Civil Rights Movement (1940s-1950s) Overview (5)

Overview of Civil Rights Movement Foundations (1940s-1950s)

  • Focus on the development and expansion of civil rights movements from 1945 to 1960.
  • Context of civil rights post-Civil War and Reconstruction, with unfulfilled promises to black Americans.
    • Constitutional amendments aimed at securing voting rights and equal protection.
    • Suppression through Jim Crow laws, poll taxes, literacy tests, and decisions like Plessy v. Ferguson.

Key Figures and Events

  • President Harry Truman
    • Early supporter of civil rights.
    • Issued Executive Order 9981 (1948): Banned segregation in the U.S. Armed Forces.
    • Enforcement delayed until 1950 due to political concerns (e.g., impacting southern Democratic support).
    • Established the Committee on Civil Rights in 1946 to recommend civil rights improvements.
    • Key recommendations:
      • Desegregation of the armed forces.
      • Abolishment of poll taxes.
      • Federal protection against lynching.
    • Suggested Congress pass these recommendations into law, leading to the 24th Amendment (1962) abolishing poll taxes.

Supreme Court's Role

  • Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
    • Key case addressing racial segregation in schools; involved multiple cases but viewed collectively.
    • Oliver Brown sought integration for his daughter, claiming segregation violated the 14th Amendment.
    • Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, ruling that segregated educational facilities are inherently unequal.
    • Court's directive: Schools to integrate with "all deliberate speed" – vague phrase exploited by opponents to delay integration efforts.

Southern Resistance and Backlash

  • Southern opposition manifested through the Southern Manifesto:
    • Argued against perceived abuses of power by the Supreme Court in the Brown ruling.
    • Some Southern states opted to close schools rather than integrate.
  • Little Rock Crisis (1957):
    • Arkansas Governor Orville Faubus used National Guard to block nine black students (Little Rock Nine) from entering Little Rock High School.
    • President Eisenhower intervened, sending federal troops to ensure the students’ entry, highlighting federal government commitment to integration.

Conclusion

  • The 1940s and 1950s saw significant civil rights advances alongside strong opposition.
  • Efforts at school integration yielded limited but crucial progress in the face of resistance, setting the stage for further developments in the 1960s.