america

• Many black Americans had fought for their country in World War Two, but still faced discrimination, segregation and violence back home
• Organisations campaigned for civil rights
• Brutal treatment continued
• Events in the 1950s challenged segregation


  1. In schools

  2. On public transport
• There was much opposition to desegregation
• The 1957 Civil Rights Act disappointed many civil rights campaigners
• Campaigners in the early 1960s used more direct action

  1. Held sit-ins

  2. Held freedom rides

  3. Held marches

  4. Tried to increase black voter numbers
• They used these actions to get publicity
• In the late 1960s, the civil rights movement changed focus
• Dr Martin Luther King Jnr continued to emphasise moderation
• Other black leaders promoted different approaches and beliefs
• Some argued for the creation of a separate black state
• The US entered the Vietnam War to stop the spread of communism
• Although it had superior weapons, it was unable to defeat the local guerrilla forces
• In 1975, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos all became communist countries
• Opposition to the Vietnam War within the USA grew


  As US forces failed to gain the expected victory
• The USA introduced the policy of Vietnamisation
• Vietnamisation ultimately led to the reunification of Vietnam under a communist regime
• After the American Civil War in the 1860s, the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution was supposed to give black Americans legal equality with white Americans
• The Plessy v Ferguson case, heard by the Supreme Court in 1896, challenged this
• 'Separate but equal'


  The principle that segregated public facilities for black and white people could be considered equal
• The Plessy v Ferguson ruling was the start of the 'separate-but-equal' principle, leading to more segregation
• Brown v Topeka


  A case where Thurgood Marshall, a lawyer from the NAACP, argued that segregated schools were not equal
• The Supreme Court ruled in Brown's favour, based on the idea that black people had a right to equal educational opportunities
• The court did not set a timescale for school desegregation because racism was a core feature of southern society, this was the first challenge to legal segregation of education, and the court was concerned its judgement might be ignored
• In 1955, in a second ruling, the court said desegregation should happen with 'all deliberate speed', which was vague and allowed opponents to delay desegregation
• Some southern states began desegregation, but several were deeply resistant, with around 60,000 white people joining the White Citizens' Council in Mississippi to stop desegregation
• Some politicians opposed to civil rights were willing to take strong measures to maintain segregation, such as introducing a law allowing a state governor to close desegregated schools
• Significance of Brown v Topeka

  • It was the beginning of the end of the principle of 'separate but equal'
  • For the first time, the Supreme Court was seen to be supporting black people
  • After much resistance, schools in the South did desegregate
  • It marked the beginning of the desegregation process
  • It showed how national media coverage was important in raising awareness of the civil rights movement
• Events in the 1950s challenged segregation in schools and on public transport. Even so, there was much opposition to desegregation.
• The 1957 Civil Rights Act disappointed many civil rights campaigners.
• Desegregation


  Removal of laws that separate people from different races in public places and day-to-day life
• Superintendent


  A person who runs a school district in the USA
• Virgil Blossom, the superintendent for the Little Rock School District, came up with a plan to desegregate extremely slowly.
• Blossom's plan was a compromise, allowing a small amount of integration, but it led to huge resistance.
• Governor Orval Faubus had promised in the 1957 election to stop desegregation.
• Faubus ordered state troops to stop the nine black students from gaining entry to Central High School.
• Eight of the students were escorted to the school by the president of the Arkansas division of the NAACP, Daisy Bates.
• When the students tried to enter the school a second time, they succeeded, but they then had to leave when the mob turned violent.
• Many of these events, including white mobs threatening and using violence against black people, were broadcast by the national and international media.