ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
• To what extent was the 1950s an age of conformity in regard to politics, society, and culture?
• To what extent did the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s successfully address the failures of Reconstruction?
To what extent did the 1960s mark a turning point in U.S. History?
• What is the relationship between the Black Civil Rights Movement and the rights movements of Hispanics, women, and gays and lesbians?
IN SUMMARY:
In the 1950s, the Supreme Court ruled against racial segregation and put the weight of constitutional law behind the demand for civil rights.
From the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, the fight for civil rights was led primarily by leaders advocating nonviolence and civil disobedience.
In the mid-1960s, Congress passed laws promoting civil rights and voting rights. These laws strengthened the federal government's power to regulate state government's denial of civil rights.
In the late 1960s, the United States experienced many violent protests and race riots.
In the 1970s, debates over civil rights centered around busing and affirmative action.