pro - CORE

- 1942

- Freedom Rides of 1947 and 1961 started by CORE

- Led desegregation with NAACP of interstate transport

- Campaign to desegregate Chicago's schools

Role of Anti and Pro-Civil Rights Groups

Pro - Black Panthers

- 1966

- Openly carried weapons and formed defense groups against police brutality

- Aimed to achieve economic equality, end to capitalist exploitation, compensation, and separate juries for black and white people

Statistics

By 1913

- African Americans owned 550,000 homes

- 937,000 farms and 40,000 businesses

- 70% literacy rate

- 40,000 churches and 35,000 teachers and 1.7 million pupils in public schools