Ch. 28, Section 1 “The Civil Rights Movement takes Shape”
African Americans Freed from Slavery Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 freed all slaves in Confederate held territory during the Civil War Reconstruction following the Civil War readmitted southern states into the Union 13th Amendment – freed slaves 14th Amendment – gave former slaves citizenship 15th Amendment – protected the right to vote for former slaves
African Americans at end of 19th Century Redemption – with the end of Reconstruction in 1876 and the removal of federal troops from the South, the Southern Democratic Party sought to regain control (often with the support of groups like the KKK) Jim Crow laws – set up segregation in public places in the South Plessy v. Ferguson – US Supreme Court case that said that “separate but equal” segregation was legal Restrictions on voting – in violation of the 15th Amendment Southern states passed laws to restrict their right to vote (Grandfather’s clause, literacy tests, poll taxes)
Civil Rights in the 1940s and 1950s A. Phillip Randolph – Activist who convinced FDR & US Gov. to say that African Americans could not be discriminated against in hiring by defense contractors during WWII Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play Major League baseball in 1947 President Truman integrated the armed forces and ended discrimination in hiring for fed. Gov. jobs
Brown v. Board of Education Brown v. Board of Education (1954) – Supreme Court case, ruled segregation in schools was unconstitutional (overturned “separate but equal” clause in Plessy v. Ferguson case) Public schools were to integrate the following school year, though few schools in the South did so Thurgood Marshall – led the NAACP attorneys who argued the case before the Supreme Court