African Americans - civil rights - OCR A-LEVEL HISTORY

what was the position of African Americans in 1865?

- not separated from partners or children anymore

- limits to liberty

- legally free

- segregation

- not equal

- sharecropping

- violence

- personal liberty

What were the Black Codes?

laws that greatly limited the freedom of African Americans

e.g.,

- restricted right to work for white people

- gave state the right to punish vagrants

- gave states the right to return vagrants to forced labour

- allowed those who attacked african americans to go unpunished

what is the summary of measures passed during the reconstruction era?

- civil rights act 1866

- first reconstruction act 1867 - delegates could be whatever skin colour

- fourteenth amendment 1868 - all had entitlement to due process of law

- fifteenth amendment 1870 - ensured rights would not be denied by account of race

- 1st, 2nd, 3rd enforcement act - tried to reduce segregation

- civil rights act 1875 - made it unlawful to give different citizens different access to things

what was the effect of congressional reconstruction?

- clear that it did not achieve equality

- but a remarkable number of AA took part in public life

how did the role of federal institutions promoting civil rights decline after 1877?

- congress did not defend the changes it had made

- presidents did not generally fully support civil rights

- the supreme court and state government worked in opposite directions

when were the Jim Crow laws introduced?

1877 (end of Reconstruction)

What were Jim Crow laws?

They were laws that enforced the strict separation of the races.

When was Plessy v. Ferguson?

May 18, 1896

what was the plessy v. Ferguson case about?

a court case about a Louisanna Black man(Homer Plessy) was put in jail for riding in the "White's Only" section of the train

how can the supreme court be seen as a barrier to civil rights?

- ruled the civil rights act of 1875 unconstitutional

- plessy v. ferguson essentially legalised segregation

how can the supreme court be seen as a promoter of civil rights?

- gradual change in legal rulings between 1890 and 1944 which marked a change in attitudes to civil rights

- Smith v. Allwright 1944

- Brown v. Board 1954

how much progress was made on civil rights in the reconstruction era?

- arguably the reconstruction era was where the most progress was of AA civil rights apart from the era after the 1960s

- if anything the political participation and hopes for a more equal society were higher in 1869 than 1960

what was the impact of WW2 of AA civil rights?

- executive order 8587 in 1940 which prohibited discrimination on base of race

- executive orders were also used to prevent discrimination in defence industries in 1941

- Philip Randolph did a 100,000 strong march on washington to ensure supply of labour for defence

- there were over 1 million AAs in the armed forces during this era - but they fought in segregated units

- not until late 1945 that armed forces were desegregated

What desegregated the armed forces?

President Truman's executive order in 1948 against segregation in the military

why was there such limited progress within the post-war era?

- issue of civil rights peripheral in comparison with other issues facing the USA during this period - e.g., cold war

- influence of southern senators and representatives prevented the passing of effective civil-rights legislation

- limited electoral support for AAs

- North - racial hatred more common due to influx of AA in great migration in 1915

what had changed in AA civil rights by the 1960s?

- continuing violence in south had given ammunition to the communist bloc who saw the US as defending a rotten capitalist system

- better communications allowed for more americans to see impact of racial violence

- murder of Emmett Till and the acquittal of his murderers shocked the USA

- pictures of southern mobs abusing the black school girl from little rock was bad for the image of the USA

- also by 1960, AA were better organised and more skillful in making demands

when was the little rock incident?

1957

who were the little rock nine?

- The first nine black students to attend Little Rock High School after it was desegregated.

- however, they were denied entry by angry crowds which were supported by the national guard

what was the civil rights act of 1964?

- banned discrimination in public accommodations

- prohibited discrimination in any federally assisted program, - - outlawed discrimination in most employment

- enlarged federal powers to protect voting rights and to speed school desegregation

- this and the voting rights act helped to give African-Americans equality on paper, and more federally-protected power so that social equality was a more realistic goal

what was affirmative action?

a policy that seeks to correct the effects of past discrimination by favoring the groups who were previously disadvantaged

what was the situation by the 1990s?

- economic inequality remained

- gap was bigger in college graduation

- in 1988 the unemployment among AA was 5% higher than whites

- gap between income increased

- average hourly wage lower for AAs

Who was Rodney King?

A black man whose beating by police men in March 1991 resulted in a violent riot (in South Central Los Angeles in April 1992) lasting 3 days (51 people were killed and more than $750 million in property destroyed)

what was positive change introduced by the US government during civil rights?

-> reconstruction 1865

-> new deal 1933-45

-> smith v allwright 1944

-> desegregation of military 1948

-> brown v board 1954

-> right to vote 1957

-> civil rights act 1964

-> equal employment 1972

-> civil rights employment 1991

what was negative change introduced by the US government during civil rights?

-> Jim Crow laws - 1877

-> US v Harris

-> Plessy v ferguson

-> wilson's presidency

Who was Ida B. Wells?

- reforming journalist

- Female black activist calling for more non-lynching laws, worked w/ NAACP and other organizations.

- she formed the national association of coloured women

Who was Everett J. Waring?

- active baptist in baltimore

- studied law

- went on to be apart of the mutual brotherhood of liberty

- he formed a saving banks for african americans

- first african american to be a judge in baltimore

when was Booker T. washington alive?

1856-1915

what was Booker T. Washington famous for?

the Tuskegee institute

when did Booker T. Washington deliver the atlanta compromise speech?

1895

what did booker t. washington's atlanta compromise speech consist of?

- suggesting that they shouldn't be working towards equality and integration but focusing on improving economic and social conditions for african americans

what was Booker T. washington's impact on civil rights?

- one study suggests that for 20 years he practically ruled black america

- he cooperated with white leaders such as Roosevelt and Taft - this kind of cooperation would eventually lead to progress

- he did promote some opposition to Jim Crow laws - but mainly in private due to fear of antagonizing the white south

- economic + education improvements impressive

- he was heavily criticised by those who were more radical

Who was W.E.B. DuBois?

W.E.B. DuBois was an African American intellectual militant who founded the Niagara Movement.

when did DuBois found the NAACP?

1909

What is Pan-Africanism?

the unity of all black Africans, regardless of national boundaries

what was Du Bois's impact on civil rights?

- he shifted attention to the need to publicise civil rights through the press

- his interest in pan-africanism was shared with Marcus Garvey

Who is Marcus Garvey?

he was a civil rights leader who set up the universal negro improvement association in Jamaica

what were Marcus Garvey's achievements?

- set up the black star line to trade with Africans worldwide

- set up the negro factories corporation to promote manufacture and trade among AAs

- movement was the biggest in comparison to anything before him

- set up the universal negro improvement association

how influential was Marcus Garvey to civil rights?

- he glorified africanism - in some ways prefigured black power

- claimed god and jesus were black and set himself up as the president of the republic of africa

- he collected $10 million and attracted large amounts of support

- organisation not matched by anything before 1917 and not again until the mass movements of the 60s

who was Philip Randolph?

Leader of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters which was the largest black union ever -- earlier he initially proposed a march on Washington but it never went through due to the chaos of WWII

who was Martin Luther King Jr. ?

He was a leader of the Civil Rights movement who believed in peaceful forms of protest

what were MLK's successes?

- march of washington 1963

- support of the montgomery bus boycott

- leader of the SCLC

- aimed to also involve white supporters - increased amount of backing

how influential was King in the civil rights movement?

- scale of his movement allowed civil rights legislation to be passed with urgency

- other leaders may have achieved considerable followings, but no reform emerged quite like King

- he found that achieving constitutional right change did not solve the fundamental economic and social problems

who was Malcolm X?

A leader within the Nation of Islam, did not agree with MLK's non-violence strategy, and believed that, while non-violence was fine if whites remained non-violent, the black community should be able to use violence in self-defense.

how influential was X on civil rights?

- the influence he had on the black power movement was considerable

- given the aims - would not have been possible for him to achieve as much success as king

- he had less popular support than garvey at his height and a less coherent strategy

- he promoted black pride

overall, who was the most significant leader?

overall

- King politically

- Garvey economically

- Washington education wise

- X socially

what was the NAACP?

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People which fought for black rights

what was CORE?

The Congress of Racial Equality. They organized the Freedom Riders trip.