60s Flashcards
James Meredith
Attempted to register at ole miss and encountered violent opposition --> JFK sends in 400 marshals and 3,000 troops to enroll him in his first class Sig? One of the events that convinced JFK to support civil rights more
Birmingham marches
Peaceful protests of segregation led by MLK were met with crazy police violence (dogs and intense water hoses)
Sig? JFK called it a moral issue and called for civil rights legislation
March on WA
200,000 demonstrators marched in peaceful support of proposed civil rights act
Sig? Site of MLK’s dream speech!
But there is still violence and not much progress made on the bill
Civil rights act of 64
Banned racial or sexual discrimination in public facilities or in hiring
Sig? Shows how LBJ was able to ram stuff through congress with his influence that JFK never could
Affirmative action and EEOC
LBJ issued executive order requiring all federal contractors to take affirmative action against discrimination
EEOC= equal employment opportunity commission, a body that enforced the civil rights act
Sig? Unlike FDR, LBJ’s plan included more civil rights stuff
Freedom riders
Volunteers to end segregation on buses in the south
Caused white mobs to torch buses and beat them
Sig? JFK was forced to dispatch federal marshals to protect the freedom riders
Great society
Gave education aid to students, created department of housing, created Medicare and Medicaid, abolished immigration quotas
Sig? Significantly lowered poverty rate (especially among elderly) and lowered infant mortality but was criticized for being a waste of money
Freedom summer
Black and whites (many northern volunteers) unite for a massive southern voter registration drive in 64
Ends in severe violence when 3 volunteers were beaten and killed by white Mississippians –> jury doesn’t convict them
Sig? Shows huge opposition to voting rights and racism in the court system
Voting rights act of 65
Outlawed literacy tests and sent federal registrars into southern states that refused to comply
Sig? Blacks have a lot of legal power now, whites have to court black votes and businesses, and blacks start to migrate into the south
Free speech movement and counterculture
Free speech- students opposed a ban on political debates at UC berkeley
Counterculture- many dropped out of normal society and turned to communes or alternative institutions, people grew out their hair and wore untraditional things
Sig? Shows a large global pattern- protests were happening all over the country and the world (france, Berlin, Prague)
Stonewall rebellion
After gay men in NY were attacked by off duty policemen, the LGBT community fought back
Sig? Shows sexual revolution that was more tolerant of LGBT community
