After the Civil War, a period of time was spent working to rebuild and reunite the nation. This period of time was called Reconstruction, and the people of America were faced with a difficult task that required their time, patience, and cooperation. Unfortunately, it didn’t always go as planned. Many years later came the Civil Right’s movement, other wise known as the Second Reconstruction. The Civil Rights Movement had somewhat similar goals to post Civil War Reconstruction, but their amount of success varied greatly between the two . After the end of the Civil War, Congress was comprised of mostly Radical Republicans who wanted to help African Americans in the South. They passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which allowed black freedmen the same rights as white men, such as being able to sue and be on jury. In order to make sure that these rights would remain, the 14th and 15th amendments were ratified. The 14th Amendment guaranteed black people citizenship, and the 15th Amendment gave African American men the right to vote . Similar to what Congress was trying to do, President Lyndon B. Johnson during the Civil Rights Movement managed to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which basically contained many laws that outlawed discrimination and segregation based on race, religion, nationality, and gender. During both of these “reconstructions,” the government worked hard to establish equality for blacks in the nation . Congress attempted to pass more laws, and even created the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which banned racial discrimination in public. Unfortunately for the freed blacks in the South, these laws didn’t hold any authority over the determined Southerners. Andrew Johnson, a white Southerner who took over the role of Presi... ... middle of paper ... ...e of America were united and that unity brought them strength and courage . One of the major parts of Reconstruction was creating equal rights for the freed black people. In a way this could be called the “first civil rights movement,” because Congress’s goals were similar to some of the goals during the Civil Rights Movement. Unfortunately, Reconstruction failed to achieve its goal of equal rights for African Americans. Instead, segregation and racial discrimination laws were put into effect. For years it went on like this, until the 1950s to 1960s, other wise known as the Civil Rights Movement. African Americans were getting tired of being treated in such a harsh and cruel manner, that they, along with many other people such as the President and Congress, decided to take action to end inequality, not just for race, but for religion, gender, and nationality .
The United States had a presidential and congressional reconstruction. Reconstruction was a failure, a great attempt to unify the nation. It was a failure due to the events that took place during this period. It was 1865, black men were tasting freedom, the confederation was defeated, the south was defeated, but the unchained blacks had no real freedom. " A man maybe free and yet not independent," Mississippi planter Samuel Agnew observed in his diary (Foner 481).
Reconstruction gave African American men political rights(Reconstruction, 1866-1877). It gave them the right to vote and hold office
The Civil Rights Movement was a very turbulent period in American history. Blacks and white sympathizers alike were the targets of death threats, vandalism, beatings, and increased discrimination. Activists, both black and white, were murdered by racists. The times were tough for many during this difficult fight against racism and inequality, and the struggle for their civil and human rights.
The movements discussed in this paper represent the power of what can happen when a nation is united. The Reconstruction Era paved the way for the Civil Rights Movement. If one element of the Reconstruction Era was missing from the history of America the Civil Rights Movement may have not been possible. To evaluate each event on an individual basis, the Reconstruction Era is a representation of a developing country deciding how to move forward with the situations that were present at the time. Reconstruction was necessary in order to save the country and to integrate black Americans into an evolving nation. The Civil Rights Movement on the other hand symbolized a vision that was created during the Reconstruction Era, but was not fulfilled until this point. As a nation that was a trailblazer in the form of democracy, we had failed the black community in equality. The only problem with both of these movements is the fact that they should have not needed to occur in the first place, in a theoretical world were racism does not exist. Along side with how long it took for change to occur in the country are the only real negative representations behind each of these movements. Thousands of black Americans died simply to have the same rights as white Americans. The future of this nation cannot advance without knowing the legacy of each of these
The civil rights movement was a period during the 1960s where African Americans fought for social, educational, and political equality in a society that had degraded them for centuries. Demonstrations, marches, strikes, and protests all took place during the struggle for equal rights in the black community, and it was during the 1960s that African Americans began strongly push for voting rights while seeking to hold political positions and pressing for the integration of schools. This ultimately led to more social, educational, and political equality for African Americans in Memphis.
Imagine you are at a diner and you are forced to leave because of the color of your skin. Before 1964, black people all around the United States had to give up multiple privileges in their lives because of racial segregation. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 helped improve the equality between the whites and blacks. Many different people, riots, and protests influenced the approval of the act. Although it didn’t allow everyone to be included in all of the prerogatives, it helped lead to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Fair Housing Act of 1968, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s accomplished various social and legislative reform that transfigured the entire American culture, obliging every U.S. citizen to make themselves aware of the existing racial injustices of their nation, and thus achieve unification of the United States of America. The Emancipation Proclamation of the U.S. Civil War, 1863, did not necessarily signify the end of negro oppression. The abolishment of slavery outlined; “That all persons held as slaves are, and henceforward shall be free.” However, freedom was considerably limited for the African American people. The enforcement of ‘Jim Crow Laws’ severely isolated the African American people from the privileges of their white counterparts. Segregation
The March on Washington, Montgomery Bus Boycott, and many other brave, non-violent demonstrations led to the abolishment of segregation. Finally, after years of pressure from individuals, our federal government passed the legislature to abolish segregation; the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. These laws gave African Americans the rights they have been refused for their whole existence. These laws established that a man is a man and a woman is a woman no matter the color of their skin. These laws established that no matter if an individual is black, white, purple, or blue – they are an American with equal
The civil rights movement was a movement which struggled for social justice for African Americans. Officially the movement had been around since the 1950’s but efforts to improve the quality of life for African Americans go all the way back to the 1860’s. During 1861 war broke out between the northern and southern states of the United States over slavery. This war is known as the American Civil War, which freed the African Americans from slavery. Although slavery was officially abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment the ex-slaves did not receive fair and equal treatment. This was especially true in the southern states with them passing what is known as the Jim Crow Laws. These laws served as a way for the southerners to legally enforce racial segregation. Examples of this were that blacks could not attend the same public facilities as whites or even attend the same schools. As a result of these social injustices it motivated many notable figures to stand up, examples of this were Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. Martin Luther King brought about an approach known as Civil disobedience while Malcom X brought in the self-defense approach. Both approaches were used during the civil rights movement, but the civil disobedience approach was more effective in pushing for positive change while the self-defense approach had indeed brought on
In 1865, the U. S. officially abolished slavery with the 13th amendment. However free blacks in the south were not safe after the war. During the Reconstruction period, 1865 to 1877, blacks became recognized as citizens and were given “equal protection” in the 14th Amendment. In 1870, blacks were legally eligible to vote. The reconstruction period was a very difficult transitional period, because many southerners disregarded blacks’ rights. Furthermore, largely due to sharecropping and restrictive black codes, black citizens had a difficult time merging into the post-war economy. In the short term, besides giving black citizens a little hope for their futures, the Reconstruction did little good. Whites quickly regained their supremacy and pride over the African Americans. Furthermore, racist groups such as the Klu Klux Klan continued to mistreat blacks for years. Not until the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s did the remaining discrimination and racism decrease greatly. These final political achievements helped blacks politically and socially. Though the majority of discrimination against African Americans has ceased, some racism continues to linger on.
The status of blacks as former slaves made them inferior to the whites, and there was the need for them to recognize and appreciate their subordinate position (Marsh, 2004). The Jim Crow Laws were meant to preserve the racial balance by ensuring that the whites were given some privileges in public service. Since the doctrine of racial segregation was recognized by the local and state laws, the blacks did not have the basis for open defiance. The Supreme Court Ruling changed the political environment by implying that the Blacks were being denied their rights. The purpose of the Civil rights movement was to reclaim all the rights that the blacks were denied under the Jim Crow laws. It is after the Supreme Court ruling that the Civil Rights movement gained momentum to influence political changes against the system of racial
The Civil Rights movement was a time of racism, prejudice, inequality, despair, and segregation. African Americans were raised in a society that made them feel inferior and less then because that’s how the United States Viewed them, up until people realized there needed to be a change. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 had the biggest impact on the Civil Rights Movement because it banned segregation in public places, banned employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and gender, and no longer allowed blacks and other minorities to be denied service based on the color of their skin.
The civil rights movement took place throughout the 1900’s by the African Americans to abolish discrimination and to gain equal rights from the government passing laws to protect all people, not just white people. African Americans’ goals and ambitions were to end racial segregation, discrimination against black Americans, and to secure legal recognition and federal protection of the citizenship rights. In most all public places in the South, there was segregation. Blacks and Whites couldn't go to the same stores, go to the same school, sit near each other on buses, or even drink from the same water fountains. African
The civil rights was a struggle by African Americans to gain civil rights equal to those of whites. They were wanting equal opportunity in employment, housing, and education. The African Americans wanted the right to vote, equal access to public facilities, and to be free of racial discrimination. The movement peaked in the 1950s and 1960s. The civil rights movement was the largest social movement of the 20th century in the United States (Davis).
The Civil Rights Movement was a struggle for social justice that took place during the 1950s and 1960s for blacks to gain equal rights under the law in the United States. The civil rights movement was a "freedom struggle" by African Americans to gain equality. Some major contributions and goals of the Civil Rights Movement was to empower black people, earn the right to vote, and create equal access to public places (Scholastic).