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The Role of the Federal Government (Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR did not…
The Role of the Federal Government
Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant and Woodrow Wilson
Andrew Johnson
was
opposed
to greater African American civil rights. However, his successor
Ulysses S. Grant
used federal troops and authority to support Reconstruction
Presidents were conscious of the need to retain the support of Southern Senators and congressmen in the party. They allowed the continual discrimination towards African Americans by the South
Woodrow Wilson
, a progressive Democrat did
little
for civil rights. He
praised
the KKK for defending southern rights after the Civil War. Called
Birth of a Nation
one of the best films he ever saw
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
FDR did not pass a
specific Civil Rights act
, but the reforms passed in his
New Deal
in the 30s helped African Americans who were hit particularly hard by the Depression
This included the
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
, the
Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)
and the
Public Works Administration (PWA)
Work camps however were
segregated
and the reforms excluded
key areas
of African American employment such as
agriculture and domestic services
In WW2, the armed forces
remained segregated
, though discrimination was ended in war industries
Harry S. Truman
1948
, he issued a
executive order
against segregation in the
armed forces
, appointed a committee on civil rights and urged Congress to pass civil rights legislation. No comprehensive measures passed
Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson
Eisenhower
A Republican, created the
1960 Civil Rights Act
which reaffirmed African Americans' right to vote (inducted penalties for anyone who
obstructed their right to vote
and carried out polling station inspections)
Sent troops to enforce desegregation of
Little Rock School, Arkansas
in 1957 after
Brown v Board of Education
.
Kennedy
A Democrat, spoke against the
'harmful, wasteful and wrongful results of racial discrimination'
. Prepared a general
civil rights bill
in 1963 before his assassination but couldn't pass it due to Southern opposition.
Johnson
Kennedy's Vice President, left to him to pass the most significant Civil Rights Acts since the 1860s.
24th Amendment, 1964
. Prohibited Poll Tax
Civil Rights Act 1964
. Outlaws discrimination of race, religion, sex and origin
Voting Rights Act 1965
. Prohibits racial discrimination in voting
Southern States had
prevented
black from voting since the
1870s
, so this was a highly significant measure.
Appointed the
first
African American Supreme Court justice,
Thurgood Marshall
, a noted civil rights campaigner and lawyer for
Brown v Board of Education
Richard Nixon
Extended
'affirmative action'
to promote equality. This was positive discrimination. Employers with
federal contracts
had to show they actively promoted the
employment of African Americans
Equal Employment Opportunity Act 1972
. Employers can be sued if evidence of employment discrimination based on sex, religion, race and origin