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The Achievements of the Civil Rights Movement

The Achievements of the Civil Rights Movement. The Goals of the Civil Rights Movement. The Reconstruction Amendments. 13 th Amendment: bans slavery. Fulfilled (more or less). 14 th Amendment: citizens get “equal protection of the laws” “due process of law”. Unfulfilled Segregation

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The Achievements of the Civil Rights Movement

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  1. The Achievements of the Civil Rights Movement

  2. The Goals of the Civil Rights Movement

  3. The Reconstruction Amendments • 13th Amendment: bans slavery Fulfilled (more or less) • 14th Amendment: citizens get • “equal protection of the laws” • “due process of law” • Unfulfilled • Segregation • Lynching • Unequal schools • Job discrimination 15th Amendment: voting rights for male citizens • Unfulfilled • Poll taxes • Literacy tests • Grandfather clauses

  4. Three big aims • Civil rights • Desegregation • Equal treatment • Voting rights • Economic equality

  5. The importance of the federal government • Southern state governments resisted integration • Massive resistance to school desegregation • George Wallace (Alabama): “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” • Federal intervention could help protect African Americans’ rights • Eisenhower calling in troops to protect Little Rock Nine • JFK called in federal marshals to protect Freedom Riders • But activists wanted a bigger federal law

  6. Why might the Kennedy administration be reluctant to pass a civil rights law?

  7. Sources of federal reluctance • Divided Democratic party • Northern Democrats like JFK were sympathetic to civil rights • Southern Democrats (“Dixiecrats”) like George Wallace supported segregation • The filibuster • Senate rule that requires a 2/3 vote to end debate on a bill • Southern Senators successfully filibustered previous civil rights bills • JFK wanted to achieve equality by compromise, not by force

  8. Why did the federal government act?

  9. Civil rights activism Montgomery bus boycott – 1955-56 Sit-ins – 1960 Freedom Rides – 1961 March on Washington – 1963

  10. Violence by white segregationists 1960-61: Protesters at sit-ins and Freedom Rides attacked

  11. Violence by white segregationists May 1963: Bull Connor unleashes dogs and fire hoses on protesters in Birmingham, AL

  12. Violence by white segregationists June 1963: Medgar Evers assassinated

  13. Violence by white segregationists September 1963: Segregationists bomb a church in Birmingham, killing four girls

  14. Lyndon Baines Johnson • November 22, 1963: JFK assassinated in Dallas • Vice-President Lyndon Baines Johnson sworn in as President • Democrat from Texas • Former Senate majority leader • Better at getting members of Congress to vote his way

  15. Legislative Achievements

  16. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Bans segregation on the grounds of race at any “public accommodation” • Hotels, parks, pools, restaurants, theaters, etc. • Includes privately owned property catering to “the public” • Bans employers and labor unions from discriminating by race, gender, religion, or nationality • Bans use of federal funds for discriminatory programs • Provides for federal enforcement of the law

  17. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 Bans literacy tests Gives the federal government power to oversee voter registration in areas with a history of discrimination Authorizes investigations of poll taxes Result: despite state resistance, massive increase in African American voting among the South

  18. Mission accomplished? • 13th Amendment: bans slavery Fulfilled (more or less) • 14th Amendment: citizens get • “equal protection of the laws” • “due process of law” Better protected by Civil Rights Act 15th Amendment: voting rights for male citizens Better protected by Voting Rights Act But there’s still massive economic inequality between whites and blacks

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