page_title: Civil Rights Movement
section_title: Before the Civil Rights Movement
hierarchical_section_title: Civil Rights Movement / Before the Civil Rights Movement
caption_attribution_description: English: Harper's Weekly cartoon depicting celebration in the House of Representatives after adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment.
context_page_description: The Civil Rights Movement was a social movement in the United States that tried to gain equal rights for African Americans. The movement is famous for using non-violent protests and civil disobedience. Activists used strategies like boycotts, sit-ins, and protest marches. Sometimes police or racist white people would attack them, but the activists never fought back.
  However, the Civil Rights Movement was made up of many different people and groups. Not everyone believed the same things. For example, the Black Power movement believed black people should demand their civil rights and force white leaders to give them those rights.
  The Civil Rights Movement was also made of people of different races and religions. The Movement's leaders and most of its activists were African-American. However, the Movement got political and financial support from labor unions, religious groups, and some white politicians, like Lyndon B. Johnson. Activists of all races came to join African-Americans in marches, sit-ins, and protests.
  The Civil Rights Movement was very successful. It helped to get five federal laws and two amendments to the Constitution passed.
context_section_description: Before the American Civil War, there were almost four million black slaves in the United States. Only white men with property could vote, and only white people could be United States citizens.
  After the Civil War, the United States government passed three Constitutional amendments:
  The 13th Amendment (1865) ended slavery
  The 14th Amendment (1868) gave African Americans citizenship
  The 15th Amendment (1870) gave African American males the right to vote (no women in the U.S. could vote at the time).
caption: The House of Representatives celebrates after passing the 13th Amendment.
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