Georgia History Exemption Exam Practice 2025 – Complete Study Resource

The "Massive Resistance" movement was a response by many Southern states, including Georgia, to the desegregation efforts mandated by landmark Supreme Court rulings like Brown v. Board of Education. This movement was characterized by a strong opposition to desegregation, often through legislative actions aimed at maintaining racial segregation in schools and other public spaces.

In this context, Southern legislators proposed various measures to resist federal mandates for desegregation, which included passing laws to redirect state funding, create obstacles for school integration, and even promote alternative educational systems that would uphold segregation. This approach reflected the deep-seated cultural and political resistance to civil rights advances during the mid-20th century, illustrating how the state sought to maintain the status quo in the face of significant social change.

The other options do not directly pertain to legislation enacted in response to the desegregation crisis in Georgia. The Civil Rights Act was a federal law aimed at ending segregation and discrimination; the Atlanta Compromise was a speech by Booker T. Washington advocating for vocational education while accepting segregation; and the Emancipation Proclamation was issued during the Civil War, long before the desegregation crisis.