Civil War to Civil Rights Although neither was

Civil War to Civil Rights • Although neither was very “civil” they both were hard fought “battles”. • This is a brief look at why African American rights took so long to materialize. • We will examine some Supreme Court cases and Constitutional Amendments that made it difficult for African Americans.

Civil War to Civil Rights • Dred Scott v. Sandford: 1857 • Dred Scott was a slave who traveled to free states with his owner. • Since he set foot on free land, Dred Scott argued that he was a free man. • Supreme Court ruled that Scott was “property” and that his owner had complete control over his destiny.

Civil War to Civil Rights • Supreme Court also ruled that since Scott wasn’t a citizen of the U. S. he couldn’t sue. • Civil War – 1861 – 1865 • Emancipation Proclamation – 1863: • Changed the attitude of the Civil War – became a crusade against slavery.

Civil War to Civil Rights • Reduced the likelihood of Great Britain helping the South – Great Britain was against slavery. • Never freed any slaves – merely changed the attitude of the war for the Union.

Civil War to Civil Rights • • • 13 th Amendment – 1865: Ended Slavery 14 th Amendment – 1868: Defined citizenship 15 th Amendment – 1870: Gave African American males the right to vote.

Civil War to Civil Rights • Reconstruction – 1863 – 1877: • Attempt by the North to make the South comply with federal rules regarding African Americans. • The South was carved up into military districts headed by the North.

Civil War to Civil Rights • Growth of groups such as the Ku Klux Klan showed southern opposition to African American equality. • Hard to change a “culture” in just few years.

Civil War to Civil Rights • Compromise of 1877: • In the election of 1876 Rutherford B. Hayes “R” lost the popular vote to Samuel Tilden “D”. • A special commission was established to resolve any voting discrepancy.

Civil War to Civil Rights • Rutherford B Hayes said that if he were elected president he would remove all federal troops from the South. • Democrats accepted this compromise and Hayes became president. • Southern democrats regained control of the “South”.

Civil War to Civil Rights • With the Compromise of 1877, reconstruction ended and African Americans gained little. • Plessy v. Ferguson – 1896: • Homer Plessy was 1/8 th Black and tried to ride a “White” train. Plessy was arrested and the case went to the Supreme Court.

Civil War to Civil Rights • The Supreme Court ruled that “Separate Facilities are Equal”. • This ruling solidified discrimination – as long as you had two separate trains, schools, restaurants, etc… it was legal to discriminate.

Civil War to Civil Rights • Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas – 1954: • Oliver Brown argued that his daughter Linda should be able to attend the “White” school that was located close to their home. • By law Linda had to go the “Black” school which was further from the home.

Civil War to Civil Rights • Supreme Court ruled that “Separate Facilities are Unequal”. • The process of Desegregation had begun. • Montgomery Bus Boycott – 1955: • Rosa Parks refused to give her seat on a bus to a white man.

Civil War to Civil Rights • Rosa Parks was arrested – Civil Rights started to gain a lot of momentum after this event. • This is the introduction of Martin Luther King Jr. to the Civil Rights movement. • African Americans boycotted the busing system in Montgomery for over a year.

Civil War to Civil Rights • The federal government finally ruled that busing, like schools had to be Desegregated. • March on Washington – 1963: • African Americans wanted JFK to pass Civil Rights legislation to guarantee equality.

Civil War to Civil Rights • Thousands gathered in Wash. D. C. to hear MLK Jr. give his “I have a dream speech”. • JFK was assassinated a few months later and the torch was passed to LBJ, who got the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed.

Civil War to Civil Rights • Civil Rights Act – 1964: • Outlawed discrimination in public places. • 24 th Amendment – 1964: • Made it illegal to charge a “poll tax” to vote.

Civil War to Civil Rights • The 15 th amendment gave African American males the right to vote and the 19 th amendment gave all women the right to vote. • Southern states would charge a “poll tax” before African Americans could vote.

Civil War to Civil Rights • Were the southern states violating the 15 th or 19 th amendments? • They would let African Americans vote if they could pay the tax. • The 24 th amendment made sure that African Americans were treated fairly when it came to voting – ninety four years after the guarantee to vote.