Essay Questions

Native American movements in the Americas
 * How and why did native peoples in the Americas seek to affirm their identities in the period after the Second World War?
 * Assess the effects of the Second World on indigenous people in any two countries in the Americas in the decade after 1945.
 * Using at least two countries as case studies, explain how and why native people tried to affirm their rights in the second half of the 20th century.
 * Why did indigenous people begin protest movements in one country of the region in the 1960s?
 * With reference to two countries of the region, to what extent did the civil rights of the indigenous people change from the 1960's to 2000?
 * Assess the successes and failures of native peoples' protest movements in at least two countries of the region since 1945.

The African-American experience from slavery to the Great Depression
 * 'Booker T. Washington did more to advance the cause of African-American rights than William du Bois.' How far do you agree with this statement?
 * How far did the position of African-Americans in the USA improve between 1877 and 1940?
 * 'The First World War had more impact on the lives of African-Americans in the USA than the NAACP did.' How far do you agree with this statement?
 * 'By 1949, the position of American-Americans in the North had improved but white supremacy was still entrenched in the South.'
 * 'Marcus Garvey and A. Philip Randolph did little to advance the cause of African-American civil rights in the inter-war .' To what extent do you agree with this assessment?
 * 'From Reconstruction to the Depression of the 1030's, there was little lasting improvement in the civil rights of African-Americans.' To what extent do you agree with this verdict?

The emergence of the civil rights movement in the 1940s and 1950s The peak of the campaign for civil rights 1960-65
 * 'The primary importance of the Montgomery Bus Boycott was that it led to the emergence of Martin Luther King as a leader of the civil rights movement.' To what extent do you agree with this interpretation?
 * How do you account for the rise of the African-American civil rights movement in the years from 1945 to 1960?
 * Explain why schools were not immediately desegregated after the verdict in the Supreme Court case of Brown v. Topeka Board of Education in 1954.
 * To what extent was the Montgomery Bus Boycott the major turning point in the campaign for African-American civil rights in the 1950s?
 * How important was the role of the Supreme Court in the advancement of civil rights for African-Americans in the 1950s?
 * To what extent were the lives of African-Americans in the South changed during the 1950s?
 * 'The use of non-violence was the most important reason for the improvement in African-American civil rights in the years 1960 to 1965.' How far do you agree with this statement?
 * 'Martin Luther King's most important contribution to the civil rights movement was the mobilizing mass support.' How far do you agree with this statement?

Source used: Mark Stacey & Michael Scott-Baumann: Civil Rights and Social Movements in the Americas. Cambridge University Press, 2013.