America - conflict at home and away

• What did the Plessy vs Ferguson case state?

  • 1896
  • The court ruled 'separate but equal' was constitutional and therefore legal.
  • It was used to justify Jim Crow laws requiring 'person's of colour' to be separate on busses , restaurants, railroads, hotels and other establishments.
• What is the importance of the Supreme Court?


  It made laws that applied to the whole country, not just individual states so had a large impact
• What were barriers to voting rights in the south?

  • They had to take impossible literacy tests, where one wrong answer denotes failure
  • Many black people did not get a good education due to only being taught by black teachers who weren't allowed to go to university, so they were even more impossible
• How did whites prevent black people from voting?

  • White employers threatened to sack black employees if they voted
  • On voting registration days, white gangs sat outside voting places and beat them up
• What happened to Emmett Till?

  • Emmett Till was a victim of a violent opposition in 1955, aged 14, after being accused of offending a white woman, Carolyn Bryant.
  • He was abducted, tortured and lynched in Mississippi after being hunted down by Bryant's husband.
• Why was the death of Emmett Till significant?


  It led to publicity into the abuse black people suffered with. His mother took and posted graphic images of her son at his funeral.

  However, many argue that this made no difference as an all white jury was selected for this trial, therefore it was a very unfair case. It also highlighted how far away change was.
• What impact did the Brown vs. Topeka case have?

  • 1954
  • It overruled the Plessy vs. Ferguson case, stating that 'separate but equal' has no place in constitution
• What happened at Little Rock High?

  An angry mob tried to stop 9 black students from entering a school by shouting verbal abuse

  6 white students walked out
• What was the significance of Little Rock High?

  • Despite public outrage, the black students ignored the abuse and become the first students to graduate in Arkansas
  • This ultimately led to other schools in the area drawing up desegregation plans and normalised integrated education as the little rock 9 were allowed in school.
• What are some white opposition groups?

  • Ku Klux Klan - wanted segregation, targeted black people for violence.
  • WCC - used extreme violence to persevere segregation, consequence of little rock high boycott.
  • Dixiecrats - southern democrats, most significant opponents to the civil rights movement
  • Congress and State government - Blocked the civil rights movement
• When was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

  1955
• What happened at the Montgomery Bus Boycott? 


  Black Americans refused to give up seats to white people on busses and continued to do so until bus companies listened

  (Rosa Parks)

  They were charged with minor offense charges and treated with violence e.g KKK

  89 members of the Montgomery Improvement Association were arrested
• What are some examples of White Opposition groups?

  WCC (World Council of Churches) - came out of the little rock boycott. Used extreme violence to preserve segregation

  Dixiecrats - southern democrats, most significant opponents to the civil rights movement

  KKK (Ku Klux Klan) - targeted black people for violence, church based and wanted segregation

  Congress and State Government - Blocked the civil right movement and tried to prevent it, therefore preserving segregation
• What are some organisations involved in the civil rights movement?

  • CORE - Congress of Racial Equality
  • NAACP - National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People
  • SCLC - Southern Christian Leadership Conference
  • MIA - Montgomery Improvement Association
  • WPC - Womens political council
  • SNCC - Student non violence coordinating committee
• What happened at the Greensboro Sit in? (1960)


  1st Feb - four black students sit in a Woolworths store and sit on the white side of the lunch table, refusing to move

  2nd Feb - 25 black students sit in Woolworths and local reporters publish the story and the store starts to loose money

  4th Feb - 300 students (black and white) sit in Woolworths, working in shifts. Eventually it becomes desegregated
• Was the Greensboro Sit in successful?

  Yes, as the shop desegrated and there was only little violence. It also showed black and white students working together for the first time. However, it did take some years for others shops to follow
• Who were the Freedom Riders? (1961)


  1st May - 7 black students sit together on a bus starting in the North, and see how far they get without getting segregated. In the North, nothing happens, in the south, a hostile mob attacks them. The south is not listening to the supreme court, the students get arrested and the government gets involved
• Were the Freedom Rides successful?

  To some extent, as although there was a lot of violence involved, it showed the federal government were willing to help, eventually leading to new laws and the desegregation of transport
• What was the James Meredith Case?


  After being denied a place at the University of Mississippi, Meredith was sent to the uni under order of the supreme court. He was flown in by the president and 200 marshals were sent to protects him. Students started attacking marshals and reporters. 160 marshals were injured, a student and a reporter die. Kennedy had to send the army to stop the riot
• What the James Meredith Case successful?

  He completed his degree, although permanently had marshals with him due to risk of attack
• When was John Kennedy president?

  1960-1963
• When was Lyndon Johnson president? 


  1963-1969
• When was Eisenhower president?

  1953-1960
• When was Richard Nixon president?

  1969-1974
• Who was Malcom X?

  He was a black Muslim who was put in prison in his early life for burglary. While in prison, he changed his surname to X, replacing his slavery surname. He became a NOI minister and spokesperson, wo had 30000 member by 1965. He rejected non-violent direct action as it wasn't working and critisised civil right leaders for not working with white people to gain equality. He believed in black nationalism. In 1964, Malcom left the NOI member to make his own religious organisation. To seek revenge, he was assasinated by NOI members during his speech. 15,000 atttended his funeral
• What is Project C? (1963)

  The SNCC, SNCL and ACHHR began Project C and target Birmingham as it is still completely segregated - 'Bull' Connor was easily provoked into using violence against peaceful protestors. It included mass meetings, peaceful protest marches and boycott of shops however 900 protesters were arrested but prisons were full so Bull Connor ordered police to use dogs and fire hoses on protesters
• How successful was Project C?

  Reports published shocking pictures of the event, and due to Bull Connor violent reactions attracting significant attention, Birmingham became desegregated. President Kennedy said he felt sick and ashamed, highlighting his support for the civil rights movement.
• What happened at the March on Washington? (1963)

  Civil rights leaders planned a protest march involving people from all over the USA marching for jobs and freedom. 250,000 people took part, 40,000 0f them being white. The protest remained peaceful and good humoured and was broadcasted on TV
• How successful was the March on Washington?

  Progress is very clear as black and white people were protesting peacefully together. Martin Luther King gave his 'I have a dream speech' and confirmed him as a spokesman for the civil rights movement. Support was gained and media attention was huge
• What was freedom summer? (1964)


  The right to vote only helped black Americans if thy were registered to vote. SNCC and CORE set up freedom summer in Mississippi and 1000 volunteers help in campaigns and projects in the black community. This was important as it was an election year. 17,000 were taught how to pass voter registration tests. 700,000 black Americans were registered to vote but hardly any did due to oppossition
• How successful was Freedom Summer?

  17,000 black Americans registered to vote, however only 1,600 succeeded due to attacks from members of the KKK. It gained media attention, causing outrage to civil rights activists. However, the Voting Rights Act is signed
• What happened during Selma? (1965)

  Local groups invited to SNCC and King to campaign to make voting rights acts fair in Selma, where more black people were entitled to vote than white people, but only 1% registered due to fear of violence. There was confrontation from the police and violent arrests. 600 protesters marched from Selma to Montgomery, however state troopers stopped them just outside Selma, using tear gas and electric cattle rods
• How successful was Selma?

  The USA made headlines for its abuse towards black people, raising more attention. Both parts of congress spoke against violence and in favour of voting rights. People marched in support of those attacked in the Selma, both black and white. Johnson orders the national guards to escort marchers to Montgomery
• Why did the Black Panther Movement grow?

  • Non-violent and direct action could only go so far. Civil and Voting rights did not entirely solve segregation in the south.
  • There was a shift in protest issues, with civil rights protesters now protesting against the Vietnam War
  • Black power campaigners told black people to demand equality from white politicians and defend themselves
  • Anger at continuing problems - discrimination in work
  • The movement solved local problems e.g construction sites hired more black workers
• Who were Tommie Smith and John Carlos?

  Olympic athletes who took their shoes of and raised their fists during the national anthem to raise awareness for poverty in America

  They were banned, and their athletic careers were ruined, leaving them struggling to find jobs
• Why were there so many riots between 1964-68?

  • Police discrimination - the police seemed more concerned about harassing young black people than keeping ghettos safe - they were quick to shoot suspects
  • Discrimination of white officials - did not respond to complaints about damaged roads
  • Workers had low paid, informal jobs and were more than twice as likely to be poor
  • Poor quality education
• What were the Watts riots? (1965)

  In response to the, Johnson set up the Kerner Report (1968)

  • That the riots were caused as a result of the poor conditions in Ghetto conditions produced by segregation and discrimination
  • the riots came after the white officials failed to fix the problems the black people pointed out
  • The police should change their policing to provide protection in ghettos
  • Police needed to change their unfair and brutal treatment of black people
• What were the short term impacts of the assassination of MLK? (1968)

  • There were riots in 172 towns all across the USA
  • By 9th April, 32 black people were dead, 3,500 injured and 27,000 arrested
  • The poor people's campaign King planned still went ahead
  • The 1968 Civil Rights Act was quickly passed
• What were the long term impacts of the assassination of MLK?

  • National civil rights groups lost funding and support of white people
  • Black campaigners were more radical, SNCC changed the N from non-violent to national
  • More white people opposed black equality leading to further violence rather than agreement
• What were the phases of Dien Bien Phu?

  • March 13th 1954
  • Phase 1: Vietnam seize control of French subsector
  • Phase 2: Vietnam releases simultaneous attacks, more and more bombs were set off by the French
  • Phase 3: Vietnam seize final French base