Download Aim: Why did the Civil Rights movement begin?

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Student will be able to name the major civil
rights legislation of the late 1940s and 1950s.
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The 1950s marked a new beginning in civil
rights.
During WW2, whites and blacks worked
together to defeat the Germans and Japanese.
On the battlefront and now at home, there was
a more tolerant attitude in the United States.
Now that the war was over, Blacks began to
organize and demand their civil rights.
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The Truman administration took steps to end
racial discrimination in the United States.
In 1946, Truman appointed a Commission on
Civil Rights. The commission stated that the
government should enforce civil rights and end
segregation in all areas of American life.
Although Congress failed to act on the
commission report, Truman then ordered
desegregation in the armed forces.
This was the start of desegregation on the
federal level.
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When did desegregation begin?
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On the private level, there were signs that
Blacks were slowly gaining civil rights.
Black athletes like Josh Gibson and Satchel
Paige were interested in playing in the white
only major leagues, but were unable to due to
segregation.
In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first Black
to break Major League Baseball’s color line.
Two years later, Robinson won the MVP
Satchel Paige
Josh Gibson
The first African-American to break
Major League Baseball’s color barrier.
Robinson broke the color barrier on
April 15, 1947.
Enduring harsh racial discrimination,
Robinson built himself into a solid
baseball player on and off the field.
In 1997, to honor the 50th anniversary of
Robinson’s achievement, Major League
Baseball retired the number 42.
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During the administration of Dwight
Eisenhower, some headway was made in
regards to civil rights.
Eisenhower, at first, tried to stay away from
addressing the issue because he was not a
strong supporter of civil rights.
Eisenhower also believed that the job of
government was to not change people’s mind
about civil rights.
However, he was in charge of the US just as
things became interesting.
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In 1954, the United States Supreme Court ruled
on the case of Brown v. Board of Education of
Topeka.
In this ruling, the United States Supreme Court
overturned the “separate but equal” principle
of the Plessy v. Ferguson case (1896).
The Court held that segregation in the public
schools denied Black students equal protection
under the 14th Amendment.
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What did the United States say about
segregation in the American public school
system?
The US Supreme Court integrates the American public school system in 1954.
Chief Justice Earl Warren, a strong supporter of
civil rights, was appointed by President Dwight
Eisenhower in 1953.
He wrote the majority decision in the case.
Thurgood Marshall was the lawyer that defended
Brown in her case.
He would go on and become the first AfricanAmerican to be appointed to the United States
Supreme Court.
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In 1955, the Supreme Court ordered the desegregation
of the public schools.
In the south, this decision was not welcomed by many
leaders because the schools in the south were
segregated by law. Many leaders did whatever they
could to prevent this from occurring.
In 1957, Governor Orval E. Faubus of Arkansas used
the National Guard to keep Black students from
entering Little Rock’s Central High School.
President Eisenhower used the military to allow Blacks
to enter Central High School.
By the end of his first term in office, Eisenhower
backed the decision of the Supreme Court and enforced
the decision to desegregate the American public school
system.
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How did Southern leaders try to prevent
desegregation in their schools? What did
Eisenhower do to prevent this from
happening?
Governor Orval
Faubus.
His actions led
Eisenhower
to bring the
military into
Little Rock.
The Little Rock Nine, the
First Black students who
entered Central High
School in 1957.
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Congress also acted to secure equal rights for
Blacks during this period of time.
To end restrictions on voting, the US Congress
passed the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960.
The Civil Rights Act of 1957 allowed the Attorney
General to bring suit for Blacks who were denied
their right to vote.
The Civil Rights Act of 1960 allowed Federal
judges to appoint an officer to supervise voter
registration.
The Civil Rights Act of 1960 also set punishments
for bombings and bomb threats against Blacks.
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What did the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and
1960 permit?
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Some Blacks turned to more direct action in the
hopes of achieving civil rights during the 1950s.
On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama,
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a
white male. She was arrested soon after.
In protest, Montgomery African-American leaders
E.D. Nixon and Martin Luther King boycotted the
bus system for a year.
The United States Supreme Court soon declared
the seating system in the Montgomery bus lines
were unconstitutional.