Fifth Party System [1933–1972] VIII

Question 1

Review - Timeline: Contesting Futures - America in the 1960s

Answer 1

1960: Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins inspire student-led demonstrations. 1961: CIA orchestrates ‘Bay of Pigs’ invasion. 1962: ‘Cuban Missile Crisis’. 1963: John F. Kennedy assassinated in Dallas. 1964: Congress passes ‘Gulf of Tonkin’ resolution. 1965: Congress passes ‘Voting Rights Act of 1965’. 1966: ‘National Organization for Women’ (NOW) founded. 1968: ‘Tet Offensive’ launched; Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated in Memphis. 1969: Apollo 11 lands first humans on Moon.

Question 2

Review - Timeline: Political Storms at Home and Abroad, 1968-1980

Answer 2

1968: Vietnamese massacred at My Lai; Richard Nixon elected president. 1969: Woodstock festival held. 1970: National Guard fires on students at Kent State University. 1972: Nixon goes to China. 1973: ‘Roe vs. Wade’ legalizes abortion nationally; Paris Peace Accords end U.S. role in Vietnam; OAPEC proclaims oil embargo. 1974: Nixon resigns due to Watergate scandal. 1976: Jimmy Carter elected president. 1978: ‘Camp David Accords’ signed. 1979: Iranian protesters storm U.S. Embassy in Tehran and take hostages.

Question 3

Identity Politics in a Fractured Society

Answer 3

In the late 1960s and 1970s, Indians, gays and lesbians, and women organized to change discriminatory laws and pursued government support for their interests, a strategy known as ‘identity politics’. Others, disenchanted with the status quo, distanced themselves from white, middle-class America by forming their own countercultures centered on a desire for peace, the rejection of material goods and traditional morality, concern for the environment, and drug use in pursuit of spiritual revelations. These groups, whose aims and tactics posed a challenge to the existing state of affairs, often met with hostility from individuals, local officials, and the U.S. government alike. Still, they persisted, determined to further their goals and secure for themselves the rights and privileges to which they were entitled as American citizens.

Question 4

Hippies and the Counterculture - Goals and Beliefs

Answer 4

Hippies supported peace, drugs, and love; and shunned war, inequality, materialism, and the United States federal government.

Question 5

Hippies and the Counterculture - Origins

Answer 5

The ‘counterculture’, and the ‘hippies’ associated with the movement in the 1960s, was a transition from the ‘Beat Generation’ of the 1950s. The Beats initially alienated themselves into a small underground movement and kept a low profile. However, by the 1960s they had transformed into a counterculture with the same ideals, but promoted vibrant colored clothing, long hair, folk music, and participation in politics - all while being known as hippies.

Question 6

Hippies and the Counterculture - Lifestyle

Answer 6

Hippies tended to set up living quarters or communes within bigger cities. These areas were known as hippie villages or districts. All of these locations witnessed the erection of gardens, head shops, restaurants, and music venues that provided cheap and alternative ways of living. Hippies encouraged the experimental use of psychedelic drugs to alter the mind. The ‘Human Be-In’ (1967) at San Francisco’s ‘Golden Gate Park’ was one of the largest events for promoting drug use, music, and alternative ways of thinking. Hippies enjoyed music so much, especially the folksy, psychedelic riffs of Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, and the Grateful Dead, that they assisted in the planning, organization, and promoting of the infamous ‘Woodstock’ music festival in 1969.

Question 7

Hippies and the Counterculture - Politics

Answer 7

Hippies supported the free use of prolific drugs, sexual experimentation, gender and racial equality, and a freedom from the United States federal government. However, the most important political issue of the period was the war in Vietnam. The counterculture rejected the war on two fronts. First, the hippies supported the idea of peace and harmony throughout mankind. Second, since many hippies were young adults, the males rejected the idea of registering for the draft and being sent to war.

Question 8

Hippies and the Counterculture - Politics - Yippies

Answer 8

The most outspoken arm within the counterculture against war, inequality, and the United States government was an organization of individuals known as the Yippies. The Yippies participated in sit-ins, protests, and political events. This group was typically viewed as the political arm of the counterculture. These individuals orchestrated mass gathering events, such as an anti-war march on Washington in 1967, where they attempted to levitate the Pentagon, as well as the ‘Festival of Life’ in Chicago in 1968, where they protested against the Democratic National Convention.

Question 9

Hippies and the Counterculture - Downfall

Answer 9

Unfortunately, the mass counterculture movement fizzled by the late 1960s due to the onset of an intraparty rivalry, drug and sexual abuse, and a general societal disdain toward the movement. Hippies and the Diggers (the radical left wing) mostly disagreed on economics and society. The Diggers believed in providing free products (food, healthcare, and music). Many drug users started using narcotics, such as heroin and cocaine. Sexual promiscuity led to an increase in rape and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. In 1969, Hells Angels and hippies clashed in a violent brawl that claimed the life of an African American man at a Rolling Stones concert causing the movement to lose its “Peace and Love” appeal.

Question 10

The Student Movement of the 1960s - Origins

Answer 10

The older generation, those who survived the depression and war years, viewed the 1950s as a period of security. It was a time of peace and relative prosperity for the nation. Yet, the youth culture of the period viewed the era in vastly different terms. Many believed that the 1950s represented a period of complacency, stagnation, materialism, racism, and authoritarianism.

Question 11

The Student Movement of the 1960s - The ‘New Left’

Answer 11

The ‘New Left’ saw themselves as distinct from the ‘Old Left’, which rejected change in favor of the status quo, while rejecting the extremist conservative right. The ‘Students for a Democratic Society’ (SDS) was an organization that represented the ’New Left’, while the ‘Young Americans for Freedom’ projected the conservative approach. The ‘New Left’ favored ‘participatory democracy’, which called for decision-making by all Americans, as a way to address growing societal ills in the U.S. This concept was developed by SDS leaders Tom Hayden and Al Haber issued via the ‘Port Huron Statement’ in 1962.

Question 12

The Student Movement of the 1960s - Tackling Racial Injustice and Poverty

Answer 12

Various organizations in the ‘New left’ worked with civil rights organizations to address racial injustice and poverty. For example, members from ‘Students for a Democratic Society’ (SDS) joined other student groups, such as the ‘Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’ (SNCC) in 1960 and the ‘Freedom Riders’ in 1961, in an attempt to eliminate the deep-seated racism and discrimination found in the Deep South. Additionally, in the spring of 1964, students marched into urban ghettos, Newark and Detroit to name a couple, under the ‘Economic Research and Action Project’ (ERAP) in order to revitalize the area and find meaningful work for those who were impoverished.

Question 13

The Student Movement of the 1960s - United States university Campuses

Answer 13

Many students battled against the old guard college administrators they felt were being paternalistic and apart of the consensus culture of the older generation. The ‘Free Speech Movement’ (FSM) began at UC Berkeley when Mario Savio organized dozens of sit-ins, public protests, and issued the famous ‘Bodies Upon the Gears’ speech (1964) in order to protect the student’s right to free speech and the ability to recruit for the civil rights movement. Another prominent form of protest against what was viewed by students as racial discrimination came in 1968 when students commandeered several buildings at Columbia University. Students wanted the ability to break away from the old guard establishment in favor of creating a new way of learning and living on college campuses.

Question 14

The Student Movement of the 1960s - Protesting the Vietnam War

Answer 14

In 1965, students began focusing on the Vietnam War as President Johnson introduced ground troops and began increasing their numbers. At first they protested the war in general, claiming it was a form of imperialism and neglecting problems domestically. Then, the war became personal when males students between the ages of 18-25 became a prime target for the draft. As a result, students began burning their draft cards, rejecting induction, and attempting to sabotage transportation networks that carried draftees to basic training. The culmination of activism came in 1970 when thousands rallied to protest the Kent State shootings.

Question 15

The Student Movement of the 1960s - Fracturing of the Student Movement

Answer 15

As the United States policy in Vietnam remained unchanged and racial discrimination continued, the student movement fractured into those who remained committed to peaceful grassroots politics and those who decided to delve into radicalism. The overarching goal was a hostile takeover of the United States government. Instead of peaceful protests, the Weathermen engaged in violence and vandalism. By the 1970s, the student movement, both peaceful and radical, had run its course.

Question 16

1968 - Tet Offensiive

Answer 16

The year 1968 began with a bang after North Vietnamese forces launched the Tet Offensive on January 30. While American servicemen repelled the attack, the public called into question the reliability of the reports that came out of Washington. As a result, President Lyndon Johnson decided to curb military action in Vietnam, as well as renounced his candidacy for a second term as president of the United States.

Question 17

1968 - Assassinations

Answer 17

April to June saw the most violence during 1968. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4 caused black neighborhoods around the nation to erupt. Widespread violence and arson was reported throughout the United States until the National Guard was called in to maintain the peace. Soon after King’s untimely death, Senator Robert Kennedy, candidate for the democratic nomination for president of the United States, was assassinated in Los Angeles, California. The nation entered into a period of mourning and general disbelief.

Question 18

1968 - Presidential Election

Answer 18

The path to the presidential election of 1968 caused an uproar at the Chicago Democratic National Convention. While the Republican Party successfully nominated Richard Nixon in Miami, Florida, protestors and policemen clashed in Chicago over the meaning of the Democratic National Convention. Remember, protesters contended that the democrats were responsible for the unfavorable war in Vietnam. Eventually, Hubert Humphrey was nominated as the Democratic Party’s choice to contend for the presidency, even though dozens of protestors were injured and arrested.

Question 19

Coming Apart, Coming Together

Answer 19

When a new Republican constituency of moderate southerners and northern, blue-collar workers voted Richard Nixon into the White House in 1968, many were hopeful. In the wake of antiwar and civil rights protests, and the chaos of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, many Americans welcomed Nixon’s promise to uphold law and order. During his first term, Nixon strode a moderate, middle path in domestic affairs, attempting with little success to solve the problems of inflation and unemployment through a combination of austerity and deficit spending. He made substantial progress in foreign policy, however, establishing diplomatic relations with China for the first time since the Communist Revolution and entering into a policy of détente with the Soviet Union.

Question 20

1968 - Rise of “Conservative Values”

Answer 20

The presidential election of 1968 witnessed a changing of the tide. Americans narrowly decided that it was time to return to the conservative values following a year (and decade) of despair. Richard Nixon won the presidential election with 56% of the electoral vote, but by only one percent of the popular vote. It became Nixon’s job to rebuild the trust and legitimacy of the United States as a purveyor of peace and freedom, not only domestically, but throughout the world.

Question 21

Women’s Rights Movement (First Wave) - Summary

Answer 21

The first wave of the feminist movement took place between 1880 and 1930 and included major influences, such as Emma Goldman, Margaret Sanger, Jane Addams, and Carrie Chapman Catt. The major achievement of the period was securing the right to suffrage via the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. However, the movement for liberty and equality suffered, and ultimately collapsed, following the Great Depression and the Second World War.

Question 22

Women’s Rights Movement (Second Wave) - Summary

Answer 22

The second wave of the women’s movement began in earnest in the 1960s. The movement was comprised of three campaigns: liberal feminists, radical feminists, and conservative feminists. Liberal feminists battled for socioeconomic equality, radical feminists encouraged a revolution that would upset the social hierarchy, and conservatives stressed personal accomplishments and maintaining the status quo. Eventually, these groups clashed over the ‘Equal Rights Amendment’ in the early 1970s. With a large conservative and anti-feminist outcry, the legislation was defeated and replaced with a case-by-case program.

Question 23

Women’s Rights Movement (Second Wave) - Beginnings

Answer 23

Betty Friedan’s book, ‘The Feminine Mystique’ (1963), helped pave the way for the new phase of women’s liberation. President John F. Kennedy organized the ‘Presidential Commission on the Status of Women’, which helped usher in change such as the ‘Equal Pay Act of 1963’, making wage discrimination a federal crime, and the end of gender discrimination in the federal workplace. Moreover, women were included in the ‘Civil Rights Act of 1964’ when gender discrimination was outlawed in addition to racial discrimination.

Question 24

Women’s Rights Movement (Second Wave) - Liberal Feminism

Answer 24

The liberal feminists, sometimes known as “social feminists”, attempted to promote liberation and address the inequality between men and women through political tact and diplomacy. ‘The National Organization for Women’ (NOW), founded in 1966, was the powerful arm of the movement that called for women to achieve an equal socioeconomic status with their male counterparts. Local chapters promoted ‘conscious raising’ for women to relate the issues of the personal lives with larger national issue of gender discrimination. After smaller scale lobbying, in the 1970s NOW campaigned for the ‘Equal Rights Amendment, which was federal legislation that called for a ban on discrimination based on gender.

Question 25

Women’s Rights Movement (Second Wave) - Radical Feminism

Answer 25

The radical feminists of the era supported a more revolutionary and militant agenda in regard to women's liberation. They believed institutions had been created by men for the benefit of men and had oppressed every aspect of women. They rejected Liberal Feminism, instead calling for a total revolution against men, with the ultimate goal being a complete reversal of the social hierarchy. The militant component, known as the Redstockings, promoted the idea that women were the lowest aspect within civilization and the capitalistic system - women were oppressed and incapable of favorable conditions as long as males dominated the world. They called for women to organize and overthrow men and the capitalist system (Marxist?).

Question 26

Women’s Rights Movement (Second Wave) - The Conservative Movement

Answer 26

The antithesis to the liberal and radical versions of the women's liberation movement was the conservative feminist movement. The conservative movement rejected the idea of radical change in regards to socioeconomic and gender equality. Instead, the conservatives believed in two principles: maintaining the status quo of female societal roles and self-fulfillment, which was considered more of a “moderate" approach. The other aspect of the conservative women's movement was the moderate conservative goal of "self-fulfillment”. Instead of becoming bogged down in the movement to secure equality, women were encouraged to seek personal achievement and to obtain their goals without a revolution. More moderate in its position, it claimed women could have sex before marriage, which angered ultra-conservatives.

Question 27

Women’s Rights Movement (Second Wave) - Battle over equal rights.

Answer 27

While the liberal feminists supported equality within the nation, groups such as the radical feminists desired more and the conservatives wanted to maintain the status quo. In 1967, Alice Paul organized a campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1972, Congress reacted and it was subsequently approved. During the state ratification process, an anti-ERA campaign was launched by conservative feminists and anti-feminist groups who claimed the ERA would damage the benefits of women who were dependents. Some women feared being forced to register for the Selective Service. The ERA was defeated and replaced with case-by-case hearings on gender discrimination.

Question 28

Red Power - NIYC and Termination

Answer 28

Red Power signified the unity of Native American tribes in attempting to secure social and economic equality. The 'National Indian Youth Council' (NIYC), the conservative wing of the movement, encouraged 'Red Nationalism', which was a renewed pride in Indian heritage. In 1961, they challenged the Congressional policy of ‘Termination', which was the federal government's attempt to assimilate Indians into mainstream society, while eliminating all funding and treaties once guaranteed to each representative tribe.

Question 29

Red Power - AIM

Answer 29

The 'American Indian Movement' (AIM) was the more radical Indian activism formed during the latter part of the 1960s. The AIM acted as security within major cities, protecting Native Americans from police as well as from relocation efforts by the government. They staged protests and occupations, such as occupying Alcatraz Island in 1969, protesting at Mount Rushmore in 1971, protesting in Washington D.C. in 1972, and the most intense being at Wounded Knee, SD in 1973 in order to highlight the memory of those lost during the 1890 massacre.

Question 30

Brown Power

Answer 30

The ‘Brown Power’ movement (1940s to 1970s) called for Mexican Americans to reject assimilation into American society and celebrate their Chicano heritage. Activists encouraged the federal government to increase educational opportunities for Mexican Americans and end discrimination against the culture.

Question 31

Brown Power - 'Crusaders for Justice’ and the ‘Brown Berets'

Answer 31

The ‘Crusade for Justice’, founded in 1966, encouraged civil rights for Mexican Americans and a preservation of Mexican culture. The ‘Brown Berets’ were the militant area of the Brown Power movement, serving to protect Mexican Americans, while protesting issues such as police brutality and Mexican inclusion in the Vietnam War.

Question 32

Brown Power - Cesar Chavez and the National Farm Workers Association

Answer 32

Cesar Chavez founded the ‘National Farm Workers Association’ (NFWA) in 1962, with it being chartered by the ‘American Federation of Labor’ in 1966 in an attempt to protect the basic rights of migrant Mexican laborers. The organization provided healthcare, financial services, clothing, and food to its members. In 1968, the NFWA boycotted California table grapes that did not have the NFWA label on their product due to the unfair financial conditions Mexican laborers faced. Eventually, in 1970, many grape growers conceded to the demands of the NFWA.

Question 33

Gay Liberation Movement

Answer 33

In 1969, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn after the establishment allegedly broke a state law limiting the number of gay patrons in a bar at a time. Gay men and women resisted the police raid and immediately staged a protest over civil rights. Gay men and women formed the ‘Gay Liberation Front’ (GLF), which called for an end to discrimination against homosexuality. It organized the first ‘Gay Pride Parade’ (1970) in the U.S., as well as initiated the gay liberation movement. This campaign encouraged the acceptance of homosexuality throughout the nation and encouraged the nation to accept social change.

Question 34

Modern Environmental Movement

Answer 34

The modern environmental movement can be attributed to Rachel Carson (1907-1964), a marine biologist who published the books 'The Sea Around Us' in 1951 and ‘Silent Spring’ in 1962, which focused on chemical pollution, more specifically, pesticides in the nation’s water sources. The movement was successful in generating federal legislation, such as the ‘Wilderness Act of 1964’, which preserved portions of the nation, along with the ‘Clean Air Act’ (1970), ‘Water Act’ (1972), and ‘Environmental Protection Act of 1972’. Members of the environmental movement also staged the first 'Earth Day' on April 22, 1970 to call for national recognition on looming environmental issues.

Question 35

Key Civil Rights Figures - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Answer 35

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a social activist and Baptist minister who played a key role in the American civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until his assassination in 1968. King sought equality and human rights for African Americans, the economically disadvantaged and all victims of injustice through peaceful protest. He was the driving force behind watershed events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the 1963 March on Washington, which helped bring about such landmark legislation as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and is remembered each year on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a U.S. federal holiday since 1986.

Question 36

Key Civil Rights Figures - Governor George Wallace

Answer 36

Governor Wallace was a very outspoken supporter of segregation, even after Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the case that resulted in desegregation of schools. In 1963 the University of Alabama continued to find ways to not accept black students, until three black applicants were accepted with the help of a federal district judge. To defy the judge, Governor Wallace stood in front of the doors of the school to block entrance to the three students. This display made George Wallace the face of the opposition when it came to civil rights.

Question 37

Key Civil Rights Figures - Lyndon B. Johnson

Answer 37

The U.S. President at the time was Lyndon B. Johnson. President Johnson was supportive of the civil rights legislation that President Kennedy supported before his assassination. Johnson continued to push for Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act, which they did in 1964. However, while President Johnson was friendly to the cause and met with Dr. King, he understood the sensitive nature of the topic and importance of the southern democratic vote, which was why Johnson, at times, tried to distance himself from Dr. King, at least in the public eye.

Question 38

Key Vietnam War Protesters

Answer 38

The anti-war protests didn't have a clear leader like the Civil Rights Movement, but were represented by famous people criticizing the war (like Muhammad Ali) as well as college student protesters. Those involved in the Kent State anti-war protest in 1970, where students were killed, stand out in history as key figures.

Question 39

Key Women's Rights Advocates - Betty Friedan

Answer 39

In 1963, Betty Friedan wrote 'The Feminine Mystique', a book that strongly encouraged women to defy the mainstream image that had been painted, get out of the housewife role, and work to succeed in society.

Question 40

Key Women's Rights Advocates - Norma McCorvey and Roe v. Wade

Answer 40

Roe v. Wade was a landmark legal decision issued on January 22, 1973, in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Texas statute banning abortion, effectively legalizing the procedure across the United States. The court held that a woman’s right to an abortion was implicit in the right to privacy protected by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. Prior to Roe v. Wade (Roe = Norma McCorvey), abortion had been illegal throughout much of the country since the late 19th century. || Roe v. Wade has proved controversial, and Americans remain divided in their support for a woman’s right to choose an abortion. Since the 1973 ruling, many states have imposed restrictions on abortion rights.