Villains or victims? The Red was fuelled by the belief that American Communists were working with the Soviets to overthrow the US government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) built up files on Communists. The House Committee on un- American Activities (HUAC) set up by the government questioned more and more people in a search for Soviet agents. One women, Elizabeth Bentley, admitted to spying. She gave the FBI names of 150 other agents, 40 of whom were government workers. The HCAC investigations grew, fuelled by the allegations of Senator Joseph McCarthy. HUAC began with government workers, but the investigation spread. Hiss and Rosenberg cases, the FBI, HUAC and the Hollywood Ten. Event Who was involved? What caused it to happen? What happened? Consequences? (effects) The Hollywood Ten Activities Committee (HUAC) The HUAC feared that Communists might use the film industry to spread propaganda. HUAC investigated Hollywood, Ten Hollywood writers refused to give evidence to HUAC, saying that the US Constitution gave them the to their own political beliefs and free speech . The FBI set up “loyalty boards” to investigate government workers. Some film stars, such as Humphrey Bogart, supported the Ten, who were imprisoned for not giving evidence. The HUAC began to investigate the Ten’s supporters. Over 200 were forced to resign. The Hiss Case Hiss HUAC In 1948 Alger Hiss, who had been an advisor to President Roosevelt. Was accused of being a communist. He had been accused before, but During the trial, the Soviets tested their first atom bomb, increasing fears of nuclear war and Soviet spy rings. The evidence in the Hiss case was complicated and confused. Hiss was found guilty of lying to the court (not spying) and sent to prison. The guilty verdict meant many people thought he had been a spy. Congress passed the MCCarron Act denying Communists US passports and limiting the work they could do. All Communists organisations had to be registered and their members were investigated. trial
The 14th Amendment of the Constitution (1866) made people full US citizens. violence. They were often prevented from voting. Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) campaigning for black people’s civil rights. During the Second World War millions of black people fought in the US armed forces and worked on the home front making war supplies. Yet, when the war ended, there was no real change in white attitudes towards black people. Segregation People/organisations Truman Committee on Civil Rights Laws/trials Jim Crow Laws Plessy V Ferguson 1896 onwards 1896 – Plessy vs. Ferguson 1947 – Truman tried to enforce Civil Rights All of American. In particular Southern States in America Under segregation laws forced black people to live in separate areas with separate, usually worse, facilities for everything from education to healthcare. laws became known as “Jim Crow” Laws, after a white singer who did racist impressions of Jim Crow a black man. Because States were allowed to make their own laws, they could pass Jim Crow Laws despite the fact that the Constitution gave black people equal rights. In 1896 The Supreme in the case of Plessy V’s Ferguson had ruled that individual states could impose segregation as long as the separate schools. In 1947, President Truman told the Committee on Civil Rights that it was time to make sure that Civil Rights were enforced – the Federal Government could overturn State laws if they were shown to be against the Constitution. So it should have been easy to overturn Jim Crow Laws. It wasn’t, because the Federal government was forced to The outcome of the Plessy vs. Ferguson case was that Hospital and so on were “separate but equal”. They rarely were.
compromise with the Southern States. 2.2 The Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955) Who was involved? When? Where? Why did it happen (causes) What happened? Consequences (effects) Rose Parks Martin Luther King NAACP MIA Dec. 1955 –Dec 1956 Alabama On the 1 December 1955, Rossa Parks, a black women, was riding home from work in the sixthh row of seats on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Montgomery buses were segregated. The front five rows were for whites only. Black people had to clear any whole row for a white person to sit – even if it emptied the rest of the row. That evening, protesters set up the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) to improve integration- beginning with the busses. They chose Martin Luther King as Chairman. The MIA asked all black people to boycott Montgomery busses. About 70% of bus users were black and most black bus users joined the boycott. It worked because almost black person carried on supporting it (as did some whites) and because the MIA organised good support for it. The bus company lost a lot of money and Montgomery got a lot of bad publicity both nationally and world- wide. Because the State government would not change the law, the Supreme Court had to act. On 19 December 1956, it ruled segregation on buses unconstitutional ,
The bus filled up. The driver told Mrs Parks and three other people to clear a row for a white person. The others moved. Mrs Parks refused, even when the driver threatened her with arrest for breaking the law. The driver stopped the bus and called the police who arrested her. Rosa Park’s was on the 5 December. Members of the NAACP (Rossa was also a member) worked with church and college organisations to set up a one day boycott of Montgomery busses on that day. The court found Rosa guilty and fined her $10. The MIA planned and organised the boycott very carefully. They organised lifts and asked black taxi firms to charge less during the boycott. Some employers sacked workers who took part in the boycott. Boycott leaders were arrested (there was a “no boycott” law in Alabama) and they and their homes were attacked. The boycott went on for 381 days. and, as of 21 December, black people rode the buses again. The ruling was unpopular with many white people in Montgomery and elsewhere. 2.3 Integrating Schools Who? When? Where? Why did it happen? (Causes) What happened? Consequences (effects) Brown v. Topeka Oliver Brown NAACP Supreme court 1954 Topeka, Kansas The Plessy Ruling (1896) that allowed “separate but equal” facilities for black and white people meant that black children in many states had to go to all black schools. These schools often had poor funding: buildings were not well maintained, and In June 1951 Oliver Brown brought the case Brown V’s Topeka in the Topeka State Court to integrate elementary school in the Topeka, Kansas. It was rejected because of Plessy. The NAACP urged Brown to try again in the Supreme Court, combining his case, with four others in Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka. The other cases were in Washington DC, Delaware, South Carolina and Virginia. On 17 May 1954 the Supreme Court ruled that all school segregation was This still left the speed of integration up to individual states, weakening the force of the law. the Brown case, schools did integrate – some peacefully, some less so. Some whites in the South reacted to the ruling by forming White Citizens Council’s to stop integration.
At Anniston, Alabama, one of the buses was fire bombed and the people leaving the bus were beaten up. White riders were often beaten more severely than black riders, because of what was seen by the attackers as their ‘Betrayal’. The next week more buses set off. The riders were imprisoned in Birmingham and beaten up in Montgomery. Over the summer, more than 400 freedom riders were arrested. A much larger number were beaten up. Three were killed. The riders kept riding. 3.3 Marching for Change Who? Where? When? Why? (Causes) What happened? Consequences (effects) Birmingham KKK MLK Bull Connor JFK Birmingham, Alabama 1963 Despite the campaigns and legislation, many places in the South had not carried out any desegregation. One of these was Birmingham, Alabama. Its chief of police, ‘Bull’ Connor, was The campaigners marching on the 3rd of April. Many people were arrested including Martin Luther King. Children were trained in non-violent tactics, to take the of arrested adults. The mayor passed desegregation laws. Lunch counters and shops desegregated. Black people were able to apply for jobs they had previously being banned from.
said to have given the Ku Klux Klan 15 minutes to beat up the freedom riders who stopped there in 1961, before moving in to protect them as the government had ordered. In 1963, civil rights campaigners targeted Birmingham for a full scale non- violent desegregation campaign. The big children’s demonstration was on 2 nd May. By the end of the day, 956 children were in jail. The next day, more children marched. The police turned fire hoses and dogs on them. The stories and photos were published causing President Kennedy to say “I feel ashamed”. On 10th May, the mayor and protest leaders met to discuss desegregation. The next day the governor of Alabama sent in troops disrupting the talks. On 12th May, President Kennedy sent in federal troops to restore calm. The March on Washington. JFK KKK Congress MLK Washington August 1963 The success of the Birmingham campaign set off civil rights action all over the USA. Kennedy promised to ask Congress to commit itself to enforcing civil rights. But opposition groups such as the Ku Klux Klan reacted against rising support for the civil rights movements. They continued to murder people and bomb black homes, churches and businesses. Civil rights groups organised a march on Washington to convince Congress the Civil Rights Bill had a lot of support. Estimates of the number of marchers who reach Washington range from 250,000 – 500,000. The march was reported world-wide and it was one of the first events to be broadcast live around the world by the newly launched Telstar Satellite. Many people sang and spoke to the crowds. Martin Luther King gave the last speech. It became instantly Support for the civil rights movement rose. The government saw that there was a huge amount of public support for the civil rights movement. But violent opposition to civil rights was also set off by the march. Two weeks after the march, four young black girls were killed when a church in Birmingham was bombed. On 2 July 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed and an Equal Opportunities Commission was set up to investigate discrimination.