Civil Rights in the USA Thematic Study Notes for African American Rights (A-Level History)

Civil Rights in the USA : African America Revision Notes

45 pages / 14,000 words of content for African American rights in the USA.

Revision Notes broken up into themes and sub-themes for ease.

For example:

Topic: The Position of African Americans in 1865 (The Reconstruction Period)
What was the position of African Americans in 1865?

Subtopic: The Position of African Americans in 1865
• April 1865 South came within the Union’s jurisdiction and slaves became free

• New status as freedmen did not mean that they immediately gained the same rights as white owners

• War left the position of African Americans unresolved

o One suggestion that all former slaves should leave the USA but Lincoln ruled this out

o Another idea was to ensure African Americans had the same rights and status of whites

 Formidable problems in south given the resentment by a defeated white population accustomed to considering African Americans as property

• Former slaves caught between being legally free and not being seen as equal

• Issue of quite what they were free to do – no means of making a living

• Sharecropping

o White landowners allowed former slaves to work their land in return for a considerable share of what was produced

o Not very different from slavery

The sources used to create this resource include the following:

1. OCR Textbooks and Revision Guide for this unit
2. America’s Women (Gail Collins)
3. Massolit Lecture Videos (Subscription required)
4. America’s Dream (Garson)
5. BBC In Our Time Podcast on Martin Luther King (Highly recommend In Our Time for extra detail)

This resource includes a sharable PDF version and a editable Word Document. Furthermore, there is also a link to a very helpful Youtube Video that informed this document.

Thank you very much for your interest in this resource.

Any further questions please email alevelrevisionmadeeasy@gmail.com