The Civil Rights movement of the 1950s-1960s became a struggle for social fairness. Black Americans were assumed to receive equal rights under the United States laws. Although the Civil War denied slavery officially, the discrimination and racial disparities did not finish for Black folks. During the period of Reconstruction, Black Americans managed to receive independence in the political scope. However, during the Gilded Age, Black people suffered from white supremacy, and their freedom was refuted. It is informative to look at the failures of the Reconstruction, how the Civil Rights movement solved its problems, the connection with the Gilded Age, and what it meant for Black Americans.
The principal purposes of the Civil Rights movement were the Black folks’ liberation and refusal of segregation. The Reconstruction (1865-1877) that started after the Civil War was finished was supposed to protect Black folks and their rights. Black people even began to take on leadership various roles (sheriffs, congressmen, mayors). Still, the United States remained the country of white supremacy; that was why white vigilantes rebelled against Black people in such duties. Whites grossly mistreated Black inhabitants, and as a result, Black folks were frightened, and some of them were killed by white men. The Reconstruction failed because it finished with a cynical act of the presidential election of Rutherford B. Hayes.
During the Gilded Age, there were three Amendment Acts published. The 13th Act abolished slavery and promised equal protection of the laws for Black people. Another thing was that in 1868 the 14th Amendment to the Constitution gave Black folks a right to have equal protection under the United States law. Moreover, the 15th Amendment gave Black people the right to vote. Eventually, in 1875, the Civil Rights Act that guaranteed Black people equal treatment in public transport and services was published. Here, it is feasible to note Rosa Parks, a Black woman who refused to change her seat that was prepared for the white man in the transport. The thing was that Black folks were excluded from everywhere; they have not the ability to come to the same places, which white people visit.
However, a lot of white inhabitants were unhappy to see former slaves have their freedom. There were racist practices, which separated Black and white people from each other. Black inhabitants could not find a job or move to another place. Moreover, voting taxes and literacy tests were generated alongside Jim Crow laws. Thus, if Black people mistreat Jim Crow laws, they received the death penalty. Concerning these laws, it is clear that Amendment Acts and Jim Crow policies did not work properly for Black folks and took away their rights.
Therefore, the Civil Rights movement continued after the failed Reconstruction. During the 50s-60s, the movement utilized the Supreme Court unanimous Brown versus Board of Education decision of 1954 for the attempt to desegregate schools. The desegregation continues today in many districts of the United States, and people become aware of the discrimination issues better. In addition, the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act of the same year became a basis for the continuation of Black folks’ liberation. It is worth mentioning that although the Reconstruction did not bring decent results, the Civil Rights movement generated a basis for an international dialogue that still continues nowadays.