Chapter 16- Social division and protest movement Flashcards
what was the significance of the education culture during the 1960’s?
The average grade was 12, 50 % of young people of college age were going onto higher education, and 20% of them were graduating.
Though, the election of Kennedy did instigate an interest in politics among the youth, students became more politicised and groups such as the SDS were formed.
inn 1963 Malcom was the second most sought after speaker.
Though not all students at this time would describe themselves as being left-wing, only 12% of students indentified as being part of the “new left”. The youth protesters who went to prestigious universities were able to spout their point, for example in the first 6 months of 1968 there were 221 major demonstrations.
what was the significance of the youth during this time?
The youth protests failed to campaign on a clear issue, whether that be the CRM or the environment.
Though, some students did protest about the very universities that they attended.
Popular culture was a key cause for such events, the 1955 James Dean film was a key example of this. Music phenomena such as Elvis was critical during this time.
There was the increasing generation gap, as the elders failed to understand events such as the 1967 “summer of love”. People such as Andy Warhole used art too their advantage.
the 1969 Woodstock music festival was also paraded as new era for youth.
The playboy magazine also had a readership of 7 million in the early 1970’s.
what is the significance of feminism during this time?
it was suggested in 1964 that here was no “feminist spark” left in American women. Yet, in 1962 Helen Gurley released her book, sex and the single girl, Feminine mystique sold 1.4 million copies.
In 1965 there was the Griswold vs Connecticut case, which made the decision to strike down the last state law banning the use of contraception.
in 1966, there was the creation of NOW, this was to win $30 million for companies who had ignored the 1963 Equal Pay Act.
how did the feminist movement campaign for themselves?
They used methods to attract the media, in September 1968 a group called “radical women” picked the Miss America beauty pageant, they crowned a sheep as Miss America.
There was also bra-burning that took place, they also burned draft cards by conscripted men in the headline, the group SCUM attempted to assassinate Andy Warhol.
Whilst, they were limited in the success that they gained politically, they were able to get the academic momentum of people such as Germaine Greer. Though, the 1968 by EO Johnson added the matter of “sex” into the 1964 CRA- women were increasingly getting the support of the federal government.
what was the significance of the contraceptive pill?
by 1972 c 1.1 million women were using the pill, this allowed women to have much more control over their careers and ignited the “free love” movement of the sixties.
what was the significance of NOW?
this was founded in June 1966 by 28 women, this aimed to organised women to campaign for full equality- Freidan was a key part of this group.
what was the significance of the radicalisation of AA people?
in 1965 Carmichael became a key part of the SNCC, CORE was prevelant in campaigning for voter registration in the south.,
The Watts Riot of 1965 displayed how combustible the ghettos were, the failure of the federal government to protect either the Freedom Summer Workers or enforce the CRA, meant that non-violence had gone as far as it could go. in 1966 Carmichael became head of the SNCC, replacing John Lewis. Floyd Mckissick had taken a similar route as he replaced Farmer from CORE.
There was a difference between King and Carmichael and the former chanted for “freedom now” and Carmichael had the chant of “black power”. Whilst the phrase is typically associate with violence, it did allow black people to celebrate their heritage. In 1968 James brown released a song called “say it loud I am black and I am proud”.
what was the significance of the black panthers?
This is the more militant side of Black Power, Malcom X in 1964 have his famous “by any mean necessary speech”. Huey Newton and Bobby Seale were also key figures of the Black Panthers movement. One of their most prevalent actions was invading the California State Assembly Chamber. J Edgar Hoover described the Panthers as the greatest internal threat. They did carry out aid programmes such as offering free breakfast.
Their salute at the Olympics also sent a clear message of how the world should view the organisation.
what was the significance of anti-war movements?
On 12 May young men from groups such as the progressive labour party burned their draft papers. Congress did seek to criminalise anyone who did burn their draft papers, Strum Thurmond regarded this as a wilfully disobedient conduct. In 1965 the SDS organised a teach-in, a young Quaker later burned himself to death outside Robert McNamara’s office. In 1966 Muhammad Ali also refused the draft , there was also the common phrase of Hey, hey LBJ how many kids did you burn today. Draft figures grew by 45,000 in just 2 years. In October 1967 there was the largest protest in Washington DC which saw 70,000 activists and 625 arrests.
There is a comparison between Ali and Malcolm X, as the former has a history of non-violence
what was a key reason for Johnson not to run in 1968?
Vietnam War.
what was the role of the media?
by 1968 24% of households had colour TV and over 100 million sets had been sold in the US. TV news was able to bring the key events that were happening in America, inside the home. For example, there was key air time given to Birmingham, Academics like McLuhan did begin to question the role of TV, though it was key to the broadcasting of key events.
what was the significance of youth culture and counter-culture?
the escalation of the VW was a key reason for the increase in counter culture, key idea to remove itself from corporate America. SDS which was founded by Tom Hayden who represented the new-left of students. Kennedy was seen as the derivative for hope, which was soon lost. Students protested in ways such as barricading themselves to the state of Colombia universities office.
The Andy Warhol tomato soup
1967 summer of love took place
what were the 4 key ideas of the SDS?
- organised the dispossessed community for economic gains
- participate in an activity for peace
- work for civil rights
- inject controversy into a stagnant education system.
what did USA look like in 1963? Economy
The Economy:
He would try to control steel prices, he cut taxes such as corporation taxes from 52-47% , 60% of Americans favoured the tax cuts, unemployment was at 3.8 %., Under Johnson, in the wake of Vietnam inflation was at 2% National debt was down 40%, compared to 60% of the era of Kennedy.
Yet in the years following Vietnam, Society began to unravel quickly, for example inflation was at 4.5% and there was disparity between the spending on the Great Society and Vietnam.
what did the USA look like in 1963?
in 1960 JFK was able to attack the “new look policy”, there was vulnerability in 1960.
There was the 1963 test-ban treaty
JFK also had the peace corps programme.
