1. History – Civil Rights in America<br />African Americans<br />Federal Government’s Role<br />Presidents<br />YearPresidentRoleGood/BadPre-1865LincolnEmancipation ProclamationGood1865JohnsonOpposed Civil Rights legislationBad1868 + 1872GrantAccepted Reconstruction policy, “do his best” for equality for slavesGood/ Bad1885 + 1893ClevelandAffirmed the rights of all Americans regardless of colour but favours southern states, no questioning of white supremacyBad1901Theodore RooseveltSupported Progressive movement, did not address Black Civil Rights, approved of T. WashingtonGood/ BadTaftTook little interest in Civil Rights, believed in States’ RightsBad1912 + 1916WoodrowTypical racist views, appointed segregationists and dismissed African AmericansBad1921HardingRace relations in the South had a ‘superior understanding’ of the problemBad1923CoolidgeDeclared Black Rights were as ‘sacred’ as anyone else’s but was passiveGood/ BadHooverAttempted to appoint a racist Supreme Court Judge but was stopped successfully by the NAACPBad1934RooseveltNew Deal, powerless to help, wife supported Blacks, executive order to desegregate federal employment and set up the Fair Employment CommissionGood/ Bad1945TrumanExecutive order to desegregate the US military, commissioned a President’s Committee on Civil Rights, no legislationGood/ Bad1953EisenhowerPassive, did not favour aggressive action, failed to take the initiative after the Brown Case, helped in Little RockGood/ Bad1961KennedySouthern states were failing to maintain law and order, lukewarm response, Robert Kennedy more favourableGood/ Bad1963 + 1964JohnsonNot always consistent, general support for Civil Rights, got together a pro-civil rights coalition of Republicans and DemocratsGood1968NixonStrong line on law and order, pause from Civil Rights, moderately liberal lineBad1974FordVoted for Civil Rights Bills but sceptical of too much Federal power in this areaGood/ Bad1977CarterStrong supporter of Black Civil RightsGood1981 +1983ReaganTended to oppose welfare and employment programmesBad1989BushLiberal background, voted for Fair Housing Act, vetoed Civil Rights Bill of 1990Good/ Bad<br />The Supreme Court<br />YearCaseDecisionGood/ Bad1873Slaughterhouse CaseRights of citizens should stay under State control not Federal control (States Rights)Bad 1876US v. CruikshankEnforcement Act empowered Federal officers to take action only against states and not individualsBad1880Strauder v. West VirginiaAfrican Americans cannot be excluded from juriesGood1896Plessy v. FergusonRuling of “separate but equal”Bad1898Mississippi v. WilliamsExclusion of Blacks from the voting register may have been the effect of state legislation but was not its intentionBad1915Guinn v. USGrandfather clauses in the state constitutions of Maryland and Oklahoma were outlawedGood/ Bad1917Buchanan v. WarleyCity regulations in Louisville, Kentucky concerning residential segregation was unconstitutionalGood/ Bad1923Moore v. DempseyFailed to uphold death sentences as the trial was dominated by mobsGood1933Trudeau v. BarnesWanted all state appeals being exhausted before cases could come before the Supreme CourtBad1938Gaines v. CanadaThe ‘equal clause’ must give a university place as no Black equivalentGood1944Smith v. AllrightOutlawed all kinds of White primary in Texas (vote)Good1948Shelley v. KraemerCourts could not enforce racial covenants on real estateGood1954Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, KansasAdmissions of all children to state schools on equal termsGood1956Browder v. GayleSegregation on buses unconstitutionalGood 1960Boynton v. VirginiaOutlawed segregation on all inter-State travel facilitiesGood 1962Bailey v. PattersonProhibited racial segregation of interstate and intra state transportation facilitiesGood1964Heart of Atlanta Motel Inc. v. USCongress could use its Commerce clause power to fight discriminationGood1967Loving v. VirginiaProhibition on interracial marriage was unconstitutionalGood1970Green v. ConnallyFederal funds would be withheld from higher education institutions continuing segregationGood 1971Griggs v. Duke Power CompanyRequired intelligence test or qualification was unreasonable for Blacks due to previous discriminationGood/ Bad1971Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of EducationBussing was a legitimate way to get a reasonable racial balance in schoolsGood1974Milliken v. BradleyStopped court-ordered bussing unless there was deliberate segregationGood/ Bad1978Regents of the University of California v. BaakeWhite boy was unfairly discriminated against when rejected because of raceGood1986Batson v. KentuckyThe exclusion of jurors based solely on their race is unconstitutionalGood<br />Congress<br />YearBill/ Act/ AmendmentDecisionGood/ Bad1865Freedman’s Bureau BillIntended to last one year, aimed to give aid via education, health care and employmentGood/ Bad186513th AmendmentSlaves were formally freedGood 1866Civil Rights ActGuaranteed legal equality to BlacksGood/ Bad1866Second Freedman’s Bureau ActProvided additional rights including the distribution of land, schools and military courts to ensure these rights, voted by Johnson but overrode by CongressGood1867Reconstruction ActsGuaranteeing rights for Blacks and put the Confederacy into military districtsGood/ Bad186814th AmendmentAll free Blacks were given citizenship and equal protection under the lawGood 187015th AmendmentForbade the denial of the vote to any man on the basis of colour, race or previous condition of servitudeGood 1871Civil Rights Act/ Klan ActProtect southern Blacks from the KKK by providing a ‘civil’ remedyGood/ Bad1875Civil Rights ActMade it clear that equal rights applied to public areasGood/ Bad1941Fair Employment Act (Executive Order 8802)Requires equal treatment and training of all employeesGood1957Civil Rights ActInvestigate Civil Rights abuses in fields like votingGood/ Bad1960Civil Rights ActHelp Blacks register and introduced Federal penalties for violenceGood1964Civil Rights ActSpeed desegregation, mix schools, voting rights, discrimination illegalGood 1965Voting Rights ActMake certain conditions on voting illegalGood 1968Fair Housing ActNo discrimination racially in the sale, rent and mortgaging of propertyGood 1972Equal Opportunity ActMore guidelines for the Courts; strengthened in 1988Good 1983Martin Luther King Jr. DayMartin Luther King’s birthday is made a Federal holidayGood1988Civil Rights Restoration ActAll aspects of Civil Rights legislation had to be complied with for fundsGood 1991Civil Rights ActThe right to trial by jury on discrimination claims, introduced the possibility of emotional distress damages, limited the amount a jury could award, based on employment discrimination casesGood<br />Black Leaders’ and Organisations’ Role<br />YearsLeader/ OrganisationRoleGood/ Bad1865-95Frederick DouglassOpponent of slavery, supporter of all civil rights (not just Blacks), raised awareness (newspaper and speeches)Good(Limited)1865Self-help groupsComprised of freedmen who joined their earnings to buy land to provide schools and teachersGood(Limited)1881-1915Booker T. WashingtonRan the Tuskegee Institute, gave the Atlanta Speech, accommodation, organised the Negro Business LeagueGood(Limited)1883-1928T. Thomas FortuneEditor of newspapers that were protesting against the treatment of Blacks, supporter of Garvey, President of the Afro-American CouncilGood(Limited)1884-1931Ida B. WellsSued the railroad company, public opposition to lynching, women’s rightsGood(Limited)1903-1963W.E.B. Du BoisFound the Niagara movement (1905), founded the NAACPGood(Limited)1909- presentNAACPBoth Black and White supporters, peaceful, focus on legal aspects, Constitutional organisation, significant long-term roleGood(Limited)1917-1925Marcus GarveyFounded UNIA (1917), Blacks taking control of their own affairs, Black Eagle Star Steamship, open air parades, military style leadershipGood/ Bad(Limited)1917-1927UNIACampaigned for equal rights and independence of Blacks rather than absorbing into the melting pot, encouraged to develop their own institutions etc.Good/ Bad(Limited)1940-1993Thurgood MarshallBlack lawyer winning nearly all the NAACP cases and was the first Black Justice of the Supreme CourtGood(Limited)1954-1968Martin Luther King Jr. Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955), Birmingham Protest (1963), “I have a Dream” Speech (1963), sit-ins, freedom rides, peaceful, desegregation and political rights, views later changedGood(Limited)1960-65Malcolm XMember of the Nation of Islam, violent, economic and social rights, wrote in a journal, gave speeches, Black superiority, views changed laterGood/ Bad(Limited)1966-1976Black PanthersEconomic emphasis, influenced by Black Power and Malcolm X, had a 10-point programme, violent, military styleGood/ Bad(Limited)<br />The Era’s Role<br />PeriodEraRoleGood/ BadPre 1865Civil WarEmancipation Proclamation, Lincoln, slavery endsGood1865-1877ReconstructionAmendments, Civil Rights Acts, Radical Republicans, Black Codes, JohnsonGood/ Bad1877-1920ProgressiveJim Crow Laws, KKK, Plessy v. Ferguson, lynching, accommodation, NAACP, Wells, Washington, state’s rightsGood/ Bad1917-1945World WarsRace riots, Garvey, KKK, Black culture, New Deal, New Deal Court, shift in attitudes, jobs increased, poverty, segregationGood/ Bad1950’s-1960’sCivil Rights MovementMartin Luther King, Malcolm X, Civil Rights Acts, Kennedy, Thurgood Marshall, Brown v. Board of Education, Rosa Parks, Little Rock, assassinations, media coverage, liberal Federal Government, Cold WarGood1970’s-1990’sConservatismCold War, Black Power, affirmative action, Reagan, bifurcation of Blacks, economic and social rights not gained as much as political and legal rights, violence, no segregationGood/ Bad<br />Opposition’s Role<br />Opposition RoleNegative EffectStatesBelieved in State’s Rights particularly in South, clear North-South division, nothing to help Blacks gain or use rightsSegregation de jure and de factoKKKWhite supremacy, opposed Black votes, violent, very popular in the Reconstruction era and with the Red Scare (1920’s) and later in the 1960’s, secret membershipViolence and fear, generations of racists (Black and White), Red ShirtsWhite paramilitary group, supporters of Democratic Party, white supremacy, violent, worked openly, political goals, organised, military arm of Democratic PartyViolence and fear, prevent political civil rights, generations of racists (Black and White)White’s CouncilBankers, lawyers, doctors, day-to-day difficulties, Slowed civil rightsNAAWP1950’s, Supreme Court said to be denying states rightsBelief in states’ rights, late opposition<br />Key to Type of Right<br />All<br />Social<br />Economic<br />Political<br />Legal<br />