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How far do you agree that the years 1945-55 saw only limited progress in improving the status of African Americans?

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How far do you agree that the years 1945-55 saw only limited progress in improving the status of African Americans?
The years of 1945-55 saw limited progress in improving the status of African Americans to an extent; however, during this time period there was also an increased amount of progress for the African American community in improving their status. There were many key factors, which contributed to improving the status of African Americans, such as the work of key civil right parties, for instance the NAACP and their approach to increase grass-roots activism, and their increased membership shows their wide support. In addition to this, there was also help from economic and political victories which demonstrated a fundamental shift …show more content…

Also, American Presidents begin to recognise the political power of Northern Blacks, so in 1949 William Haist was appointed a federal judge. This suggests that the American legal system has the potential to be impartial towards African Americans and the Federal Government regarded them as important voters. In addition, the impact of the American Economy played a huge role; in improving the status of African Americans as by 1945 the number of unemployed African Americans in the north fell sharply from 937,000, to 151,000. This is evident for an increase in better standards of living, this is supported by the fact that 40per cent of housing in Washington was found to be sub-standard. As a result of these factors, it showed that there was some economic and political progress during 1945 to 1955.
Furthermore, during this time period, there was numerous court cases against Jim Crow laws and segregation, which resulted in a substantial amount of de jure change, in favour of the African Americans. For instance, in 1950 there was the case of Sweatt v. Painter; Heman Sweatt was refused admission to the University of Texas Law School. The case was brought to the Supreme Court, and they ruled that Heman Sweatt was allowed to study law at the Texas College, as the black college had significantly worst facilities. This De jure change, shows that the Supreme Court were in support for civil rights, and wanted to push towards desegregation, and it was also a

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