Posted by: Mrs. Panagiotopoulos on: January 12, 2012
MISSISSIPPI TRIAL, 1955 RESEARCH PROJECTS
A) Slavery
1) From where did slaves come?
2) Describe how they were captured and transported to this country.
3) Why were slaves needed in the New World?
3) What happened to these slaves once they arrived in the states?
4) How were they treated on the plantations and farms?
5) When was slavery abolished?
B) The Amistad
1) From where were the slaves kidnapped? When did this event take place?
2) Who kidnapped these Africans and why?
3) Where was the ship heading?
4) What did these slaves do?
5) Where they jailed? What were the charges?
6) What happened to the slaves?
C) Ku Klux Klan
1) Who or what were the Ku Klux Klan?
2) Include a brief history of the Klan.
3) Describe how active the clan was around 1955.
4) What has happened to the Klan in the past 50 years?
5) Additional information/facts.
D) White Supremacists and Citizens Councils
1) Research each of these and include a definition of each word.
2) Explain when each one came into existence.
3) What did the people who believed in white supremacy try to do?
4) Why were Citizen Councils formed?
5) What happened to African-American people as a result of these two
groups ?
6) Is either of these groups still in existence? Briefly summarize what
became of each group, and who they affected.
E) Plessy v. Ferguson
1) Summarize the court case in your own words.
2) Who was involved?
3) What was the decision of the Supreme Court?
4) Who was affected and how were they affected?
F) Brown vs. the Board of Education
1) Summarize the court case in your own words.
Include why it was brought before the Supreme Court.
2) Who were the people involved?
3) Who were the lawyers?
4) What was the outcome of the Supreme Court decision?
G) The doctrine of Separate but Equal
1) What does this mean?
2) Which areas of this country most often practiced this concept?
3) What was the impact of this doctrine on the lives of African-Americans?
H) Jim Crow Laws
1) When did the term Jim Crow first appear in this country?
2) For what does the term “Jim Crow” stand?
3) What were the Jim Crow Laws?
4) When were the remaining Jim Crow laws deemed illegal?
I) Birmingham Church Bombing
1) Summarize this event. When and where did it take place?
2) What led up to this tragic event?
3) Who was involved? Who died in this bombing? How many were
injured?
4) Was anyone ever punished?
J) Montgomery Bus Boycott
a) When was the boycott?
b) What triggered the boycott?
b) Who was involved?
c) How long did it last?
d) Why was it significant?
e) What was the outcome?
K) Sit-Ins
a) What is a sit-in?
b) Who was involved in the Sit-In that occurred in Greensboro, NC?
c) Why was the sit-in held?
d) What did they hope to accomplish?
e) How did these people conduct themselves?
f) What did they accomplish?
L) Emancipation Proclamation
1) Include a brief biography of Abraham Lincoln.
2) When was he president?
3) What happened during his presidency?
4) What is the Emancipation Proclamation?
a) When and where was this speech delivered?
b) What was the purpose of this speech.
M) The Fourteenthh Amendment; Double Jeopardy and the Fifth Amendment
1) The Fourteenthh Amendment
a) When was it passed?
b) What did it guarantee?
2) Double Jeopardy and the Fifth Amendment
a) What is Double Jeopardy?
b) What does the Fifth Amendment state regarding Double Jeopardy?
N) NAACP
1) When and where was the NAACP established?
2) Who helped begin this organization?
3) Who were some of their members? (ethnic backgrounds)
4) What is their purpose?
5) List three activities that the NAACP has successfully accomplished.
O) Medgar Evers and James Meredith
1) Who are these people?
2) Where were they from?
3) What were they trying to do?
4) What happened to these two young men?
5) How did they contribute to the Civil Rights Movement?
