New
New
Year 11
Edexcel

Progress in education, 1954-60

I can explain the extent of change in education in the 1950s, and how some people opposed these changes.

New
New
Year 11
Edexcel

Progress in education, 1954-60

I can explain the extent of change in education in the 1950s, and how some people opposed these changes.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. By 1950s, many schools across the US were still segregated, especially in the South.
  2. As a result of the Brown v. Topeka ruling, schools began to desegregate - although this was slow across the south.
  3. Some powerful local figures tried to oppose the desegregation of schools, particularly in the south.
  4. Although Eisenhower was reluctant, the federal government was pressured to enforce desegregation.

Keywords

  • Federal - a federal government is a system of government where there is one central government that controls a collection of smaller state governments

  • Desegregation - desegregation is when segregation is ended

  • Unconstitutional - something is unconstitutional when it breaks the terms of a country's constitution, especially when it violates the rights given to individuals by the constitution

  • School board - a school board is a group of individuals responsible for making decisions about schools in the local area

Common misconception

When the Supreme Court ordered all schools to desegregate, they were quick to follow this instruction because it came from the Supreme Court.

Although the Supreme Court was the highest court in the USA, many schools were slow to desegregate and some refused to desegregate until they were eventually forced.

Emphasise to students that the Brown v Topeka case and the actions of the Little Rock Nine were important moment of success, but encourage them to consider why most still felt more work needed to be done to achieve equality.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following activists helped to found the NAACP?
Correct answer: W.E.B. Du Bois
Correct answer: Ida B. Wells
Mahatma Gandhi
Martin Luther King Jr
Q2.
Match the words with their definitions.
Correct Answer:segregation,when different groups of people are forcefully kept separate or apart

when different groups of people are forcefully kept separate or apart

Correct Answer:civil rights,to have political and social freedom and equality

to have political and social freedom and equality

Correct Answer:lynch,to kill someone for an offence without a trial

to kill someone for an offence without a trial

Q3.
Which of the following correctly describes the impact of the Jim Crow laws?
Correct answer: They resulted in the segregation of schools.
Correct answer: They had been introduced in every southern state, and some northern states.
Correct answer: If a Black American was to break these laws, they could be lynched.
Q4.
Who was the President of the USA in both 1954 and 1957?
Correct answer: Dwight D. Eisenhower
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Herbert Hoover
Harry S. Truman
Q5.
What did Plessy v Ferguson rule?
The Jim Crow laws were not legal.
Correct answer: Segregation was legal if it was ‘separate but equal’.
Segregation was legal if it was 'separate but unequal'.
Q6.
How did the NAACP challenge segregation?
Correct answer: They chose to fight racial injustice in the courts.
They used non-violent direct action.
They did sit-ins, marches and other forms of protests.

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the words with their definitions.
Correct Answer:desegregation,is when segregation is ended

is when segregation is ended

Correct Answer:unconstitutional,breaks the terms of a country’s constitution

breaks the terms of a country’s constitution

Correct Answer:school board , a group responsible for making decisions about schools locally

a group responsible for making decisions about schools locally

Q2.
Which civil rights organisation was involved in Brown v Topeka?
Correct answer: NAACP
CORE
Church organisations
Q3.
Which of the following statements correctly describes the outcome of Brown v Topeka?
Schools were quick to follow the Supreme Court's order to desegregate.
Correct answer: Many schools were slow to desegregate.
Correct answer: Some schools refused to desegregate until they were eventually forced.
Correct answer: The KKK gained more members as people protested against the ruling.
Q4.
Which student turned up at Little Rock alone?
Correct answer: Elizabeth Eckford
Orval Faubus
Thelma Mothershed
Daisy Bates
Q5.
Which troops were sent in to escort and protect the Little Rock Nine?
Correct Answer: Federal troops, federal troops, federal, Federal
Q6.
Which of the following statements correctly explain the impact of Eisenhower's enforcing of desegregation after the events at Little Rock?
Correct answer: The Little Rock Nine successfully enrolled on 25th September 1957.
Correct answer: All four high schools in Little Rock closed rather than desegregate.
All high schools in Little Rock immediately moved to desegregate.
Correct answer: Students were educated at home for a year.
Correct answer: It set a precedent for challenging segregation at a federal level.

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