Race issues in America 

1929 - 1990  

Outline study USA 1929 - 1990 

Work Booklet   

 

 All images sourced from The National Library of Congress. (www.loc.gov) As far as the author is aware there are no known restrictions on publication. 

The American South: Introduction and Background   1. Why did the American Southerners want to keep slavery?

2. What were the Jim Crow laws? 

3. What type of places were segregated in the South?  

4. How were black people in the south prevented from voting? 

5. Describe the beliefs of the Ku Klux Klan 

 

6. Why do you think the Klan was so widespread in the South?  

    

 7. How useful is this source in explaining why black people didn’t vote in the

1930’s?  

 

8. Why was it so difficult to stop the practice of lynching? Explain what a lynching is. Do you know where the word comes from?  

9. Explain which different groups of people that the Klan were against. 

  

10. What does the image on the crest of NAACP suggest about its aims?  

 

  

  

11. Explain what the NAACP campaigned for. 

 

The situation in 1929  

1. Describe the practice of sharecropping and explain why it kept black people poor.  

 

 

2. Why did so many black Americans migrate to the North? 

3. What was the black renaissance? 

4. Explain why black Americans were so baldly affected by the depression of the

1930’s 

5. Why didn’t the ‘new deal’ in the 1930’s help black Americans? 

6. What were Jim Crow armies?

7. As a black soldier who fought in the Second World War, write a letter to

President Truman explaining why you deserve to be treated equally in America. 

Dear Mr President

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………

 

8. How successful was Truman in helping black Americans after the Second World

War?  

9. Why was the end of segregation in the army such an important step towards

gaining equality? 

 

The Civil Rights Movement in the 1950’s (peaceful)  

 1. Why did Linda Brown and her family challenge the

Board of Topeka’s right to segregate schools? 

 

 

2. According to the source above, why did Judge Warren think segregation in schools was wrong? 

  

3. How significant was the decision made by Judge Warren?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. How did Emmett Till’s murder further the Civil Rights Movement?  

5. What was the significance of Rosa Parks arrest and the following Montgomery Bus Boycott. 

      

     6. Use this photo and your own knowledge to explain attitudes towards integration

in American schools in the 1950’s  

 7. Explain what happened at Little Rock High School in 1957. 

 8. How significant was the achievements made at Little Rock in 1957?  

 The Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s (peaceful)  

1. What does NAACP and CORE stand for, and what were their aims?  

 2. Examine the source above and explain how the freedom rides were received by

many in the South.  

3. What was a ‘sit in’?   4. Why were ‘sit ins’ potentially dangerous?  5. Explain the purpose of peaceful protest 

   

                    

    6. Using the photo above and your own knowledge, explain what the demands were

made by King at the freedom marches.  

7. Describe the civil rights legislation passed in the 1960’s and explain how this helped ordinary black people. 

           

              

          

8. Examine the sources and explain why in the 1960’s many black people started to lose hope in peaceful protest. 

 

Black Power- the militant struggle for rights (Violent Protest)   1. Describe the aims and objectives of the black power movement.  

 

2. Why do you think the symbol for black power was clenched fist? 

 3. What was the Nation of Islam?   4. Why was Malcom X prepared to use violence?  

5. Using this source and your own knowledge, explain why Malcom X disagreed with Martin Luther King 

 6. Explain Malcom X’s appeal to some black Americans.  7. Who were the black panthers and what were their beliefs? 

 

8. Write a newspaper report reflecting on the various riots of the 1960’s.  

  Martin Luther King and peaceful protest   

 1. What were King’s beliefs and who influenced him?  

2. What contribution did MLK make to the Civil Rights Movement? 

3. Explain the numerous peaceful protests that Martin Luther King was involved in. 

 

 

4. In your own words describe what King’s ‘dream’ is. 

5. In your opinion, what was King’s greatest achievement? 

 

 

6. Write an obituary detailing the major events in Martin Luther King’s life. 

 

How Successful has the Civil Rights movement been for black people? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Study the sources above and use you own knowledge to explain how successful the civil rights movement was in making black American equal by 1990   1. How have the lives of black Americans changed between 1929 and 1990?