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| attended the SDS’ public debut conference in Ann Arbor in 1960 and became a member soon after. Went South a year later to support he black student movement. Became President of SDS before 1962. Wrote Port Huron Statement in 1962. Traveled to Hanoi during Vietnam War. Married Jane Fonda. |
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| Many states felt it was their own right to decide whether to have segregation in their land before and after federal segregation laws came into effect, and plenty of them acted on that notion. The main issue that caused this ignorance was the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling, which some thought did not consider states rights. In addition, these states did not actively enforce the 14th and 15th Amendments until legislation was passed in 1964. Most of the states that had this ignorance were Southern. |
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| Michael Harrington – social activist and intellectual who wrote The Other America, which described those who lived in the “economic underworld of America” and stated that “poverty is a culture”. Kennedy read his book and it impressed him. Harrington was one of the Northerners who attended a rally in Montgomery |
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| conductor of Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Robert Shaw Chorale in 1960s. Songs sung in his own chorale included "Dixie" and "Battle Cry of Freedom", which originated during the Civil War but made connections with the civil rights movement which was going on during that time. |
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| Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party |
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| organized by SNCC activists to challenge regular Mississippi democrats. Johnson crushed them out of fear and they rejected the seats offered to them at the Democratic Convention in Atlantic City. Saw liberal Democrats as hypocrites who did not truly believe in racial equality. |
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| SDS felt it was crucial for America to revive its participatory democracy lost in the country’s beginnings. They voiced the urgency of this need by writing the Port Huron Statement. SDS saw participatory democracy as people providing their own opinions about decisions being made in America, rather than letting politicians continue to make decisions for them. |
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| Military industrial complex |
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| a term coined by President Eisenhower in his farewell address referring to the relationship between the American government, its troops and its providers of defense supplies. However, this term can be applied to any nation whose government and military branch are benefiting from supplies received by their providers and the providers are benefiting financially from selling the supplies to the government and military. |
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| A 14-year-old boy from Chicago who got killed for flirting with a white woman. His murderers were not sentenced to punishment because the jury was completely white and male. Thousands of black people attended his funeral, where his casket was left open for the world to see what was done to him. |
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| JFK’s killer, Lee Harvey Oswald, was killed by Jack Ruby. Ruby was believed to have mob ties because JFK had multiple affairs with women who were supposedly mob boss girlfriends, such as Marilyn Monroe. Also, due to the fear of communists in the 1960s, many feared they were involved with the events surrounding JFK’s death. |
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| The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC, began under the lead of Ella Baker and James Lawson in the early 1960s. The organization was comprised of both black and white people and worked to secure freedom for black people in America. It was important that they had white people on their side when protesting because white people made the issue seem more important when broadcasted on news channels. Members of SNCC became Freedom Riders. Their first mission was to obtain freedom for black people in Mississippi because that seemed to be the most difficult state to get it. Though SNCC itself was never violent, many of its members were injured and killed in protest. |
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| The Southern Christian Leader Conference, or SCLC, relied on black churchgoers to protest in the streets for freedom in America, even if it meant they ended up in jail for it. MLK was involved with the organization since he was a minister. The SCLC had big protests in 1963 in Birmingham. Their rally in March of 1969 in Montgomery was said to culminate the civil rights movement because it had began in the same place ten years beforehand. |
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| In 1961, JFK sent 1400 American-trained Cuban exiles to the Bay of Pigs in Cuba to overthrow Castro after he became allied with the USSR. In less than 24 hours, the exiles were forced to surrender to Cuba because Castro had advanced notice of the attack. JFK took the blame for the failure of the attack. |
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| a Latin term that referred to colleges acting as parents for their students during the 1960s, with special attention towards women. Some of the ways in which colleges acted as parents included scheduling when members of the opposite sex could be together in a dormitory and enforcing a curfew for women. |
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| babies of parents who were Communists or involved in Communist activities in America. These families were considered part of the Old Left. These children did not necessarily grow up to be communists like their parents. |
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| Record companies gave “payola”, or illegal bribes, to DJs for playing their music in the 1960s. There was a problem with payola and rock ‘n roll during the decade because it was a rather unpopular genre of music. |
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| a speaker and leader during the Free Speech Movement at the University of California Berkeley. He attended SNCC’s Mississippi Freedom Summer to aid in black voter registration. When the police got involved in one of his speeches, he simply got on top of the police car and began speaking. |
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| A group of about a dozen black and white students from SNCC who took a bus from Washington, D.C. throughout the South. At multiple rest stops, the white students went into black waiting rooms, and black students went into white waiting rooms, hoping to put the South into a state of crisis that would force federal law to be enforced in this part of the country. |
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| 1. What were the causes of the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley? Why is it important to what was to follow? |
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| The Free Speech Movement at Berkeley was caused by the university’s lack of desire to educate its students about issues going on in the world and its desire to instead teach its regular curriculum. The students wanted the opposite, especially after gaining experience in world issues over summer breaks. Most of these world issues dealt with the Civil Rights Movement, which became inspiration for the Free Speech Movement. The two movements were similar in that students began boycotting class at Berkeley and protested by speaking in the quad on campus instead. |
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| 2. Explain Norman Podhoretz’s comment “What juvenile delinquency is to life, the San Francisco writers are to literature.” |
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| Norman Podhoretz is referring to the Beats in this comment. Specifically, he is identifying that society, himself included, saw the Beats as outcasts who made up their own rules about literature, which made them unpopular compared to authors of mainstream literature. Because the ideas expressed in their literature were so different from what society was used to seeing, it was hard for society to accept them. For instance, Therefore, society took the easy way out and rejected the unfamiliar. Podhoretz is implying that the Beats are like juvenile delinquents because their positive attitude about black people was viewed as primitive and would only lead to violence. |
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| 3. How did rhythm and blues contribute to the development of rock and roll? |
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| Both genres of music had mainly black roots. Rock and roll borrowed many elements from rhythm and blues in its beginnings, such as lyrics and melodies. Musicians altered these elements to create a lively, upbeat sound suitable for black churches and congregations, where rock and roll has many of its roots. However, that is not to say only black people were involved in the beginnings of rock and roll. White people who admired the alternative style of both genres involved themselves in the development of rock and roll simply by singing the same songs as black people did. In fact, white people came up with the name rhythm and blues after rock and roll took off. Previously, it went by the name “race music” which became unsuitable once white people started singing it. |
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| How did Malcolm X’s views differ from Martin Luther King’s? |
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| The main difference in views between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King is that Malcolm X favored a violent approach while King supported peaceful protest. Martin Luther King was an advocate for inclusion and integration of blacks into white society in America, whereas Malcolm X favored total political and economic independence from white people. Overall, Malcolm X was more of an extremist while King held calmer, idealistic views. These views stemmed from the upbringing of these two men. While Martin Luther King had a more stable, safe childhood, Malcolm X’s was rather underprivileged. In the end, both men wanted racial equality, simply in different ways. |
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| How did JFK influence the student movement of the 1960s? |
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| In general, President Kennedy wanted the youth of America to help him make our country better. JFK’s famous quote “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country” inspired many young people to become involved in the bettering of the world in which they lived. Organizations such as the Peace Corps were created to help people in countries in need. Some of Kennedy’s optimism and idealism is also mirrored in the Port Huron Statement, written by Thomas Hayden and members of the Students for a Democratic Society. |
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| 6. What was the Kennedy administration’s attitude toward civil rights? |
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| Although JFK did minor things to help the civil rights movement such as sending help so that a black student could enroll in classes at the University of Mississippi and supply security to the Freedom Riders during their trip, he publicly shied away from making any drastic moves pertaining to granting civil rights. Because of this decision, many young people thought he was unsupportive of civil rights. However, eventually civil rights were granted quietly during Kennedy’s presidency after a while. |
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| 7. In what ways was James Dean an important icon to the young people of the 50s? |
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| The youth of the 1950s could relate to Dean and his characters, especially in Rebel Without a Cause. There was a great sense of being misunderstood felt by his character in this movie with which teenagers had a lot in common. The most distinguishing characteristic of Dean’s was his likability by both girls and boys during the decade. Normally, young boys are jealous of attractive Hollywood actors for whom young girls long. This standard really made Dean stand out and his role in Rebel Without a Cause became a celebrated one in gay culture. |
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