John Brown led a raid on a federal arsenal in 1859 hoping to spark a slave uprising, but he failed to gain support and was executed. His actions were viewed differently, seen as fanatical by some but heroic by others like Thoreau. The US had developed differing regional societies by the 1800s, with the North industrializing and the South dependent on slavery. The Civil War ended slavery but Reconstruction faced resistance. Segregation became law after the Civil Rights Act was overturned and Jim Crow laws enforced racial separation despite some protest movements emerging.

1. US Civil Rights
Movement: Background

2. John Brown’s Uprising
• On 16 October 1859, John Brown led a
group of 21 to attack and occupy a federal
weapons arsenal in Harper’s Ferry,
Virginia.
• Brown hoped to ignite a large slave
uprising.
• He failed to draw support from local slaves
and after less than 36 hours was overrun
by federal and local troops and arrested.
• On 2 December 1859, he was executed on
the outskirts of Charles Town Virginia.

3. Evaluations
• “a religious fanatic” (Abraham Lincoln)
• “a notorious old thief and murderer” (Patriot Newspaper)
• “misguided, wild and apparently insane” (Abolitionist William Lloyd
Garrison)
• “a heroic and selfless martyr”
• He had “a perfect right to interfere by force with the slave holder, in
order to rescue the slave.” (Henry David Thoreau)
• “part of a broader plot of the North against the South”

6. 1. Settlement of USA resulted in different
societies
•North: Puritanism,
Mercantilism, industry
•South: Planter society,
dependant on salves
•West: Settled late, frontier
society, free settlers

7. 2. USA is a federal system with 3 branches of
government
• 13 American colonies united in 1776 –
other states joined later
• Constitution set out
• areas of federal vs state vs local
responsibility
• that federal law trumped state law
• the role of the legislature (Congress &
Senate)
• the role of the executive (President)
• the role of the judiciary (Supreme Court)

10. 3. Long legacy of slavery
• Feature of life in Americas since 17th Century
• South dependant on slaves to work fields
• In USA: Chattel slavery
• Biblical justification:
• "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his
brothers. He also said, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of
Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend
the territory of Japheth; may Japeth live in the tents of
Shem and may Canaan be his slave'. " (Genesis 9:25-27)
• "tell slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give
satisfaction in every respect" (Titus 2:9)
• Monroe’s Liberia solution
• Dredd Scott v Sandford decision

12. 4. Civil War & Reconstruction
• War between Northern Union and Southern
Confederacy between 1860-1864
• States’ Rights
• Slavery
• Northern victory resulted in destruction of the
South
• Reconstruction imposed equality, exploitation
and change on the South
• 14th, 15th, 16th Amendments to the Constitution
• Slavery replaced by sharecropping
• Thaddeus Stevens’ solution

13. 5. Segregation was the social and legal norm
• 1875 Civil Rights Act declared
unconstitutional
• Plessy v Ferguson decision
• Jim Crow South
• Social segregation North
• Stereotypes enhanced
• Psychological and physical violence
used to maintain system

14. 6. Movement of change was underway but not
united
• Ida B. Wells: used journalism to bring attention to lynchings
• Marcus Garvey: formed Universal Negro Improvement Association to
help Blacks work for self-determination
• W.E.B. Du Bois: pointed our the social and psychological impact of
racism and suggested vigorous protests could help achieve equality
• Booker T. Washington: advocated vocational training and economic
independence
• A. Philip Randolph: used organised labour and threat of mass protest
to push for integration
• Thurgood Marshall: led legal battle to overturn segregation

15. 7. Context of USCRM: 1950s-1960s
• Decolonisation and nationalism
• Cold War
• Prosperity
• Urbanism
• Suburbanism
• Integration

16. Big questions we will follow
• Did the CRM achieve its goals?
• Voting rights? Integration? Economic rights? Housing?
Justice system? Health? Education?
• What was the most successful strategy of the CRM?
• Legal challenge? Mass protest? Direct action? Black
Power? Broad cultural change?
• Who played the most important role in the CRM?
• Charismatic leaders? Grassroots activists?