GCSE History; U.S.A [Conflict at home and abroad] Chapter 1

What was the quality of life of a African-American in the early 1950’s?

Black Americans were treated poorly and had a low quality of life, e.g…

• Poor housing conditions (dubbed “ghettos”.)

• Lowest paid occupations, e.g., factory workers

• Poor and segregated institutional facilities

• Low quality education

• Commonly insulted at and called slurs.

Why was the discrimination of African-Americans worse in the South than in the North?

• In the North, African-Americans experienced social discrimination, e.g. being insulted by white supremacists.

• In the South, African-Americans experienced institutional discrimination aswell due to racist state laws, e.g. the Jim Crow Laws, being used to enforce segregation, causing more serious cases of power abuse by governmental officials to maintain racial status quos for their own benefit, e.g. restricting funding to all-black schools.

What are the key Southern states which were known for their racial discrimination?

FLAMG (Acronym for the deep Southern states)

• Florida

• Louisiana

• Alabama

• Mississippi

• Georgia

Some others include -

• Texas

• Tennessee

• South and North Carolina

What were the attitudes of the Southern states towards African-Americans?

Some of the commonly held attitudes are -

• African-Americans were said to be genetically inferior to white people. (belief is called Darwinsim.)

• African-Americans were commonly treated like children by white people (e.g, calling black men “boy”).

• African-Americans sympathizers were also insulted for not being “loyal” to their race.

What are some examples of the institutional and social discrimination common in the South?

Some of the key examples include -

• African-Americans were often coerced, e.g. beaten up to confess to crimes they did not commit.

• African-American murders were not investigated, with many calling it a “Negro” crime.

Voting rights in the 1950’s is an especially key example to Southern discrimination -

• African-Americans were often coerced by their white employers to not vote.

• African-Americans were barred from voting due laws passed in some Southern states.

• African-Americans were often give a literacy qualification, which was rigged with unsolvable problems, to prevent them from voting.

• African-Americans were often physically harassed out of the voting places by white gangs.

What are some of the factors that contributed to the growth of the CRM in the 1950’s?

Some of the factors that contributed were -

• Education; Better education in the North led to more African-Americans being educated, changing white views.

• Media [spec. Television]; More widespread access to news led to increased awareness of racial injustice.

• WW2 and the Cold War; -

  • At home, more involvement in the WW2 effort by African-Americans led to increased respect towards them, especially veterans and soldiers.

  • Across the world, segregation was considered a political embarrassment by their opponents, especially during the Cold War, placing more pressure on the federal government to get involved in civil rights.

What were are some key examples of major civil rights organisations that contributed to the CRM in the 1950’s?

Some key examples include -

• NAACP = A civil rights group that was focused on furthering the civil rights movement in the judiciary system, e.g. overcoming Plessey vs. Ferguson (1896) in the Supreme Court.

• CORE = A civil rights group that was focused on teaching African-Americans across the country involved in the CRM non-violent direct action (or NDA), e.g. pickets and sit-ins.

• Church organisations = Black churches, especially clergymen were central to organising resources, promoting NDA and gaining support for local protests.

What were are some key examples of groups that posed significant opposition to the CRM in the 1950’s?

Some key examples include -

• KKK (Ku Klux Klan) = A violent terrorist group that operated in the Southern states and targeted anyone of non-white heritage, especially African-Americans during the 1950’s.

  • During the 1950’s, they had significant influence in the South due to many members being part of governmental institutes, e.g. police, courts, U.S constitution.

• Dixiecrats = A political party established in the late 1940’s which had strong views on segregation and the “State vs. Federal” law.

  • Being a break-away party from the Democrats, the Dixiecrats eventually crumbled due to their lack of influence and joined back with the Democrats, but were still significant to opposing passing civil rights bills

KEY EVENT (1) = What was “Brown vs. Board of Education” ? (1952-1954)

Brown vs. Board of Education = The Supreme Court case which took overturned the Plessey vs. Ferguson (1896) ruling, which enforced segregation in education.

KEY EVENT (1) = Timeline of “Brown vs. Board of Education”

• The timeline of the key events are =

  • 1951 = Linda Brown, a black child, was required to pass a nearby white school to attend a farther black school. Her case, brought forward by her parents and 12 others, challenged educational segregation but was initially lost due to the Plessy v. Ferguson "separate but equal" ruling.

  • 1952 = NAACP took this case, alongside 5 other desegregation cases to the Supreme Court, arguing that education was not equal and that the 14th Amendment was breached because of black children feeling “inferior”.

  • December 1952 = No final judgement was made by this time. Before re-trial, a pro-segregationist judge died and replaced with a neutral judge. This judge, Earl Warren, became the Chief Justice of the case.

  • 17th May 1954 = The Supreme Court ruled in favour of the NAACP’s case because it was unconstitutional, so schools were ordered to desegregate.

  • Late 1954 = Brown II was held to ensure desegregation was carried out with all “deliberate speed” to ensure desegregation was carried out.

KEY EVENT (1) = What was the significance of “Brown vs. Board of Education” ?

1) Short-term significance =

a) Positive

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