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• The difference between Civil rights and Civil liberties
• What civil rights issues were present in the United States

  • African Americans were enslaved and seen as property
  • It was entirely legal to kill enslaved people as the Court did not view enslaved people as U.S. citizens
  • Only three states viewed enslaved people as people - Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont
  • Married women were not legal entities and were under complete legal control by the husband
  • Women did not have the ability to own properties, sign contracts, or have any citizenship rights, such as voting
  • Women would make about half of what men did while working - Mostly in teaching jobs
• Groups Fighting for Civil rights


  • American Anti-Slavery Society
  • 1838 Seneca Fall Convention
• Equality and Civil rights were the base and focus of the Civil War
• Reconstruction Amendments


  When created, the federal government set the precedent to be the defender of civil rights and equality, protecting civil rights from the states
• 14th Amendment


  Privileges and Immunities clause, equal protection clause - different people cannot be treated differently by the law
• 15th amendment


  States cannot take away voting rights
• Reconstruction ended in 1877, the federal government gave up on defending the rights of Black people in southern states, leading to segregation, loss of the right to vote, and loss of employment opportunities
• Women hoped the movement would help the women's rights movement - it did not, the women's proper movement fractured off after the loss of strides in the movement
• The Cold War was the main reason for the push to reintroduce the federal government to protect civil rights, as America wanted to appear strong and continue the narrative of the land of freedom during the war
• Brown v. Board 1952 utilized the 14th amendment, the NAACP brought the case to Court, and the case's outcome forced the government to protect civil rights against segregation in southern states
• The Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955-56 was a massive protest against the treatment of Black people living in southern states, with Rosa Parks famously involved