History 3442The Emergence of the Civil Rights Movement

13 September 2012

I. Eisenhower and Civil Rights1. The NAACP and “Separate-but-Equal” (NAACP & legacy of Washington/DuBois

dispute; failure of politics: anti-lynching legislation and the power of the Southern filibuster; Huston and origins of LDF; challenging separate but equal: education—Missouri v. Gaines; Sweatt v. Painter; McLaurin v. Oklahoma; elections—Smith v. Allwright; housing—Shelley v. Kramer)

2. Brown (filing of cases and path to Supreme Court; Kenneth Clark and role of social science; Vinson and divided Supreme Court; Vinson death & nomination of Warren; Warren background and idea of politicians on Supreme Court; reargument and path to unanimous decision

3. Reaction to Brown (Eisenhower and origins of massive resistance; defiance: Virginia as example; Brown II and implementation of a timetable; Southern Manifesto and congressional response; Little Rock: Orval Faubus and overt challenge to federal authority—sending of troops, AR response—close schools unless popular vote to allow integration)

II. Civil Rights in the Congress 1. Montgomery (Southern grassroots and realities of Jim Crow system—economic,

social, racial discrimination; role of Black church; Rosa Parks arrest and path to Montgomery Bus Boycott; emergence of King and philosophy of nonviolence)

2. Political Response (Brownell and response to Birmingham Bus Boycott—how to handle private/economic discrimination; 1956 bill and difficulties in Congress: House—Rules Committee and Judge Smith, lack of black political power—Adam Clayton Powell; Senate—Eastland elevation and tradition of filibuster; LBJ, political ambition, and path to 1957 Civil Rights Act; significance of Russell; debate over jury-trial amendment—role of Frank Church)

3. Polarization (generational split—SNCC, Greensboro, origins of sit-in tactic; white response—citizens’ committees, Southern politics in 1950s—gubernatorial demagogues, “white citizens’ council”; lack of black political power)