The Development of Civil Rights by 1975 (Edexcel GCSE History): Revision Note

Timeline

Summary

When Richard Nixon became president in 1969, he tried to appease White Americans who were concerned about rioting and the rise of the Black Power movement. At the same time, he tried to appeal to Black Americans to secure their votes in elections. By the mid-1970s, there had been undoubted improvements in the lives of many Black Americans. However, it was also clear that considerable progress had to be made for there to be true equality between Black and White Americans. 

Richard Nixon & the civil rights movement

• Richard Nixon became president in 1969 and tried to appeal to both Black and White voters

  • To appeal to White voters, he argued that improved civil rights were a way to stop riots and control Black Americans

  • To appeal to Black voters, he encouraged ‘affirmative action’ in employment and appointed more Black officials to work in the White House than ever before

  • Nixon also improved access to training for Black Americans who wanted to start their own businesses 

• Nixon was criticised by his political opponents for encouraging Black American homeownership

  • Nixon claimed homeownership would prevent riots as he didn’t believe Black Americans would destroy their own property

  • His opponents claimed this was patronising and overly-simplistic

What developments had been made in civil rights by 1975

• In some ways, there had been clear and undeniable progress in securing civil rights for Black Americans since the 1950s

• In other ways, it was clear that Black Americans were still very much treated as second-class citizens

Evidence of improved civil rights by 1975

• ‘Jim Crow’ Laws had been abolished nationwide

• Voting and political rights were the same for Black and White Americans

• The number of middle-class Black Americans who owned their own homes had increased

• American schools were desegregated

• There were 15 Black American members of Congress 

• The gap in average pay between Black and White Americans had closed

Evidence that not enough progress had been made in Civil Rights by 1975

• Life expectancy for Black Americans was five years less than for White Americans

• Black Americans were twice as likely to be unemployed

• Black Americans were three times more likely to live in poverty

• The percentage of Black elected officials did not reflect the size of America’s Black population

• The average income of a Black American household was just over half that of a White American household