Road to the Civil War

• The Missouri Compromise aimed to balance the number of slave and non-slave states.
• It prohibited slavery north of the 36° 30' N latitude, except in Missouri.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

• The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise.
• It allowed for popular sovereignty, letting residents vote on whether to allow slavery in Kansas and Nebraska.

Bleeding Kansas

• Pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions fought in Kansas, due to popular vote on the slavery issue.
• Ultimately, Kansas entered the Union as a free state.

Scott v. Sandford

• Dred Scott argued he should be free since he had lived in a non-slave area.
• Scott sued for his freedom.

Popular Sovereignty

• The power to govern resides in the people.
• The government serves and protects the people.

Secession

• Secession is the act of withdrawing or separating from a political union or organization.
• Some Southern states wanted to secede from the Union.

Amendment 13

• Abolished slavery.

Amendment 14

• Grants citizenship rights and equal protection under the law.
• All persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens.

Amendment 15

• Prohibits denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Amendment 24

• Prohibits federal and state governments from imposing poll taxes as a requirement for voting in federal elections.

Reconstruction

• The period following the Civil War lasted from 1865-1877.
• Aimed to bring the South back into the Union.
• Meant to rebuild the Southern economy.
• Involved granting assistance to formerly enslaved people.

Plessy v. Ferguson

• Homer Plessy, who was 1/8th African American, challenged segregation laws.
• Louisiana considered him African American, requiring him to be separate from white people.
• Plessy bought a ticket for a white train car and purposefully got arrested to challenge the law.
• The action was pre-planned.

Brown v. Board of Education

• Ruled that segregation in schools was unconstitutional.
• Declared that separate schools were inherently unequal.
• Overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson.

Ku Klux Klan

• Was an organization that used intimidation to suppress the rights of freed African Americans.
• These rights included the right to vote.
• Started using violence after more members joined in 1920.

Freedmen's Bureau

• A U.S. government agency was established in 1865 to aid formerly enslaved people.
• The agency provided food, shelter, education, and legal assistance.

Lynching

• A form of public murder.

Segregation

• Discrimination based upon a factor.
• Plessy v. Ferguson allowed segregation if facilities for Black and white people were equal in nature.

De Facto Segregation

• Segregation by community.

De Jure Segregation

• Segregation by law.

Jim Crow Laws

• Laws meant to segregate white people from African Americans and prevent African Americans from voting.
• Led to segregation in schools, parks, libraries, and public transportation.
• Jim Crow Laws curtailed African Americans' ability to vote and participate in politics.
• These laws prohibited intermarriage.

Grandfather Clause

• Allowed individuals to vote if their grandfathers had the right to vote.

Literacy Tests

• Were exams testing a person's ability to read and write.
• Literacy test were impossible to pass.

Emmitt Till

• Was fourteen years old at the time of his lynching.
• He was accused of whistling at a white woman.

Charles Houston

• Was known as “The Man Who Killed Jim Crow.”
• Houston challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine and was a leader of the NAACP, winning significant cases.

Poll Tax

• Required individuals to pay a tax in order to vote.

Civil Rights Act 1964

• Ended segregation in all public places.
• Effectively ended Jim Crow laws.

Voter Rights Act 1965

• Prohibited racial discrimination in voting.
• Followed the March to Selma.

March to Selma

• Led directly to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
• Gave job to federal government.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

• Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger.
• This sparked a year-long protest against segregated seating on Montgomery city buses.

Sit-Ins

• Involved Black people sitting at restaurants to fill seats.
• The aim was to protest the fact that they were not being served.

Freedom Rides:

• A series of political protests against segregation.
• Involved Black and white activists riding buses together.
• The Birmingham Campaign involved peaceful protests led by MLK.
• During the campaign, kids were shot by fire hoses, and 1000 were arrested.

Plessy v. Ferguson Significance

• The case established that African Americans could be kept separate as long as they were given equal rights.
• This meant segregation was allowed if facilities for both Black and white people were equal in nature.

Forms of Discrimination Against Blacks in the South

• Blacks were forced to sit in the back of buses.
• They attended different schools.
• They were restricted from dining at certain restaurants.

Methods to Prevent Blacks from Voting

• Literacy tests were used to disenfranchise Black voters.
• Poll taxes were implemented to suppress Black voter turnout.
• Grandfather clauses were enacted to limit Black voting rights.

Brown v. Board and Ending Segregation

• Brown v. Board helped end segregation in the South by declaring racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

MLK's Non-Violence

• MLK was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi.
• He advocated non-violence to prevent Black people from being portrayed as evil.