Rights and Freedoms
The fight against fascism during World War II highlighted the inequality in Western societies and European colonies. In the European colonies, the local population began the long and often violent struggle for independence and the end of European colonisation.
In the United States, African Americans returned home from fighting fascism and were confronted with the contrast between America’s ideals of democracy and equality and its treatment of racial minorities.
In Australia, the social freedom movements in Asia, Africa and America influenced the growing calls for a recognition of the rights of the Indigenous people.
In 1948, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the UN General Assembly. It stated that 'This Declaration is based upon the spiritual fact that man must have freedom in which to develop his full stature and through common effort to raise the level of human dignity.'
Discuss: Why was WW2 the spark for the Civil Rights movement?
1.Rights and Freedoms Folio
Part 1: Decolonisation and the end of the European empires
Decolonisation describes former colonies gaining independence after World War II. The devastation of World War II had weakened the European colonial powers, making it difficult for them to maintain control over distant territories. The war also showed the contradictions of colonisation, as European powers fought for democracy, freedom and self-determination while denying the same rights to their colonies.
Colonial peoples had played a significant role in World War II, contributing millions of soldiers and resources to the Allied war effort. After the war many returned to their countries and began organising and in many cases fighting for independence. This period of decolonisation fundamentally reshaped the world. Millions of people voted for the first time, and new, postcolonial leaders brought attention to historically neglected global issues such as economic inequality and foreign military intervention.
R & F Folio to do:
Annotate a map to show the extent of European colonies in 1939
Annotate a second map to show the extent of decolonisation 1945 - 1975
Part 2. The Jim Crow laws (USA)
In 1896 the US Supreme Court ruled that separate but equal laws were constitutional. This opened the way for white courts to enact regulations that segregated black and white communities . The laws divided the American South into black and white in almost every aspect of public life, including restaurants, hotels, theatres, bus stations, parks, public restrooms and drinking fountains, public schools, and the United States military. The laws became known as the Jim Crow laws after a fictional character, a caricature of a clumsy, dim witted black slave.
The Civil Rights movement finally brought an end to segregation with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
R & F folio to do:
Use images to describe four examples of 'Separate but equal' to explain what the Jim Crow laws were designed to do. (Hint. segregation)
Part 3. US Civil Rights 1951 - 1965
After WW2 Black Americans began to organise against prejudice and violence and this led to the Civil Rights Movement, which began mobilising and preparing to fight for equality, with the support of many white Americans. The civil rights movement was characterised by large campaigns of civil resistance, civil disobedience and acts of nonviolent protest, bringing the protests into sharp focus on the world stage, prompting federal and judicial action.
All it needed was a spark
On December 1, 1955, a 42-year-old woman named Rosa Parks found a seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus after work. Segregation laws at the time stated Black passengers must sit in designated seats at the back of the bus. When a White man got on the bus and couldn’t find a seat in the white section at the front of the bus, the bus driver instructed Parks and three other Black passengers to give up their seats. Parks refused and was arrested. Her arrest ignited outrage and support, Parks unwittingly became the “mother of the modern day civil rights movement.”
R & F folio to do:
A civil rights timeline that includes a brief description of the following events.
Brown Vs The Board of Education
Rosa Parkes and the Montgomery bus boycott
The Little Rock 9
The Freedom Rides
The Birmingham Boycott
The March on Washington
The Selma to Montgomery Marches
The Civil Rights Act (1964)
2. Civil Rights Sources
Source 1. Political Cartoon commenting on Black American voting rights, 1876.
'Of course he wants to vote the Democrat ticket'1.
Following the 15th Amendment (1870), which barred states from depriving citizens the right to vote based on race, southern states began enacting measures such as poll taxes, literacy tests, all-white primaries, fraud and intimidation to keep African Americans from the polls.
Questions
Using evidence from the source, describe the message the cartoonist is attempting to convey in the cartoon. (2)
Source 2. Source 3. ' Colored entrance'. Life magazine 1957
The Plessy v. Ferguson verdict enshrined the doctrine of “separate but equal” as a constitutional justification for segregation, ensuring the survival of the Jim Crow South for the next half-century.
Questions
Describe the concept of separate but equal, using evidence from the source. (2)
Source 2: The Civil Rights Movement. Hynson, C. London and Sydney: Franklin Watts, 2010.
'The 14th Amendment (1868) to the Constitution of the United States granted citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to African Americans and slaves In the years after the amendment, the states of the US South passed a number of laws to restrict black voting and made it legal to separate black and white people when they used public facilities such as schools, public transport or restaurants. These laws were known as ‘Jim Crow’ laws. For example, in North Carolina, black and white people were allocated separate tables in libraries, and many courts provided separate Bibles for black and white people for swearing in witnesses.'
Questions
Describe the purpose of the 'Jim Crow' laws and how this was achieved, using evidence from the source. (3)
Use evidence from each of the sources (state the evidence and name the source in each case) to evaluate the following statement: (5)
'The 14th Amendment (1868) gave full civil rights to all African Americans.”
Source 1. Of course eh wants to vote democrat
Source 3. Colored entrance
3. Rights and Freedoms: Australia
The period following World War II marked a significant turning point for Indigenous rights in Australia. The war experience and exposure to international ideas about human rights contributed to changing attitudes.
Significant dates before 1965
In 1938, Aboriginal people held a national day of mourning to coincide with the 150th anniversary of British colonisation. The 1938 Day of Mourning was a landmark event for several reasons. It was the first national gathering of Indigenous people protesting against their treatment. It marked the beginning of the modern Aboriginal political movement.
In 1948, Aboriginal people were granted the right to receive federal pensions, maternity allowances, and other social service benefits
The 1962 Commonwealth Electoral Act gave Aboriginal people the right to vote in federal elections.. This landmark legislation gave all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people the option to enrol and vote in federal elections.
To do: Introduction to Indigenous rights and freedoms
Define the following terms: Terra nullius
Describe the significance of the National day of mourning (1938)
How did the Australian constitution recognise Australian Aboriginal people after 1901?
Which branch of government had responsibility for Australian Aboriginal people in 1945?
List examples of the social discrimination experienced by Australian Aboriginal people?
Extra: Why do you think some Indigenous people were excluded from voting before 1962?
4. What does a policy of assimilation look like?
It looks like the forcible removal of children
Australian government policies of Assimilation between 1910-1970, led to the forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families. The children removed under these policies became known as the Stolen Generations. Child removal left a legacy of trauma and loss that continues to affect Indigenous communities, families and individuals.
What is Assimilation?
Assimilation is a process that absorbs individuals or groups of different ethnic heritage (IE. Aboriginal Australians) into the dominant culture of a society (IE. European Australians). Assimilation was based on the assumption that Aboriginals were inferior and white society was superior, It was thought that Aboriginal people should be allowed to “die out” through a process of natural elimination, or, where possible, assimilated into the white community. Assimilation policies focused on children. Children were considered more adaptable to white society than Indigenous adults. “Half-caste” children (a term now considered derogatory for people of Aboriginal and white parentage), were particularly vulnerable to removal, because authorities thought these children could be assimilated more easily into the white community due to their lighter skin colour.
Children taken from their parents were taught to reject their Indigenous heritage, and forced to adopt white culture. Their names were often changed, and they were forbidden to speak their traditional languages. Some children were adopted by white families, and many were placed in institutions where abuse and neglect were common.
Child removal policies, failed in their aim of improving the lives of Aboriginal Australians by absorbing them into white society. This was primarily because white society refused to accept Indigenous people as equals, regardless of their efforts to live like white people.
To do: questions
Define Assimilation
Explain why children, especially 'half caste' children, were the focus of Assimilation policies.
Use examples to explain what happened to children after they were removed from their families.
Why were these policies a failure?
Background briefing: The certificate of exemption.
A Certificate of Exemption allowed Aboriginal people to travel freely in towns and cities away from their communities. Indigenous children were given Certificates of Exemption, often without their knowledge, they received them after being forcefully removed from their families and placed in institutions
Discuss: : How do you think people with certificates of exemption were treated by wider white society?
The impact on Indigenous people.
The exact number of children who were removed may never be known. It is thought anywhere from 1 in 10 to 1 in 3 children were removed. In some families children from three or more generations were taken. The removal of children broke important cultural, spiritual and family ties and has left a lasting and intergenerational impact on the lives and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Many of the Stolen Generations were psychologically, physically, and sexually abused while living in state care or with their adoptive families
Efforts to make these children reject their culture often caused them to feel ashamed of their Indigenous heritage
Many children were wrongly told that their parents had died or abandoned them, and many never knew where they had been taken from or who their biological families were
The children generally received a very low level of education, as they were expected to work as manual labourers and domestic servants
There is a high incidence of depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress and suicide among the Stolen Generations
To do: Stolen generation impacts
Write a short (150 words) media article describing the impact of these policies on the Stolen generations.
5. Stolen generations sources
Sources Analysis Answer Guide
Hints and tips for a successful source analysis:
Quote often and begin your response with name of the author, not the Source number. Put the source number in brackets at the end of the quote/paraphrasing.
EG: ‘Lamb shows two examples of the importance of religion in Ancient Greece. ....' (Source 1)
Always use full sentences and include the question in your answer
Use the mark scheme to guide your answer.
Two marks means you need to make two clear points.
Three marks means you need to make three clear points.
For example:
This is supported by Jones who states that 'History students would be more popular at parties if they used this method.' (Source 3)
Source 1. Newspaper advertisement, Perth WA. 1934
Written comments on a 1934 newspaper clipping:
"I like the little girl in centre of group, but if taken by anyone else, any of the others would do, as long as they are strong"
Questions
What does the written comment reveal about the experience of the stolen generations? (2)
What is the value of newspaper ads for an historian studying the Stolen generations? (3)
Source 2. Source 2. Personal advertisement - NIT, issue 130 2007
Questions
What is the purpose of the source? (2)
What does the notice reveal about the ongoing experiences of the stolen generations? (2)
Source 3. Excerpt from the Stolen generations SBS Television
The Aborigine’s Protection Board (APB) had the power ‘to assume full control and custody of the child of any Aborigines’ if a court found the child to be under the Neglected Children and Juvenile Offenders Act 1905.
Elaine Hughes was sitting in class when a policeman came to the school. Elaine didn’t know it at the time, but she would never see her father again.
“Back then we didn’t have Department Of Community Services (DoCS) so it was a policeman in uniform who was a welfare officer- the ones who take children away. He came to class and the sisters called me out and then I was taken to the police station and charged with being a victim of neglect,” she says.
Questions
What was the legal justification for removing children from their families? (2)
Source 4. The Cootamundra Girls Home, NSW. 1935
Many stolen children lived in institutions run by church groups.
Questions
What does source 4 suggest about the experience of the children living at the Cootamundra girls home? (2)
Source 5. Excerpt from the Stolen generations SBS Television
Elaine says they were never, ever allowed to talk in language.
“We were caned if we got caught. I received six on one hand and six on the other for doing it.”
But the cane wasn’t as bad as the alternative.
“It was an old hospital so they’d lock us in the morgue for talking in language. We’d be there for hours and hours and hours.”
Elaine says if you were caught talking during assembly you’d go into ‘the box room’.
“They didn’t take us by the hand either, they dragged us by our hair.”
Questions
What are two conclusions that can be drawn from source 5? (2)
Source 6. Lucky Malcom. Pryor 1989
The state Aboriginal welfare board was charged with removing children from their families.
Questions
How does source 6 support source 3. (2)
Source .
