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Emancipation Proclaimation Issued
The Emancipation Proclaimation was a great event which marked a beginning of the fight for Cvil Rights. Lincoln issued this document, which told that all blacks in the "Confederate" states of America were thereby freed from their servitude. It was the first action of any president which officially declared slavery illegal. -
13th Amendment Ratified
The 13th Amendment to the constitution was the bill that declared Slavery illegal in all the states, not just the previously called "confederate" ones. This amendment was necessary because the Emancipation Proclaimation of 1863 was only valid in confederate states. -
14th Amendment Ratified
The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constituion granted Citizenship to all people raised or naturalized in the United States, regardless of race or previous condition of servitude. This amendment gave blacks the right to vote, since they were now citizens. However, it never took into account the Jim Crow laws which were active in the South, and prevented blacks from voting, regardless of the amendment. -
15th Amendment Ratified
The fifteenth amendment prevented any government institution (any government under the US government) from preventing someone from voting based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. It was a response the the fact that blacks were being prevented from voting due to Jim Crow laws and other programs, such as Poll Taxes and Grandfather clauses. -
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Plessy v Ferguson
This court case ruled that segregation of blacks and whites was legal, as long as the places they were segregated into were "seperate but equal." It was a hard hit against the Civil Rights movement, and set wheels in motion for future cases which argued against the ruling. -
Brown v Board of Education
This landmark trial regarding the "seperate but equality" of the black and white public schools. It was one of many cases during the era, and overturned the ruling of Plessy v Furguson, at least for schools, saying that educational facilities were unable to be "seperate but equal." -
Murder of Emmett Till
The murder of a black boy who was beaten to death for whistling at a white woman in the south became a founding point for the Civil Rights movement, and sparked a growth in popularity for pro-rights activities. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Bus Boycott was started by a Seamstress named Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white person, and was arrested for doing so. She sparked the boycott of the montgomery public transportation system, which led to a huge financial loss for the company, and the eventual court decision barring segregation on public transport. -
Greensboro Sit Ins
Four local boys going to a college near greensboro held a peacful sit in at a lunch counter in Greensboro, refusing to leave until they were served. It gave birth to a new form of protest which sprung up all over the nation, and led to an eventual court case which barred segregation at public lunch counters. -
Freedom Rides
The Freedom Rides were a series of rides made by civil rights groups to travel on busses through the deep south to protest segregation. They were faced with much adversity, and were beaten and nearly killed until the federal government was forced to step in and protect them using government forces, as the state forces would not do an adequate job. -
March on Washington
This is the most famous march on washington, in which Martin Luther King Jr. gave is indelible "I have a dream" speach. It was a trademark event for the Civil Rights movement, and it led to the eventualy finality of the civil rights movement with the passage of the Civil Rights Act. -
Passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a great victory for the Civil Rights Movement. It prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin by federal and state governments as well as some public places. It was the end of an era of discrimination and segregation, though there were some battles left to fight. -
Passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 marked the finale of the Civil Rights Movement. It granted voting rights to all citizens of the US, as well as abolishing the practices used in the south to prevent blacks from voting. It marked the end of the struggle for equality that Civil Rights Activists had been fighting for for over a hundred years.
