Evolution of Civil Rights: A Timeline from 1860 to 1957

1. Chapter 21 Section 1 NotesA Brief History Of Civil Rights1860 - 1960

2. 1860 Election • Abraham Lincoln Wins • Against Slavery • So are 20 Northern “Free” States (THE UNION) • Don’t want it expanding into U.S. Territories in West • Southern States view Lincoln as a threat to their economy • Depended on Slave Labor • 11 Southern slave statessecede(2 more members later) • Don’t want to be part of U.S. any more • Form own government(THE CONFEDERACY) Confederate President Jefferson Davis

3. Civil War (April 1861 – May 1865) • North = bigger military, better equipped • More industry is key • Emancipation Proclamation(Jan. 1863) • Lincoln announces that slaves are free • War takes 4 years – NORTH WINS • Around 620,000 people die • Around 400,000 injured • Leads to 3 Constitutional Amendments

4. 13th Amendment (1865) • Abolishes slavery • 14th Amendment (1868) • All people supposed to be treated equally under U.S. Laws • 15th Amendment (1870) • Black men can vote

5. Reconstruction(1865 – 1877) • Northern Army (Union) stays in South after war • Helps rebuild • Wants to make sure South follows new amendments

6. Ku Klux Klan formed • Roughly 500,000 White Southerners • Most former Confederate Soldiers • WoreWhiteCostumes • Formed to secretly commit acts of violence against Blacks while Army is still in South • Many in powerful positions • Dies out when Army leaves (re-forms in 1920s)

7. Civil Rights Act of 1875 • 1st attempt at major Civil Rights legislation • Supposed to stop discrimination in most places • Enforced for a bit • When U.S. Army leaves South, gets mostly ignored • U.S. Supreme Court rules it unconstitutional (1883) • AllWhiteMen • Laws allowing discrimination in South begin (Jim Crow Laws)

8. Jim Crow Laws Legality Tested • Plessy v Ferguson (1896) • Supreme Court Case • rules that separate facilities can be provided for blacks as long as they are “equal”. • Separate but Equal Doctrine • Jim Crow Laws remain legal for over 50 years! Homer Plessy 1/8th Black Wasn’t allowed to sit in White Only Train Car

9. NAACP Formed (1909) • grows dramatically after WWII • Focuses on • trying to provide an equal education • Voting • Stop illegal killings • Limited success early on

10. African – American Contributions during WWI and WWII • Blacks migrate North searching for industrial jobs when White males at war. • Paid better • No discrimination in war industries • Ordered by FDR in WWII • Doesn’t last afterwards • Segregation still existed • housing, schools • Less violence • Blacks allowed in combat halfway into WWII • They were very successful • segregated units

11. Truman Desegregates the Military • Occurs in 1948 (after WWII) • Takes awhile, but finished by mid 1950s

12. Brown v Board of Education (1954) • Most important Civil Rights decision ever • All about going to closest public school • Case revolved around 7 yr old Black Girl • I’ll explain • Decision: • Public Schools needed to be integrated • 9-0 decision • Reverses Plessy v Ferguson Thurgood Marshall (center) lawyer that successfully argued the case on behalf of the Brown family. He later became 1st Black Supreme Court Judge.

13. Impact of Brown Case • Most States followed the decision • Led to “WhiteFlight” (more in Sect. 3) • Some Southern states don’t • Whitesthreatened violence • Another Court case (Brown II in 1955) • said desegregation needed to happen fast • Southern leaders still refused

14. Eisenhower Calls in National Guard(1957) • forcibly desegregated schools • 1st occurs inLittle Rock, Arkansas • 9 black students admitted to all white school • On national TV

15. Rosa Parks Member of the NAACP • refused to give up her seat at the front of a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama to awhiteman in 1955 • Taken to jail (for a day) • eventually fined • Appeals the case (NAACP helped) • Lost her job due to the publicity • Harassed and intimidated during the process

16. Montgomery Bus Boycott • NAACP encouraged blacks toboycott(not use)the buses until they became integrated • Walk, Carpool • Wanted someone local to lead the movement

17. Martin Luther King Jr. • Minister of large church • Extremely well educated and articulate • Promoted Nonviolent Resistance to injustice • He called his philosophy Soul Force • Buses became integrated by U.S. Supreme Court a year later • Gains national recognition • Becomes leader of Civil Rights Movement

18. Civil Rights Act of 1957 • developed mainly by LBJ (Texas Senator… before he was Pres) • Created a Federal Civil Rights Commission to address concerns • Tried to require states to follow existing Civil Rights Laws • Especially VOTING • Many Southern states still ignored this

19. Southern Christian Leadership ConferenceSCLC (1957) • Led by MLK Jr • Purpose = continue causes like the bus boycotts • Bring attention to inequality in society • Stay Nonviolent (marches, write letters, meetings) • Get ordinary Americans to participate • Including Whites

20. Student Nonviolent Coordinating CommitteeSNCC(1960) • Mostly young college students • More confrontational than SCLC • Included whites early on (more in Sec 3) • Organized Sit-insat white only lunch counters • Led to violence and other acts of hatred against them • Media coverage inspired similar acts around the U.S. • Led voter registration drives in the South