Analysis of Civil Rights Movement Literature review

Analysis of Civil Rights Movement - Literature review Example Certainly, it is comforting to believe that history progresses in such a manner. Yet, even if one could develop a cogent argument that the civil rights movement was inevitable, how does one account for its timing and shape Why did it take place when it did Why didn't these ideas prove compelling at an earlier or later time Why did "man's unending search for freedom" reach such heights in the early and mid-1960s Why did certain actors emerge as leaders and not others Why were certain goals or demands given priority And to a lesser extent, why did the movement achieve some objectives but not others The modern civil rights movement had both external and internal origins and causes. It came into being when and in the way it did because of both structural and human factors. Forces that were only indirectly related to the movement helped give rise to it and sustained it, as did complex developments within the African American community. Demographic shifts, particularly the great migration, the emergence of the United States as a world power, and the overall process of modernization played key roles. "... It's human nature, I guess. We did our best to control it, but there was a bit of a power struggle from the beginning between Nashville and Atlanta. After Dr. King had come up that spring and given his blessing to ..." 3 So too did several internal factors, most importantly the accumulation of resources by the African American community. These developments were intertwined and reinforced one another. In addition, the success of the civil rights movement depended on human agency. "... Jim Peck, Al Bigelow, and Jim Zwerg stand and suffer with us. 'v/N'e had become brothers and sisters to the struggle. We bled together. We suffered together. How could you look at something like a race after experiences like that ..." 4 (194) With the great migration, African Americans also advanced economically. Even though they continued to work for less pay and under worse conditions than whites, blacks in the industrial North began to enjoy a standard of living heretofore unknown to them or their counterparts in the rural South. Between 1940 and 1970, the mean income for black men, adjusted for inflation, more than tripled.  Ã‚