History civil rights

• what were reasons for increased tensions between USA and Soviet Union


  -usa developed nuclear weapons in 1945, by 1949 soviet union also developed them

  -churchill highlighted division in 1946 speech
• why was there a growing concern that there were communist spies working in the USA


  -raid on offices of Amerasia found confidential documents from US state department

  -1946 atomic energy act: where FBI gained power to investigate loyalty

  -1947 national security act: US army, navy and air force combined to department of defense because of politicians worry of communism
• what was the effect of president Hoover telling Truman in 1947 that he was concerned about communist conspiracies


  -issues executive order 9835

  -employees could be fired if suspected of being communist

  -between 1947 and 1951 3 million federal employees investigated, 3000 forced to resign
• What was the House Un-American Activities Committee? (HUAC)


  set up to monitor extreme political parties eg nazis
• how did the HUAC investigate Hollywood?


  -filmakers were accused of writing propoganda in their films
• which actors were happy to support the HUAC investigations and who werent?


  -Ronald Reagan and Gary Cooper were happy to

  -Charlie Chaplin left USA to avoid being forced to appear

  -Walt Disney appeared and gave evidence against his own employees
• Who were the Hollywood Ten?


  -Dalton Trumbo and others

  -sacked from their jobs as they refused to appear

  -argued that it went against the first amendment
• Who were Julis and Ethel Rosenberg?


  A couple who were accused of being Soviet spies and were executed with little proof to them being spies in 1953
• who was Alger Hiss


  -a government employee accused of spying for the Soviet Union by Chambers, an editor of Time magazine.

  -hiss denied being communist

  -but later was convicted of lying to court and was sentenced 5 years in prison
• Who was Joe McCarthy?


  -US senator for Wisconsin

  -he held up list of 205 people who he thought were spies

  -became member of senate internal security sub committee (SISS)
• What were some methods of Mccarthy/ mccarthyism


  -interview witnesses in public

  -make accusations one after other so suspect wouldnt know how to answer

  -assume refusal to answer was sign of guilt
• what were reasons of McCarthys downfall


  -aggressive approach in military (investigated George Marshall)

  -people didnt like bullying tactics, and that he always appeared drunk

  -Ed Murrow devoted episode in his show to attack McCarthy

  -died of alcoholism
• what were impacts of McCarthyism


  -no one convicted of spying after his accusations

  -15,000 people resigned and 9500 investigated

  -accused of being communist even if they had slightly radical socialist or left wing views

  -trade union influence reduced: workers were afraid they would be seen as communist if they spoke up

  -1954 communist control act made it illegal to communicate with communists
• What were Jim Crow laws?


  -laws introduced by southerners

  -segregate black and white people

  -in public places, education, public transport
• What was 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case ?


  -when US supreme court argued that segregation laws were constitutional

  -black americans can be treated equal if separate
• what couldn't black americans do?

  -go to same schools, cinemas, restaurants

  -ride in same railway carriages

  -keep their seat on bus if americans wanted to sit
• how were black americans treated in the south


  -sharecroppers on farms

  -ended up in domestic services

  -paid less for same job

  -could not vote, needed to pass literacy test
• how were black americans treated in north


  -no segregation laws

  -but still faced discrimination

  -lived in ghettos

  -could at least vote
• what was the NAACP (national association for the advancement of colored people)


  -campaigned against jim crow laws since 1909

  -focused to persuade congress to pass laws to end segregation

  -but democrats were elected by racist white people who didn't want change

  -in 1940s the NAACP changed tactics to challenge segregation in law courts
• what was the Brown vs Topeka case in 1954


  -1951: Linda Brown applied to move schools in a white school and she could only go to a black school that was far away

  -the brown family asked NAACP for help

  -Thurgood Marshall argued that segregation education was educationally and psychologically damaging

  -Earl Wareen reached a verdict in 1954 17th MAY that segregation was unconstitutional
• what were the limits to the Brown vs Topeka


  -in 1957 300,000+ black kids were desegregated

  -but 2mil+ kids were still being taught in segregated schools

  -southern politicians backed the Southern Manifesto (document against integration)

  -in 1970s 8% black americans in the south went to segregated schools

  -black american schools closed, loss of jobs
• what was the white citizens council (WCC)


  -set up in mississippi

  -to pressure politicians to resist racial integration
• What was the revival of the Ku Klux Klan?


  -membership began to rise after the Brown decision
• what did the Klan members do


  -wore white robes and hoods to hide identity

  -intimidated anyone who resisted segregation

  -put burning crosses outside houses as warning

  -beat up and lynched opponents

  -began to bomb houses and churches who opposed
• who was emmet till and what happened to him in 1955


  -northerner from Chicago but went to Mississippi

  -Carolyn Bryant claimed he flirted with her

  -Rob Bryant and his half brother beat him, shot his head, dumped body in the river

  -Tills mother requested an open casket and people were horrified
• what happened 1 december 1955

  -montgomery Alabama, Rosa parks was told to stand to allow a white passenger to sit but she refused and got arrested
• what happened 5th december 1955


  -Rosa parks (secretary of Montgomery NAACP and Montgomery women's political council)

  -decided to call boycott of the buses

  -70% of passengers were black

  -90% of those didn't use bus
• what was the Montgomery improvement association (MIA)


  -led by martin luther king

  -supported boycott
• what happened 8th december 1955


  -MIA met bus companies but they refused their demands

  -MIA changed their demand to a complete desegregation of buses
• what happened on the 30th January 1956


  -MLK house got bombed
• what happened 22nd February 1956


  -90 of leading protestors were arrested for organizing illegal boycott

  -avoided prison by paying fines

  -inspirational speeches from MLK

  -boycott lasted 381 days
• what was the Browser vs Gayle case


  -began Feb 1956

  -arguing that segregation was violation of equal treatment by the 14th amendment

  -in dec 1956 segregation on buses came to end
• what was the importance of Montgomery bus boycott


  -MLK peaceful approach shown to win

  -economic power of black people could be used to change

  -large numbers of black americans could work together to change
• what happened at little rock high school 1957?


  -federal court rules that the school had to be integrated

  -white community objected

  -president eisenhower ordered 1200 federal troops to protect children
• why were the events at little rock significant ?


  -first time president intervened to support supreme courts decision

  -showed federal gov could overrule state gov

  -publicizing racism was embarrassing for the USA

  -power of media to gain support for civil rights was demonstrated again
• what was introduced in 1956?


  -civil rights bill to congress

  -but unsuccessful
• what happened in 1957


  -second bill introduced

  -with support of Lyndon Johnson

  -signed into law on 9th september 1957
• what was the negatives of the civil rights act 1957

  -did little to help

  -juries did not support civil rights act
• what were the positives to the civil rights act


  -for the first time congress and federal government tried to improve rights for black americans

  -this gave hope and showed change was possible
• how did people protest during early 1960s


  -sit ins

  -freedoms riders and Anniston fire bombing

  -meredith case