Comprehensive Study Guide: Rights and Protest in the United States 1954-1965
THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES 1954-1965
BACKGROUND TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Foundational Principles vs. Reality:
The Declaration of Independence (1776) declared 'all men are created equal' with rights to 'Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.'
However, massive minorities—Native Americans and enslaved African-Americans—were excluded from these rights.
Terminology:
'Negro' and 'colored' were common until the 1960s but are now derogatory/outdated.
'Black American' and 'African-American' are the standard contemporary terms used interchangeably.
Living Under Slavery:
Descended from enslaved people trafficked by Europeans, mainly the British.
Primarily worked on southern plantations growing sugar, rice, tobacco, and cotton.
After 1783, over of African-Americans remained enslaved in the South.
The US System of Government:
Federal System: Shared power between the central (federal) government in Washington, DC, and individual state governments.
The Constitution (1787): Established three branches of government:
Executive Branch: The President (proposes laws, appoints judges).
Legislative Branch (Congress): Composed of the Senate (two representatives per state) and the House of Representatives (based on population).
Judicial Branch (Supreme Court): Arbitrates disputes between states and federal power; interprets the Constitution.
Amendments: Changes to the Constitution requiring a two-thirds majority in Congress and ratification by of states.
RACISM AND WHITE SUPREMACY AFTER SLAVERY
Civil War and Abolition:
Contention between North and South over whether new states should be 'free' or 'slave' states.
Confederacy: Eleven southern states seceded in 1861.
Emancipation Proclamation (1863): Lincoln promised to end slavery in Confederate states.
13th Amendment (1865): Abolished slavery across the USA.
Reconstruction (1865-1877):
The challenge: providing for 4 million 'freedmen' with no money or land.
Sharecropping: Freed slaves rented land and shared crops with white landowners; often resulted in permanent debt and poverty.
Ku Klux Klan (KKK): A secret terrorist society formed in 1865 to maintain white supremacy through murder and intimidation.
14th Amendment (1868): Guaranteed 'equal protection of the law' for all citizens.
15th Amendment (1870): Granted black male suffrage (the right to vote).
The End of Reconstruction (1877): Northern involvement waned; troops were withdrawn, allowing white southerners to re-establish dominance.
The 'Jim Crow' Era:
Segregation: 'Jim Crow' laws legalized racial separation in schools, hospitals, transport, and public spaces.
Disenfranchisement: Southern states introduced poll taxes, literacy tests, and 'grandfather clauses' to prevent blacks from voting. In Mississippi, black voters fell from 190,000 in the 1870s to 8,000 in 1890.
Lynching: Ritualized execution (hanging) used to terrorize blacks; often justified by false claims of rape.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): The Supreme Court ruled that 'separate but equal' facilities were constitutional, effectively endorsing white supremacy.
EMERGENCE OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People):
Founded in 1909 by figures like W.E.B. Du Bois.
Strategy: Utilized litigation (taking cases to the Supreme Court) and publicity (via The Crisis magazine) to battle discrimination.
Early Successes: Struck down Oklahoma's grandfather clause (1915) and Kentucky's segregated zoning laws (1917).
Impact of World War I:
Great Migration: 350,000 blacks moved North for industrial jobs.
Returning veterans faced continued racism and a spike in lynchings in 1919.
Impact of World War II:
'Double V' Campaign: Seeking victory against racism abroad (Nazis) and at home (Jim Crow).
Black veterans received financial aid for college but faced extreme violence in the South for asserting their rights.
Discrimination in the North:
No formal Jim Crow laws, but social pressure created housing ghettos and job exclusions.
Detroit Race Riot (1943): 34 people killed after rumors of rape.
The Truman Era:
President Truman ordered the desegregation of the armed forces in 1948.
Proposed a civil rights bill (which failed) covering poll taxes and lynchings.
BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION AND SOUTHERN RESISTANCE
The Decision (1954):
NAACP lawyers (Thurgood Marshall, Charles Houston) challenged segregated schools.
Chief Justice Earl Warren delivered a unanimous ruling: segregation in public education is 'inherently unequal' and dehumanizing.
Implementation Failures:
'Brown II' (1955) ordered desegregation 'with all due speed' but set no timetable.
President Eisenhower: Refused to endorse the ruling, believing 'you cannot change people's hearts by law.'
Southern Resistance:
Southern Manifesto (1956): Signed by most southern Congressmen to condemn the Brown ruling.
White Citizens' Councils: Formed to maintain segregation through economic reprisals ('suits not sheets').
Little Rock, Arkansas (1957):
Governor Orval Faubus used the National Guard to block nine black students (The Little Rock Nine) from Central High School.
Publicity (e.g., photo of 15-year-old Elizabeth Eckford) shocked the world.
Eisenhower was forced to send 1,200 paratroopers to escort the students into the school to uphold federal law.
PROTESTS AND ACTIONS: 1955-1963
Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-56):
Trigger: Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on 1 December 1955.
Catalyst: The brutal murder of Emmett Till (August 1955) in Mississippi influenced Parks.
Organization: The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) led by a 26-year-old Martin Luther King Jr.
Result: A 381-day boycott crippled the bus company. In late 1956, the Supreme Court ruled bus segregation unconstitutional.
Significance: Led to the formation of the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference).
Sit-ins (1960):
Began with four students in Greensboro, North Carolina, at a Woolworth's lunch counter.
Spread to 70,000 students across the South. SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) was formed as a result.
Freedom Rides (1961):
Launched by CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) to test the ban on segregation in interstate transport.
Riders were firebombed in Anniston and beaten in Birmingham. Federal government eventually forced to intervene and enforce desegregation of bus terminals.
Birmingham Campaign (1963):
'Project Confrontation' (Project C) aimed to desegregate retail stores.
'Children's Crusade': Thousands of school children marched; Police Chief 'Bull' Connor used high-pressure hoses and dogs.
Resulted in Kennedy proposing a comprehensive Civil Rights Bill.
March on Washington (August 1963):
Largest demonstration in US history (250,000 people).
Dr. King’s 'I have a dream' speech. Purpose: To pressure Congress to pass the bill.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND ACTS: 1964-1965
Civil Rights Act of 1964:
Passed by President Lyndon B. Johnson using political skill ('The Johnson Treatment') and Republican support.
Banned discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and federally funded programs.
Mississippi Campaign and Freedom Summer (1964):
SNCC focused on voter registration in the poorest state.
'Mississippi Burning': Three volunteers murdered by the KKK; bodies found after a massive FBI manhunt.
MFDP: Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party formed to challenge the all-white official delegation at the Democratic National Convention.
Selma and the Voting Rights Act (1965):
Only of blacks were registered in Dallas County, Alabama.
'Bloody Sunday': State troopers brutally attacked marchers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Voting Rights Act (1965): Suspended literacy tests and allowed federal registrars to oversee states. Percentage of black voters in Mississippi rose from (1964) to (1968).
Malcolm X and Black Nationalism:
Member of the Nation of Islam (NOI). Rejected non-violent integration; argued for self-defense.
Assassinated in February 1965. His message of black pride influenced the later Black Power movement.
Watts Riots (August 1965): Six-day riot in Los Angeles showing that legislation had not solved northern ghetto poverty and police brutality issues.
Apartheid was a system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination enforced by the National Party government in South Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s. The core principles of apartheid were aimed at maintaining white minority rule and repressing the black majority and other racial groups.
KEY FEATURES OF APARTHEID
Legalized Segregation: Apartheid laws institutionalized racial segregation across all public spaces, from schools and hospitals to public transportation and residential areas.
Population Registration Act (1950): This law classified South Africans by race and provided the basis for the enforcement of apartheid laws.
Pass Laws: Non-white South Africans were required to carry passbooks that restricted their movement within designated areas; failure to produce these documents often led to arrest.
RESISTANCE TO APARTHEID
African National Congress (ANC): Founded in 1912, the ANC was the primary organization resisting apartheid, advocating for equal rights through protests and mass mobilization. Notably, Nelson Mandela became a key figure within the ANC.
Sharpeville Massacre (1960): The police opened fire on a peaceful anti-pass law demonstration, resulting in the deaths of 69 protesters. This event galvanized international opposition to apartheid.
Soweto Uprising (1976): A student-led protest against teaching in Afrikaans escalated into violence, highlighting the discontent among the youth regarding apartheid policies.
ENDING APARTHEID
Economic Sanctions and International Pressure: Throughout the 1980s, global awareness of apartheid led to economic sanctions and cultural boycotts against South Africa.
Negotiations: In the early 1990s, negotiations between the government led by F.W. de Klerk and the ANC, under Mandela, paved the way for a peaceful transition to a democratic society.
First Multiracial Elections (1994): In April 1994, South Africa held its first elections with universal suffrage, leading to Nelson Mandela's election as the first black president of South Africa, marking the official end of apartheid.