for aplus writer only

1. Statement of Topic:

The struggle of African Americans in the pursuit of equal rights and freedoms

2. Events

Event 1: 1877 to 1945

Event: The Great Depression is the first chosen event. It took place from 1929 to 1939. It affected the entire United States. The relatively industrialized North and the considerably agricultural Southern regions were affected. Five conditions were viewed as the cause of the Great Depression. They included the crash of the Stock market in 1929, Bank failures throughout the 1930s, reduction of purchasing across the board, the American economic policy with its European counterpart, and drought conditions. This event is historically critical and valuable because it led to tension among communities cultural and social adversities among different groups regionally, occupationally, and classes.

Event 2: 1877 to 1945

Event: The second event is World War II that took place between 1939 and 1945. All the United States was involved in the war. It involved recruiting more men into war including African Americans and other people of color or minorities. Women were also encouraged to take up military-related jobs and start working to support their families. Several factors contributed to the war or America's entry into the war. They included Hitler's invasion of Poland, Japan's takeover of Manchuria, German's invasion of USSR, and Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. This is a significant event in the history of America because it prompted many African Americans to join the war and fight as patriots, which paved the way for social equality notions and that begun the great civil rights struggle journey.

Event 3: 1945 to the present

Event: The third event is titled Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954, 1955). This is a case taken to court to petition against the segregation in schools. The case was, in fact, consolidation of five cases heard at the US Supreme Court as an appeal. The case overturned the previous ruling and common practice in the South to uphold segregation in school. Apart from the main petitioners, the other stakeholders included the African American community and NAACP, which had been strongly fighting the segregation laws in schools. The chief attorney was a member and employee of NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). These were fighting to have African Americans allowed in the then all-white schools. The ruling of the court dismantled the segregation laws in the South and demanded for equality in all schools.

Event 4: 1945 to the present

Event: The fourth event chosen is the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was passed by the US Congress. The Act dismantled segregation in the public places as well as criminalized employment discrimination due to color, race, sex, religion, or national origin. The Act had received tremendous opposition from the Congressmen from the South when first proposed by President John F. Kennedy. It latter sailed through during his successor Lyndon B. Johnson. NAACP had been strongly involved in the process through talking with Congressmen and other politicians. The significance of the Act is that, finally, all segregation and discrimination laws and practices were constitutionally outlawed.

3. Sources

Primary Source 1

Philip Randolph to NAACP Secretary, Walter White. (1941, March 18). NAACP Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (050.01.00).

Philip Randolph, a labor leader, wrote this letter in 1941 addressed to the NAACP Secretary Walter White. It was written in the early years of the Second World War. It was a suggestion to the NAACP Secretary to conduct a mass protest by African Americans to protest against discrimination in the armed forces and defense industries. This source supports the thesis assertion that NAACP was strongly involved in civil rights struggle since the World War II.

Primary Source 2

Clarence Mitchell to Roy Wilkins. (1964, May 8). Senate Letter No. 15. NAACP Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (193.00.00).

This letter was by Clarence Mitchell, Director of the NAACP Washington Bureau to the NAACP Executive Secretary in 1964. The letter was notifying the NAACP Executive Secretary of the success of the proposed bill to each segregation in public places and outlaw discriminatory practices in employment. It marks the highest point of success the NAACP had achieved so far. This letter is important in the thesis and final paper because it reflects the works and strategies used by NAACP to reinforce support for its course in the Congress while weakening the other group that opposed the bill.

Secondary Source 1:

Hodges, K. (2010, April 19). Continuity or Change: African Americans in World War II. Retrieved from University of Maryland, Baltimore County Web site: http://www.umbc.edu/che/tahlessons/pdf/Continuity_or_Change_African_Americans_in_World_War_II(PrinterFriendly).pdf

This document was prepared for teaching purposes through a partnership of the Center for History Education at University of Maryland and the Baltimore City Public School System. It explores the Great Depression period and the World War II era. It argues that the two eras offered the opportunity and primed the African Americans civil rights activists to fight for civil rights. This source is important because it provides details that can show the motivation that made NAACP embark on a vigorous political struggle for civil rights amendments.

Secondary Source 2:

Carson, C. (2004). Two Cheers for Brown v. Board of Education. The Journal of American History, April 1, 1-6.

This journal article details the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. It discusses in detail the effects that the decision of the court ruling had on the society, both to the African American and White populations. It further indicates the other civil liberties that the case did not address but motivated. This article is important for the final project because it shows the impact that the case hard in the ongoing struggle to have segregation and discrimination abolished.

4. Thesis Statement

Thesis: The NAACP was a crucial force in the African American struggle for equal rights and liberties from the before the Great Depression until the ratification of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.