Question

(This is for United States history assignment)

Please explain how Civil Rights progresses in the 1950's and 1960's starting with the desegregation of the the Army by President Truman.

Answer 1

The civil rights movement was a struggle for social justice that took place mainly during the 1950s and 1960s for blacks to gain equal rights under the law in united states. The civil war had officially abolished slavery, but it didn't end discrimination against blacks, they continued to endure the devasting effects of racism, especially in the south.

Truman was the first president since Lincoln to address the civil rights issues.In 1948, Truman issued two executive orders banning segregation in the armed forces and guaranteeing fair employment practices in the civil service. Though military took two years to push through the law and very few African Americans became officers. In 1951, Turman introduced another executive order which established the committee on Government Contract Compliance CGCC.

In 1957, president Elisenhower signed the civil Rights Act of 1957 into the law, the first major civil rights legislation since reconstruction. It allowed federal prosecution of anyone who tried to prevent someone from voting.

President Johnson took the civil Rights Act of 1964 several steps further when he signed the Voting Rights Act into law in 1965. The new law banned all voter literacy tests and provided federal examiners in certain voting jurisdictions.

The Fair Housing Act become law in 1968. It prevented housing discrimination based on race,sex, national origin and religion. It was also the last legislation enacted during the civil rights era.

The efforts of civil right activists and countless protestors of all races brought about legislation to end segregation , black voter suppression and dscriminatory employment and housing practices.