The Emergence of Civil Rights in the 1950's The civil rights movement is the title given to the concerted effort to gain greater social, political and economic equality for black Americans which, it has been argued, emerged in its most recognisable form during the 1950s. To many, the civil rights movement was one of the greatest reform impulses of the twentieth century and its many victories have included such things as the Supreme Court decision in 1954 which declared segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional, the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955-1956, the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting rights act of 1965 (White, 1991, p.9). Nevertheless, the reasons behind the emergence of the modern civil rights movement in the 1950s have continued to be a subject of debate throughout the latter half of the twentieth century and beyond. Many have seen the Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education decision of 1954 as a watershed in both legal and political terms which provided the impetus for a civil rights movement to emerge during the latter half of the 1950s. Indeed, many contemporaries such as Mary Ellison saw the Brown decision as ‘the avenging angel of a Gothic tragedy’ (Verney, 2000, p.45) instantly casting aside decades of injustice. However, whilst this view does, perhaps, hold some truth and therefore deserves to be examined, what this essay will hope to show is that the Brown decision can not simply be viewed as a bolt of lightening from a clear sky and was not solely responsible for the onset of the civil rights movement in the 1950s. Indeed, an examination of other Supreme Court rulings which would at first ... ... middle of paper ... ...ess) Cook, R. (1998) Sweet Land of Liberty? (New York: Longman) Heale, M.J. (2004) Twentieth Century America (London: Arnold) Martin Riches, W.T. (1997) The Civil Rights Movement (New York: Palgrave) Sitkoff, H. (1981) The Struggle for Black Equality 1954-1980 (New York: Hill and Wang) Tindall, G.B. & Shi, D.E. (2004) America: A Narrative History (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.) Verney, K. (2000) Black Civil Rights in America (London: Routledge) White, J. (1991) Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights Movement in America (British Association for American Studies) Morris, A.D. (1999) A Retrospective on the Civil Rights Movement in Annual Review of Sociology (1999, p.517) Rathbone, M. (2004) The US Supreme Court and Civil Rights in History Review (March 2004, Issue 48, pp.41-46)
Holmes’s dissent in Lochner, criticizes the majority for essentially creating a new right through their substantive reading of the Fourteenth. The Court, by deeming the New York Bakeshop Act unconstitutional, does not take into account the beneficial qualities of the act. For example, protecting public health and welfare and providing proper working regulations for an industry that has a substantial need for it. The Court also overlooks the fact that the Act passed with a unanimous vote in the New York legislature. The decision is also an example of the court playing the role of the legislature by basing their decision not on law but on their own personal or political beliefs. The courts judicial activism becomes the main issue with the court’s decision in Lochner which greatly influences future decisions the court makes.
The famous Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka can be used to illustrate when judicial review should be implemented to aid one or a faction in actions that are unconstitutional. In the town of Topeka, Kansas a black third-grader was forced to walk one mile through a switchyard in order to get to her black elementary school, although a white elementary school was only a few blocks away. Her parents attempted to enroll her into the white school but were repeatedly denied. The Brown v. Board of Education case was tried on behalf of the black minority that was the target of racial segregation in public schools.
...he [lack] of jurisdiction in that court.” (SD) This shows that, Chief Justice Taney and the others had decided that finding the other court had no ability to rule as it had was all they needed to address. This also shows, how in a bias court (pro-slavery) that a decision could be tainted. In conclusion, the Supreme Court decided Dred Scott could remain a slave, and that they did not support the limiting of slavery. 225
The thesis of Williams “The Ruling That Changed America” is that the Brown decision changed America for the better, but it wasn’t exactly accepted like it is today. Williams says “The real impact of the legal, political, and cultural eruption that changed America is not exactly what it first appeared to be.” (Williams 387) Furthermore, in the article, Williams validated the thesis by saying “Today, it is even hard to remember America before brown because the ruling completely changed the nation.”(Williams 389)
Based on the evidence given by defense and the witnesses; Andrew Jackson is found not
Brown decision holds up fairly well, however, as a catalyst and starting point for wholesale shifts in perspective” (Branch). This angered blacks, and was a call to action for equality, and desegregation. The court decision caused major uproar, and gave the African American community a boost because segregation in schools was now unconstitutional. The government started to create programs that would make Americans hate and fear communists, and make them seem like the enemy.
The Brown decision has generated numerous writings that are used to understand the meaning of the decision; Brown v. Board of Education,
The Civil Rights Movement refers to the political, social, and economical struggle of African Americans to gain full citizenship and racial equality. Although African Americans began to fight for equal rights as early as during the days of slavery, the quest for equality continues today. Historians generally agree that Civil Rights Movement began with the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 and ended with the passing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.
The Supreme Court is perhaps most well known for the Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954. By declaring that segregation in schools was unconstitutional, Kevern Verney says a ‘direct reversal of the Plessy … ruling’1 58 years earlier was affected. It was Plessy which gave southern states the authority to continue persecuting African-Americans for the next sixty years. The first positive aspect of Brown was was the actual integration of white and black students in schools. Unfortunately, this was not carried out to a suitable degree, with many local authorities feeling no obligation to change the status quo. The Supreme Court did issue a second ruling, the so called Brown 2, in 1955. This forwarded the idea that integration should proceed 'with all deliberate speed', but James T. Patterson tells us even by 1964 ‘only an estimated 1.2% of black children ... attended public schools with white children’2. This demonstrates that, although the Supreme Court was working for Civil Rights, it was still unable to force change. Rathbone agrees, saying the Supreme Court ‘did not do enough to ensure compliance’3. However, Patterson goes on to say that ‘the case did have some impact’4. He explains how the ruling, although often ignored, acted ‘relatively quickly in most of the boarder s...
The 1950s was a great success for the civil rights movement; there were a number of developments which greatly improved the lives of black people in America and really started the civil rights movement, as black people became more confident and willing to fight for their cause.
The Supreme Court's May 17, 1954, ruling in Brown v Board of Education remains a landmark legal decision. This decision is huge not only because it changed the history of America forever but also because it was a huge step for blacks in the United States. This decision would eventually lead to the full freedom of blacks in America. Brown v Board of Education is the "Big Bang" of all American history in the 20th century.
The Improvement of the Civil Rights in 1945 and 1963 The US citizens improved the civil rights in the years 1945 – 1963. Firstly the Brown Vs Board of education of Topeka case. This case was about a black girl called Linda Brown, who travelled several kilometres and crossed a dangerous railway track to get to a black school, rather then attending a white-only school nearby. The NAACP (National Association (of the) Advancement (of) Coloured People) whose goals were to end racial discrimination and segregation. They took the case to the Supreme Court against the board of education in Topeka.
Although the United States has gone through a lot of phases that have made drastic changes in how we live today, such as the 1920’s, the Great Depression, and WWII, the Civil Rights movement is ultimately the most significant era as traces of that turbulent phase still remains till this day.
African Americans have a history of struggles because of racism and prejudices. Ever since the end of the Civil War, they struggled to benefit from their full rights that the Constitution promised. The fourteenth Amendment, which defined national citizenship, was passed in 1866. Even though African Americans were promised citizenship, they were still treated as if they were unequal. The South had an extremely difficult time accepting African Americans as equals, and did anything they could to prevent the desegregation of all races. During the Reconstruction Era, there were plans to end segregation; however, past prejudices and personal beliefs elongated the process.
The Civil Rights movement in the 1960s is a struggle, majority in the South, by African Americans to achieve civil rights equal to those of the whites, including housing, education, and employment, as well the right to vote, have access to public facilities, and the right to be free of racial discrimination. The federal government generally stayed out of the civil rights struggle until 1964, when President Johnson pushed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through congress prohibiting discrimination and promised equal opportunities in the workplace for all. The year after this happened the Voting Rights Act eliminated poll taxes and other restraints now allowing blacks to vote. These laws were not solving the problems African Americans were facing.