Transcript Separate…but equal

Separate…but equal
The journey to equal rights in
America.
Terms to Know
• Discrimination: unfair treatment based on
prejudice against a certain group.
• Segregation: social separation of races
• Civil Rights: Rights of full citizenship and
equality under the law
What is the difference between
Civil Liberties & Civil Rights?
• Civil Liberties are freedoms we have, while
Civil Rights are rights we are given.
• Ex. Civil Liberty: freedom of religion
• Ex. Civil Right: right to fair trial
Jamestown 1619
Tobacco leaf
“The transatlantic slave trade produced one of
the largest forced migrations in history. From
the early 16th to the mid-19th centuries,
between 10 million and 11 million Africans
were taken from their homes, herded onto
ships where they were sometimes so tightly
packed that they could barely move, and sent
to a strange new land. Since others died before
boarding the ships, Africa's loss of population
was even greater.”
- “Slavery in the United States," Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia
Middle Passage
The Middle Passage typically took between 5-12
weeks.
“Representatives and direct Taxes shall
be apportioned among the several
States… according to their respective
Numbers, which shall be determined by
adding to the whole Number of free
Persons, including…three fifths of all
other Persons.”
-Constitution 1787
Slavery: 1800s
• Slavery continues to be an issue in America
• In the South, an agrarian (farming) economy
encourages slavery
• In the North, an industrial economy is less reliant on
slavery
• Northerners are increasingly opposed to slavery.
Many feel that slaves undercut the working
opportunities for free white men.
• When new states are admitted to the Union, slavery is
a major issue
Missouri Compromise (1820)
• 11 free states/11 slave states represented in Congress
• Missouri admitted as a slave state; Maine admitted as a free
state
• outlawed slavery above the 36th parallel
"...this momentous question, like a fire bell in the
night, awakened and filled me with terror. I
considered it at once as the knell of the Union. It
is hushed, indeed, for the moment. But this is a
reprieve only, not a final sentence. A
geographical line, coinciding with a marked
principle, moral and political, once conceived
and held up to the angry passions of men, will
never be obliterated; and every new irritation will
mark it deeper and deeper. " – Thomas
Jefferson letter (April 20, 1820)
Dred Scott Case (1857)
• Dred Scott, a slave, taken to
Illinois, a free state
•He sues for freedom stating that
his prolonged stay in Illinois
gave him legal rights to freedom
•The Supreme Court ruled that
all people of African ancestry
could never become US citizens,
and therefore, they could not sue
in federal court
•The SC also ruled the Missouri
Compromise unconstitutional
Path to Civil War
• While southerners applauded the decision,
which stated that the federal government could
not regulate whether a state allowed slavery,
the decision enraged Northerners
• Growing differences (such as election of
Abraham Lincoln) would lead to the secession
of the southern states
• April 1860: Fort Sumter is first battle of the
Civil War
Emancipation
Proclamation
issued by
Abraham Lincoln,
1863
Frees all slaves in the
South.
Civil War Amendments
• 13th (1865) officially outlawed slavery
• 14th (1868) all people born or naturalized in
the US were citizens & entitled to equal
protection under the law
• 15th (1870) no state may take away a citizen’s
right to vote based on their color, race or
previous enslavement
Though the Civil War Amendments had given
African Americans many freedoms that they had
never had before, they still experienced
discrimination, or unfair treatment because of their
race.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1897)
Established “separate, but equal”
Era of Jim Crow
Buses All passenger stations in this state operated by any motor
transportation company shall have separate waiting rooms or space
and separate ticket windows for the white and colored races.
Railroads The conductor of each passenger train is authorized and
required to assign each passenger to the car or the division of the
car, when it is divided by a partition, designated for the race to
which such passenger belongs.
Restaurants It shall be unlawful to conduct a restaurant or other
place for the serving of food in the city, at which white and colored
people are served in the same room, unless such white and colored
persons are effectually separated by a solid partition extending
from the floor upward to a distance of seven feet or higher, and
unless a separate entrance from the street is provided for each
compartment.
Steps to ending segregation
• 1909 NAACP formed (National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People)
• 1948 President Harry Truman orders end to
segregation in the armed services
Era of Civil Rights
• Beginning in the 1950s, Americans, both black
and white, began to fight against unfair
treatment toward African Americans
• The struggle would continue through the 1960s
1954-Brown v. Board of Education
(Topeka, Kansas)
Supreme Court rules that racially separated schools
are “inherently unequal.” Also, it violated the 14th
amendment. This case overturned Plessy v. Ferguson.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rosa Parks & the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Sit-ins
Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Strengthened 14th amendment (guaranteed
equal protection under the law)
• Bans discrimination in employment, voting,
education and public accommodations
Ongoing Challenges
Affirmative Action began in the 1970s
• Programs intended to make up for past
discrimination
• Help minorities and women gain access to jobs
and other opportunities (ex. College)