The civil rights movement, 1954–1965

Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to C on Little Rock (the excerpts are exact; the summary is in our words). Card A, "Eisenhower's address on Little Rock". Who made it: President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in a radio and television address. When: September 24, 1957. For whom: the nation. Why: to explain why he sent federal troops to Little Rock. Excerpt (Address to the nation on Little Rock, September 24, 1957): "The very basis of our individual rights and freedoms rests upon the certainty that the President and the Executive Branch of Government will support and insure [make sure of] the carrying out of the decisions of the Federal Courts, even, when necessary, with all the means at the President's command. Unless the President did so, anarchy would result. … Mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of our courts." Card B, "Little Rock Central High School, September 1957". Who made it: historians and government agencies writing today. When: today. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: In 1957 a federal judge ordered Little Rock Central High School to begin desegregating. On September 4, 1957, Arkansas National Guard soldiers sent by the governor kept Black students from going in. On September 24, President Eisenhower sent units of the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock and put the Arkansas National Guard under federal command. On September 25 the nine students were escorted into the school by soldiers. Card C, "Brown II, the Court's order". Who made it: the Supreme Court of the United States, Chief Justice Earl Warren writing for a unanimous Court. When: May 31, 1955. For whom: the lower courts, the states and the public. Why: to say how the 1954 ruling would be carried out. Excerpt (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (II), 349 U.S. 294, closing order): "… to take such proceedings and enter such orders and decrees consistent with this opinion as are necessary and proper to admit to public schools on a racially nondiscriminatory basis with all deliberate speed the parties to these cases."

2. 1.

   Ari weighs why Eisenhower sent troops to Little Rock in September 1957. Which judgment do Cards A to C support?

   • The Guard was acting under federal command when it kept the students out, and the troops arrived to end that order of command and replace the Guard's orders
   • A court order to desegregate met the governor's use of the Guard to block it, and Eisenhower stressed carrying out court decisions
   • The sole cause was a wish to protect the nine students, so the court order played no part in his choice
   • He acted to enforce the Civil Rights Act, which Congress had already passed to guard school desegregation
3. 2.

   Compare 1954 and 1957. What changed in how the ruling was carried out, as Bo sees it?

   • In 1954 the President used troops to enforce the rule, and by 1957 the Court had to state it again
   • In 1957 nine Black students were escorted into one school by soldiers on September 25 of that year
   • In 1954 the Court stated the rule, but by 1957 the President had to use federal troops to enforce it
   • Nothing changed, since the Court's 1955 order already told school boards to desegregate by a set date
4. 3.

   A school board cites "all deliberate speed" to wait, and a civil rights lawyer cites it to demand action. Why does card C allow both for Esme?

   • The Court meant delay, since "deliberate" means slow, and the lawyer misread the order entirely
   • Both readings are one reading, since the board and the lawyer each want the schools to desegregate eventually
   • The phrase joins urgency (speed) with care (deliberate) and names no date, so it left room for both readings
   • The lawyer's reading cannot count, since a lawyer wants a certain result from the Court's order

5. Use this

   Cards A to C on the road to the Civil Rights Act (the table and the excerpt are exact; the summaries are in our words). Card A, "SNCC and the student movement". Who made it: historians and government agencies writing today. When: today. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: In April 1960, college students who were protesting segregation gathered at Shaw University, in Raleigh, on the invitation of Ella Baker, an official of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The group they formed there became the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC, mostly Black college students who chose peaceful, direct protest. Baker advised them to stay independent. SNCC began a voter registration campaign in the South in 1962 and focused on Mississippi in 1964. Card B, table: Southern cities that had integrated their restaurants and lunch counters, and the law that followed (National Park Service; National Archives). By summer 1960: 33 cities. One year later: 126 cities. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed on July 2, 1964. Card C, "Getting the Civil Rights Act through Congress". Who made it: historians and government agencies writing today. When: today. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: In June 1963 President John F. Kennedy went on television, called for equal treatment of every American and asked Congress to take up a civil rights bill. In the House, the Rules Committee held the bill back until supporters threatened to bypass the committee. In the Senate, a group of opponents used a filibuster, long speeches meant to prevent a vote. Senator Hubert Humphrey, President Johnson and Senator Everett Dirksen helped end the filibuster, and the final bill passed 73 to 27. Title II of the same Act banned discrimination in hotels, restaurants and other places open to the public. Card D, "The Civil Rights Act, Title VI, section 601". Who made it: the United States Congress, in a law (Public Law 88-352). When: July 2, 1964. For whom: federal agencies, states and the public. Why: to forbid discrimination in programs that get federal money. Excerpt (Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI, section 601): "No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

6. 4.

   Between the Greensboro sit-ins in 1960 and the Act in 1964, what shifted? Which statement do the cards support for Luz?

   • The law of 1964 started the student movement, which then spread to the 126 cities by 1961
   • Local protests ended once the law was signed, since the cities table stops counting after summer 1961 and shows no more cities
   • Students gathered at Shaw University in April 1960, and a group formed with Ella Baker's invitation
   • Local protests by students spread to many cities, 33 and then 126, and then became the subject of a national law
7. 5.

   A lunch counter in a small town gets no federal money. Does Title VI in card D cover it? What does Milo conclude?

   • Yes, since Title II is the section about federal money and Title VI is the one on restaurants and public places
   • Yes, since Title VI bars discrimination by any business that serves the public in any town
   • No law covers it, since the Civil Rights Act left restaurants and hotels out of its rules
   • Not by itself, since Title VI covers programs getting federal money; restaurants fall under Title II
8. 6.

   A writer says the number of integrated cities "nearly quadrupled" in a year. Using card B, how should Noah respond?

   • The count rose by 126 cities, since 126 is the number given for one year later in the table
   • The count rose from 33 to 126, about 3.8 times as many, though the table does not say the sit-ins caused it
   • The count rose from 33 to 126, so the sit-ins caused each of the 93 new cities to integrate
   • The count rose from 126 to 33, which is less than half, so the writer reversed the two years in the table

9. Use this

   Cards A to C on voting rules (the excerpt is exact; the summary is in our words; the registrar's request is made up). Card A, "The Voting Rights Act, section 4(c)". Who made it: the United States Congress, in a law (Public Law 89-110). When: August 6, 1965. For whom: the states, local officials and the public. Why: to define a "test or device" for voting. Excerpt (Voting Rights Act of 1965, section 4(c)): "The phrase "test or device" shall mean any requirement that a person as a prerequisite for voting or registration for voting (1) demonstrate the ability to read, write, understand, or interpret any matter, (2) demonstrate any educational achievement or his knowledge of any particular subject, (3) possess good moral character, or (4) prove his qualifications by the voucher of registered voters or members of any other class." Card B, "A made-up registrar's request" (invented for this sheet, not a real quotation). A county registrar tells an applicant, "You may register only if two registered voters of this county sign a paper vouching for you." Card C, "Johnson's address on voting rights, March 15, 1965". Who made it: historians and government agencies writing today. When: today. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: On March 15, 1965, a week after the first march from Selma, President Johnson spoke to a joint session of Congress and asked it to pass a voting rights law. He said every American citizen must have an equal right to vote, and he described how registrars in some places turned Black applicants away for small mistakes on forms.

10. 7.

    Pia applies Card A to Card B. Does the registrar's request count as a "test or device" under section 4(c)?

    • No, since the registrar does not ask the applicant to read, write or interpret anything, which is what a test requires
    • Yes, and so is a residence rule, since any rule a registrar sets for registering counts as a test or device
    • Yes, since part (4) names proving one's qualifications by the voucher of registered voters
    • No, since a test or device must test knowledge, and a voucher from neighbors tests nothing the applicant knows
11. 8.

    Why did Johnson address Congress on March 15, 1965? Ren weighs the cards. Which judgment is supported?

    • The Selma march was the sole cause, since the address came a week later and mentions nothing else
    • Card C links it to the Selma march a week earlier and to registrars' practices, but not to his private reasons
    • He wanted to pass the Voting Rights Act, which was already law, so the address celebrated its signing with Congress
    • The cards show his private motive was to help his party, since the address asked Congress for a law
12. 9.

    Section 4(c) defines "test or device." What does that definition change about how voting barriers were described, for Tala?

    • Nothing changes, since registrars already used the same four kinds of tests under state law
    • It uses the words "good moral character" in part (3), one of four kinds of requirements the law names in the section
    • It names practices such as vouchers and reading tests in one federal law, not leaving each to local registrars
    • It leaves each county registrar free to decide which tests count, so local control grew stronger
13. 10.

    Card C says registrars turned applicants away "for small mistakes on forms." Card A defines tests in general terms. How should Zee read the two?

    • They describe one problem from two positions: Card C shows practice, and card A states the rule in general terms
    • Card A says registrars rejected people for small mistakes on forms, and card C just defines tests
    • They are the same kind of source, since each one describes how registrars treated applicants in 1965 by the same people
    • Card C should be set aside, since a summary of a speech is weaker than the text of a law