There are many examples of inequality among Americans in the course of history and we touched on a few of this in this class. The sad truth is that there will always be these issues and inequality no matter how much we try to fix them. What we can do is look through history at the issues and try our best to avoid repeating them. The fight for civil rights was an ongoing issue through this semester, and this paper will point out four examples of civil rights issues that we touched on throughout the semester.
The term “separate but equal” was a very common term in the fight for civil rights. It started in 1896 when the Supreme Court decided on the Plessy v. Ferguson case that determined that state laws could segregate public facilities as long as the facilities were “separate but equal.” This lasted until the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case when the issue pertained to the separate public schools. The issue stemmed from the fact that the segregation of public schools was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, which basically stated that all Americans are granted equal rights. The main plaintiffs were Oliver and Linda Brown. Their daughter had to walk past an all-white school to attend her all-black school a mile away. They
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This was a big issue since the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment. The Fifteenth Amendment was passed in 1870 and was supposed to protect the right to vote regardless of race. Although this law was put into place, there were “loopholes” for states to restrict voting access. This was through literacy test and grandfather clauses. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act that prohibited racial discrimination in voting. The act had provisions that prohibited any state or local government from imposing any voting law that discriminated against any racial minority (Goldfield et al, 2014). This act was possibly the most important civil rights legislation ever
Our Founding Founders established the federal government with three distinct branches, each with powers over the other in order to have a proper checks and balances to ensure fairness across the board. The U.S. Constitution outlines the powers and responsibilities of the three branches of government and is a critical document for the federal government. Important laws and documents such as The Bill of Rights, The US Civil Rights Act and The Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) are managed by our Constitution. Below we will discuss three subjects which set up a diverse broad range of viewpoints that are essential in our democracy.
FIRST QUESTION: “Prior to the Civil War the Republican Party was against slavery, and so after the Civil War ended most freed African Americans supported the Republican Party and were against the Democratic Party, which during the Civil War supported slavery. Over the course of more than a hundred years this would change, and most African Americans would vote for Democratic candidates.” For much of the late 1800s and early 1900s the parties experienced minor changes which eventually led to the parties becoming similar. In 1932 FDR, a Democrat, won nearly 70% of the African American vote thanks to his stance against lynching and poll tax. Southern Democrats, however, did not like these stances.
The Civil Rights Movement is often thought to begin with a tired Rosa Parks defiantly declining to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She paid the price by going to jail. Her refusal sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which civil rights historians have in the past credited with beginning the modern civil rights movement. Others credit the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education with beginning the movement. Regardless of the event used as the starting point of the moment, everyone can agree that it is an important period in history. In the forty-five years since the modern civil rights movement, several historians have made significant contributions to the study of this era. These historians
The reconstruction amendments established in the 19th century made many believe that African Americans would finally reach equality. However, the abolishment never changed society’s view on African Americans and instead, barriers such as oppression and segregation came out of it. Despite the ceaseless barriers faced by African Americans in the South, they were able to utilize methods in which gave the movement strength in the 1950s and ultimately, led to their gained civil rights.
In 1965 President Johnson signed over a bill that soon became the Voting Rights Act of 1965, this act put an end to voting discrimination in federal, state, and local elections. Due to the point that African Americans were always looked upon as the inferior race, many thought their opinions did not matter when it came to voting. Voting was extremely important because it allowed people to politically participate in society. Additionally, because of poverty and oppression, blacks did not get the best education leaving them with a higher rate of illiteracy. As a result, election officials often took advantage of that by forcing black voters to take literacy test in order to be eligible to vote, knowing that the majority would not pass. “The civil rights movement created space for political leaders to pass legislation, and the movement continued pushing forward. Direct action continued through the summer of 1964, as student run organizations like SNCC and CORE (the Congress of Racial Equality) helped with the Freedom Summer in Mississippi, a drive to register African Americans in a state with an ugly history of discrimination” (Reading #15, Page 12). This quote essentially expresses that the civil rights movement was a primary source when it came to not only helping blacks get registered to vote but,
"If the fires of freedom and civil liberties burn low in other lands, they must be made brighter in our own. If in other lands the press and books and literature of all kinds are censored, we must redouble our efforts here to keep them free. If in other lands the eternal truths of the past are threatened by intolerance, we must provide a safe place for their perpetuation." Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1938 (Isaacs 66)
As World War II ended in 1945 the world was barely taking a step towards recovery as tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union grew over the fate of eastern Europe. Tensions weren’t exclusively in international relationships. At the home front American officials were being increasingly pressured to ensure civil rights for everyone. Despite the pressure put on officials by fellow Americans “committed to fighting racism abroad” (871) and by other countries, the process of eliminating racism and advancing civil rights for African Americans wasn’t successful until the 1950’s.
part in todays lessons plan. Also should be parents aware, that not talking to your
Civil Liberties and Civil Rights are two terms that are often used interchangeably in America. Since the founding of our nation there has always been the debate of the limit of government and what rights were guaranteed to each individual. Many of the architects of our government feared that national government could one day become too powerful and begin to infringe on the individual rights of the citizens. As a result, a Bill of Rights was added to our constitution. The Bill of Rights serves as a guide of what the government cannot do. Civil Liberties simply establish precedent on what rights the United States government cannot abridge on. Civil Rights, on the other hand applies to the rights of individuals. Over the history of our nation the question of civil rights has found itself becoming a pillar of our legal system and has been very instrumental in our quest to become a “more perfect union”. In recent history one civil liberty that has caused a continual controversial debate is the second amendment, in addition to how it applies to gun control measures that are being proposed in order to decrease the level of mass shootings. The second amendment clearly defines the intention of individuals to have the right to bear arms. In order to understand why gun control advocates have failed to secure effective gun control legislation, we must explore the reasoning why the second amendment is interpreted the way it is and should Americans be allowed to own guns?
Legally, the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment just a few years after the close of the Civil War, African American men had the right to vote according to the United States Constitution. However, racial relations in the south had deteriorated so greatly that even such constitutionally-protected elements of their lives were unable to survive. Whites passed a number of laws designed to disenfranchise African American men, knowing that without the right to vote, the voices of newly-freed slaves would not be heard. These laws included such measures as literacy tests, poll taxes, property qualifications, and so-called “grandfather” clauses that denied an individual the right to vote if their grandfather did not vote himself. Race relations in the south had deteriorated so rapidly that even something as basic as voting, something that was to be provided to African American men according to the United States Constitution, was denied them (“The state…”, 2011).
The 50s, 60s and 70s were a tumultuous time in American society. Roles were constantly being redefined. Events like the war created upheaval in the lives of many individuals and everyone was scrambling to find his or her place in society. The same was profoundly true for blacks in America. No societal movement had a more profound effect on the lives of Black Americans than did the Civil Rights Movement. The status of Black Americans would be redefined to a revolutionary degree. Civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X would bring the cause to the national stage. Although the movement was plagued with violence and death, it was eventually successful. The South was radically changed from a society of
1. Discuss when, why and how the Cold War began. Then cite at least one factor that perpetuated the Cold War in each decade from the 1950s-1980s and discuss how the item you selected affected America at home as well. Last, discuss when and why the Cold War ended.
The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution form what is known as the Bill of Rights. In essence it is a summary of the basic rights held by all U.S. citizens. However, Negro citizens during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950-70’s felt this document and its mandate that guaranteed the civil rights and civil liberties of all people; were interpreted differently for people of color. The freedoms outlined in the Constitution were not enforced the same by the government of the United States for the black race as it did for the white race.
With all that has been examined, it is somewhat troubling to see that 21st century America today is very similar to America from the 1960’s. While it is true that Black Americans have gained civil rights and liberties, it is the current state of American society itself—as well as white fright—that dismisses these rights. The most infamous example of this is, of course, police shootings. Since the Trayvon Martin case, the United States seems to have exploded with more police shootings in which white police officers shoot unarmed black men. According to Mapping Police Violence, “Police killed at least 102 unarmed black people in 2015, nearly twice each week” (Police Violence). Indeed, America is now like the 1950’s because while Black Americans are now free to vote, walk in public, and partake in public programs of U.S. society, certain institutions still attempt to suppress their rights. This attempting at suppression of Black civil rights, moreover, can be attributed to white fright.
Chapter 21 Question 2: What key issues and events led the federal government to intervene in the civil rights movement? What were the major pieces of legislation enacted, and how did they dismantle legalized segregation?