These organizations were actually peaceful and nonviolent organization protesting racial inequality. Their nonviolent and peaceful approaches were the strategies that they used during the Civil Right Movement. The NAACP’s legal victories were the most successful in overturning the South’s systems of Jim Crow Laws, but the SCLC and SNCC received more media recognition. Martin Luther King Jr’s, (founder of SCLC) , goal was to coordinate peaceful protests in response to the Jim Crow Laws and the Montgomery Bus Boycott that had taken place in 1955. He had hoped that he could gather a momentum that would extend the support of black churches because black churches played a central role in the Civil Rights Movement.
To what extent was Peaceful Protest responsible for the successes of the civil rights movement in 1955-1964? In the years 1955-64 there were many factors responsible for success in the civil rights movement; peaceful protest being one of the most important factors. Peaceful protests inspired many to act and also drew attention to the inequalities faced by many black Americans. These kinds of protests resulted in the majority of the successes in the movement, drawing the attention of the media and leading to the establishment of many civil rights groups who fought for desegregation. Yet, peaceful protests alone could not have achieved such success; factors such as federal intervention played a vital role in the achievement of success also.
Martin Luther King was one of the most influential figures in the civil rights movement in the years 1955-68. He gave many speeches and conducted/participated in many peaceful campaigns in the south fighting for equal rights for African Americans. The peaceful protest method used was adopted from Ghandi, who used these peaceful methods to gain India’s independence from British rule in 1947. Firstly looking at the peaceful campaigns conducted in the period 1955-68, and their effectiveness on the civil rights movement. The Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 showed that peaceful protests could be effective.
Furthermore, the NAACP supported the case against Milam and Bryant in 1955 for the lynching of 14-year old Emmett Till, the NAACP helped by protecting his uncle Moses Wright. This allowed Mose Wright to give his testimony, drawing media attention in the blatant racism in the Deep South. The NAACP was also responsible for the success of the Civil Rights Campaign through peaceful protests, for example they organised the Montgomery Bus Boycott which led to the desegregation of buses in Alabama in the Bowler v. Gayle case. The Role of Individuals was another factor contributing to the success of the Civil Rights Campaign during 1945-57. Rosa Parks helped as she started the bus boycott of Montgomery by refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger.
The federal government were successful to a large extent in advancing civil rights in the period 1955 – 1968 for a number of reasons. Within this period, the USA had three presidents, each passing or initiating civil rights legislation to advance civil rights for African Americans. Legislation and the attitudes of congress and the Supreme Court had a large influence on the advancement of civil rights, however, it could be said that legislation was happening too slowly to make progress, and many groups within the federal and state governments opposed the advancement of civil rights. Legislation played a large role in the advancement of civil rights between 1955 and 1968, as it effectively ended legal segregation and begun the final destruction of segregation in the USA. Acts passed by Eisenhower and Johnson had a big impact on the advancement of civil rights, with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ending all segregation of all public places and facilities, and the voting rights act of 1965 outlawing all measures to prevent American citizens from voting.
This protests success could also have been some of the inspiration behind the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955. Another organisation that evoked change in the period leading up to 1945 was the NAACP, who were involved in non-violent protests as well as the Smith Vs. Allwright case which overturned states such as Texas who disenfranchised the black citizens. The triumph of this case showed a hope for the representation of blacks as a whole and this led to more support for the organisation after the war which helped develop the civil right movement. An important black activist in relation to the Second World War specifically, was A. Phillip Randolph who was a trade unionist and important figure in the Double V campaign. The Double V campaign was very important as it was a symbol worn by black soldiers to show they supported victory against fascism at home and abroad.
Yet again, serious violence developed at the hands of white racists. In response to this, Johnson introduced a further Civil Rights reform. In August 1965, the Voting Rights Act became law, removing all barriers which prevented black Americans from registering as voters. Results The non-violent campaigns of the Civil Rights movement during the 1950s and early to mid-1960s achieved notable successes. With charismatic and intelligent spokesmen such as Martin Luther King, the Civil Rights campaigners had brought the plight of black Americans to the attention of the whole world.
How Far Was Peaceful Protest Responsible for the Success of the Civil Rights Movement in the Years 1955-1964? From 1955 to 1964 the civil rights movement organised a series of campaigns addressing transport, education, voting and the segregation of public places. These campaigns included the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955, the little rock campaign of 1957, the Greensboro sit-ins of 1960 and the Birmingham campaign of 1963. Many campaigns during this time period highlighted that peaceful protest was an effective way of achieving change and bringing in extra white support to push through legal battles. One such protest was the Montgomery Bus Boycott that occurred from 1955-56.
Parks helped blacks pass tests that had been set up to make it difficult for them to pass. Rosa Parks was a major factor in the fight for equal rights. She had enough courage not to give up her seat that day in 1955 on the city bus to a white person, who she felt was no better than she, when seen through the eyes of those on the right track. Ms.Parks also helped start a boycott that kept blacks off city buses for a year. That boycott took part in the fight to equal rights.
King improved the life of African Americans through various campaign is this time scale, some were success and some were failures. They all either effected Social, Economic and Political factors, however he was limited in his improvements due to people who did not agree with his ideas, or where his opposition. MLK’s main impact was on the Social factor for the lives of African Americans, most his attention was focused in this area as he wanted to stop segregation and improve education. The first of his campaigns improve segregation was Montgomery its aim to desegregate interstate transport, the main event of this campaign was the Bus Boycott. This sparked the attention at they wanted and was a success resulting white people beginning to agree with them as well as African Americans starting to work together giving a stronger sense of community spirit.