Edexcel IGCSE History: A Divided Union, Civil Rights in the USA, 1945–74 (4HI1)

“A divided union: civil rights in the USA, 1945–74” is Depth Study 7 on Paper 1 of Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History (4HI1). It covers the Red Scare and McCarthyism, the campaign against segregation in the 1950s and 1960s, the rise of Black Power, student, anti-war and women’s protest movements, and the Watergate scandal that ended Nixon’s presidency in 1974. You answer one three-part question: extract impression, two effects and a 16-mark essay.

Related: Revision notes | Practice questions | Paper 1 Depth Studies overview

Syllabus coverage

The 4HI1 specification (Issue 5, February 2026) sets five key topics:

1. The Red Scare and McCarthyism — reasons for the Red Scare, the Hiss and Rosenberg cases, the FBI, HUAC and the Hollywood Ten; McCarthy’s methods, opposition, downfall and impact.
2. Civil rights in the 1950s — segregation and discrimination, the Supreme Court and Congress, Brown v Board of Education (1954), Emmett Till (1955), the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–56), Little Rock (1957), the Civil Rights Act 1957 and the revival of the Ku Klux Klan.
3. The impact of civil rights protests, 1960–74 — Freedom Riders, the Anniston fire-bombing, sit-ins, voting rights, the Meredith case, Martin Luther King, Birmingham, the March on Washington, Freedom Summer, legislation, Selma, the Nation of Islam and Malcolm X, Black Power, the 1968 Olympics, Stokely Carmichael, the Watts riots and the Black Panthers.
4. Other protest movements — students and the anti-Vietnam War movement, Berkeley, Students for a Democratic Society and hippies; Betty Friedan, Eleanor Roosevelt, NOW, women’s liberation and abortion; Phyllis Schlafly and opposition to the women’s movement.
5. Nixon and Watergate — the scandal, its impact on Nixon and US politics, new laws (War Powers Act 1973, Election Campaign Act 1974, Privacy Act 1974, Congressional Budget Control Act 1974), Gerald Ford and the pardon.

Why did a Red Scare grow after 1945?

The Cold War — Soviet control of Eastern Europe, the Soviet atomic bomb (1949), the communist victory in China (1949) and the Korean War (1950) — made Americans fear communism at home. The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated Hollywood in 1947; the Hollywood Ten refused to answer and were jailed for contempt. Alger Hiss, a former State Department official, was convicted of perjury in 1950 after being accused of spying, and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed in 1953 for passing atomic secrets. J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI kept files on suspected radicals.

Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed in February 1950 to have a list of communists in the State Department. His methods were unsupported accusations, guilt by association and bullying witnesses. Opposition grew from journalists such as Ed Murrow and from politicians. In the televised Army–McCarthy hearings (1954) the army’s lawyer Joseph Welch asked, “Have you no sense of decency?”, and the Senate censured McCarthy in December 1954. McCarthyism ruined careers, made dissent dangerous and helped tie anti-communism to opposition to civil rights.

How did civil rights develop in the 1950s?

In the South, Jim Crow laws segregated schools, transport and public places, and literacy tests and intimidation kept most black people from voting. Change came first through the Supreme Court. In Brown v Board of Education of Topeka (1954), backed by the NAACP, the Court ruled segregated schools unconstitutional; but it set no deadline, and many Southern states resisted.

The murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in Mississippi (1955), and the acquittal of his killers, shocked the nation after his mother insisted on an open-casket funeral. In December 1955 Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat in Montgomery, Alabama. The bus boycott that followed lasted over a year, made Martin Luther King a national leader and ended when the Supreme Court ruled bus segregation unconstitutional (1956). At Little Rock (1957) Governor Faubus used the National Guard to stop nine black students entering Central High School; Eisenhower sent federal troops to protect them. The Civil Rights Act 1957 created a Civil Rights Commission but did little to increase black voting. The Ku Klux Klan revived in response, using violence and intimidation.

What did protest achieve in the 1960s?

Sit-ins began at Greensboro, North Carolina, in February 1960 and led to the founding of SNCC. In 1961 Freedom Riders tested the desegregation of interstate buses; at Anniston, Alabama, a bus was fire-bombed. James Meredith’s admission to the University of Mississippi (1962) needed federal troops after riots.

King’s Birmingham Campaign (1963) deliberately provoked a violent response from police chief “Bull” Connor; television images of dogs and fire hoses turned against children shocked the nation. At the March on Washington (August 1963), about 250,000 people heard King’s “I have a dream” speech. During Mississippi Freedom Summer (1964), volunteers registered black voters and three civil rights workers were murdered. These protests helped secure the Civil Rights Act 1964, banning segregation in public places and discrimination in employment. Violence against marchers at Selma in March 1965 led to the Voting Rights Act 1965, which ended literacy tests and sent federal registrars to the South.

Not all activists accepted non-violence. Malcolm X of the Nation of Islam called for black pride and self-defence; he was assassinated in 1965. Riots in the Watts district of Los Angeles (1965) showed anger at poverty and police treatment in Northern and Western cities. Stokely Carmichael popularised “Black Power” in 1966, and the Black Panthers, founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966, organised armed patrols and community programmes. At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised gloved fists on the podium. King was assassinated in April 1968.

Which other protest movements grew in the 1960s?

Students protested against the draft and the Vietnam War. The Berkeley Free Speech Movement (1964) demanded the right to political activity on campus, and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organised anti-war protest; hippies rejected mainstream values. Women’s campaigns drew on Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (1963) and the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt (1961). Friedan co-founded NOW (1966) to fight discrimination. The more radical women’s liberation movement challenged gender roles, and the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v Wade (1973) legalised abortion. Phyllis Schlafly led conservative opposition, especially to the Equal Rights Amendment.

How did Watergate change US politics?

In June 1972 burglars linked to Nixon’s re-election committee were arrested at the Democratic headquarters in the Watergate building. Nixon tried to cover up the White House’s involvement. Investigations by journalists and a Senate committee revealed a taping system in the Oval Office; in 1974 the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to hand over the tapes, which showed he had obstructed justice. Facing impeachment, Nixon resigned on 9 August 1974. Gerald Ford became president and pardoned him. Congress passed laws to restrain the presidency: the War Powers Act (1973), the Election Campaign Act (1974), the Privacy Act (1974) and the Congressional Budget Control Act (1974).

Frequently asked questions

Was King the most important factor in civil rights progress? A classic essay. Weigh King against the NAACP and the courts, grassroots activists (SNCC, CORE), federal government action, the media and the pressure created by more radical groups.

What was the difference between Black Power and King’s approach? King sought integration through non-violence; Black Power stressed black pride, self-reliance and self-defence.

Why does Watergate belong in a civil rights unit? The depth study is about a “divided union”: Watergate deepened distrust of government and led to laws protecting citizens’ rights.

Official syllabus

Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History (4HI1) specification, Issue 5, February 2026, Paper 1, Depth Study 7 — qualifications.pearson.com.