AP US History Flashcards: Early Civil Rights Movement 1940s 1950s

What this deck covers

This deck focuses on Early Civil Rights Movement 1940s 1950s, giving you a quick way to review the definitions, rules, and examples that matter most for AP US History.

How to use these flashcards

Work through these flashcards in short sessions. Try to answer each prompt before flipping the card, then revisit any cards you miss until the explanation feels automatic.

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

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

Flashcard 2: Which city was a focal point of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955?

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

Flashcard 3: What was the primary focus of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)?

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

Flashcard 4: What was the primary goal of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1940s and 1950s?

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

Flashcard 5: What was the purpose of the 1957 Civil Rights Act?

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

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

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

Flashcard 7: Which Supreme Court case upheld the constitutionality of 'separate but equal' in 1896, setting a precedent for segregation?

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

Flashcard 8: What legal doctrine was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954?

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

Flashcard 9: Who was the President of the United States during the Little Rock Crisis of 1957?

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

Flashcard 10: Which U.S. President signed the 1957 Civil Rights Act into law?

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

Flashcard 11: What was the legal significance of the 1956 Supreme Court decision regarding Montgomery's bus segregation?

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

Flashcard 12: Which organization was instrumental in the legal strategy for desegregation during the Civil Rights Movement?

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

Flashcard 13: What was the significance of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision?

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

Flashcard 14: What was the primary goal of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1940s and 1950s?

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

Flashcard 15: Who was the President of the United States during the Little Rock Crisis of 1957?

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

Flashcard 16: Who was the plaintiff in the Brown v. Board of Education case?

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

Flashcard 17: What was the role of the NAACP in the early Civil Rights Movement?

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

Flashcard 18: Which U.S. President signed the 1957 Civil Rights Act into law?

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

Flashcard 19: What was the legal significance of the 1956 Supreme Court decision regarding Montgomery's bus segregation?

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

Flashcard 20: What protest method, introduced in the 1940s, involved refusing to comply with segregation laws?

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

Flashcard 21: Identify the event in 1948 that marked the beginning of the desegregation of the U.S. military.

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

Flashcard 22: What did the Civil Rights Act of 1957 aim to achieve?

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

Flashcard 23: What legal doctrine was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954?

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

Flashcard 24: Which organization was instrumental in the legal strategy for desegregation during the Civil Rights Movement?

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

Flashcard 25: Identify the 1957 civil rights event where nine African American students integrated a high school in Arkansas.

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

Flashcard 26: What protest method, introduced in the 1940s, involved refusing to comply with segregation laws?

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

Flashcard 27: Who was the chief counsel of the NAACP during the Brown v. Board of Education case?

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

Flashcard 28: What was the purpose of the 1957 Civil Rights Act?

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

Flashcard 29: Which organization was founded in 1909 and played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement?

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

Flashcard 30: Which 1948 executive order by President Truman desegregated the U.S. armed forces?

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

Flashcard 31: What was the outcome of the Morgan v. Virginia Supreme Court case of 1946?

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

Flashcard 32: Identify the landmark Supreme Court case of 1954 that ruled school segregation unconstitutional.

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

Flashcard 33: Which 1948 executive order by President Truman desegregated the U.S. armed forces?

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

Flashcard 34: What was the significance of the 1946 Morgan v. Virginia decision?

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

Flashcard 35: What organization did Martin Luther King Jr. help found in 1957 to advance civil rights through nonviolent protest?

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

Flashcard 36: What was the role of Thurgood Marshall in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1940s and 1950s?

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

Flashcard 37: Identify the event in 1948 that marked the beginning of the desegregation of the U.S. military.

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

Flashcard 38: What was the significance of the 1946 Morgan v. Virginia decision?

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

Flashcard 39: Identify the 1957 civil rights event where nine African American students integrated a high school in Arkansas.

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

Flashcard 40: What was the role of Thurgood Marshall in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1940s and 1950s?

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

Flashcard 41: Identify the 1955 event in Montgomery, Alabama, that became a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement.

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

Flashcard 42: Which city was a focal point of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955?

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

Flashcard 43: What did the Civil Rights Act of 1957 aim to achieve?

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

Flashcard 44: Who was the chief counsel of the NAACP during the Brown v. Board of Education case?

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

Flashcard 45: Which civil rights leader emerged as a prominent figure during the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

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

Flashcard 46: Which President's administration was responsible for desegregating the military?

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

Flashcard 47: Identify the landmark Supreme Court case of 1954 that ruled school segregation unconstitutional.

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

Flashcard 48: Identify the 1955 event in Montgomery, Alabama, that became a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement.

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

Flashcard 49: Which civil rights leader led the 1955-56 Montgomery Bus Boycott?

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

Flashcard 50: Name the African American baseball player who broke MLB's color barrier in 1947.

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

Flashcard 51: Which organization's legal strategy focused on desegregation and voting rights during the Civil Rights Movement?

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

Flashcard 52: Which organization was founded in 1909 and played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement?

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

Flashcard 53: Which President sent federal troops to enforce school integration in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957?

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

Flashcard 54: What organization did Martin Luther King Jr. help found in 1957 to advance civil rights through nonviolent protest?

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

Flashcard 55: Identify the form of protest where African Americans refused to use public buses in Montgomery in 1955-56.

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

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

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

Flashcard 57: Which organization's legal strategy focused on desegregation and voting rights during the Civil Rights Movement?

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

Flashcard 58: Name the African American baseball player who broke MLB's color barrier in 1947.

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

Flashcard 59: Which 1950s civil rights event involved high school students protesting segregated schools in Virginia?

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

Flashcard 60: Which civil rights leader led the 1955-56 Montgomery Bus Boycott?

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

Flashcard 61: Which civil rights leader emerged as a prominent figure during the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

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

Flashcard 62: Which President's administration was responsible for desegregating the military?

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

Flashcard 63: What was the outcome of the Morgan v. Virginia Supreme Court case of 1946?

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

Flashcard 64: Which Supreme Court case upheld the constitutionality of 'separate but equal' in 1896, setting a precedent for segregation?

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

Flashcard 65: What was the primary focus of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)?

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

Flashcard 66: Which President sent federal troops to enforce school integration in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957?

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

Flashcard 67: What was the role of the NAACP in the early Civil Rights Movement?

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