Term
|
Definition
| African Americans started to have success in the 1950's. The Brown vs. Board of Education decision and bus boycott used peaceful protest and political pressure. They wanted to continue getting more rights. |
|
|
Term
| Civil Rights Groups and Confrontations |
|
Definition
| Several groups took the leas in the Civil Rights movement: NAACP, CORE, SCLC, SNCC. Many protests started on the grass roots level such as sit ins at Woolworths or Freedom Riders. Blacks and whites often worked together on the moral issue of the day. In 1962 James Meredith, a black Air Force veteran, applied to the University of Mississippi. The case went to the Supreme Court to get in. Governor Ross Barnett blocked the door to the University. A riot occurred and two were dead. In April 1963 desegregation of Birmingham, Alabama was met with a very violent response. Fire hoses, cattle prods, and police dogs were used against the protestors. This gained tremendous sympathy for the protestors. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Kennedy had campaigned on civil rights, but had done little because of such a narrow margin of victory. Events will force him to take action and send federal troops to admit James Meredith. He pushed for a new bill calling for no segregation in public places and no discrimination wherever federal money is involved. In support of the bill African Americans marched on Washington in August of 1963. 200,000 people listened to MLK "I Have a Dream Speech." The bill stayed bottled up in committee by southerners who did not want it passed. |
|
|
Term
| Johnson's Civil Rights Plans |
|
Definition
| Johnson made civil rights his priority. He got the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed which outlawed racial discrimination in public places and the work force. There was also a push to register black voters. A great deal of violence went along with this. 80 beaten, 1000 arrested, 37 churches bombed. Johnson addressed the nation and said, "we shall overcome." The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed allowing federal authority for voter registration. In 1965 400,000 blacks were registered and by 1968 there were 1 million. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The 1960's saw a division in the black movement, Many thought that change was coming to slow. Malcolm X becomes the voice for this group. He said that whites were responsible for the black mans condition and that blacks needed to help themselves. He talked of black nationalism and black separatism "by any means necessary." He was killed in 1965 and his friend Stokely Carmichael was elected head of the SNCC. He proclaimed black power and shortly after the Black Panthers was formed. "Violence is as American as pie." A number of riots broke out around the country. Watts, CA the 5 day uprising with 34 dead and 1000 injured and numerous buildings burned to the ground. On April 4th 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis Tennessee. Many feared that the U.S. was moving toward two separate societies, one white, one black. |
|
|
Term
| Southern Strategy and the Showdown of Civil Rights |
|
Definition
| Nixon in 1968 had less sympathy towards civil rights. He only received 12% for the southern support. He looked to slow down civil rights. Busing laws were challenged. Nixon was against using busing for desegregation. A lot of places had de facto segregation, segregation based on where you live. Boston ordered that students were bused to create desegregation. People on both sides were upset by this. Ford followed Nixon and kept the same practices. Blacks won't have success on the college level with affirmative action programs. Some did not like the quotes which many felt led to reverse discrimination. The quotes were ruled unconstitutional. Slowly started to see more and more involved in the political issues. Andrew Young was the U.S. ambassador to the UN. Jesse Jackson ran for president in 1984 and 1988. By the 70's and 80's there was decreased support for civil rights, but there was a great deal of success. Still a long way to go, more opportunities with money, politics, and education. |
|
|
Term
| Start of the Women's Movement |
|
Definition
| The women's movement grew out of the civil rights movement. They used a lot of the same strategies. |
|
|
Term
| Attacking the Women.. Wait what? |
|
Definition
| Many women joined the civil rights movement and then started to realize that they were second class citizens. In the 50's and 60's more women were working outside the home. They were making less pay. In 1963 they 65% of what a man made and in 1973 it was 57%. More women were also attending college and by 1941 41% of all BA degrees were earned by women. The 1964 Civil Rights bill included Title VII, which banned discrimination based on sex. In 1966 the women organized. Betty Friedan organized the NOW (National Organization of Women). This group attacked the image of women and attempt to raise the awareness of America. Looked for a better understanding of women's roles and discrimination. |
|
|
Term
| The Tide is Rising.. On Feminism.. Huh? |
|
Definition
| In 1970 women started to become more militant. They made huge strides in all fields with their being no more male dominate fields. Education Amendment Title IX was passed in 1972. This barred gender bias in federal programs or educational activities. In 1972 Gloria Steinem found MS magazine. This magazine talked about the plight of women and discusses women's issues. This magazine had great success and addressed a number of important issues like sexuality and abortion. In 1972 there was a new push to pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The women's movement was split over this issue. Phyllis Schfly worked to block the ERA. Was a fear and no separation of men and women. The amendment needed 38 states to pass and it never got close. It was dead as of 1982. Women had political success, in 1891 Sandra Day O'Conner became the first female Supreme Court Justice. 1984 Geraldine Ferraro was a VP candidate for a major political party. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| They saw African Americans as a model. They were made up as a diverse group; Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and Chicanos. Were looking for the same things that African Americans were searching for, but were concerned about financial matters. |
|
|
Term
| Cool Name Guy Leads Hispanics |
|
Definition
| They though the War on Poverty would help them, but most went to African Americans. Cesar Chavez started with migrant farm workers in the West. He founded the United Farm Workers. First action is a grape boycott of California growers. The union went on strike and had success. Later asked the same thing except lettuce growers. The union gave workers legal representation. Chavez also fought in other areas like education, and safety. He helped push for land reform and protested the Vietnam War because of the large percent of Hispanics killed. The Hispanic population has made a number of gains especially in politics. |
|
|
Term
| Native Americans.. Enough said :) |
|
Definition
| This era saw an increase in Native American protest. Saw a population increase, in 1960 550,000 and in 1990 there were 1,959,000. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| In the 1950's there was a time of termination and assimilation. In the 1960's there was greater pride and a sense of their native culture. Natives pushed for more studies of Native History and a more honest history. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Natives were looking to protect the land they have left. The first battle was in Seneca Falls, New York. The state was looking to build a dam that would have destroyed Indian property that had promised them since 1794. The road and the dam were stopped and Indians retained the land. The natives started to bring a number of lawsuits for past treaties. Courts often upheld these old treaties giving the Natives more water and fishing rights. 1968 American Indian Movement (AIM) was founded in Minnesota and looked for greater rights. They organized a number of marches and tried to take back Wounded Knee. They had very mixed results. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Saw an end to termination and allowed Natives to have greater control of their own lives. The government switched to a policy of self-determination. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Many baby-boomers were now in their teens. College enrollment doubled and many started working on the civil rights movement and then moved to being disillusioned with society. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was the first group. They were concerned about the world they would inherit. The first battle came at the University of California at Berkley. Students were told that they could not distribute protest material. In 1964 students took over the Admissions building. They said it was a free speech issue. The police removed them. Protest spread, and they protested drinking, discipline, minorities, and the Vietnam War. In 1968 the Democratic Convention turned into a riot of protest. Many people were very upset at the hippie movement. Bob Dylan became the voice of the protest with songs like "The Times They Are A Changing." |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| In 1961 Joseph Heller wrote Catch 22 "Americanism is Horseshit." Wanted more individuality and independence. Hippies started having more power with long hair, beads, clothes, and communal living. The birth control pill was introduced and caused a sexual revolution. No more passive and talked of enjoyment of sex. Art also looked at sex differently. The musical "Hair" had an all nude scene. Pop art looked at materialism with artists like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Jasper Johns. Drugs were necessary to free the mind. "Tune in, Turn on, Drop out." Ken Kersey wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and started a group of merry pranksters and took an LSD bus across America. Music was a big part of the counter culture. In 1969 in upstate New York 400,000 people arrived at Woodstock for a concert. In Altamont, CA 300,000 arrived for a Rolling Stones concert. The Hells Angels were hired for security. This concert showed the dark side of the counter culture through violence and overdoses. San Francisco became the home for many of the hippies. Haight-Asbury attracted the Flower Children and people like Charles Manson exploited many. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| American society had always been unsympathetic towards homosexuals. In the 1970's there was a time when gays started coming out of the closet. In 1973 homosexuality was no longer listed as a mental illness. In 1975 the government lifted the hiring ban on homosexuals. Many churches were the leaders of the anti-gay movement. In 1981 the discovery of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) caused renewed hostility by viewing AIDS as a gay disease. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| This group was a cross section of people. In 1962 Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring, a book that questioned chemicals like DDT. This caused people to look at pesticides, vehicle exhaust, industrial waste, and air and water pollution. In 1970 Earth Day was celebrated for the first time. Also in 1970 the Love Canal in New York was a dump site and people started getting more cancer and birth defects. The Three Mile Island nuclear reactor melted down and dumped nuclear waste and radioactivity into the environment. People started to question the safety of nuclear energy. In 1986 Chernobyl, a USSR reactor, melted down killing 1000 people. Johnson and Nixon passed the Clear Air Act, Water Quality Improvement Act, and established the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Consumer safety also became an issue. Ralph Nadar published Unsafe at Any Speed, a book about how unsafe cars were. He attacked the Corvair the most. This led to more safety features like bumpers, seatbelts, and air bags. |
|
|
Term
| Cultural and Social Protest |
|
Definition
| Saw changes in middle class society. Many started rebelling against the conformity of the 1950's. |
|
|
