Table of Contents
School desegregation
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Civil Rights Bills 1957 and 1960
Examining
In-text citations
The United States of America’s entry into World War II brought about significant changes in all aspects of American life. Men and women both joined the military because of the war industry’s need for labor. Due to this demand, Americans moved to areas of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, as well as the Gulf Coast, where military plants were located. In September 1945, World War II came to an end. In spite of the many casualties in World War II, the United States was the most prosperous country on earth at the end of the conflict. Americans gained confidence and optimism in 1945 as they experienced a sense of victory over Germany and Japan. Her view was that the period 1945-1950 saw a high level of economic growth as well as general post-war developments. Many were surprised by the rapid growth of American economy. The GI Bill of Rights of 1943, as an example of public policies, gave money to war heroes for college educations, homes and farms. After years of separation from their girlfriends or wives, thousands of American young military men returned to find that they had not been forgotten. After the war, the marriage rate increased. Many couples decided that the end of the war and the promise for prosperity in America around the globe was the best time to start a new family. This led to an unusually large number being born. The ‘baby-boom’ was the name of this trend. The ‘baby boom’ lasted from 1946-1964. Early post-war times were a time of social conservatism in many ways. Men and women’s roles were usually very clear and traditional. After World War II, many women returned home to their domestic life after working in factories. In the 1950s, the feminism that was so prevalent in the 1920s and early 1940s disappeared. Many Americans believed that this prosperity benefited white Americans while those who were not white were excluded. African Americans were among the groups that became more active after the war in an effort to secure their civil rights and full freedom. African Americans organized and united. Additional laws passed made discrimination against the law and established federal oversight of voting rights. The United States capitalists and their political allies also opposed the Soviet Union as well as other communist states. The Cold War began as a result of this kind of confrontation. Cold War began in earnest when the Soviet Union succeeded in exploding their first nuclear bomb, which occurred on April 1, 1949. The Red Scare was also known as McCarthyism Era or simply McCarthyism. It spanned roughly 1947-1954 and saw many Americans experiencing heightened fears over the spread of Communism. The possibility of communists infiltrating the United States was a major concern. The communism which spread across America after World War II was the greatest cause for concern. It had a profound impact on many aspects of culture. Americans were so enraged by their religious and patriotic feelings that they sought protection against ‘godless communism’. McCarthy, a Republican senator, was the leader of the Red Scare. The Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy became famous because of his crusade in opposition to communism. Many Americans were falsely accused during the Red Scare. This hostility between two groups was a major concern for mankind during the past two frightening decades, and threatened the balance of the planet. In recent years, the significance of this hostility has diminished. There is a natural call which was developed in the cold-war era, but has been repressed by the new issues and competition. After 1945, the Cold War was widely accepted as a reality. Majority of US foreign-policy initiatives received a lot of support. The Cold War ended irreparably in 1968 after the United States invaded Vietnam militarily. The critics who claimed that Americans fell prey to bureaucratic systems that robbed them of spontaneity and their individuality are biased. In the early years of the postwar period, Americans faced a number of challenges as they tried to adapt to war’s effects. Upon the end of World War II many African American soldiers returned to their home country, confident that their nation would honor their loyalty. After the war, African-American soldiers returned home with the hope that their country would appreciate them and their sacrifice. The “Second Reconstruction” of America, which lasted from the end World War II to the late 1960s was a period in which the country began to correct abuses against civil and human rights that had been prevalent for over a century. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a traditional organization, was one of the many organizations that tried to eliminate discrimination in the United States prior to the Civil Rights Movement of the years 1955-1972. The American Civil Rights Movement was characterized by these efforts from 1896 until 1954. By 1955, the government’s slow response to desegregation was a result of the “Massive Resistance” of intransigent proponents who were adamant about racial and voter segregation. Civil rights activists used a combination of nonviolent and direct resistance as well as civil disobedience to respond. Authorities at all levels (federal, state, local) were required to take immediate actions to stop the crisis. The outcomes of the protests were deemed to be increasingly favorable for the protesters. Civil disobedience was practiced in many different ways, including boycotts like the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It also included’sit-ins’ and protest march. The success of these events was due to the fact that they forced the courts into action by hearing cases. School desegregation After World War II, the NAACP legal strategy to protect civil rights was successful. Thurgood Martin led the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in a campaign to overturn discrimination and achieve equal educational opportunities. In May 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown V. Board of Education, a landmark case that declared racially separated education unconstitutional. White opposition had grown in the South by 1955. This was a strategy used to convince all whites not to comply with desegregation orders. According to the belief, if sufficient people refused compliance with the federal order, it couldn’t be enforced. The tactic included firing teachers who wanted integration. Closing public schools was preferred to desegregation. In the years immediately following the Brown ruling, almost no school in the South was desegregated. Many schools were desegregated on paper because of racially separated neighborhoods. In the 1970s, some districts tried to overcome this issue by busing their students away from their neighborhood. The Montgomery Bus Boycott Despite threats and violence, this struggle quickly expanded beyond desegregation of schools to include segregation elsewhere. Rosa Parks – a member of Montgomery’s NAACP – was ordered to give her seat up on a bus in 1955. Parks was jailed when she refused. Edgar D. Nixon of the NAACP local, which was in charge, realized that Parks’ arrest would rally local blacks against segregated transportation. It lasted over a year, and it was a powerful way to show the American public that blacks in South were determined to end the segregation. In November 1956, a federal court ordered Montgomery buses to be desegregated. The boycott was a success. Martin Luther King, Jr., an 18-year-old Baptist minister, led the Montgomery Improvement Association, who directed the boycott. The protests elevated King to a national level. Seine eloquent pleas for Christian Brotherhood and American Idealism made an impression on both people in and outside of South. King was named president of Southern Christian Leadership Conference at its founding in 1957. SCLC encouraged nonviolent and direct action as a complement to the NAACP legal strategy. The activities that were undertaken included marches and demonstrations as well as boycotts. The white response was violent and forced the federal authorities to take action against racism and injustice. King’s appeal to Northern liberals was powerful, and helped him to influence public opinion in the United States. Peace activists were drawn to his nonviolent advocacy. He developed strong ties with ministers at wealthy and influential Protestant congregations in Northern Cities. King raised funds by preaching in those congregations. Martin Luther King, Jr., a nonviolent demonstrator against segregation, was jailed in Birmingham and wrote a longhand note from his cell. This was King’s response to an eight-member group of white Southern religious leaders who had issued a public warning and expressed concern. In his response, he detailed the differences between “unjust law,” and “justlaw,” that a law made by man is one which aligns itself with moral laws or God’s Law, while unjust laws are those that do not.
Malcolm X was a powerful and charismatic speaker who became a national symbol for the Black Power movement in the early 1960s. Malcolm X’s criticism of white society, as well as the mainstream civil right movement, brought national attention to the Nation of Islam. Malcolm believed that African Americans were victims in the recent past, but not in the current. His ideas have helped African Americans believe in themselves and their culture. Malcolm X influenced a younger generation of African American leaders to preach black nationalism as well as economic self-sufficiency. Malcolm X’s revolutionary ideas resonated with the already-existing Dr. King movement.
The Civil Rights Bills Of 1957 And 1960In 1956 a civil rights legislation began to pass through Congress. This was partly due to the efforts of groups such as NAACP. It also had a lot to do with proposals made by Eisenhower Justice Department under Herbert Brownell. Southern opponents, knowing that legislation was on the way, used amendments to slow down and weaken reform. The House approved the measure with a 279-97 margin. Southern opponents, however, managed to eliminate voting protections. Powell and Diggs both argued strongly on the House Floor against a weak bill. Paul H. Douglas and William F. Knowland from California, both Minority leaders in the Senate and members of Eastland’s Judiciary Committee pushed the bill to the Senate floor. The Senate passed the Civil Rights Act of 1956 on August 29. The act set up a U.S. Commission on Civil Rights that would serve for two years. A civil rights division was created in the Justice Department. A year later the Civil Rights Act of ’60, again severely weakened in the south, was passed. This act extended the CCR for another two years and required that all voting records and registrations at federal elections were preserved. After World War II there were many changes in the economic standing of countries. The United States’ economic growth was shocking, given the global economic slowdown. This is due to the good economic policy that gave money to war heroes that improved their lives. Money was distributed to the population to help the economy grow and prosper. The large number of babies born within the State provided a ready supply of labor in the years to come. In countries with a growing population, the economic growth is proportional. It is common for such demographic trends to be characterized by urbanization. The USA has also benefited greatly from this. Sources
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