Transcript Civil Rights - Welcome to Mrs. Alvarez History Home

Civil Rights
Let’s think back…
• Civil War
– Fought because …
• Reconstruction
– Put in place after the Civil War to remove slavery from the south.
Ended in 1877
• Discrimination
– Even though …
• Jim Crow Laws
– Legal segregation that further degraded African Americans.
Laws required the separation of blacks and whites in schools,
parks, public buildings, hospitals, and transportation systems
Emancipation Proclamation
The Civil War was fought over the acceptance of slavery between the Union
(North) and Confederates (South) in the United States. On January 1, 1863,
President Lincoln declared that all persons held as slaves in Confederate
states should be freed with the Emancipation Proclamation.
The reconstruction era after the Civil War instituted three new amendments in the Constitution
for former slaves: citizenship, the right for due process, and the right to vote. Many of the
northerners were afraid that these efforts were not enough and programs for education and
business ownership needed to be implemented.
Plessy vs. Ferguson, 1896
• Supreme Court case that upheld the
“separate-but-equal” doctrine of Jim Crow
Laws.
• Law was hard to enforce.
– African American schools and other facilities
were rarely if ever made equal.
Plessy vs. Ferguson Clip
Jackie Robinson
• First baseball player to play in a “white
league”
• Despite many situations of prejudice
against him, Jackie behaved with dignity
and played well.
• Named Rookie of the Year in 1947
• Voted MVP in 1949
• Fostered pride in African Americans
around the country.
Video Clip Jackie Robinson
1. Why did Branch Rickey, the general manager of the
Brooklyn Dodgers choose Jackie Robinson to break, the
color line in baseball?
• Robinson had a record of standing up
against racial injustice
2. In 1954 what did the supreme Court
rule in Brown v. Board of Education?
• Segregation in public schools no longer
would be allowed
Brown vs. Board of Ed
Rosa Parks Clip
3. What role did Rosa Parks play in the
struggle for equal right?
• She refused to move to the back of the
bus was arrested for violating the
segregation laws of Montgomery,
Alabama.
In Response. . .
• For over a year,
Blacks boycotted
the buses.
• They carpooled
and walked
through all
weather
conditions
Many were arrested for an “illegal
boycott” including their leader. . .
4. Who became the spokesperson for
the Montgomery bus boycott?
• Martin Luther King Jr.
http://www.africanaonline.com/Graphic/rosa_parks_bus.gif
• While the NAACP fought in the
courts, MLK’s organization led
the boycott.
King’s sacrifice
• King was arrested
thirty times in his
38 year life.
• His house was
bombed or nearly
bombed several
times
• Death threats
constantly
Success!
Montgomery Bus Boycott
School Integration
• The attitude of many schools after the
1954 Brown decision was like:
Delayed Action
5. Why did President Eisenhower send the
Arkansas National Guard to Little Rock?
• To enforce the desegregation of schools at
Little Rock High school
Federalism
• When Federal troops are sent to
make states follow federal laws, this
struggle for power is called
federalism.
• The Civil Rights Movement was
mostly getting the federal
government to make state
governments to follow federal law.
Little Rock 9
• In 1957, Governor of Little Rock, Arkansas
declared that he would not enforce
integration in the schools.
• Posted Arkansas National Guard troops at
the door of the high school and turned
away nine African American students who
tried to attend.
Little Rock, Arkansas
1957
Little Rock 9
• President Eisenhower responded by
placing the National Guard troops under
his command.
• The troops escorted the students in to the
schools to keep them physically safe.
• Troops were not allowed to interact with
students, though, and students within the
high school openly threatened, mocked,
and verbally attacked the Little Rock 9.
Little Rock 9 Clip
6. How did Mexican Americans and Native
Americans assert their rights in the 1950s?
• Mexican Americans began peaceful
protests for equal rights
• Native Americans also fought for better
treatment from the federal gov’t
• BOTH WANTED EQUALITY