Civil Rights Notes From icivics.com

Civil War and Reconstruction 1.The Civil War began when southern states separated or seceded from the United States to form another country, the Confederate States of America. 2. President Abraham Lincoln issued The Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 to make all slaves in the south free. 3. January 1865 - Congress passed the 13th Amendment, outlawing slavery in the United States. 4. April 1865 - The Civil War ended and Reconstruction began to bring the southern states back in to the union.

5. Many southern states passed laws to try to restrict the freedom of the former slaves so, in 1868, Congress passed the 14th Amendment for three purposes: A. Guarantee citizenship to all the former slaves B. Give all citizens the right to due process - to be treated fairly by the government C. Give all groups of people equal protection (not treat one group differently) 6. In 1870 Congress passed the 15th Amendment which gave all men the right to vote

Jim Crow Laws 7. After the Civil War many states, both north and south, passed laws to restrict the freedom of former slaves. Freedmen (former slaves) began to form their own neighborhoods, churches, and schools. 8. By the 1870's most southern states had passed Black Codes: laws meant to keep the races segregated (separated) and unequal. 9. Jim Crow was a character in theaters who was played by a white man with black face paint. The name was used to describe racist laws like separate train cars, buses, waiting rooms, water fountains, etc.

10. Jim Crow laws controlled: A. Which doors you could use B 10. Jim Crow laws controlled: A. Which doors you could use B. Where you could sit or be served in theaters, restaurants, hospitals C. Who could get married or be adopted D. Where you could attend school, be a teacher, or drive your bus E. Who could cut your hair. 11. Miscegenation means the mixing of races either by marriage or adoption and it was illegal in both the north and south. 12. Most states determined that a person was black if they had one or more black great-grandparent.

Plessy vs. Ferguson 13. A famous Supreme Court case in 1896, Plessy vs. Ferguson, tried to challenge the law segregating train passengers. It began the "Separate but Equal" ruling that kept blacks and whites separate until the 1950's.

The Road to Civil Rights 14. Discrimination happens when one group or person is treated differently from others. 15. Many people protested and worked to change Jim Crow laws in the 1950's and 60's as part of the Civil Rights Movement. 16. Marches were groups of protestors who walked with signs, banners, songs, or chants. 17. Sit-ins were used as a way to integrate a business or public area like a restaurant or bus station. 18. Boycotts called for customers to avoid a service or product that discriminated against a group.

19. Court cases challenged unfair laws. 20 19. Court cases challenged unfair laws. 20. Activists like Martin Luther King led peaceful (nonviolent) protests. 21. Others like Malcolm X felt that civil rights would have to be gained by any means necessary including violence. 22. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, or national origin. 23. The 24th Amendment stopped the poll tax (making a voter pay to vote). 24. Brown vs. Board of Education said that segregation in schools was unconstitutional.