Issue 2
The Obstacles To Black Americans Gaining Civil
Rights In The USA Up To 1941:
Factor 1: Legal Impediments and the
‘Separate But Equal’ Decision of the
Supreme Court
Factor 2: Lack of Political Influence
Factor 3: The Activities of the Ku
Klux Klan
Factor 4: Divisions in the Black
Community
Factor 5: Popular Prejudice In The
North
AIMS OF
ESSAY:
To Be Able To
Discuss What
Prevented
AfricanAmerican's
Achieving
Equal Rights
To Whites
Aims Paragraph 2:
1. To Understand That Fear And Violence
Were Used To Control Black People In
America.
2. To Learn How & Why The KKK Were Able
To Use This Fear And Violence.
Have The Background Knowledge & Argument To Write
Your Second Paragraph For Essay Two On The
Obstacles stopping AA Achieving Their Civil Rights
PLAN FOR PARAGRAPH
KKK
1. Start with an Opening Argument e.g. state there is a link
between the isolated factor & the question
2. Put in Knowledge – detail the ‘job’ the KKK gave
themselves & how they did it
3. Put in Analysis – explain how these terror tactics worked
4. Knowledge – discuss other acts the illegal organisation
committed
5. Analysis – explain why they were rarely arrested
6. Evaluation – make an judgement, how important was this
factor compared to the Jim Crow Laws?
Read Through Paragraph 3 On Handout
The History of the KKK
The first branch of the Ku Klux
Klan was established in Tennessee
in May, 1866
Most of the leaders were former
members of the Confederate
Army – this explains why they
were draped in white sheets as
they posed as the spirits of the
Confederate dead returning to
protect white communities from
freed Black people…
• During this time, the Klan withheld
their identities by wearing masks
Not The Same Outfit As The
KKK We Think About Today
The Objectives of the Early KKK
Specifically, it attempted to stop
former slaves from getting an:
• education,
• economic advancement,
• voting rights,
• and the right to bear arms
The Klan went into decline in the 1870s after
being declared a terrorist organisation.
Federal troops were used against them and
numerous prosecutions were brought against
Klansmen by the Federal Government.
The KKK – Born Again In
The 1920s
The Ku Klux Klan was reformed in 1915 by William
J. Simmons, a preacher influenced the film of the
book, Birth of a Nation, directed by D.W. Griffith
The film glorified the KKK as the saviours of white
society. The first film ever to make over $10 million
and be shown in the White House!
.
What did the KKK Believe In?
• All members had to be native-born
Americans, White, Protestant, Male, 16
years of age or older
• NO Black Americans, Roman Catholics or
Jews were allowed to be in the Klan
• They did not believe in Civil Rights and
thought Black Americans were inferior
• They wanted to promote ‘White Supremacy’
through fear and intimidation
• They justified their actions by saying they
were protecting the ‘American way of life’
• … these were popular messages in a country
where immigration was a serious issue and
where many blacks were flooding into
northern cities
What Did The Ku Klux Klan Do?
They often burned crosses on
hillsides and near the homes of
people they wished to frighten
Masked Klansmen marched
through the streets of towns and
cities carrying posters
threatening various persons with
punishment and warning others to
leave town
If the victims would not do what
the Klan wanted them to do, they
would be kidnapped, whipped,
mutilated or murdered
They LYNCHED many Black
Americans
Lynching
Lynching is the illegal execution of an accused
person by a mob
From 1918 to 1927, 416 blacks were killed,
mostly in the south
Victims were tortured, mutilated, dragged,
burned or hung
Of the tens of thousands of lynchers and
onlookers, only 4 have been sentenced for the
crime of lynching
Photographs of these events frequently show the
perpetrators laughing and smiling
Children often attended these public lynchings
White people who tried to improve the lives of
blacks were also intimidated
Fear was thus an
important weapon
in keeping black
citizens from
demanding better
treatment.
This image is from a POSTCARD, which said on the back,
"This is the barbecue we had last night. My picture is to
the left with a cross over it. Your son, Joe."
An Example of Southern Justice
•
•
•
•
•
•
The murder of Emmett Till in Mississippi in
1955 while visiting his uncle Moses
He did not understand how extreme
segregation in the south was
For saying ‘Bye Baby’ to a white store owner
he was kidnapped, tortured and brutally
murdered
Two men were arrested for the murder and
their trial began in front of an all white jury in
September 1955 (Remember black people
could not serve on juries)
The jury considered the evidence for only half
an hour before returning a not guilty verdict
The jury foreman explained how he felt ‘the
prosecution had failed to prove that the body
really was that of Emmett Till’
• Emmett was 14 years old!!!
Strange Fruit – Billie Holliday
Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the
root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern
breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar
trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted
mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning
flesh.
Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to
suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to
drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
HOMEWORK
Support in High Places
•
Furthermore the Klan had powerful friends such as policemen, judges and
politicians who ensured that very few cases were ever brought to trial in the
first place
•
In 1922, the Dyer anti-lynching bill was defeated in the US Senate – this
enabled the practice of lynching to continue
•
In 1925 President Coolidge approved a KKK paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue in
Washington D.C, showing their power and influence at that time
Why Did People Support the KKK?
• After WWI unemployment
was growing and many Black
Americans were moving north
to compete with poor Whites
for houses and jobs
• New immigrants were still
flooding into the USA
• Many poor Whites saw the
Klan as their protectors
• They had important friends in
local politics, the state
government, the judiciary and
in the local police.
It was a secret organisation
so it is difficult to know
how many members they
had. In 1924 it is
estimated that they had 3
million members
Group 1: Ensure You Can Explain
The Answers To These Questions
Q1. Why did the KKK wear white sheets?
Q2. Why & when were they reborn?
Q3. What did the KKK believe in?
Q4. What methods did they use?
Q5. Why did their actions stop people campaigning for
change?
Q6. What was the Emmett Till case about?
Why were they rarely arrested?
Q7. What happened to their membership in the 1930s?
FACTOR ONE OPENING
ARGUMENT
The KKK were another obstacle to blacks
achieving civil rights before 1941 as they
believed in ‘white supremacy’ and used
severe methods to deny blacks equal
rights
ISOLATIONISM
KNOWLEDGE 1
ARGUMENT 1
• The KKK re-emerged in
1915 & acted like a
police force to enforce
the Jim Crow Laws using
brutal methods such as:
• These terror tactics
were used to ensure
Blacks in the South did
not campaign for better
treatment because…
• Kidnap
• Torcher
• Murder
• Scared for their lives
Developed Analysis:
link to question
ISOLATIONISM
KNOWLEDGE 2
ARGUMENT 2
• They were an illegal
organisation but very
rarely arrested for
the:
• This shows that they
had a strong influence
on influential people
such as the police;
courts & lawyers many
of whom were secret
members
• Assaults
• Murders
• Burning down of
schools/Churches
Developed Analysis:
link to question
ISOLATIONISM
EVALUATION:
Overall the Klan were an important obstacle for black
civil rights as their violence and powerful members
made it incredibly difficult for anyone to oppose
them. However, they were perhaps less important
than the Jim Crow laws because their membership
dramatically declined in the 1930s.
PLAN FOR PARAGRAPH
KKK
1. Start with an Opening Argument e.g. state there is a link
between the isolated factor & the question
2. Put in Knowledge – detail the ‘job’ the KKK gave
themselves & how they did it
3. Put in Analysis – explain how these terror tactics worked
4. Knowledge – discuss other acts the illegal organisation
committed
5. Analysis – explain why they were rarely arrested
6. Evaluation – make an judgement, how important was this
factor compared to the Jim Crow Laws?
Read Through Paragraph 3 On Handout