13th Amendment Thesis

The 13th amendment, passed on January 1, 1865 abolished slavery throughout America, but was far from fixing all the racial issues of the time. Ever since the end of the Civil War, African Americans struggled to benefit from their full rights that the Constitution promised. The fourteenth Amendment, which defined national citizenship, was passed in 1866. Even though African Americans were promised citizenship, they were still treated as if they were unequal. The South had an extremely difficult time accepting African Americans as equals, and did anything they could to prevent the desegregation of all races. During the Reconstruction Era, there were plans to end segregation; however, past prejudices and personal beliefs elongated the process, …show more content…
Two prominent organizations that were formed were the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). These groups were responsible for organizing many demonstrations throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s. In the 1960’s, while segregation in public facilities was still prevalent, students organized a series of sit-ins. These brave students would sit at “white only” lunch counters and quietly wait to be served. They would never be served and eventually mobs of white racists and police would come to arrest and abuse the students. Even when others around them got violent, the students would remain nonviolent and would never retaliate. The violent response by racist white illustrated the social divide between races and how discrimination became embedded in many people through put the south. A similar protest was the “Freedom Riders,” in which many brave activists rode the major bus lines through different states and didn’t adhere to the segregation expectations. This protest consisted of blacks and whites working together who traveled to the deepest parts of the south and were met with intense violence. The protestors anticipated the violence and mentally prepared as best they could to not give in and retaliate. They successfully attracted national attention and …show more content…
Brown vs. The Board of Education, ruled that segregation in public education was unfair. This unanimous Supreme Court decision overturned the prior Plessy vs. Ferguson case during which the “separate but equal” case. Boycott in Montgomery Alabama after Ms. Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat in the “colored section.” This boycott, which lasted more than a year, led to the desegregation of buses in 1956. The Civil Rights act of 1964 allowed many new provisions. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement. First proposed by President John F. Kennedy, it survived strong opposition from southern members of Congress and was then signed into law by Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon B. Johnson. In subsequent years, Congress expanded the act and also passed additional legislation aimed at bringing equality to African Americans, such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 directly addressed the issue of the very low black voter registration during reconstruction. The Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibited literacy tests and

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