Civil Rights Movement Dbq

During the civil rights movement from 1945-1968, activists and the federal government took the action they thought to be most effective to reach their specific goals. Many activists took the ways of protests, like boycotting public transportation, to show their dissatisfaction with the current laws and regulations in place. The federal government often times relied on the passage of laws, including the Civil Rights act of 1964, to end segregation. The use of politics to express the concerns of both parties was a way for the government and the people to work together. The civil rights movement brought challenges that were faced by activists, and the federal government through the seperate ways of protesting and the passage of laws, along with

Launching full scale protests, and boycotts allowed for the people’s message to be seen on a national level. One of the most wide scale and successful boycotts, was the movement started by Rosa Parks. Parks refusal to move on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, would spark one of the first large scale boycotts of the civil rights movement. Document two depicts how the fast spreading news of this incident led to the WPC (Women’s Political Council) to issue notices for bus riders to stay off of the buses. This protest led to both the creation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which helped to organize more of these protests, and led to the supreme court decision that the segregation of public transportation was unconstitutional. Document four shows a picture of the famous March on Washington in 1963 at the Library of Congress. This march was led by the well known Martin Luther King Jr. and showed the unity among the civil rights activists. This march also put pressure on the of Kennedy administration to initiate a strong civil rights

Often times the government would only pass laws in response to the large protests, but these laws were the stepping stones to eventually ending the large scale segregation in America. Document one shows President Truman creating equality in the armed services no matter a person’s race, color, religion, or national origin. This message from the President was both an immediate help to the country, and the starting point of later laws. This law came in right after the second World War, and before the Vietnam War, and allowed a whole new group of people to join the army and solidify the weak army after the war. This law also was the starting point to desegregation in the workplace, the army was a way for both African Americans, and whites to work side by side. The government at times did take action to stop segregation at certain times. In Little Rock, Arkansas, a group of nine students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School. The governor then went on to have the state national guard to not let in the nine black students. President Eisenhower heard this news and would not stand for a supreme court decision to not be followed. He ordered the military to escort the kids to school everyday. This shows that the federal government under extreme circumstances was willing to take physical action on segregation. Document five an account on how President Johnson was ready to create new laws and