Study Guides

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils study a modern society and the issues that affected it in great depth over a shorter period. They learn about the key events, developments, people and stories that shaped this modern society over a period of around twenty to thirty years.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to explain the importance of Martin Luther King for the civil rights movement, including the 1957 Civil Rights Act.

Key Notes

• After the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Martin Luther King emerged as an important leader of the movement.
• Martin Luther King established the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
• The SCLC organised a campaign for voter registration amongst black people.
• Eisenhower enforced a Civil Rights Bill, although it was considered 'watered down'.

Vocabulary To Learn

• orator: an orator is a public speaker
• registration: registration is the act of signing up to do something, for example voting
• citizenship: when you gain citizenship, you became a legally recognised member of a nation and have certain rights and protections under the law
• act: an act is a law passed by the government
• Democrats: Democrats are members of one of the two major political parties in the US, Republicans are members of the other party

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Martin Luther King Jr had always been part of the civil rights movement.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• Changing US policy in Vietnam, 1969-1972 Study Guide
• Civil rights organisations in the 20th century Study Guide
• Containment and the Domino Theory Study Guide
• Early opposition to the civil rights movement Study Guide
• Freedom rides: protests and progress for civil rights (1961) Study Guide
• French Indochina Study Guide
• Greensboro and the sit-in movement Study Guide
• Gulf of Tonkin incident Study Guide
• How successful was the civil rights movement by 1975? Study Guide
• Impact of the Vietnam War Study Guide
• King's campaign in the North Study Guide
• North Vietnamese strengths in the Vietnam War Study Guide
• Opposition to the Vietnam War in the US Study Guide
• Peace negotiations to end the Vietnam War, 1968-1972 Study Guide
• Progress in education, 1954-60 Study Guide
• Reasons why the civil rights movement was more successful from 1960 to 1965 Study Guide
• Segregation and discrimination in the USA Study Guide
• Support for the Vietnam War in the US Study Guide
• The Black Panther Party Study Guide
• The changing position of black Americans by 1960 Study Guide
• The Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965) Study Guide
• The effect of Vietnamisation on US policy in Vietnam Study Guide
• The emergence of the Black Power movement Study Guide
• The expansion of the war into Cambodia, Laos and North Vietnam, 1969-1972 Study Guide
• The James Meredith case (1962) Study Guide
• The Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-6) Study Guide
• The Paris Peace agreement, 1973 Study Guide
• The peace marches (1963) and Freedom Summer (1964) Study Guide
• The riots of 1965-67 and the Kerner Report (1968) Study Guide
• The role of Malcolm X in the civil rights movement Study Guide
• The Tet Offensive Study Guide
• US involvement in Vietnam Study Guide
• US weaknesses in the Vietnam War Study Guide
• Vietcong resistance Study Guide