Compare And Contrast The Civil Rights Movement Of The 1950s And 1960s

I. Introduction The United States is founded on the concept of Liberty. As expressed in the Constitution, all United States citizens are entitled to the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These values have been endlessly challenged throughout history in an attempt to determine where freedom should end and where government regulation might begin.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a very influential protest against the racial issues in North America. The boycott was lead by many significant leaders such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr, these people helped the black community unify to fight against discrimination and prejudice. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was successful because the white community realized that the black community was unifying. For example, the black people were very resourceful in finding ways not to use the public buses. According to Document C, “ On December 6, the police began to harass, intimidate, and arrest Negro taxi drivers who were helping these people to work.

An example of peaceful resistance being beneficial would have to be the one and only, Rosa Parks. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man. Rosa was convicted of defying the Jim Crow laws, yet "Her arrest and subsequent appeal helped spark a 381-day-long boycott of public buses" (Korpe). Rosa's arrest revealed how wrong it was for white people to be considered superior. This peaceful resistance had a positive impact for the protestors because it promoted equality.

Dr. Martin Luther KingJr. , played a pivotal role in ending segregation. King led many non-violent protests against it and took a lot of abuse for it. In spring of 1963 King organized a demonstration in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. The police came to disrupt the protest.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a US federal law was establishes to protect the employees from discrimination in the workplace, especially when they are applying for a job. It is unlawful for an individual to be fired in his or her job or even refuse to be hired due to his or her race, gender, sexuality, race, color, religion as well as nationality. More than that, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld this Act as a valid exercise of the Congressional power. This Act is an example of rule of law as it prohibits the private discrimination in the public areas. In fact, as a rule of law it measures the protection of individual’s base from the fundamentals of the human rights.

These rights is what made America so special and different from other countries, because the power resided with the people not the

The Constitution was made, to establish certain limits on what the government can and cannot do (“The Preamble”). The Preamble at the beginning of the Constitution was also made to help clarify the tone of the document and to show that the United States was a unified country, which it was not under British rule (“The Preamble”). Within the Constitution, the first 10 amendments, called the Bill of Rights, were made to establish certain freedoms, because the American people didn’t have “natural rights” under British rule (“The Bill of Rights”). Certain freedoms that were guaranteed within the Bill of Rights are freedom of religion, freedom of due process law, freedom to privacy, equality before the law, and freedom of press, speech, assembly, and petition (“The Bill of

Rosa parks, a fierce activist, refused to let a white man take her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. This sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, crusaded mostly by ordinary black maids. In solidarity with the boycott, Black women would walk miles everyday to clean middle class houses. This was most effective during the 1950s because this is when the american dream was formulated. The dichotomy of a country that sold the image of having a nice life in a nice house with a nice job also fostering a suffering people was overwhelmingly blatant.

Much has been written about the importance of the Bill of Rights, the amendments recognizes individual liberty rights by the government, enforcing them amongst all citizens, including Native Americans. The trust responsibilities between Indian tribes and the United States has been an ongoing struggle of rights, tribal sovereignty, and relations with Congress. For example, the Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, a United States Supreme Court decision, is a landmark in federal Indian Law that doesn’t enforce the fifth amendment of the Bill of Rights. However, the government’s security is taking action for its well-being in protecting its sacred history that the Founders established.

The original text of the Constitution contained very little about the protection of natural rights. With the addition of the Bill of Rights, the people’s rights became clear. The first Congress passed twelve amendments to the Constitution guaranteeing freedom and justice to all people. This settled uncertainty about the central government taking away the power of the people (Doc. F).Farmers from Massachusetts remind their state, “... the people may, and will rise to arms to prevent it (injustice)... to keep our liberties in our own hands…”

Martin Luther King Jr. was an Atlanta, Georgia born Baptist minister, activist, humanitarian and leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement during the 1950’s until his unfortunate death on April 4th, 1968 at the age of 39. Dr. King is best known for his Christian based beliefs in using nonviolent civil disobedience during the civil rights movement. Dr. King has been involved in many civil rights demonstrations, protests, and speeches such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which was a political and social protest campaign against racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama that lasted from December 1st, 1955 – December 20th, 1956. Another civil rights demonstration Dr. King was involved in was The Albany Movement of 1961 which was a protest against segregation policies where Dr. King was scheduled to join the peaceful protest for one day, but instead was jailed with other fellow peaceful protesters and declined bail until Albany, GA changed its

During the twentieth century, the United States emerged as a persistent and powerful actor on the world stage. And at key moments of worldwide involvement the encounter with a foreign "other" subtly affected the meaning of freedom in the United States. Today, when asked to define their rights as citizens, Americans instinctively turn to the privileges enumerated in the Bill of Rights—freedom of speech, the press, and religion, for example. But for many decades after the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution in 1791, the social and legal defenses of free expression were extremely fragile in the United States. A broad rhetorical commitment to this ideal coexisted with stringent restrictions on speech deemed radical or

The Constitution guarantees rights and fair treatment for everyone. The rights that the Founders outlined in the Constitution include those reserved for the federal government as well as those reserved for the people. These rights have been altered throughout the years, and some continue to be debated. Policies have been put in place to deal with those who decide to disturb the peace and break the laws. The structure of America’s society relies on these rights and laws.

The people who lived during the Civil Rights Movement used both violent and non- violent protests , marches and speeches. No matter how anyone look at the past, it carved a better future for many African Americans.

Freedom has been the center of American ideals since the United States gained independence from Great Britain. To protect these ideals, the Founding Fathers created the Bill of Rights; which contains the first ten amendments to the Constitution. The document grants American citizens their basic rights and freedoms. The First Amendment guarantees the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press and the right to petition the government without retribution. It directly states: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the