Chapter 10 Notes - Part Two

Chapter 10 Notes - Part Two

The Post-War Civil Rights Movement (1945-1965)

After the conclusion of World War 2, many Arkansas veterans returned home with a new sense of purpose and belief about the world and how governments should operate to help people​

One way they exercised these beliefs was to get involved in politics by becoming activists and running for offices all over the state and country.

One example of these politicians was Marine officer and veteran, Sid McMath from Hot Springs, who would become Arkansas’ 34th Governor in 1949.

McMath would push the state towards racial equality appointing African-Americans to important government positions and opposing Jim Crow laws.

By 1950, the United States would be involved in the Korean War, sometimes labeled as the “Forgotten War”, to help fight the spread of Communism

While most Americans believed the war would be over quickly, it lasted over 3 years and took the lives of around 400 Arkansans.

Another change that began to take hold was the move toward urbanization -- or people moving from rural farming-based communities to towns and cities working in manufacturing jobs

Industrial progress led to new machines like mechanized cotton pickers, to help farmers, decreasing the need for individual workers on farms.

Civil Rights Movement​

One of the most difficult post-war changes in Arkansas and the South was the push for African American Civil Rights.

The Supreme Court decision in Brown v the Board of Education declared Jim Crow laws unconstitutional, and made the idea of “separate but equal” illegal.

With this decision, blacks now had legal access to the same buses, trains, restaurants, bathrooms, schools, etc. as their white counterparts

The most famous controversy in Arkansas regarding the decision was the push to integrate schools -- in particular Little Rock Central High

The LR School Board initially proposed a 6 year integration plan, but this was challenged in court by those who wanted immediate integration

The US government sided with those who wanted immediate integration, causing the controversy to explode even further and creating even more problems

As fears over violence at LR Central rose, Governor Orval Faubus posted members of the Arkansas National Guard around the school to deny entry to 9 students who were attempting to enroll - the Little Rock 9

The crisis in Little Rock became national news because the anger about the situation and the controversy were being felt all over the south as Jim Crow laws were being eliminated

After more than two weeks, President Eisenhower sent US Army troops to Little Rock to escort the Little Rock 9 into school and get them enrolled, and even  walk them from class to class.

Arkansas laws were passed giving the governor power to close any schools that attempted to integrate, using them to close LR schools for 1958-59

The following year, Little Rock schools would reopen due to public pressure, but it did not stop many students from losing a full year of education, the “Lost Year”

Despite the progress and national attention paid to Little Rock Central and the Little Rock 9, many Arkansas schools would not become fully integrated until 12 years later.