CIVIL RIGHTS IN THE US FROM THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE TO THE 1940S

JOHN GREEN An introduction to the Civil Rights Movement –

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 1776 We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; What truths are self-evident?

BUT IN THE CONSTITUTION WE HAVE THESE THINGS: Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other Persons. [Article I Sect. 2 Clause 3] The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person. [Article I Sect. 9] No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, But shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due. [Article IV Section 2] In what 3 ways is slavery mentioned in the Constitution?

FAST FORWARD TO 1857 Recall: Who was Dred Scott? What did he fight for? Dred Scott, a slave, sued his owner for his freedom. The court said, as an African American, he was not a citizen and therefore did not have the right to sue in a court of law. What is the impact of Dred Scott?

THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION JAN. 1, 1863 …all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State…shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free… Who did the proclamation free?

THE POST CIVIL WAR AMENDMENTS: 13 TH AMENDMENT What did this amendment ban in the United States of America? Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

THE POST CIVIL WAR AMENDMENTS: 14 TH AMENDMENT What did this amendment give to the freed slaves? All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

THE POST CIVIL WAR AMENDMENTS: 15 TH AMENDMENT What right did this amendment guarantee to the freed slaves? The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

PLESSY V. FERGUSON, 1896 What did the Supreme Court ruling say in the Plessy case? “separate but equal”

JIM CROW LAWS From the 1880s into the 1960s, a majority of American states enforced segregation through "Jim Crow" laws From Delaware to California, and from North Dakota to Texas, many states and cities could impose legal punishments on people for consorting with members of another race. The most common types of laws forbade intermarriage and ordered business owners and public institutions to keep their black and white clientele separated.

JIM CROW – EXAMPLE Georgia It shall be unlawful for any amateur white baseball team to play baseball on any vacant lot or baseball diamond within two blocks of a playground devoted to the Negro race, and it shall be unlawful for any amateur colored baseball team to play baseball in any vacant lot or baseball diamond within two blocks of any playground devoted to the white race.

JACKIE ROBINSON 1947: 1 st African American major league baseball player He overcame numerous obstacles in his 10 year career to become one of baseball's most exciting and dazzling players

42 Why did you do this? – Do You Think God Likes Baseball? – “They aren’t letters from the Jackie Robinson fan club” – Maybe Tomorrow We’ll All Wear 42 –

JIM CROW LAWS What were Jim Crow Laws? What was the purpose of Jim Crow Laws? –

GAINES V. CANADA, 1938 Decision holding that states that provide a school to white students must provide in-state education to blacks as well. States can satisfy this requirement by allowing blacks and whites to attend the same school or creating a second school for blacks. Why was this decision important to the Civil Rights movement?