Protests and direct action
Practice Flashcards
Flip to reveal answersWhat was the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–56)?
Track your progress — Sign up free to save your progress and get smart review reminders based on spaced repetition.
All 12 Flashcards — Protests and direct action
Sign up free to track progress and get spaced-repetition review schedules.
Question
What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–56)?
Answer
A 381-day refusal by black residents to ride Montgomery's buses after Rosa Parks's arrest; it ended bus segregation there and launched Martin Luther King Jr.
Question
Define nonviolent direct action.
Answer
Peacefully breaking or blocking unjust rules on purpose to force change and win public sympathy.
Question
Define segregation (Jim Crow).
Answer
Keeping black and white people apart by law, giving black Americans worse schools, separate facilities and, in many places, no real vote.
Question
What happened in the Greensboro sit-ins (1960)?
Answer
Four black students sat at a whites-only lunch counter and refused to leave; the tactic spread across cities and led to the formation of SNCC.
Question
What were the Freedom Rides (1961)?
Answer
CORE activists rode buses into the South to test desegregation; mob violence forced the federal government to enforce desegregation of bus terminals.
Question
Why was the Birmingham campaign (1963) important?
Answer
Police turned fire hoses and dogs on peaceful marchers, including children; the shocking images built national support for a civil rights law.
Question
What was the March on Washington (28 August 1963)?
Answer
A peaceful gathering of about 250,000 people demanding jobs and freedom, where King gave his 'I Have a Dream' speech.
Question
What did the Selma marches (1965) lead to?
Answer
After 'Bloody Sunday' violence at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the outrage helped pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Question
Name the four main forms of civil rights protest.
Answer
Boycotts, sit-ins, Freedom Rides and marches (B-S-R-M).
Question
Why did activists choose nonviolence as a strategy?
Answer
When peaceful protesters were attacked, the media images won public sympathy, embarrassed the government and made ignoring the movement impossible.
Question
Which two laws did the protests help bring about?
Answer
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Question
What does the command term 'evaluate' require?
Answer
A judgement: weigh the factors against each other and reach a supported conclusion, not just a list.
Read the notes
Full study notes for Protests and direct action
Topic 4.1 hub
US civil rights movement (1954–1965)
More from Topic 4.1
All flashcards in this topic
History exam skills
Paper structures & tips
Track your progress with spaced repetition
Sign up free — Aimnova tells you exactly which cards to review and when, so you remember everything before your IB exam.
Start Free