Native American, Hispanic, Gay Rights 1960-1980

Question 1

What were the two main issues facing Native Americans

Answer 1

• They wanted to be returned their tribal homelands
• They wanted the right to self determination and not to be forced into an American culture or lifestyle

Question 2

What law forced tribes to relocate away from their sacred land to other places, such as cities, in exchange for a small amount of money

Answer 2

The 1830 Indian Removal Act

Question 3

Who are the BIA

Answer 3

Bureau of Indian Affairs, who controlled and oversaw the tribes

Question 4

Why did Native Americans dislike the BIA

Answer 4

It tried to Americanise them, forcing Native Americans to speak English, wear Western clothes and give up native customs, so the Native Americans wanted to be free from them for self-determination

Question 5

What was the 1956 Indian Relocation Act

Answer 5

It encouraged young Native American adults to move to towns and cities instead of living with a tribe, which both disappointed the young adults who did not enjoy the life, causing about 30% to move back, and broke the tribal structure of many

Question 6

What was the name of the main Native American rights group and what year was it set up

What did they do as part of their protest for Native rights

Answer 6

American Indian Movement (AIM) - 1968

They led sit-ins, demonstrations and occupations of both tribal land and federal buildings

Question 7

Name 3 examples of Native American Protest

Answer 7

• 89 AIM affiliates took over Alcatraz Prison Island from 1969-1971
• AIM Occupied the BIA government building in Washington DC to protest in 1972
• In 1973, the AIM occupied the village of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, and declared independence as the Oglala Sioux Nation. The government had to siege the town for 71 days, and the AIM only gives in when the government agrees to investigate AIM demands

Question 8

Which President sympathised for the Native American cause most

Answer 8

Richard Nixon

Question 9

Name 3 examples (only 3 needed) of legislation passed in the 1970s which benefitted Native Americans (reminder just 3)

Answer 9

• 1972 Indian Education Act (funded Native American Schools)
• 1974 Indian Financing Act (lent tribes funding)
• 1975 Indian Self-Determination Act (Reduced the involvement of the BIA in day to day life and education)
• 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act (Gave Native Americans more control over adopting other Natives)
• 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (Gave 40 million acres of land and $462.5 million to Native Alaskans)

Question 10

How was the issue of sacred land solved

Answer 10

it wasn’t ever solved, and some states continued to evict Natives for land as late as 1971, when Hawaii did so they could do building work

Question 11

What is the Bracero Programme

Answer 11

A US Programme from 1942-64 that allowed Mexicans to work and live in the USA in return for a guaranteed level of housing and working conditions

Question 12

How many contracts were signed under the Bracero Programme

Answer 12

4.6 million

Question 13

What were the 4 main issues Hispanic rights covered

Answer 13

• Land: In 1848, the USA beat Mexico in a war and annexed some land, which meant some Mexicans went from living in Mexican borders to US ones.
• Workers Rights: Many farmers, especially ones under the Bracero Programme, had a terrible quality of life, and had to stay because it was a better alternative than returning to Mexico
• Discrimination: Hispanics encountered similar problems to black people with discrimination, often having to live in Barrios (Spanish speaking areas in the US cities) which were often the poorest areas. They usually lived side by side with black people, sometimes peacefully, sometimes not
• Deportation: From 1953-58, Operation Wetback deported 3.8 million illegal Mexican immigrants back to Mexico

Question 14

Who set up the NFWA (National Farm Workers Association), and in what year

Answer 14

Cesar Chavez, 1962

Question 15

What major strike did Chavez and the NFWA go on in 1965

Answer 15

The Delano Grape Strike

Question 16

Name one example of Hispanic Protest that failed

Answer 16

After trying legal protests, Reies Lopez Tijerina was getting nowhere, so became more bold. After some marches and demonstrations, he tried to lead a citizens arrest of an abusive district attorney which led to a gunfight

Question 17

Name one party who encouraged Hispanic voting and who founded them

Answer 17

La Raza Unida - founded by Jose Angel Gutierrez

Question 18

What was the name of the Hispanic militant organisation, what year were they set up, what were they known for, what did they do and where did they come from

Answer 18

• The Brown Berets
• Set up in 1967
• Known for wearing a distinctive brown uniform
• Campaigned against police brutality
• Came from Eastern LA

Question 19

What year did the Supreme Court consider Hispanic people equal citizens

Answer 19

1954

Question 20

What year were all Cubans (and only Cubans) who had lived in the USA for a year given permanent citizenship

Answer 20

1966

Question 21

What was set up in 1968 to pursue Mexican Civil Rights in the courts

Answer 21

Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund

Question 22

Name 2 acts which improved life for Hispanics in the 1970s

Answer 22

• 1974 Equal Opportunities Act provided for more bilingual teaching in schools improving education levels for Spanish speakers
• 1975 Voting Rights Act Extension provided extended rights to a range of races including Hispanic and language support at polling stations

Question 23

How did Congress describe homosexuality in the 1950s

Answer 23

A ‘mental illness’

Question 24

What state was the first year to decriminalise homosexuality and what year

Answer 24

Illinois, 1962

Question 25

Describe the events at the Stonewall Inn

Answer 25

At Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, the police often raided it. They were usually very aggressive and rough with people there, but on one occasion they were too rough and got attacked by 400 people there. Over the coming nights, there were numerous clashes between gay people and the police around Stonewall’s general area

Question 26

What was the impact of Stonewall

Answer 26

It led to far more gay rights protests and public awareness of homosexuality

Question 27

The New York Gay Pride march on the 28th August 1970 had how many marchers

Answer 27

10000

Question 28

What organisation for gay rights was set up after Stonewall

Answer 28

the Gay Liberation Front

Question 29

How did public opinion on gay people change from 1960-1980

Answer 29

It massively changed as it went from a ‘mental illness’ to something people saw as normal and okay, as more people came out and therefore more people knew gay people personally who weren’t ‘mentally ill’ like the government once said

Question 30

What cities were gay communities found in as they were most welcoming

Answer 30

• San Francisco
• New York
• Seattle

Question 31

As of 1977, what % of people in the USA believed in gay rights

Answer 31

50%

Question 32

Who was the first openly gay person in public office, where and when. What did he do for gay rights?

Answer 32

Harvey Milk, in San Francisco in 1977.

He made it illegal to fire someone for being gay and became a role model for other gay people to be open

Question 33

What happened to Harvey Milk

Answer 33

Assassinated in 1978

Question 34

What year was homosexuality removed from the American Psychiatric Association’s List of Mental Illnesses?

Answer 34

1973

Question 35

What was Proposition 6 and why is its legacy still alive today

Answer 35

A law proposed in California in 1978 to ban the LGBT community and their supporters from working in schools. This proposition was never put in place, but led people to believe to this day that schools are now trying to indoctrinate gayness into students causing more homophobia

Question 36

Name one court case in the 1980s in favour of gay people

Answer 36

A gay student successfully sued his school in Rhode Island for not letting him take another boy out to prom

Question 37

Name one person against gay rights and what was their campaign

Answer 37

Anita Bryan’s ‘Save Our Children’ who believed in homosexual segregation so they couldn’t ‘corrupt’ children