Dbq Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement started in 1954 and continued until 1968. The Civil Rights Movement was a strive for the rights and the freedoms that African Americans had been given, but taken away from by things such as the Jim Crow Laws and segregation. The Civil Rights Movement had goals of gaining equal rights but also making the fundamental documents that America had been constructed upon to be true for everyone in America. These fundamental documents include the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. With the want of these goals comes about change, an impact, and a response, and the Civil Rights Movement impacted America by gaining the civil rights for African Americans, starting the integration of schools, and also bringing

The founding documents such as the Constitution were created by the people and for the people, however, these people were white, land owning men. The Constitution was created to help establish “a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty and prosperity”(Document 1). The men that created the Constitution were set in the ideas of natural rights for all human beings and the basic freedom of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. However, they neglected to apply these ideas to the people in their own country such as African Americans. Eventually over time and after a civil war, rights had been given to African Americans through the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. Although these amendments gave rights, they were met by the force of discrimination, segregation, and the Jim Crow Laws. All of which blocked the rights or freedoms for African Americans. The Jim Crow Laws were laws that disenfranchised African Americans by making them pay a poll tax, pass a literacy test, and by making it to where African Americans could only vote if their grandfather had. This was called the Grandfather Clause. These laws were hard to get around and go through because many African Americans did not have the money to afford the poll tax and many could not pass the literacy tests because they were not provided with adequate education. In addition, many African American’s grandparents were in enslavement, therefore unable to vote. These inabilities, segregation, and discrimination caused African Americans to be upset and start the Civil Rights Movement and made them want to fight for the rights and goals that they believed in. They would fight until they were satisfied with justice coming about and prevailing (Document 3). They would fight back with peaceful protests and marches.