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USA - A Divided Union 1941-80
Key Question: Why did a Civil Rights Movement develop from the early 1950s? |
Quick Links - WWII - Women, Blacks, Economy; Women in 1950s, McCarthyism, Civil Rights Reasons, Montgomery, Little Rock, Tactics, Successes; Black Power, Youth and Students, Women's Movement, JFK's New Frontier, Johnson's Great Society, Watergate |
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Key Words are explained down the page
What
you need to know about….
Segregation
was the way of life in the Southern States.
Segregation, enforced by Jim Crow Laws’
passed in state legislatures meant separate restaurants and
entertainment facilities, separate waiting rooms in bus stations,
separate launderettes and drinking fountains. More serious, was the
segregated education system. As a result, Schools for black children
were inferior to those for white students. Black pupils never had
equal education opportunities.
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK). Enforcing segregation was the job for the KKK. It was a racist terrorist group. Rioting, threats, bombings, arson, beatings, lynching and murder were their methods and flaming cross was their ‘calling card’. One key job they did was to intimidate blacks from registering to vote. As a result millions of black Americans were too scared to vote. Note: In Mississippi in 1955, a 14-year-old boy, Emmett Till
was brutally murdered for talking cheekily to a white woman.
The
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
challenged the right of local school board to segregate. On 17 May 1954,
the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in education was illegal under
the constitution. However, many Southern States openly resisted the
ruling. By the end of 1956, in some Southern States not a black child
attended a mixed school. Confrontation was inevitable.
Key Words Segregation - seperation of people by colour, race or religion. Southern States - the states in the USA who were defeated in the Civil War (1861-5): Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia. These states were fighting to preserve black slavery.
Jim Crow Laws - laws which discriminated against black people in the Southern States. 'Jim Crow' was a slang word rhyming with 'negro'. Ku Klux Klan - a white supremacist terrorist movement set up after the US Civil War. They oppose racial integration and consider blacks, Hispanics, Communists, Jews, Catholics and homosexuals their enemy.
Lynching - summary execution of people without trial, usually by hanging from the nearest tree amidst a mob of supporters.
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Web Links
African American Odyssey - Civil Rights Era
veteran Civil Rights Activist
Martin Luther King website at Western Michigan University
Unbroken Circle - an audio history of the Civil Rights Movement
Howard Zinn recalls the Freedom Riders movement in 'Going South'
'The Death of Emmett Till' - web page about the song by Bob Dylan
Recommended Revision Guide £5.99
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