Civil Rights Cases and Racial Tensions

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw several landmark legal cases that significantly impacted the civil rights of Black Americans. These cases often reinforced segregation and discrimination, highlighting the challenges faced in achieving true equality.

Example: The Plessy v. Ferguson case in 1896 upheld the "separate but equal" doctrine, allowing segregation in public facilities.

Other significant cases included:

1. Cumming v. Board of Education: The Supreme Court approved segregated and unequal schools in Georgia.
2. Williams v. Mississippi: The court ruled that Mississippi's literacy tests and poll taxes for voters were not discriminatory, despite their clear impact on Black voters.

These legal setbacks coincided with increasing racial tensions and violence across the country. Two notable incidents were:

Highlight: The Chicago Riots of 1919 resulted from tensions as Black Americans moved north during the Great Migration. The riots left 40 people dead and 500 injured.

Example: The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 in Oklahoma devastated the prosperous Black community of Greenwood, leaving 10,000 Black residents homeless and an estimated 300 dead.

These events underscored the ongoing struggle for civil rights and equality faced by Black Americans, even decades after the abolition of slavery.

The New Deal era brought both opportunities and challenges for Black Americans. While some New Deal programs provided employment and economic assistance, many were implemented in ways that perpetuated racial discrimination.

Vocabulary: New Deal - A series of programs, financial reforms, and public works projects implemented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the Great Depression.

Key New Deal programs and their impacts on Black Americans included:

1. Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA): While aimed at helping farmers, it led to the eviction of many Black sharecroppers.
2. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA): Provided jobs but often discriminated against Black workers.
3. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC): Employed about 200,000 Black Americans but often treated them poorly.
4. National Recovery Administration (NRA): Excluded agricultural workers, many of whom were Black.

These policies, along with the continued enforcement of Jim Crow laws in the South, demonstrated the complex and often contradictory nature of race relations in America during this period. Edexcel A Level History American Dream Past Papers frequently examine these nuanced aspects of American history, providing students with a comprehensive understanding of the ongoing struggle for civil rights and equality.