Black Civil Rights 1865 - 1992

Question	Answer
Federal System	Form of government where there is more than one source of authority
Confederacy	The eleven states that tried to secede from the US: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Texas
Emancipation Proclamation	1st January 1863 gave freedom to slaves only in rebel-held territories in the South. Slaves in states loyal to the Union were not freed
Reconstruction	1865-1877 Reconstructing the infrastructure of the southern states. North tried to impose the status of black Americans on white southerners. White South resented control and by 1877 had re-established control and right to run states. Black Civil Rights remained theoretical
Congress	Parliament
Senate	House of Lords / Upper House
House of Representatives	Commons
Freedmen	Slaves who had obtained their freedom before the Civil War, then referred to all slaves
Enfranchised	Being given the right to vote
Veto	To reject a proposal with majority support using one's power e.g. Presidential veto unless there is 2/3 majority
Conventions	Large political gatherings in each Southern State to draw up a new constitution to grant equal civil rights to black Americans in order for each state to return to the Union
Scalawags	Carpet baggers found help from white southerners to impose Reconstruction on the South. Very unpopular in the South. Refers to a worthless person
Carpet Baggers	Northerners who went south to impose the policies of the Reconstruction. Viewed as people who would take away valuables of the south and put them in their "carpet bags"
Share cropping	Land owners divided up their plantations into small tenancies of 30-50 acres. Land workers could not afford to pay wages so rented farms by giving half of crop to landowners
Crop-lien system	profits from harvesting a crop would be used to pay back loans and supplies on credit. Lenders often requested cotton as sales were most reliable
De jure	the official legal position or judgement
de facto	situation in reality
negro	originally seen as a politer name of the vulgar alternative. Could be interchangeable to slave. Now "African American", "black American" or "black"
Ku Klux Klan	terrorist organisation founded by Nathan Forrest which advocated white supremacy
Redemption government	Democrat controlled government from 1870~ to replace imposed north
State legislature	The parliament or law-making body elected in each state of USA. Has the right to pass laws on domestic affairs
Civil Rights Act 1875	Due to segregation formalisation made clear equal civil rights applied to public areas. Never enforced and later declared unconsitutional
Electoral College	Constitutional system of electing an American President. Process not a place. Key role in the election of Presidents
Boll Weevil	the insect which attacked the cotton plant, feeding on its buds and flowers. It was resistant to treatment
Ghetto	A section of a city occupied by one social or racial group [HARLEM - NY]
Jim Crow Laws	Began as an offensive way to refer to black people, eventually became the term for the discriminatory segregatory practices of the Southern states
Social Darwinism	The applications of Darwin's biological theory of evolution to sociology by arguing that the survival of the fittest can be applied to the development of races and societies. Human society, it was argued, operated on scientific principles in a similar ways to the natural world
Primaries	An American electoral feature whereby preliminary voting in an election is undertaken by voters registered for one of the parties - and sometimes the electorate more generally. The precise rules vary state to state.
The Progressive Movement	The Progressives believed that aspects of American society (especially corruption among the very rich) needed reforming. Despite this, Progressives had little to say about civil rights for black Americans.
Accomodation	To reach an acceptable compromise with political, economic and social circumstances not of your own making and not particularly to your liking: learning to live and progress in less than ideal circumstances.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)	Founded in 1909 the year after the Springfield Riot, it was the first successful, nationwide, civil rights organization to campaign systematically for black civil rights and gain a large membership of both black and white supporters. It remained a peaceful and Constitutional organization. Its successes were rarely spectacular but it played a significant long-term role in the fight for the legal end of segregation.
The melting pot	The idea that all the different peoples living in the US would minimize their differences in cultural, racial and religious background to segregate harmoniously, introducing an American identity. The question of whether this kind of integration was superior to maintaining equality though respecting cultural and other differences between the various groups was becoming a major discussion point, which is still debated today.
Harlem Renaissance	An out-pouring of artistic talent by blacks in the 1920s and 30s in literature, the visual arts, theatre and music. Black-American artistic performers were now praised by critics and publically acknowledged. For the first time there were black people talking about their experiences and desire for equality and freedom.
Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)	Group formed by Marcus Garvey in 1914. Campaigned for equal rights and for the independence of the black race rather than it being absorbed into an equal melting pot in the US. Encouraged blacks to develop their own salvation through their own efforts and developing their own institutions.
Black Eagle Star Steamship line	Garvey purchased four ships for merchant navy purposes as an ambitious publicity venture and an investment opportunity for better off black Americans; but after initial successes the line soon ran into financial difficulties.
National Negro Congress	Founded in 1935 to act as a pressure group to ensure black Americans received their fair share of New Deal benefits. After a well-supported start it gradually declined to become an organization limited to Communist support. It disbanded in 1947.
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)	Set up in 1942 to protest against de facto racial segregation in northern cities. It was revived in 1961 by James Farmer, It split over support for Black Power in 1966 and Farmer resigned in disgust at the violent tendencies of some members. Replaced by Floyd McKissack. After 1968, Roy Innis took over, it moved back to a more moderate position.
Deep South	Refers to the states where segregation was most embedded; Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Louisiana.
President's Committee on civil rights	Advisory Committee set up by Truman in 1946 to report to the President personally to help him see how progress towards black civil rights could be made in a gradual and peaceful way. Did not include civil rights activists.
Legal Precedent	When the principles created by an important legal decision are followed in subsequent cases.
White Citizen's Council	1955 - in reaction to the Brown verdict on segregated education. Aimed to maintain strict segregation in as many areas of life as possible, they waged economic warfare against anyone supporting integration and believed in defying federal court rulings if necessary.
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)	Formed in 1957 in Atlanta with MLK as president. It widened the field of civil rights activity. The SCLC did not take individual members like the NAACP but reacted to events, organizing campaigns as seemed appropriate.
Sit-in	A form of non-violent protest where protestors usually seat themselves and remain seated either until their requests are granted, or until they are evicted, usually by force.
Student Non-Violent Co-ordinating Committee (SNCC)	Set up as a result of the sit-ins, it organized swim-ins, read-ins, watch-in and shoe-ins. When it began a move towards a Black Power approach, this split and weakened the organization. It disbanded in 1970.
Segregation in housing and education	In Detroit, 85-90% of the population lived in segregated areas throughout the 60s and 70s and civil rights measures had little effect. In 1964 in Chicago, over 85% of all black pupils were in largely segregated schools, as were 78% of the white pupils, and these proportions were increasing.
Blockbusting	As black people moved into an area of a city, estate agents persuaded whites in that area to sell their houses fairly cheaply on the grounds they would soon lose even more value. They then sold the properties to black families at much higher prices.
Nation of Islam	Also known as the Black Muslims. Group founded in 19030 by Wallace Fard who led it until his disappearance in 1934, when Elijah Muhammad became leader. Since Elijah's death in 1975, Louis Farrakhan has led the movement.
The Black Panthers	Black Power group formed in Oakland, California in 1966. Soon received national attention by armed parades of 'self-defense' (against 'police brutality') in a distinctive uniform of berets and dark glasses. Central focus of attention in the civil rights movement. Declined in numbers and influence after members were shot and killed in a shoot-out with police in 1969.
Affirmative action	It was to affirm the rights of black Americans to have equal opportunities in areas where, because of discrimination against them in the past, they might still be at a disadvantage. It particularly applied in employment and education. Extended the attempts first made in the FEPC regulations to achieve the civil right of equal employment opportunities, one of the most difficult to achieve in practice.
Black Mayors in large cities	Harold Washington (Chicago, 1983-87) Tom Bradley (LA, 1973, re-elected 5 times) David Dinkins (New York, 1990-93)
Rainbow Coalition	Included: poor whites, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asian and Arab Americans as well as black Americans. 1984 and 1988 Jackson was well-supported by black Americans who disliked Reagan's economic policies, especially welfare reduction. Local support, from black churches for national civil rights goals with a charismatic speaker at emotional meetings, was reminiscent of MLK's style of campaigning. 1984 Jackson was 3rd out of 7. 1988 Jackson was 2nd to Michael Dukakis.
Bifurcation	Splitting of the black community in two (middle class and lower class). Developed correspondingly different social and political attitudes.
We shall overcome	Song with gospel roots from around 1900, adapted to become the unofficial anthem of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. President Lyndon B Johnson's use of the phrase in speaking to Congress early in 1965 indicated his degree of commitment to the civil rights movement at the time.

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Black Civil Rights 1865 - 1992

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