Johnson - Social Divisions and protest movements

Why did Student Protests increase in the 1960s?

- Demographics: A 'rocketing' student population meant strength in numbers.

- Freedom: Students had no jobs or families provided a blueprint for activism; JFK's 'New Frontier' rhetoric encouraged idealism.

- Inspiration: The Civil Rights Movement provided a blueprint for activism; JFK's 'New Frontier' rhetoric encouraged idealism.

- Resentment: Students disliked being treated like Children by University authorities (in loco parentis).

- Radicalism: First gained national attention at the University of California at Berkeley (1964).

What was he Berkeley Free Speech Movement (FSM)? (1)

- Trigger: Mario Savio participated in SNCC's black voter registration. In 1964, university authorities forbade political fundraising and activity on campus.

- Key Figure: Mario Savio, who was inspired by his work with the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee),

- Action: Inspired by Savio, 1000s of Students occupied the administration building; until Police ejected them & 800 arrests were made.

- Impact: The students gained nationwide support from their teachers, so Berkeley allowed political discussion and activities on campus.

- Triggered

What was he Berkeley Free Speech Movement (FSM)?

- Impact: The students gained nationwide support from their teachers, so Berkeley allowed political discussion and activities on campus.

- Triggered nationwide protests. Students criticised universities for being:

1. Impersonal/Bureaucratic: Regulating students as if they were under 21 (the age of majority).

2. Undemocratic: Giving students no voice in university government.

3. Pro-War: Conducting research for government defense agencies/the Vietnam War.

What was the Anti-War movement - Motives & Methods? (1)

Early Stages: Student Peace Union, established in 1959, had 3000 members by 1962, but tens of thousands more students became anti-war activists in response to the Vietnam War.

Motives for Protesting Vietnam:

- Fear of the Draft.

- Moral opposition to civilian casualties caused by bombing.

- Belief that Vietnam should decide it's own government.

- Key Organisations: SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) and The Mobe (National Mobilisation Committee to End the War were involved in the 1967 protest.

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What was the Anti-War movement - Motives & Methods? (2)

- Key Organisations: SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) and The Mobe (National Mobilisation Committee to End the War were involved in the 1967 protest.

- Key events:

+ 1964: First notable protest in NYC (1,000 Yale students)

+ 1965: 'Teach-ins' (Berkeley teach-in attracted 20,000). One Berkely teach-in attracted 20,000 participants.

+ 1967: 'Stop the Draft Week' - 100,000 marched in Washington chanting, 'Hell no, we won't go!'

What was the significance of Muhammed Ali & the Draft?

- Refusal: In 1966, Ali was drafted but refused to fight on religious and moral grounds.

- Reasoning: Ali stated his conscience wouldn't let him shoot 'darker people' or 'poor hungry people' for 'powerful America' when Black people in America were still being lynched and denied rights.

- Consequences: He was stripped of his boxing title and turned on by white America.

- Legacy: His defiance increased Black political power and anti-war sentiment: he was eventually 'forgiven' by the public by 1970.

How did Radicalisation & Violence emerge?

- Draft Resistance: Public burning of draft cards became common.

- Escalation: Protests became increasingly violent by 1968.

- The Oakland Riot: During 'Stop the Draft' week, 2,000 radicals tried to close a draft headquarters, leading to a violent clash with police using smoke bombs, bottles and clubs.

- Columbia University (1968): A major site of protest where anti-war sentiment combined with local grievances to spark intense student activism.

What were the Columbia University Protests (1968)?

- Grievances: * War Research: The university's involvement in weapons research for the government.

+ Community Relations: Eviction of Harlem residents for university expansion.

+ The 'Gym Crow' Gym: Plans to build a gym in a public park with a separate entrance for Harlem residents, which students saw as segregationist.

- The Protest: 1,000 out of 17,000 students participated. They seized five buildings and covered walls with the images of Malcolm X and Che Guevara.

- Outcome: Police made 692 arrests; the university shut down for the term and abandoned the gym and defense contracts.

What was the Hippie Counterculture?

- Definition: Young people (mostly students) who rejected the dominant culture's emphasis individualism, competition and materialism.

-Values: Peace, harmony, communal living, and 'free love'.

- The 'Uniform': Faded blue jeans, Indian kaftans, and Long hair.

- Hubs: Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco became the center of the movement (renamed 'Hashbury' due to the popularity of Cannabis).

- Key events:

+ January 1967: Human Be-in (San Francisco).

+ 1967: 'Summer of Love' (attracted tens of thousands).

+ 1969: Woodstock festival (400,000 attended; slogan: 'Make love, not war').

What was the Influence and Decline of the Hippies?

- Cultural Impact: Popularised Eastern philosophy/religion, health foods, environmentalism, and more liberal attitudes toward sex and drugs.

- Music as Protest: Artists like Joan Baez, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix used music to spread anti-war messages.

+ Example: Hendrix's distorted 'Star Spangled Banner' at Woodstock was seen as an anti-war statement.

- Decline: The movement faded by mid-1970s, but many of it's values of it's values remained integrated into mainstream society.

What is an evaluation - Was Student Protest successful?

- Argument for 'Yes':

+ Improved quality of life for minority ethnic groups.

+ Persuaded LBJ to halt escalation and influenced Nixon to end the Vietnam War.

+ Permanently changed university authorities' behaviour towards students.

- Arguments for 'No':

+ Failed to truly erode American materialism or inequality.

+ Promoted violence and offered 'little constructive'.

+ The Conservative Reaction: The chaos of the protests contributed to a 'backlash', helping Republican Richard Nixon win the 1968 election.

When was the Founding of NOW (1966)? (1)

- National Organisation for Women (NOW): Founded by Betty Friedan and 27 others in 1966.

- Purpose: To break through the 'silken curtain of prejudice and discrimination' against women in government, industry, the professions, and education.

- Tactics used:

+ Litigation: Represented Lorena Weeks (1969) in a landmark case against Southern Bell for denying promotion based on her gender.

+ Political Pressure: Lobbied for the Bill of Rights for Women (1968), which included maternity leave, federally funded childcare, and the legalisation of abortion.

When was the Founding of NOW (1966)? (2)

+ Public Campaigns: Targeted sexist airline ads like "I'm Debbie, Fly Me".

+ Protests: Organised the 1970 national strike with the slogan: 'Don't iron while the strike is hot'.

+ Key Legal Tool: Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (prohibted sex discrimination).

+ The EEOC Struggle: Initially, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission refused to enforce Title VII for women. NOW was formed specifically to pressure them into doing so.

+ Presidential Action: NOW's lobbying led to LBJ to sign Executive Order 11375, which banned gender discrimination by federal contractors.

What were NOW's Legal & Economic Battles?

- The Lorena Weeks Case (1966-69): Southern Bell denied Weeks a 'switchman' job, claiming a woman couldn't life 30 lbs. NOW fought the case through several appeals and won in 1969.

- The Muncy Act: WON won a ruling in Pennsylvania that overturned a law allowing women to be jailed for twice as long as men for the same crime.

- Financial Impact: By 1971, NOW had fought over 1,000 discrimination cases and won $13 million in compensation for women.

- Bill of Rights for Women (1968): Demanded childcare, maternity leave, and the legalisation of abortion.

What was the difference between Radical 'Women's Liberation Front' & NOW?

- The Split: Younger activists (often from the FSM or SNCC) found NOW too 'conservative' and focused on law rather than culture.

- Key Figure: John Freeman - Inspired after official William Prepper told her gender equality 'did not merit floor discussion'. She created the newsletter Voice of Women's Liberation Movement.

- The Feminists (Ti-Grace Atkinson): A radical group that split from NOW in 1968. They argued:

+ The 'Sexual Revolution' only benefited men by giving them easier access to women's bodies.

+ Marriage was 'slavery' and pornography was a form of oppression.

- Consciousness-raising: Small group sessions to help women realise their 'personal problems' (like Housework and objectification) were actually political issues.

What was the Sexual Revolution & 'The Pill'?

- Scientific Breakthrough: The first oral contraceptive ('The Pill') became widely available in the 1960s, liberating women from the fear of pregnancy.

- Griswold v. Connecticut (1965): SCOTUS ruled that married couples had a constitutional right to use contraception.

- Roe vs Wade (1973): Legalised Abortion. Before this, the text notes women used 'primitive instruments; or bleach douches in dangerous, unregulated 'backstreet' abortions.

- Shifting Norms: Acceptance of premarital sex jumped from 53% (1969) to 74% (1973).

Who were high-profile figures in Feminism movement during this period?

- Gloria Steinem: * Went undercover as a Playboy Bunny to expose poor working conditions:

+ Co-founded Ms. magazine in 1972.

+ Famous Quote: 'A women needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle'.

- Shirley Chisholm: * The first Black woman elected to the U.S Congress (1968).

+ ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972.

+ Faced 'double discrimination' for being both Black and a woman.

- Shulamith Firestone: A radical feminist who wrote about the connection between sexist oppression and cultural practices.

What were notable protest by Feminism movements & what was the Public Backlash against it?

- 1968 Miss America Pageant: Radical feminists disrupted the 'swim-suited parade' in Atlantic City.

- The 'Freedom Trash Can': They drew threw bras, girdles, false eyelashes, and curlers into a bin to protest being treated like 'women's garbage'.

- Public Disunity: The text notes that these 'dramatic demonstrations' sometimes alienated the public and fuelled a conservative reaction against the 'permissive society'.

What role did the media play with the Counter-Culture?

- It provided exhaustive coverage of the protest movements and counter-culture.

- While the media might ridicule movements such as feminism, it gave them a national platform that helped change attitudes.

What was the 'Double-Edged' role of the Media?

- The 'Plus' Side: Media coverage of Bloody Sunday helped pass the Voting Rights Act. It gave national platforms to feminists and anti-war activists.

- The 'Minus' Side: * Oversaturation - The media focused on the 'extreme' (Black Panthers, hippies) for sales, making movements seem more radical/dangerous than they often were.

+ Conservative Backlash: TV images of riots and student violence fueled a 'Silent Majority' of voters who wanted 'Law and Order'.

+ Ridicule: Media often mocked feminists (the 'bra-burning' myth) and hippies, undermining their serious goals.

What was the 'Death of Hippie (Oct 1967)?

- The Event: A group called the Diggers in San Francisco staged a mock funeral for the 'Hippie'.

- The Reason: They felt the media had turned their social revolution into a 'commodity' or a joke for tourists.

- The Reality: While the movement died, the lifestyle grew; by the mid-70s, roughly 10,000 communes had been established across the U.S.

What was the media impact on the Civil Rights Movement?

- The Catalyst: Exhaustive Coverage of events like Bloody Sunday (1965) was crucial.

- White Opinion: Repeatedly showing police violence against peaceful protesters helped win Northern white support for the Voting Rights Act.

- The Ghetto Riots: Conversely, media coverage of violent riots in Northern cities (1965-68) turned many whites against further aid for African-Americans.

What was the Long-Term legacy of the Counter-Culture movement?

- Cultural Shifts: Permanently liberalised attitudes toward health foods, Eastern religions, environmentalism and sexual freedom.

- Political Shifts: Created a permanent 'Generation Gap' and shifted the Republican party toward a 'Law and Order' platform.

- Education: Transformed universities from 'guardians' of students to institutions where students have legal rights and a say in goverance.