Civil Rights of African American-African Americans faced two major obstacles in securing rights: -The Constitution- Reserves authority to the states (voter eligibility)- Separation of powers (difficult to strike against intrastate tyranny)-Politics based on self-interestPolitics of Black Civil Rights Height of Slavery (1808-1865)-Late 1807, Congress passed a law ending the importation of slaves -Southern representatives in Congress didn’t contest-Over next decade, slavery remained side issue since South had veto over national policy (due to regional balance in Senate)-But regional balance requires matching state entry into Union -Missouri Compromise (1820) -Missouri petitioned Congress for admission as a slave state -Congress matched with entrance of Maine as free state -North starts to realize its interest in eradication of slaveryWilmot Proviso-Proposed banning slavery in recently acquired territories -Slavery depressed wages for free, white worker-Introduced twice in House and passed both times, but failed in evenly divided SenateMissouri Compromise of 1850-South complaining of unreturned runaway slaves, North disgusted slave auctions-California petition for admission as free state, which threatened south veto power Dred Scott VS Sanford-Supreme court 7-2 determined national government cannot prevent slavery in the territories-Lower courts attempted to extend decision to rule that state laws banning slavery was unconstitutional -Whole nation would be open to slaveholding-Republican Abraham Lincoln wins 1860 presidential election -Free soil, Free Labor, free men slogan-Republican, antislavery control of House and narrow majority in senatecivil War 1861-south seceded first in 1860 with 10 more by 1861-First shots fired in April 12 1861 off Fort Sumter in Charleston Civil War Amendments 13th amendent- formal emancipation of blacks -186514th granted citizenship 186815th guaranteed the right to vote 1870Caused issues for literacy Rights Lost: -Republicans dominated Southern legislatures for few years -Endured when white democrats won back control of Tennessee and Virginia -All former confederate states had reverted to white democratic control in 1877African Americans Lost power -Vigilante violence -Waning commitment from northern republicans –Passed laws but not enforcedReconstruction ended with the election of 1876 – Troops pulled out of the south 1877 Politics of Black Civil Rights:Jim Crow era and Segregation 1877-1933Jim Crow laws -Focus to disenfranchise and segregate African Americans- Institutionalized segregation -Electoral laws to limit blacks from voting- White primary- Poll tax- Literacy tests- Grandfather clauses provided to protect poor and illiterate whites-Plessy V. Furguson (1896)- Upheld systemic segregation as constitutional - Separate but equal doctrineDemocratic Party Sponsorship of Civil Rights (1933-1940)- Great Depression ended Republican dominance in national politics - Shift from Republican vote to democrat-Most African Americans voters supported Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election The New Deal- FDR and the Great Depression -The New Deal- Evenhanded treatment of black communities - Government assistance- Rooted out racial discrimination in the distribution of relief aid- Appointed more than one hundred black administratorsAfrican American and the New Deal Coalition -Congressional action by democratsDemocrats wooed AA -Shift from the party of Lincoln to the party of Roosevelt -Truman openly courted black voters in 1948- Integrated armed services and introduced federal civil rights bills prohibiting discrimination and lynching (and providing voting rights)- Committee on Fair Employment Practices made permanentThe Emergence of Civil Rights Coalition (1940-1950): NAACP Litigation Strategy- Smith V. Allright 1944-Supreme court tossed out all white primary laws (violating 15th Amendment- Sweatt V. Painter 1950-Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, held that the University Texas could not stave off desegregation.Brown Trumps Plessy-Chief Justice Earl Warren, in Brown V. Board of Education 1954 opened “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.-Efforts to implement Brown encountered several roadblocks, suchas delaying several roadblocks, such as delaying desegregation until suits were filed and using tokenism to mask what was tantamount to segregated schools.- 1957 Civil Rights Act: Rehearsal for the 1960s-The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was Sen. Lyndon Johnson’s (D-TX) vehicle into national politics-The law allowed AA to sue in federal court if their right to vote had been denied due to race-Few black citizens gained the right to vote by virtue of this “modest law”-Johnson did not win Civil Rights Movement (1960s)-NAACP’s strategy focused on influencing judges rather than elected officials-The new course started in 1955 with Rosa Parks-Protects and demonstrates sought to alter public opinion- but collective action issues, especially with segregation -Black southern preachers solved coordination-Rev. Martin Luther King led the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Him and John F. Kennedy clashed on strategy-Kennedy wanted Congress to eneact less controversial social programs before tackling segregation -1964 election interests while increasing violence in demonstrations-Selected Birmingham for the protest movement was a strategic choice-graphic display of violence for movement-The events turned Kennedy to a reluctant supporter of the cause -Kennedy assassinated 1963, Johnson replaces-Civil Rights Act of 1964 authorized the national government to end segregation in public accommodations and education The Voting Rights Act of 1965:-Authorized Justice Department to suspend restrictive electoral test in southern states that had a history of low black turnout-Could send federal officers to register voters directly-States had to obtain clearance from the justice department before changing their electoral laws. –The law achieved it goals quickly-High point of civil rights movementThe Era of Remedial Action: The 1970s to the Present:-Legislation moved responsibility in the area of identifying and eradicating civil rights abuses to the federal bureaucracy -Department of Health, education, and Welfare -Focus on outcome of local practices -De facto segregation: