Early Civil Rights Movement (1940s-1950s) - AP U.S. History

1. Which 1950s civil rights event involved high school students protesting segregated schools in Virginia?

   The Moton High School strike. Student protest that became part of Brown v. Board consolidated cases.

2. What was the primary goal of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1940s and 1950s?

   To end racial segregation and discrimination. Movement sought to dismantle Jim Crow laws and achieve racial equality.

3. What was the purpose of the 1957 Civil Rights Act?

   To increase African American voting rights. First federal civil rights legislation since Reconstruction era.

4. What legal doctrine was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954?

   'Separate but equal'. Jim Crow doctrine that allowed segregation if facilities were equal.

5. Which U.S. President signed the 1957 Civil Rights Act into law?

   President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Republican president who supported civil rights despite Southern opposition.

6. What was the significance of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision?

   Declared school segregation unconstitutional. Reversed Plessy v. Ferguson and mandated school integration nationwide.

7. Who was the President of the United States during the Little Rock Crisis of 1957?

   Dwight D. Eisenhower. Republican president who federalized Arkansas National Guard for integration.

8. Who was the plaintiff in the Brown v. Board of Education case?

   Oliver Brown. Father whose daughter was denied admission to a white school in Topeka, Kansas.

9. What was the role of the NAACP in the early Civil Rights Movement?

   Challenging segregation laws through the courts. Used strategic litigation to systematically dismantle Jim Crow laws.

10. What was the legal significance of the 1956 Supreme Court decision regarding Montgomery's bus segregation?

    Declared bus segregation unconstitutional. Browder v. Gayle ruling ended Montgomery's segregated bus system.

11. What protest method, introduced in the 1940s, involved refusing to comply with segregation laws?

    Civil disobedience. Peaceful resistance strategy inspired by Gandhi's nonviolent philosophy.

12. What did the Civil Rights Act of 1957 aim to achieve?

    Strengthen voting rights for African Americans. Created Civil Rights Division in Justice Department to enforce voting rights.

13. Which organization was instrumental in the legal strategy for desegregation during the Civil Rights Movement?

    NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Litigation arm that systematically challenged segregation laws in court.

14. Identify the 1957 civil rights event where nine African American students integrated a high school in Arkansas.

    The Little Rock Nine. First major test of Brown v. Board decision in public school integration.

15. Who was the chief counsel of the NAACP during the Brown v. Board of Education case?

    Thurgood Marshall. NAACP's top lawyer who successfully argued the landmark case.

16. What was the outcome of the Morgan v. Virginia Supreme Court case of 1946?

    Struck down segregation in interstate bus travel. Established precedent against segregation in interstate transportation.

17. Identify the landmark Supreme Court case of 1954 that ruled school segregation unconstitutional.

    Brown v. Board of Education. Overturned 'separate but equal' doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson.

18. Which 1948 executive order by President Truman desegregated the U.S. armed forces?

    Executive Order 9981. Ended racial segregation in all branches of the U.S. military.

19. Identify the event in 1948 that marked the beginning of the desegregation of the U.S. military.

    Issuance of Executive Order 9981. Truman's order mandated equal treatment regardless of race in military.

20. What was the significance of the 1946 Morgan v. Virginia decision?

    Banned segregation on interstate buses. Supreme Court ruling that prohibited segregation on interstate buses.

21. What was the role of Thurgood Marshall in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1940s and 1950s?

    NAACP chief counsel; argued Brown v. Board of Education. Legal architect who won 29 of 32 cases before the Supreme Court.

22. Which city was a focal point of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955?

    Montgomery, Alabama. Alabama capital where the famous bus boycott occurred from 1955-1956.

23. Which civil rights leader emerged as a prominent figure during the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

    Martin Luther King Jr. Baptist minister who became the face of nonviolent civil rights protest.

24. Which President's administration was responsible for desegregating the military?

    President Harry S. Truman. Democrat who took bold action on civil rights despite party opposition.

25. Identify the 1955 event in Montgomery, Alabama, that became a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement.

    The Montgomery Bus Boycott. 381-day boycott that successfully ended bus segregation in Montgomery.

26. Which civil rights leader led the 1955-56 Montgomery Bus Boycott?

    Martin Luther King Jr. Young pastor who emerged as national civil rights spokesperson.

27. Which organization's legal strategy focused on desegregation and voting rights during the Civil Rights Movement?

    NAACP Legal Defense Fund. NAACP's litigation branch that won major desegregation victories.

28. Which organization was founded in 1909 and played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement?

    NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). Used legal strategies to challenge segregation through court cases.

29. Which President sent federal troops to enforce school integration in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957?

    President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Used federal power to enforce Supreme Court integration orders.

30. What organization did Martin Luther King Jr. help found in 1957 to advance civil rights through nonviolent protest?

    Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Coordinated nonviolent protests across the South using church networks.

31. Identify the form of protest where African Americans refused to use public buses in Montgomery in 1955-56.

    Bus boycott. Economic pressure tactic that demonstrated African American unity and power.

32. Name the African American baseball player who broke MLB's color barrier in 1947.

    Jackie Robinson. Integrated Major League Baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

33. Which Supreme Court case upheld the constitutionality of 'separate but equal' in 1896, setting a precedent for segregation?

    Plessy v. Ferguson. 1896 decision that legally justified racial segregation for 58 years.

34. What was the primary focus of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)?

    Nonviolent protest for civil rights. Church-based organization that coordinated peaceful civil rights campaigns.

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