Chapter 26

Civil Rights MovementSection 1

Beginnings of The Civil Rights Movement

• In 1896, the Supreme Court ruling Plessy v. Ferguson strengthened segregation.

• The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was organized to fight discrimination.

The 1940s

• After serving in the armed services in World War II, minorities wanted justice between the races at home.

• When Branch Rickey hired Jackie Robinson, he helped to integrate Major League Baseball.

• President Harry Truman ordered desegregation of the armed forces.

The 1950s

• Segregation in the Schools• Thurgood Marshall argued for school

desegregation in the Supreme Court case Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka.

• In this case, the Court ruled to end school segregation.

• In 1957, nine African American students tried to enter Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The 1950’s Cont.

• Govenor Orval Faubus called in the state’s National Guard to keep them out.

• President Eisenhower called in federal troops to protect the students.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

• Rosa Parks was arrested when she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger.

• The Women’s Political Council organized a boycott of buses on Parks’ trial day.

• Martin Luther King Jr. urged African Americans to continue the boycott.

• Some white leaders were outraged by the boycott. Some even bombed King’s home.

Montgomery Bus Boycott cont.

• After the boycott went on for more than a year, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on buses was unconstitutional.

Chapter 26

Civil Rights MovementSection 2

The Warren Court

• Chief Justice Earl Warren believed the Constitution should be interpreted flexibly.

• In Miranda vs. Arizona, the Court ruling expanded the rights of people accused of crimes.

• In Tinker vs. Des Moines School District, the Court expanded the concept of freedom of speech.

Kennedy’s Administration

President Kennedy’s Domestic Goals:• End poverty• Fight disease• Ensure justice for all• Start space program

Programs Congress Agreed to:• Some anti-poverty programs• Space programs

Johnson’s Administration

Program• Great Society– Program Goal: Expand Opportunity and provide

decent standard of living for all Americans

Johnson’s Administration

Program• Head Start– Program Goal: Provide preschools for needy

children

Program• Medicare– Program Goal: to assist the elderly in paying

medical bills

Johnson’s Administration

Program• Medicaid– Program Goal: To assist the needy not covered by

Medicare in paying medical bills

Program• Food Stamps– Program Goal: To assist the needy in paying for

groceries.

Johnson’s Administration

Program• Welfare– Program Goal: To provide cash payments to the

poor

Program• H.U.D.– Program Goal: to oversee building of housing for

low and middle income people.

Chapter 26

Timeline of the Civil Rights MovementSection 3

1957

• Martin Luther King Jr. joins with other African American church leaders to form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

1960

• Four African American college students refuse to leave a lunch counter, starting a type of protest known as a sit-in.

1961

• Freedom Rides take place to desgregate public transportation across state lines.

1962

• James Meredith tries to attend the University of Mississippi and riots break out

1963

• Massive demonstrations take place in Birmingham, Alabama, and police respond with violence.

• Nearly 250,000 people come together to support civil rights legislation in the famous March on Washington.

1964

• President Johnson pushed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through Congress. This act outlaws segregation, advances voting opportunities, bans job discrimination and speed up school desegregation.

1965

• In King’s march for voting rights, people walk from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. State troopers set upon marchers with tear gas, clubs, and whips.

• Congress passes the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which removes barriers to voting and allows federal officers to register African Americans.

• Malcolm X, once a believer in black separatism, is killed.

1965

• Riots occur in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles in response to police brutality.

1967

• Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African American Supreme Court Justice.

1968

• Martin Luther King Jr. is killed.• Riots occur throughout the country.

1970s

• Affirmative action, a program through which groups who were previously discriminated against get preferential treatment, is established. Critics argue that some groups have unfair advantages for jobs and education.

Chapter 26

Reform MovementsSection 4

The Women’s Rights Movement

• Betty Friedmen’s The Feminine Mystique criticized women’s limited role in society.

• NOW’s goals were laws that would give women greater equality, that medical schools and law practices train and hire more women, day-care facilities for mother who worked outside the home, passage of ERA.

The Women’s Rights Movement

• Arguments for the ERA: to forbid any form of sex discrimination

• Arguments against the ERA: would undermine traditional values, could force women into combat, could lessen women’s right to alimony, laws already gave women equality

The Women’s Rights Movement

• The 1963 Equal Pay Act ensured that men and women doing the same work receive the same pay

• The Civil Rights Act of 1965 banned discrimination based on sex.

• In the 1960s and 1970s, the number of women working outside the home and attending college increased.

Mexican Americans

• In the Southwest, many Mexican Americans children went to Mexican schools which were not as good as the all-white schools.

• Mexican American World War II veterans formed the American GI Forum to challenge discrimination.

• In Hernandez v. Texas, the Supreme Court ruled that it was illegal to exclude Mexican Americans from juries.

Mexican Americans

• Cesar Chavez was one of the founders of the United Farm Workers. He organized a nationwide boycott of California grapes. The boycott led to grape growers signing a contract with the UFW.

• The Voting Rights Act of 1975 was important because it ensured bilingual elections.

• Legislation for bilingual education was passed.

Native Americans

• The National Congress of American Indians had some success in regaining land, water, and minerals rights for Native Americans.

• The American Indian Movement was more militant. Armed members went to Wounded Knee. Its goal was to draw attention to past injustice to Native Americans.

Older Americans

• Mandatory retirement means forcing people to retire once they reach a certain age.

• The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) championed health insurance for retired Americans.

• Maggie Kuhn formed the Gray Panthers to fight age discrimination.

Americans with Disabilities

• Organizations for the disabled championed laws that would improve access to public buildings.

• The Education for the Handicapped Act of 1975 guaranteed all children with disabilities would receive a free education.

• The Americans with Disabilities Act made it illegal to discriminate in hiring based on physical or mental disability.