Civil Rights and Race Relations in the USA, 1850-2009 (Edexcel A-Level History): Revision Notes
Civil Rights and Race Relations in the USA, 1850-2009
Introduction: The American paradox
The Declaration of Independence (4 July 1776) proclaimed that "all men are created equal" and possessed "certain unalienable rights". This principle became the foundation for American independence from Britain. However, from the very start, the United States faced a fundamental contradiction: whilst proclaiming equality and rights for all, a significant portion of the population consisted of enslaved black Americans.
This fundamental paradox—proclaiming equality while practicing slavery—created a contradiction that would shape American history for over 150 years and continues to influence race relations today.
In the northern states, black Americans generally enjoyed freedom and the same civil rights as white citizens. In contrast, the southern states relied heavily on slavery as an economic system. This division made slavery the most divisive political issue throughout the first half of the 19th century, eventually contributing to the Civil War (1861-65).
Even after slavery was abolished in 1865, the struggle for black American civil rights continued as a dominant theme in US politics right through to the 21st century. The journey from slavery to the election of the first black president in 2008 represents one of the most significant transformations in American history.
Geographical distribution of black Americans (1850-2009)
The situation in 1850
In 1850, approximately 3.2 million black Americans lived in the USA, representing about ten per cent of the total population. The vast majority were enslaved and concentrated in the south-eastern states. Black Americans primarily worked in agriculture, particularly on plantations growing crops such as cotton and tobacco.
The Great Migration
Between 1850 and 2009, the geographical distribution of black Americans changed dramatically through a process known as the Great Migration. This involved hundreds of thousands of black Americans moving from the rural South to northern and western cities.
Reasons for migration:
- To escape rural poverty in the South
- To flee racial discrimination and violence
- To find work in manufacturing industries in northern cities
- To seek better opportunities and living conditions
Results of migration:
- By 2009, black Americans lived across the entire USA
- The population became predominantly urban rather than rural
- Black Americans worked in towns and cities rather than agriculture
- However, they still faced racial discrimination in housing
The Great Migration was one of the largest internal migrations in American history, fundamentally reshaping the demographic and cultural landscape of the United States. This movement continued in waves throughout the 20th century, with major surges during both World Wars when industrial jobs were plentiful in northern cities.
Continued challenges
Even though black Americans escaped the poverty and discrimination of the Old South, they encountered new forms of racial inequality in northern cities:
- Racially segregated housing patterns emerged
- Black American ghettos developed, particularly in suburban areas
- Discrimination in housing persisted throughout the 20th century
This shows that whilst geographical mobility increased, racial equality remained elusive even in the North.
Portrayal of black Americans in media and the arts (1850-2009)
1850s: Stereotypical representations
In 1850, the dominant form of entertainment was theatre. Black Americans were typically portrayed as:
- Childlike characters
- Song-and-dance performers
- Comic or servile figures
However, literature began to present more complex portrayals. Uncle Tom's Cabin (published 1852) became a bestseller in the North and graphically depicted the harsh realities of slave life. Despite this more sympathetic portrayal, black Americans in literature were still invariably shown in subservient positions.
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe had a profound impact on Northern attitudes towards slavery. President Lincoln reportedly greeted Stowe with the words, "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war," highlighting the novel's influence on pre-Civil War sentiment.
Early to mid-20th century: Limited roles in cinema
Cinema emerged as one of America's great contributions to world entertainment in the 20th century. However, black Americans faced severe limitations:
- Before American involvement in the Second World War (1941-45), black actors appeared almost exclusively in comic and servile roles
- Stereotypical portrayals reinforced racial prejudices
- Lead roles for black actors were virtually non-existent
1960s breakthrough: Sidney Poitier and changing representations
The 1960s marked a turning point in media representation:
- Black Americans began receiving lead roles in films
- Sidney Poitier won the Best Actor Oscar in 1963, becoming the first black American to win this prestigious award
- This reflected and contributed to the broader civil rights movement
The impact of television
American television proved to be the most influential medium in changing perceptions of race relations:
- Television reached mass audiences in ways cinema could not
- By 2009, black Americans appeared in a wide variety of lead roles
- Portrayals became more diverse and complex
- The medium both reflected and shaped changing attitudes towards race
Television's mass reach and daily presence in American homes made it uniquely powerful in challenging racial stereotypes. Unlike cinema, which required people to actively choose to attend, television brought diverse representations directly into homes across the country, fundamentally shaping public attitudes towards race.
The transformation from stereotypical, servile portrayals to diverse, leading roles demonstrates significant social progress, though this change took over a century to achieve.
Emancipation and moves towards greater equality
The end of slavery (1865)
The Civil War ended in 1865, bringing about the formal abolition of slavery through the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. This represented a crucial first step towards equality, but it was far from the end of racial inequality.
Key point: Legal freedom did not automatically translate into social, economic, or political equality. The abolition of slavery was merely the beginning of a much longer struggle for genuine equality.
Reconstruction (1865-1877)
The Reconstruction period (1865-1877), particularly the Radical Reconstruction phase (1867-1877), initially brought significant changes:
- Black Americans received the same civil rights as white Americans
- Constitutional amendments aimed to guarantee equality
- Federal government actively intervened in former Confederate states
However, challenges persisted:
- Racial discrimination in employment and housing continued across the USA
- In the South, white supremacist organisations emerged, most notably the Ku Klux Klan
- These groups used violence and intimidation to ensure black Americans remained second-class citizens
- The federal government's commitment to protecting black rights gradually weakened
The end of Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era (1877-1890s)
After Reconstruction ended in 1877, white-dominated state governments took control in the former Confederate states. This led to a systematic reversal of black Americans' gains:
Jim Crow Laws (1880s-1890s):
- These state laws introduced legal racial discrimination against black American citizens
- They enforced racial segregation between white and black people in public spaces, schools, transport, and facilities
- They disenfranchised large numbers of potential black voters through various methods:
- Literacy tests
- Poll taxes
- Grandfather clauses
- Understanding clauses
The term "Jim Crow" came from a racist minstrel show character. These laws created a comprehensive system of legal apartheid in the South that lasted for over 70 years, touching every aspect of daily life from water fountains to railway carriages.
Supreme Court decisions:
- In 1883, the US Supreme Court overturned much of the civil rights legislation from Reconstruction
- In 1896, the landmark case Plessy v Ferguson upheld legal segregation by supporting the "separate but equal" doctrine
- These decisions gave legal legitimacy to racial discrimination
Significance: The period from 1877 to the 1950s represented a dark era when legal racial discrimination was not only practised but actively supported by the highest court in the land. This demonstrates how legal institutions can be used to perpetuate inequality rather than remedy it.
The Ku Klux Klan's revival (1915)
The Ku Klux Klan was refounded in 1915, and white supremacist groups spread across the USA, not just the South. This expansion demonstrated that racial prejudice and violence were national, not merely regional, problems.
The New Deal (1933-1945)
President Franklin Roosevelt's administration introduced the New Deal, a series of social and economic reforms to combat the Great Depression that began in 1929.
Impact on black Americans:
- Welfare and relief programmes provided some help to black Americans affected by economic hardship
- However, black people received less assistance compared to white Americans
- Discrimination persisted even within federal programmes
- Black organisations campaigned for federal anti-lynching legislation
- Anti-lynching bills were introduced in Congress but never passed
Significance: The New Deal represented limited progress but demonstrated that the federal government could intervene to help black Americans, setting a precedent for future action. Despite its limitations, it established the principle of federal responsibility for social welfare that would prove crucial in later civil rights advances.
The civil rights movement (1954-1968)
This period witnessed the most significant changes in the move towards racial equality, associated primarily with Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement.
Key Supreme Court decision:
- 1954: The Brown v Board of Education case ended school segregation, overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine from Plessy v Ferguson
Martin Luther King's leadership:
- Emerged as a prominent leader during the Montgomery bus boycott (1955)
- Acted as the unofficial leader of the civil rights movement until his assassination in April 1968
- Advocated non-violent protest and civil disobedience
- Inspired mass participation in the movement
Martin Luther King Jr.'s philosophy of non-violent resistance was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's successful campaign against British rule in India. This strategy proved effective in exposing the brutality of segregation to national and international audiences, particularly through television coverage.
Major achievements:
- Black Americans campaigned successfully for the end of legal segregation in the South
- The US Supreme Court made crucial decisions outlawing legal segregation
- Presidential and congressional action reinforced these judicial changes
- Civil Rights Act (1964) prohibited discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex, or national origin
- Voting Rights Act (1965) removed barriers to black voting rights
By 1968:
- Legal segregation had ended
- Black Americans had acquired full civil rights
- Formal legal equality had been achieved
Continuing challenges and fragmentation (1960s-1970s)
Despite achieving full civil rights, many black Americans still faced severe problems:
Ongoing issues:
- Major social and economic deprivation
- Poor living conditions
- Lack of job opportunities
- Poverty in urban areas
Urban riots:
- Black Americans rioted in many cities, including Los Angeles and Newark, New Jersey
- These riots expressed frustration with persistent inequality
The urban riots of the 1960s revealed that legal equality was insufficient to address deep-rooted economic and social inequality. They highlighted the gap between formal civil rights and lived reality for many black Americans in urban centers.
Fragmentation of the movement:
- The civil rights movement became divided
- Malcolm X promoted a more confrontational approach, emphasizing black pride and self-defence
- The Black Panther Party emerged in 1966, representing black radicalism
- These groups challenged the non-violent approach of Martin Luther King
Significance: Achieving legal equality did not solve the deeper problems of economic inequality and social discrimination.
Political breakthrough (1980s-2008)
Jesse Jackson's campaigns (1980s):
- First senior black American politician to stand for nomination as Democrat Party presidential candidate
- Although unsuccessful, his campaigns demonstrated that a black American could be a serious presidential contender
- Paved the way for future black American politicians
Barack Obama's election (2008):
- 2004: Elected as US Senator for Illinois
- 2008: Won the presidential election
- 2009: Sworn in as USA's first black president
- Represented a historic milestone in American race relations
Significance: Obama's election demonstrated that the USA could finally live up to the central principle of the Declaration of Independence from 1776, that all people are created equal. This achievement would have been unimaginable just a generation earlier.
Timeline of key events
1850s
- 1850: 3.2 million black Americans, mostly enslaved, living in south-eastern states
1860s
- 1861-65: Civil War
- 1865: End of Civil War; Thirteenth Amendment abolishes slavery
- 1866: Rise of Ku Klux Klan in former Confederate states
- 1867-77: Period of Radical Reconstruction
1870s-1890s
- 1877: End of Reconstruction
- 1880s-1890s: Jim Crow Laws introduce racial segregation and disenfranchise black voters
1880s-1900s
- 1883: US Supreme Court overturns much civil rights legislation in civil rights cases
- 1896: Plessy v Ferguson Supreme Court case supports "separate but equal"
1910s-1930s
- 1915: Refounding of Ku Klux Klan; white supremacist groups spread across USA
- 1933-45: New Deal offers limited support for black Americans
1950s
- 1954: US Supreme Court ends school segregation in Brown v Board of Education case
- 1955: Montgomery bus boycott; Martin Luther King rises to prominence
1960s
- 1963: Sidney Poitier wins Best Actor Oscar
- 1964: Civil Rights Act passed
- 1965: Voting Rights Act passed
- 1966: Rise of black radicalism with Black Panthers
- 1968: Assassination of Martin Luther King
2000s
- 2004: Barack Obama elected as US Senator for Illinois
- 2008: Barack Obama wins presidential election
- 2009: Barack Obama sworn in as USA's first black president
Exam tips
For essay questions on this topic:
- Always link developments to the broader theme of progress towards equality
- Consider both continuity (what stayed the same) and change (what altered)
- Analyse the significance of events: did they represent real change or merely symbolic gestures?
- Evaluate the role of different factors: legal changes, social movements, economic forces, individual leadership
- Consider regional variations: the North versus the South
Common pitfalls to avoid:
- Don't assume progress was linear or inevitable
- Avoid treating all periods as equally important (1954-68 was particularly crucial)
- Don't ignore the limitations of achievements (e.g., civil rights laws didn't end economic inequality)
- Remember that white resistance continued even after legal changes
Key debates to understand:
- How effective was non-violent protest compared to more radical approaches?
- Did legal changes or social movements matter more in achieving progress?
- How much did World War II and the Cold War influence civil rights progress?
- Was the civil rights movement primarily a southern or a national phenomenon?
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
-
The USA was founded on principles of equality but practised slavery, creating a fundamental contradiction that took over 150 years to resolve legally and is still being addressed socially
-
The Great Migration transformed black Americans from a predominantly rural, southern population to an urban population spread across the country, though this did not eliminate discrimination
-
Media representation evolved from stereotypical, servile roles to diverse, leading positions, with television playing the most significant role in changing perceptions
-
Reconstruction (1865-1877) initially granted civil rights to black Americans, but these were systematically dismantled through Jim Crow Laws and Supreme Court decisions like Plessy v Ferguson (1896)
-
The period 1954-1968 represented the most significant advances, with the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King achieving the end of legal segregation and the passage of the Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965)
-
Despite achieving legal equality by 1968, black Americans continued to face economic and social challenges, leading to urban riots and the emergence of more radical movements like the Black Panthers
-
The election of Barack Obama as president in 2008 represented a historic milestone, demonstrating how far the USA had travelled from the days of slavery, though racial inequality persists in many forms