Civil Rights Movement - Research Paper Example

?Civil Rights Movement Over time it is seen many problems have arose all over the world. One of the problems associated with the American society is the discrimination that is taking place against the blacks. The racial discrimination dates to the early times when slavery existed in America. Over time the blacks got their rights and were no longer slaves. However it is still seen that racial discrimination against the blacks exists in the society. It was because of this racial discrimination that many wars were fought between the races. Civil Rights Movements have been fought by these races to earn their rights forcefully. It was in 1955 that the African American Civil Right Movement took place in the United States to remove the barriers which stopped the African Americans from doing things. In other words it was fought to retain the rights of these blacks so that they could integrate into the American society. The problems which led to Civil Rights Movement of 1955 rooted from the experiences of the African American soldiers during the World War II. These problems quickly began to rise and led to the formation of groups in the society. Thus the society became segregated to give way to a civil rights movement launched by the blacks. This essay would further revolve around the problems that gave way to the civil rights movement in America.1 2 World War II In 1941 America entered the World War II to join the Allied forces against Japan and Germany. It was in these times that blacks did not even have the right to vote for the processes of election. The black children were not allowed into the schools of whites and they were particularly segregated from the society into schools which were under funded by the government. The blacks also were segregated in every term of life including trains and buses. Courtesy was never used to address the blacks living in the society as it is for the whites. This type of discrimination was not only prevalent in the Southern America but was also prevalent in the north. The blacks were not able to rent out or buy places which they liked and even the trade unions did not accept the membership of the blacks. This was not only prevalent in the precinct of the city but it was also prevalent on the battle zone. It was seen that the armed forces had a segregated unit for the blacks where they had to operate by themselves. These blacks were not even allowed in major segments of Navy and this brought discontent amongst the soldiers. All these conditions led to the worsening of conditions of the blacks and they served in the army only to attain their rights in the country. The blacks believed that if they fought for their country they would be able to gain the right of equal citizenship. They also believed that they would get rights to work for employers who previously did not hire them because of the policies of segregation3 4 5. The blacks compared their condition to the condition of the Germans who faced racism at the hands of the Nazis during the war. The blacks believed that it was World War II which would help them retain their lost rights. Racial discrimination during the war was never considered to be a big problem by the whites. The blacks were considered to be unfit for the forces and were not allowed to enroll in the armed forces. Mostly these blacks were given duties in which they would support the forces rather than play an active role in the war. However after the World War II started the government was forced to engage the black individuals into combat and formed special units for them. But here again the segregation policies were not left out and the blacks were given specific units through which they had to operate. No black was integrated into the forces of whites as they were considered to be superior. Harry Truman in 1948 passed an act to integrate the blacks with the whites but this was still not successful until 1953 when the Korean War started. Furthermore the blacks were not allowed at authoritative positions in the military up till the 1960s after which they did move up the position because of the civil rights movement that took place during those times.6 As the war ended the dreams of the blacks were shattered as none of their demands was fulfilled by the government. It was here that the blacks decided to launch a protest against the government so that they could achieve citizenship. It was in May 1941 that an African American named Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin and Muste threatened a long march by the blacks so that their demands are accepted. Randolph stated that the blacks were launching a protest so as to “to wake up and shock white America as it has never been shocked before."7 It was here that the government of President Roosevelt was shook and it implemented the Fair Employment Act in 1941 to avoid the long march. It was through this Act that the government promised that the blacks would be given equal opportunities in the forces. However the law did not prove to be successful as the blacks were still segregated in the society by the private and government contractors. However the Fair Employment Policy was started just after the war and it provided a base for the future laws. This Act was also known as the Executive Order 8802. Executive Order 8802 In 1941 it was seen that a great number of jobs were being created all over the United States as war was expected. It was in these times that the African Americans began working in the defense industries without any luck. These African Americans were continuously harassed by the employers by not providing them with the right pay and discriminating them. It was then that Randolph and other civil right workers objected to the discrimination against the blacks and this led to the Executive Order 8802. The Executive Order 8802 stated that "There shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries and in Government, because of race, creed, color, or national origin." In other words it was through this order that the blacks were able to attain rights in the defense sector.8 Jim Crow Laws It was in 1876 that the basic rights of the blacks were revived in the society but still some sort of injustice did exist against them. The law gave permission to the government and private authorities to enforce the segregation of the black and white races. This was not limited to the government owned entities but was also expanded to the private places. The whites were always to be given an upper edge over their counterparts. These laws were the main reason of the civil rights movement that took place in 1955. 9 Double V Campaign Double Victory campaign was a protest lodged by the blacks so that they could achieve their rights in the armed forces and in the daily lives. The Pittsburgh Courier supported the view of James Thompson who viewed the segregation of blacks as a grave mistake committed by the American government. The Double victory campaign was the first of its kind in those times launched by the blacks. It gave power to the blacks so that they could fight the government for their rights. The Double victory campaign was launched after the world war started urging the government to increase the room for the blacks as they were increasingly taking part in the wars of the American government. The campaign was basically launched so that the Jim Crow Laws could be abolished and the segregation of blacks from public and private places could be avoided. It was this campaign which provided a base to the African Americans to retain the rights which they always wanted to have. The campaign was not successful enough to revive the rights of the African Americans but it did prove to be a breakthrough in the campaign against the American government. The injustice against the black soldiers was only being reported in the newspapers written by the blacks. The amount of salary given to the black soldiers was lower than the white soldiers and they were also used for free labor.10 Executive Order 9981 Soon after the war ended a new president was seen in the United States of America who was known as Harry S Truman. The efforts of Randolph and Reynolds together for the end of discrimination in armed forced led to another Executive order in the year 1948. In 1946 Harry Truman reviewed the previous executive order so that certain changes could be made. It was in the same year that the commission of fair practices formed by Roosevelt was abolished by Congress. However Truman in 1946 formed a panel which would review the civil rights and their need in the current society. The commission formed by him proposed that the FEPC be formed again along with anti poll tax laws. After the efforts of Randolph , Truman finally implemented the executive order 9981 which gave equal rights to the blacks serving in the army. A President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity was created by the president so that the problems could be looked upon. At first the bill passed by Truman was opposed by many but later on he used his discretionary powers to impose the recommendations of the committee that he had formed. The Executive Order 9981 stated that "there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed forces without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin”. Thus this order was a breakthrough by the blacks after the world war ended. It was with the help of Randolph and Reynolds that the blacks were able to achieve this breakthrough. 11 Cases fought in the history of United States Plessy v Ferguson A case was fought by a black known as Homer Plessy against the Louisiana State when he was not allowed to board a car which was designated for the whites. The state argued that the blacks only had to sit in the colored cars which were designated for them whereas Plessy argued that according to the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments of the United States he was being denied of his vital rights. However in the end his case was rejected by the supreme court of United States. The case was a landmark in the history of United States and was used by all the institutions after its decision. The institutions enforced a segregated ban after the decision and did not allow blacks where they were not supposed to be. And the phrase ‘separate but equal’ was known in the whole society after the verdict.12 Brown v Board of Education It was in 1951 that the black students belonging to the Monton High school took matters in their own hands to fight against the board of education. The conditions that the black students were studying in were not desirable to anyone as they did not even have enough room to study in. The case was forwarded to the Supreme Court of United States which gave its verdict in the year of 1954. The verdict stated that the segregation of school children from each other was unconstitutional and it had a detrimental effect on the black children. This was a victory for the blacks as the court ordered the phasing out of segregation with time all over the country. Moreover it provided a base to the blacks so that they could fight further on to revive their rights in the society. 13 The Montgomery Bus Boycott In the year of 1955 the secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) named Rosa Parks denied to give her seat to give room to a passenger who was white. She was later arrested and convicted on the charges of civil disobedience. However later on Martin Luther King organized a black gathering through which the Montgomery buses could be boycotted. 50,000 African Americans boycotted the Montgomery buses so that the government could be forced into changing their law. It was after 381 days of the boycott that the segregation of the African Americans was lifted upon by the government and this proved to be a major breakthrough in the desegregation of the American society.14 Conclusion The Civil Rights Movement paved a way through which the blacks could attain their rights in the American society. World War II had many such events which triggered the civil rights movement. Popular revolutionists such as Martin Luther King and Randolph helped the blacks to achieve their rights through the civil rights movement. Nowadays the blacks have attained the right of equality in the United States and even the president of the country is a black. References Top of Form (2009). Plessy v. Ferguson. [S.l.], Great Neck Publishing. Top of Form RZESZUTEK, S. (2008). “All those rosy dreams we cherish”: James Jackson and Esther Cooper's Marriage on the Front Lines of the Double Victory Campaign. AMERICAN COMMUNIST HISTORY. 7, 211-225. "Call to Negro America to March on Washington for Jobs and Equal Participation in National Defense," Philip Randolph. Black Worker 14 (May 1941). Better Day Coming: Civil Rights in America in the 20th Century. Prof Adam Fairclough. BBC History. Executive Order 9981, July 26, 1948; General Records of the United States Government; Record Group 11; National Archives. Executive Order 8802 dated June 25, 1941, General Records of the United States Government; Record Group 11; National Archives. Bottom of Form African-American Soldiers in World War II Helped Pave Way for Integration of US Military. VOA News 2005. Top of Form FINKELMAN, P. (2009). Encyclopedia of African American history, 1896 to the present: from the age of segregation to the twenty-first century. New York, Oxford University Press. Bottom of Form Top of Form DAUGHERITY, B. J., & BOLTON, C. C. (2008). With all deliberate speed: implementing Brown v. Board of Education. Fayetteville, University of Arkansas Press. Top of Form JONAS, G. (2005). Freedom's sword: the NAACP and the struggle against racism in America, 1909-1969. New York, Routledge. Top of Form HARRIS, R. L., & TERBORG-PENN, R. (2006). The Columbia guide to African American history since 1939. New York, Columbia University Press. Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Read More