American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

American History - Essay Example As one of the most consequential social movements in recent times, this research paper will explore the emergence of the U.S. Civil Rights movement and argue that without this movement, Barack Obama would not be president today. Seeking to address the emergence of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, this research paper will explore a variety of questions and provide an in-depth theoretical analysis of the early stages of this important social movement. Why did the U.S. Civil Rights Movement emerge when it did? What factors account for the emergence of boycotts as a technique of protest? Was the U.S. Civil Rights Movement a spontaneous reaction to decades of oppression or was it organized and led by key leaders and organizations? These questions and many more will be explored in this comprehensive analysis of the US Civil Rights movement. This essay refers to Unit IV (1946-1976) and aims to provide a thorough and comprehensive analysis of one of the most important movements of the twentieth century, namely the US Civil Rights Movement. Social movements have historically been agents for social change and any analysis of a movement must account for its emergence. At the outset of the Civil Rights Movement, various campaigns were a response to the systematic discrimination which plagued the southern United States in the middle half of the twentieth century. This movement brought the plight of southern African-Americans to the forefront of the American consciousness and its successes can largely be measured in the legislative and normative changes which were a direct result of specific campaigns. As a whole, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as the Supreme Court decision in 1956 striking down Alabama’s segregation laws, are substantive examples of the successes this movement has achieved in the political realms. Normatively speaking, black politicians in the southern United States