Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement Overview

Reconstruction

The period after the Civil War (1865-1877) when the U.S. tried to rebuild the South and integrate freed slaves into society.

Achievements of Reconstruction

13th, 14th, 15th Amendments; Civil Rights Act of 1866; Black men briefly held office; Freedmen's Bureau; education expanded.

Limitations of Reconstruction achievements

Rise of Jim Crow laws, Black Codes, sharecropping, white supremacist violence (KKK), and eventual federal withdrawal in 1877.

Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation

1863 executive order freeing slaves in Confederate states. Motivated by moral reasons and a strategy to weaken the Confederacy.

Spirit vs. the letter of the law

'Spirit' = intent behind a law. 'Letter' = literal wording. Laws like the 14th Amendment were ignored in spirit during Jim Crow.

Amending the U.S. Constitution

Proposal: 2/3 vote in both houses of Congress. Ratification: 3/4 of state legislatures or conventions.

40 acres and a mule

A (never fully realized) promise to redistribute land to formerly enslaved people. Most land was returned to white owners.

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude (except as punishment for a crime).

Sharecropping

A farming system where freedmen worked white-owned land for a share of the crop—often led to debt and economic dependence.

Andrew Johnson

Lincoln's successor; lenient to Confederates, pardoned many, opposed protections for Black Americans.

Black Codes

Southern laws restricting Black freedom post-Civil War (e.g. vagrancy laws). Led to the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

First federal law defining U.S. citizenship and affirming equal protection for all, regardless of race.

14th Amendment

Granted citizenship to all born in the U.S. and guaranteed equal protection under the law.

Homer Plessy

A mixed-race man who challenged segregation in court in 1892 by sitting in a 'whites only' train car.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Supreme Court decision that upheld segregation under 'separate but equal' doctrine.

'Separate but equal'

Legal justification for racial segregation—claimed facilities could be separate if they were 'equal' (they rarely were).

Jim Crow laws

Laws enforcing racial segregation in the South for nearly a century after Reconstruction.

Military/ Congressional Reconstruction

Congress took control of Reconstruction, dividing the South into military zones to enforce civil rights and rebuild governments.

Election of 1868

Ulysses S. Grant; his election helped support Reconstruction efforts and led to the 15th Amendment.

15th Amendment

Gave Black men the right to vote by banning voter discrimination based on race.

Poll taxes and literacy tests

Methods to suppress Black voters—had to pay to vote or pass difficult literacy exams.

Ku Klux Klan

A white supremacist group formed after the Civil War to terrorize Black people and undermine Reconstruction.

Caste (in this context)

A rigid social hierarchy based on race, reinforced through laws, norms, and violence.

Extrajudicial killing

Often by mobs, targeting Black individuals—used as racial terror.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Supreme Court ruling that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, overturning Plessy v. Ferguson.

Drs. Mamie and Kenneth Clark

Psychologists whose "doll study" showed the effects of segregation on Black children—used in Brown v. Board case.

Structural factors of the Civil Rights Movement

WWII, Great Migration, Cold War hypocrisy, Black veterans demanding rights, growth of Black middle class, urbanization.

NAACP

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

SNCC

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

CORE

Congress of Racial Equality.

SCLC

Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Emmett Till (1955)

14-year-old lynched in Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a white woman; his open-casket funeral galvanized the movement.

Loving your enemies

MLK's philosophy of responding to hate with love, drawn from Christian teachings and nonviolence.

Influences on MLK's philosophy

Jesus, Gandhi, Thoreau (civil disobedience), and nonviolent protest traditions.

MLK's choice of non-violence

Moral high ground, appeals to conscience, avoids reinforcing racist stereotypes, opens hearts of moderates.

Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-56)

A year-long boycott of buses in Alabama after Rosa Parks' arrest—led to desegregation of buses.

Little Rock Crisis (1957)

Nine Black students integrated a white high school in Arkansas; met with violence, Eisenhower sent troops to protect them.

Birmingham Children's March (1963)

Thousands of Black children protested segregation—many were jailed or attacked, shocking national audiences.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

MLK's defense of nonviolent protest, response to white clergy who urged him to wait—'Justice too long delayed is justice denied.'

March on Washington (1963)

A massive rally where MLK gave his 'I Have a Dream' speech, advocating for civil and economic rights.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Banned segregation and discrimination in public places, employment, and education.

Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party

An alternative to the all-white Democratic delegation; Fannie Lou Hamer gave a powerful testimony at the DNC.

Selma (1965)

Peaceful march for voting rights met with brutal violence ('Bloody Sunday'); led to Voting Rights Act.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Banned literacy tests and allowed federal oversight of elections in racist states/counties.

Watts Riots (1965)

Violent uprising in Los Angeles sparked by police brutality. Confused whites who thought the Civil Rights Act had 'fixed' racism.

Malcolm X

Black nationalist leader who criticized nonviolence and integration; emphasized Black pride and self-defense.

The Ballot or the Bullet

Malcolm X's speech urging African Americans to fight for civil rights 'by any means necessary,' including political power.

Executive Order

Issued by President, easier to undo.

Law

Passed by Congress, signed by President, harder to change.

Amendment

Changes Constitution—most powerful and hardest to undo.