6 Civil of: 1957; 1960; 1964; 1965; & 1968:
Dwight D. Eisenhower: Republican who believed that the situation of black people would sort itself out over time i.e. it wasn’t the government’s job to improve conditions for black people NB his reluctance to become involved in Little Rock on 1957 HOWEVER towards end of his Presidency he proposed 2 CR Acts è both faced considerable opposition in Congress and as a result the terms of the Acts were weakened…
{Eisenhower: Feb 1953 in his State of the Union Address he called for a combination of publicity, persuasion & conscience to help end racial discrimination; he reaffirmed Truman’s commitment to desegregating the military & worked against discrimination in federal facilities in Washington and of Federal hiring of workers. BUT he was born in the South and could not fully embrace total segregation è he feared miscegenation, assuring his speech writer that his public calls for racial equality did not mean that black & white “had to mingle socially – or that a negro could court my daughter”; he feared great emotional stress would result from desegregation schools; he was fundamentally opposed to any large scale intervention of Government in any issue; and he needed to consolidate the Party’s position in the South where they had gained a firmer footing that they did not want to destroy by pushing for Civil Rights}
Civil Rights Act 1957: this act focuses on the voting rights of African Americans; it proposed the establishment of a Commission on Civil Rights è a bi-partisan (i.e. representing both major parties of Republican & Democrat) committee designed to monitor the voting rights of America’s black citizens. The section that was defeated & removed was “a new division in the Justice Department to investigate civil rights abuses in the fields such as voting” è this weakened the Act
However, individuals found guilty of preventing black Americans from registering as voters would face a fine of only $1,000 or a maximum of 6 months in jail è these penalties were relatively small & did not act as an effective deterrent
{1957 CR: in order to win the black vote in he 1956 election year, Eisenhower’s administration drew up a Civil Rights Bill that aimed to ensure all citizens could exercise their right to vote (80% of blacks were still not registered to vote i.e. only 7,000 of 900,000 thousand were registered to vote); Democratic Senators worked to weaken the Bill because they believed that it would damage national and party unity; Eisenhower did not fight to keep it intact è the Bill was weakened; any official indicted for obstructing a black voter would be tried by an all-white jury
REACTION è this was the first Civil Rights Act since Reconstruction, it pleased some black leaders and others felt it was a sickening sham}
Civil Rights Act 1960: this act narrowly extended the powers of the Commission on Civil Rights by requiring local authorities to keep records of voter registration è this allowed the Commission to monitor black vote registration more accurately; by 1960 Eisenhower’s 2 Acts had only increased the proportion of black voters by 3%; it also introduced federal criminal penalties for bombing and mob action
{1960 CR: Eisenhower was concerned about the bombings of black schools & churches; he had considered his Bill to be moderate but Southern Democrats again worked to weaken it è HOWEVER it did become law because both Parties were seeking the black vote in the Presidential election year. This Act made it a Federal crime to obstruct court-ordered school desegregation & it established penalties for obstructing black voting}
John F Kennedy: Democrat who claimed during is election campaign that he was sympathetic to the plight of black Americans; “I will end segregation in federal housing projects at the stroke of a pen” (i.e. with a Presidential Executive Order) è he made a highly publicised telephone call to Coretta King while her husband MLK was in prison during the sit-in protests of 1960. He also promised a Civil Rights Act to end segregation HOWEVER despite his promises; Kennedy was slow to use his power to help black people è initially he needed the support of Southern white politicians in Congress and could not afford to upset them by pressing ahead for Civil Rights è as a consequence his early moves were largely symbolic e.g. (1) he appointed 5 black judges to the Federal Courts, including NAACP’s Chief Counsel Thurgood Marshall; (2) he also created the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities (CEEO) designed to create equal employment opportunities for those who were employed by the Federal Government BUT since very few blacks were actually employed by the Federal Government, this initiative had little impact
The Birmingham Campaign March 1963 forced Kennedy to show decisive leadership and fulfil his promise of a Civil Rights Act è Kennedy threw his weight behind the Civil Rights Bill after the “March on Washington” in August 1963
Lyndon B Johnson: Democrat who was Vice-President when Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963; he became President on Kennedy’s death and he saw the Civil Rights Act as part of a range of measures designed to make America a fairer country. Before becoming President Johnson had a mixed record of attitudes to Civil Rights e.g. he did use his position as an American Senator to support both of Eisenhower’s Civil Rights Acts BUT he also played a key role in watering them down!
Johnson exploited the assassination of J F Kennedy; “No memorial oration or eulogy could more eloquently honour President Kennedy’s memory than the earliest possible passage of the Civil Rights Bill for which he fought so long” (there was a great deal of ‘poetic licence in the last part of that statement”)
Civil Rights Act 1964: Kennedy administration admitted that Birmingham was crucial in persuading them to push through the Bill that eventually became the 1964 Civil Rights Act
1964 Act explicitly outlawed the segregation of any facility or public place; it gave the Commission on Civil Rights the power to enforce desegregation and it made the Fair Employment Practices Commission permanent. CONSEQUENCE è in general terms this Act spelled the end of legal segregation across the South
Voting Rights Act 1965: This Act explicitly outlawed all “tests” that prevented any American citizen from voting; additionally it gave the Federal Government the power to oversee voting registration across America è consequently it ended the ability of local governments to deny black citizens their right to vote. CONSEQUENCE è it was far more effective than previous legislation & therefore made a difference
Civil Rights Act (Fair Housing Act) 1968: this Act outlawed discrimination of any form in the sale or rental of housing è it was attempting to address the issue of ghettoisation BUT this Act gave no new powers to enforce the law and CONSEQUENTLY its impact was limited
Johnson’s early measures on Civil Rights were highly effective è BUT the Vietnam War dominated Johnson’s attention & a growing proportion of government resources PLUS MLK’s criticisms of the Vietnam War drove a wedge between the SCLC & the Johnson Government è CONSEQUENTLY Civil Rights were less of a priority in the second half of his period in Office
Role of Congress & Supreme Court in Civil Rights
CONGRESS: this is the body empowered by the American Constitution to create nationwide laws è SO Congress’s support was essential if there was to be progress in Civil Rights legislation è BUT Southern States had a significant voice in Congress &, therefore, as a result Southern Senators & Congressmen obstructed Civil Rights legislation 1945 to 1960 è HOWEVER è in 1964, 73 out of America’s 100 Senators and 289 of the 435 members of the House of Representatives did vote in favour of the Civil Rights Act
WHY did Congress’s attitude to Civil Rights legislation change?
(i) grass-roots campaigns like the Birmingham Campaign of 1963, had exposed the horrors of segregation & racial violence
(ii) Civil Rights campaigns had won over public support to such an extent that Congress could no longer oppose the Civil Rights Bill
(iii) Johnson was an experienced politician who knew how to exploit Congress in order to ensure that the Bill passed e.g. he persuaded important members of Congress (such as Republican leader in the Senate, Everett Dirksen) to support the Bill
(iv) Following the 1964 Congressional elections, some conservative Southern Democrats were ousted from Office and replaced by more liberal Democrats who were sympathetic to Civil Rights
(v) Johnson persuaded Congress that the Act would be a fitting legacy for J F Kennedy
THE SUPREME COURT: during the 1950’s the Supreme Court showed considerable leadership on Civil Rights issues; Eisenhower’s 1953 decision to appoint Earl Warren as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was extremely important è Supreme Court decisions in cases such as “Brown v Board of Education of Topeka (1954) and Brown II (1955) and “Browder v Gayle (1956) picked apart the legal basis of segregation è CONSEQUENTLY Civil Rights activists were then able to use these rulings to force change in campaigns such as sit-ins across the Southern States of America
Dwight D. Eisenhower: Republican who believed that the situation of black people would sort itself out over time i.e. it wasn’t the government’s job to improve conditions for black people NB his reluctance to become involved in Little Rock on 1957 HOWEVER towards end of his Presidency he proposed 2 CR Acts è both faced considerable opposition in Congress and as a result the terms of the Acts were weakened…
{Eisenhower: Feb 1953 in his State of the Union Address he called for a combination of publicity, persuasion & conscience to help end racial discrimination; he reaffirmed Truman’s commitment to desegregating the military & worked against discrimination in federal facilities in Washington and of Federal hiring of workers. BUT he was born in the South and could not fully embrace total segregation è he feared miscegenation, assuring his speech writer that his public calls for racial equality did not mean that black & white “had to mingle socially – or that a negro could court my daughter”; he feared great emotional stress would result from desegregation schools; he was fundamentally opposed to any large scale intervention of Government in any issue; and he needed to consolidate the Party’s position in the South where they had gained a firmer footing that they did not want to destroy by pushing for Civil Rights}
Civil Rights Act 1957: this act focuses on the voting rights of African Americans; it proposed the establishment of a Commission on Civil Rights è a bi-partisan (i.e. representing both major parties of Republican & Democrat) committee designed to monitor the voting rights of America’s black citizens. The section that was defeated & removed was “a new division in the Justice Department to investigate civil rights abuses in the fields such as voting” è this weakened the Act
However, individuals found guilty of preventing black Americans from registering as voters would face a fine of only $1,000 or a maximum of 6 months in jail è these penalties were relatively small & did not act as an effective deterrent
{1957 CR: in order to win the black vote in he 1956 election year, Eisenhower’s administration drew up a Civil Rights Bill that aimed to ensure all citizens could exercise their right to vote (80% of blacks were still not registered to vote i.e. only 7,000 of 900,000 thousand were registered to vote); Democratic Senators worked to weaken the Bill because they believed that it would damage national and party unity; Eisenhower did not fight to keep it intact è the Bill was weakened; any official indicted for obstructing a black voter would be tried by an all-white jury
REACTION è this was the first Civil Rights Act since Reconstruction, it pleased some black leaders and others felt it was a sickening sham}
Civil Rights Act 1960: this act narrowly extended the powers of the Commission on Civil Rights by requiring local authorities to keep records of voter registration è this allowed the Commission to monitor black vote registration more accurately; by 1960 Eisenhower’s 2 Acts had only increased the proportion of black voters by 3%; it also introduced federal criminal penalties for bombing and mob action
{1960 CR: Eisenhower was concerned about the bombings of black schools & churches; he had considered his Bill to be moderate but Southern Democrats again worked to weaken it è HOWEVER it did become law because both Parties were seeking the black vote in the Presidential election year. This Act made it a Federal crime to obstruct court-ordered school desegregation & it established penalties for obstructing black voting}
John F Kennedy: Democrat who claimed during is election campaign that he was sympathetic to the plight of black Americans; “I will end segregation in federal housing projects at the stroke of a pen” (i.e. with a Presidential Executive Order) è he made a highly publicised telephone call to Coretta King while her husband MLK was in prison during the sit-in protests of 1960. He also promised a Civil Rights Act to end segregation HOWEVER despite his promises; Kennedy was slow to use his power to help black people è initially he needed the support of Southern white politicians in Congress and could not afford to upset them by pressing ahead for Civil Rights è as a consequence his early moves were largely symbolic e.g. (1) he appointed 5 black judges to the Federal Courts, including NAACP’s Chief Counsel Thurgood Marshall; (2) he also created the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities (CEEO) designed to create equal employment opportunities for those who were employed by the Federal Government BUT since very few blacks were actually employed by the Federal Government, this initiative had little impact
The Birmingham Campaign March 1963 forced Kennedy to show decisive leadership and fulfil his promise of a Civil Rights Act è Kennedy threw his weight behind the Civil Rights Bill after the “March on Washington” in August 1963
Lyndon B Johnson: Democrat who was Vice-President when Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963; he became President on Kennedy’s death and he saw the Civil Rights Act as part of a range of measures designed to make America a fairer country. Before becoming President Johnson had a mixed record of attitudes to Civil Rights e.g. he did use his position as an American Senator to support both of Eisenhower’s Civil Rights Acts BUT he also played a key role in watering them down!
Johnson exploited the assassination of J F Kennedy; “No memorial oration or eulogy could more eloquently honour President Kennedy’s memory than the earliest possible passage of the Civil Rights Bill for which he fought so long” (there was a great deal of ‘poetic licence in the last part of that statement”)
Civil Rights Act 1964: Kennedy administration admitted that Birmingham was crucial in persuading them to push through the Bill that eventually became the 1964 Civil Rights Act
1964 Act explicitly outlawed the segregation of any facility or public place; it gave the Commission on Civil Rights the power to enforce desegregation and it made the Fair Employment Practices Commission permanent. CONSEQUENCE è in general terms this Act spelled the end of legal segregation across the South
Voting Rights Act 1965: This Act explicitly outlawed all “tests” that prevented any American citizen from voting; additionally it gave the Federal Government the power to oversee voting registration across America è consequently it ended the ability of local governments to deny black citizens their right to vote. CONSEQUENCE è it was far more effective than previous legislation & therefore made a difference
Civil Rights Act (Fair Housing Act) 1968: this Act outlawed discrimination of any form in the sale or rental of housing è it was attempting to address the issue of ghettoisation BUT this Act gave no new powers to enforce the law and CONSEQUENTLY its impact was limited
Johnson’s early measures on Civil Rights were highly effective è BUT the Vietnam War dominated Johnson’s attention & a growing proportion of government resources PLUS MLK’s criticisms of the Vietnam War drove a wedge between the SCLC & the Johnson Government è CONSEQUENTLY Civil Rights were less of a priority in the second half of his period in Office
Role of Congress & Supreme Court in Civil Rights
CONGRESS: this is the body empowered by the American Constitution to create nationwide laws è SO Congress’s support was essential if there was to be progress in Civil Rights legislation è BUT Southern States had a significant voice in Congress &, therefore, as a result Southern Senators & Congressmen obstructed Civil Rights legislation 1945 to 1960 è HOWEVER è in 1964, 73 out of America’s 100 Senators and 289 of the 435 members of the House of Representatives did vote in favour of the Civil Rights Act
WHY did Congress’s attitude to Civil Rights legislation change?
(i) grass-roots campaigns like the Birmingham Campaign of 1963, had exposed the horrors of segregation & racial violence
(ii) Civil Rights campaigns had won over public support to such an extent that Congress could no longer oppose the Civil Rights Bill
(iii) Johnson was an experienced politician who knew how to exploit Congress in order to ensure that the Bill passed e.g. he persuaded important members of Congress (such as Republican leader in the Senate, Everett Dirksen) to support the Bill
(iv) Following the 1964 Congressional elections, some conservative Southern Democrats were ousted from Office and replaced by more liberal Democrats who were sympathetic to Civil Rights
(v) Johnson persuaded Congress that the Act would be a fitting legacy for J F Kennedy
THE SUPREME COURT: during the 1950’s the Supreme Court showed considerable leadership on Civil Rights issues; Eisenhower’s 1953 decision to appoint Earl Warren as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was extremely important è Supreme Court decisions in cases such as “Brown v Board of Education of Topeka (1954) and Brown II (1955) and “Browder v Gayle (1956) picked apart the legal basis of segregation è CONSEQUENTLY Civil Rights activists were then able to use these rulings to force change in campaigns such as sit-ins across the Southern States of America