In the 1950's and 1960's the Civil Rights Movement was a popular movement to end segregation amongst blacks and whites and for the black population to earn equal rights. During that era black lives really did not matter and they felt as if they did not belong. Blacks were tired of being mistreated and constantly having no rights. Therefore they wanted to take a stand by campaigning their rights and showing that they wanted to belong and have the same rights as the white folks. This paper will discuss the roots of the Civil Rights Movement, leaders that affected the Civil Rights Movement, and laws that influenced the Civil Rights Movement. .
Background .
Slavery was one of the dominant reason why the Civil Rights Movement was founded. In 1619 the first set of slaves were shipped to Jamestown, Virginia (Ford, C. T., 2015). These slaves were all from Africa, and over time slavery increased. As time went by the abolitionist movement had begun and caused an issue between the North and the South (Slavery in America, 2015). Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas and other abolitionists believed that slavery was evil and wrong (Ford, C. T., 2015). An abolitionist is someone who believes that slavery should be illegal and come to an end because it is not right. The abolitionist movement and slavery both contributed to the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln made slavery illegal with the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and through the Emancipation Proclamation (Ford, C. T., 2015). After the Civil War some white people did not agree with the law that was passed, so they kept on treating African Americans unfairly. This act led to the Jim Crow laws which separated the whites from the blacks. This law meant that based on one's skin tone there should be separate bathrooms, schools, restaurants, water fountains and transportation. African Americans felt as if this law was not necessary and began to protest and fight for what they believed in, to have the same rights as White Americans do.