Civil Rights in the USA http://firefly.cockermouthschool.org/history/a- level/year-12-bridging-work-2017--history

Picture question-tree task. Look through your pack of pictures. Choose ONE of the pictures. Think of a question you would like to ask about it. For that question, think of 3 further ‘subsidiary’ questions you would like to ask. For each of the 3 subsidiary questions, think of another 3 questions. E.G Why was the picture taken? Was this moment in time particularly important? Who took it? Who is in it?

Feedback – TALK TO ME!

Feedback – TALK TO ME!

Feedback – TALK TO ME!

Feedback – TALK TO ME!

Feedback – TALK TO ME!

Berlin Olympic Games 1936 The one thing most people know about this event is that the USA gold medallist – Jesse Owens – was snubbed on the medal podium by Adolf Hitler. This was because Owens, a black athlete had beaten a German (Aryan) athlete. Owens won 4 gold medals at the 1936 Olympics. Actually this was untrue, Owens stated that Hitler DID shake his hand. What fewer people know is that Owens was not invited to the White House by Democrat President F. D. Roosevelt like other American medallists were to celebrate their victories and he did not even send him his congratulations. WHY?

Beware ‘superhero syndrome.’ A Level examiners refer to this syndrome as being very common amongst students of civil rights in the USA. You see yourselves as being far more enlightened and tolerant than those small-minded fools in the past and your essay answers often reflect this. You seek to right the wrongs of the past, crusade for what’s right, point out injustice and give those US Presidents a good slapping. This is a mistake.

Source task: Look at your sources Source task: Look at your sources. Together, they suggest why Roosevelt may have acted towards Owens in the way that he did – can you make an inference based on them collectively?

Context is everything In 1936, the year of Owens’ triumph in Berlin, the USA was clawing its way out of the most severe economic depression to ever his the country. The Wall St Crash of 1929 triggered a slump which saw millions unemployed, banks collapse, the value of savings disappear and a rise in homelessness. One family even set up home in a cave in Central Park, New York. The USA had traditionally been based on ‘laissez-faire’ and ‘rugged individualism.’ What do these things mean? F. D. Roosevelt was trying to get the USA back on its feet by passing huge amounts of legislation. To do this, he needed the support of the ‘congress.’ The South of the USA had traditionally been slave-owning. In order to get the support of the southern congressmen for his measures, he had to tread a careful path and not alienate their support.

The truth? FDR was not racist. In fact, he and his wife Eleanor supported civil rights for black people. As president, he had to act in the interests of the majority of Americans. His first and second ‘New Deals’ were packages of policies which were needed to get the economy working for everyone again, both black and white. Although many black Americans had traditionally supported the Republican Party as Abraham Lincoln was the Republican president who ended slavery, Roosevelt’s Democrats overtook the Republicans in terms of popularity amongst black Americans as he had helped so many of the poorest in society with his New Deal policies.

Holiday Task Context-building!