position of black americans in early 1950s

• 'check and balances'


  Government has 3 branches so no one branch can become too powerful.

  
• The American system:

  • The USA has a federal system of government.
  • Divided into states who can grant their own local laws, however they all fall under federal government control in Washington DC, which passes federal laws for whole country. E.g states can pass their own laws, but the Supreme Court can overrule them.
  • System can cause problems because different states want different things.

  
• Early 1950s:

  • USA was a divided country. Black Americans faced racism in many aspects of their day-to-day lives.
  • Their ancestors had been enslaved from the 1600s onwards. Most enslaved people had been forced to work on the large plantations (southern states), had laws to allow white slave owners to treat black people as their property.
• Cause of American Civil War:

  • The use of slaves in the South led to the American Civil War in the 1861. The war began after northern states tried to limit the spread of slavery in North. The southern slave-holding states were defeated by the northern states. After the abolition of slavery in 1865, slave owners were forced to free those who had been enslaved.
• After the Civil War: few white people wanted to live equally with blacks.

  During a period called Reconstruction, states in the South were placed under military control by the federal government. Reconstruction led to:

  • the right to US citizenship for formerly enslaved black Americans
  • voting rights for black Americans
  • greater access to education and farmland as well as the freedom to establish black churches.
• However, after Reconstruction, state governments in South took many of these new rights and freedoms away. They had the power to do this because the federal government controls the USA from Washington, but the state governments have a lot of power over what happens in their area, for example in education.
• Segregation?


  The separation of different racial or ethnic groups.
• Plessy vs Ferguson case (1896): 'SEPARATE BUT EQUAL'

  • During Reconstruction, the US Constitution was changed to say that black Americans should be treated equally.
  • Southern states tried to keep white and black people separate.
  • When their actions were challenged in the US Supreme Court in 1896, they were judged to be legal so long as the state provided ‘separate-but-equal’ facilities.
• Aftermath of separate but equal case:

  The 1896 decision led to the ‘Jim Crow laws'. These severely restricted the rights and freedoms of black Americans:

  • separate facilities, such as toilets and waiting rooms, for white and black people
  • limits on where black people could rent or buy accommodation
  • black students being prevented from attending schools for white students
  • rules about where black people could sit on public transport
  • Black people could be thrown out or even arrested if they didnt stay in 'coloured' section.
• The southern states tried to limit voting rights in the 1890s: Literacy tests.

  • Barriers prevented blacks from voting, gaining political representation and power.
  • Barriers on the fact that black people were economically and socially disadvantaged. 
  • Proof of the ability to read necessary, and reading the difficult extracts in provided texts was difficult for those with low literacy levels.
  • White gangs attacked black people at voting centres.
• Poll tax: 


  In order to to vote a person had to pay a poll tax. The Southern States introduced this to discourage poorer citizens from voting. As many African Americans received low incomes, they were often unable to pay the tax, so didn’t vote.
• Grandfather Clause:


  A law which allowed white men who couldn't pass the literacy test if their grandfather had been eligible to vote before 1867. It excluded most black men as slavery ended in 1865.
• WW2

  Black Americans:

  • Limited to non-fighting roles. Later, some joined segregated combat units.
  • Campaigns by civil rights groups and newspapers encouraged black men to enlist in the armed forces.

  NA's:

  • Code talkers, sending and receiving messages on the battlefield.
  • The languages of Native Americans were difficult for enemy forces to decode, so they provided secure means of communication.

  Hispanic Americans:

  • Many filled empty jobs in US workplaces.
  • They were needed because other American workers left to fight in Europe .
• Impacts of WW2:

  • Many hoped fighting for their country would give them the equality they deserved.
  • Ridiculous that America was fighting for freedom and democracy in Europe, when there was os much inequality back home.
• North and South outlook:

  NORTH: segregation caused by discrimination, blacks had worst housing, jobs, etc..

  SOUTH: segregation enforced by law, stated blacks must have separate facilities to whites
• After World War Two there were campaigns to improve the civil rights of black Americans. By early 1950s, civil rights campaigners made some progress:

  • the desegregation of the military after World War Two
  • the desegregation of juries, so that black people could serve in them
  • an increase in the number of black people who were registered to vote
• After World War Two there were campaigns to improve the civil rights of black Americans. By early 1950s, civil rights campaigners made some progress:

  • desegregation of the military after World War Two
  • desegregation of juries, so that black people could serve in them
  • increase in the number of black people who were registered to vote

  However, there was still only limited progress in desegregation, especially in the South.
• Why did Civil Rights Movement grow 1950s?


  WW2: persuaded some people that blacks deserved more rights after fighting for their country. And black people believed they deserved the equality they saw abroad.

  COMMUNITIES CHANGED: as poor blacks moved North and more liberal whites shifted to South.

  RESEARCH: showed that segregated education harmed black children. COLD WAR: made US government more sensitive to criticism in other countries, propaganda events for RUSSIA.

  NEW INDUSTRIES: South brought more jobs for black people.

  TV: made people more aware of new events, racial inequality.
• National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP): 1909

  • aimed to use the law to improve civil rights, fought court cases and lobbied the federal government 
  • helped more black people get the vote by challenging rules and procedures that made it difficult to register to vote
  • reduced violence against black people by supporting anti-lynching  bills
  • achieved desegregation by challenging rules that forced black people to buy houses in certain areas
  • they won most of the court cases they fought in the 1950s however, winning a case didn't always mean it was enforced.
• Congress of Racial Equality (CORE): 1942, aimed to use passive resistance to end segregation. Took part in:

  • sit-ins at places that had segregated seating, such as cinemas and coffee shops
  • a bus ride in 1947 to publicise the fact that segregation on interstate public transport was illegal
  • they used boycotts, pickets and sit-ins to get publicity for the CRM.
  • its members were taught not to react if arrested or attacked, minimised police racial brutality.
  • although its was smaller than NAACP and based in the North its methods influenced many local groups all over the country.
• Church organisations: worked alongside national civil rights organisations to protest for change. 

  • important because black church leaders were good speakers and they were good at organising activities for their communities and could bring black people together to push for change. 
  • stressed non-violence and forgiveness, like CORE
  • Some white people like church organisations because they weren't violent and often willing to work with segregated system. Others were suspicious due to the organisation and support churches received.
  • Black churches often target for white violence
• Church organisation protest e.g

  Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem in New York organised a protest outside the Empire State Building in 1939 and a bus boycott in 1941.
• Regional council of Negro Leadership (RCNL): founded in Mississippi 1951

  • organising several annual rallies to promote the message of equality and desegregation in 1950s
  • helping black people to register to vote in areas where laws had been passed to stop them
  • boycotting petrol stations if they did not have a toilet for black people
  • holding discussions with the police to try to end the harassment of black people
• Universities:

  • Often sites of protests and rallies
  • Students and academics could speak up and well, middle class white children more likely to be listened to.
• Integration

  Mixing of different racial groups in the same facilities and spaces, promoting equality and inclusion through desegregation and diversity efforts.
• Civil disobedience


  Intentionally breaking unjust laws in order to bring attention to their unfairness and challenge their legitimacy.
• Picket lines


  Public demonstrations where activists would carry signs and march in front of segregated facilities or businesses to bring attention to the issue of segregation.
• Boycotts

  Economic protests where activists would refuse to patronize certain businesses or services in order to bring attention to discriminatory practices.
• Sit-ins


  Peaceful protests where activists would sit at segregated facilities, such as lunch counters, and refuse to leave until served.
• • 1954, nearly 100 years since abolishment of slavery.
  • Black Americans still faced extreme violence (beatings+lynching)
  • Beatings frequently done under 'alleged' offence, but without holding a legal trial. Majority of murders were not stopped or investigated by police.
  • In total, over 400 black Americans were lynched by the KKK throughout the 1920s.