Reconstruction Amendments
13 th Amendment – Abolished slavery 14 th Amendment – guaranteed all citizens “due process” and “equal protection” of the laws from state governments 15 th Amendment – Voting cannot be denied on the basis of race
Jim Crow Laws
Video – 4min Segregation laws in the American South Prevented blacks from sharing beaches, theaters, restaurants, water fountains, or public buses
Executive Order 9981
An executive order issued on July 26, 1948, by President Harry S Truman. It abolished racial segregation in the armed forces.
Mendez v. Westminster
A 1946 federal court case that challenged racial segregation in Orange County, California schools This decision ended 100 years of segregation in California's public schools and became a key precedent for Brown vs. Board of Education
Sweatt v. Painter
In 1946, Heman Sweatt, a black man, applied for admission to the University of Texas Law School The Supreme Court found that the mere separation from the majority of law students harmed students' abilities to compete in the legal arena
Brown v. Board of Education
Video 1954 Supreme Court case out of Topeka, Kansas, that challenged the constitutionality of segregation in schools Court found for the side of Linda Brown, declaring segregated schools illegal
Thurgood Marshall
Argued the Brown v. Board of Education case before the Supreme Court Introduced data that suggested segregation psychologically damaged black students by lowering their self-worth Later became the first black member of the Supreme Court
George Wallace
Video Governor of Alabama for 4 non-consecutive terms, starting in 1963 Ran for president 4 times, losing all 4 attempts Best known for blocking the entrance of 2 black students attempting to enter the University of Alabama in 1963
Rosa Parks
Video De Facto vs De Jure Segregation Refused to give her seat on the bus to a white passenger and was arrested This served as a springboard for the civil rights movement
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Political and social protest campaign that started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, after Parks was arrested Intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system Lasted 381 days before the city of Montgomery changed the laws
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Video An energetic and moving speaker who could inspire large crowds Leader of the Montgomery Improvement Association Convinced people to boycott the buses in Montgomery, Alabama Held the people together as boycott ran for months
Orval Faubus
Governor of Arkansas, serving from 1955 to He is best known for his 1957 stand against the desegregation of the Little Rock public schools during the Little Rock Crisis
Little Rock Nine
Video Nine students that registered at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas Were prevented from attending class by the Arkansas National Guard Eisenhower ordered federal troops, with bayonets fixed on their rifles, to escort the nine to school
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The first civil rights legislation enacted by Congress in the United States since Reconstruction Was enacted to ensure that all Americans could exercise their right to vote