Demands for Civil RightsCh 29-30

“We shall overcome”

Civil Rights 1950’s

Fun Statistics

• Americans spend 13% of their income on this– Food

• 100 people a year choke to death on this– Ball point pens

• 50% of the people who win the lottery do this– Return to work

The Struggle Over Civil Rights

• Cold War prompted quest for American moral superiority

• Legal discrimination against African Americans challenged U.S. self-image

• African-Americans expected more in postwar America

1947-Jackie Robinson

• First African American to break the color barrier in MLB

• Dealt with extreme hostility and death threats his entire rookie season

1948-Armed Forces

• Truman issued an executive order for integration of the armed forces

• “equality of treatment and opportunity in the armed forces”• Ordered an end to discrimination in the hiring of

government employees

1954-Brown v. Board of Education

• Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (separate is equal)

• Lead attorney on the side of the plaintiff was Thurgood Marshall (first African-American Supreme Court Justice)

• Landmark victory declaring segregation was no longer permissible in public schools

• Gets ball rolling for desegregation

1955-1956-Montgomery bus boycott

• A seamstress named Rosa Parks decides not to get up from her seat and is arrested

• This starts the Montgomery bus boycott

• A young Baptist minister named Martin Luther King Jr. leads the charge

• The boycott was successful

1957-Little Rock 9• To test Brown v. Board of

Education decision nine African American students were sent to integrate Central High School

• Governor Orval Faubus publicly announced that he would use the National Guard to prevent the students from entering

• President Eisenhower placed the Arkansas National Guard under federal command to integrate Central High School

Civil Right 1960’s

Fun Facts

• This is the only city in the world that is located on two continents – Istanbul (Turkey)

• This is the first city to reach a population of 1 million – Rome (133 BC)

• This country has more lakes than any other country in the world, making up much of the worlds fresh water– Canada

1960 Sit-ins

• Created by the founders of SNCC modeled after CORE in Chicago

• Peaceful protest where African Americans and Whites sat at lunch counters that were for “whites only”

1961 Freedom Riders• Supreme Court hearing

bans segregated interstate bus routes and facilities

• Groups of African Americans and Whites (SNCC/CORE) tested the hearing by taking trips to the deep South (Alabama)

• Violent outbreaks led to RFK (Attorney General) assigning U.S. Marshalls to protect the freedom riders

1962 Integrating Ole Miss• James Meredith won a

federal court case allowing him to enroll into the all white university

• Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett refused his entry into the university

• RFK sends U.S. Marshals to allow Meredith into the registration building

• Rioting will go on for the next 24 hours

1963 March on Birmingham• SCLC planned to march on

the “most segregated city in America”

• MLK peacefully marches 3 times in the city

• On the last day, police officers use dogs, fire hoses, and clubs on the marchers

• The violence is caught on T.V. and helps in ending segregation in Birmingham

1963 March on Washington

• 250,000 peaceful protestors (75,000 Whites) converged on the nations capital to listen to speakers at the Lincoln Memorial

• Their goal was to demand that Congress pass the Civil Rights Act

• MLK “I have a dream” speech

1964 Civil Rights Act

• JFK decides to pressure Congress to pass a bill that prohibits discrimination because of race, religion, national origin, and gender

1965 Voting Rights Act

• In 1964 the 24th Amendment is passed outlawing poll taxes

• LBJ pushes for the elimination of so-called literacy tests that disqualified many African American voters

• Registration to vote in the South triples

African American Voter Registration Before and After Passage of the Voting

Rights Act of 1965

THE TURBULENT SIXTIES

Chapter 30

Election of 1960

Kennedy Intensifies the Cold War

• John F. Kennedy a "Cold Warrior"• Kennedy advisors supported U.S. hard line

against Russia

Foreign Policy• Arms buildup (Flexible Response)– Conventional armed forces– The nuclear arsenal– Special Forces (Green Beret)

• U.S. strength tempted new administration to challenge U.S.S.R. – Crisis over Berlin (Berlin Wall)– Containment in Southeast Asia (U.S. involvement in

Vietnam deepened)– Cuba

• The Bay of Pigs Fiasco (CIA plan to overthrow Castro fails)• Cuban Missile Crisis (nuclear war was averted/JFK popularity

soars)

Civil Rights Round Table Discussion

It is 1964 and the United States needs to do something about the climate of race relations in

America. 1.Should the U.S. desegregate?2.What are the best ways African Americans could

possibly desegregate the U.S.?3.Why is your method better then others?4.What does the future hold for African

Americans?

What am I????

What am I?????

What am I????

Domestic Policy• The New Frontier at Home

– Seeks legislative and economic reform – JFK’s “best and the brightest” administration

• Economic stimulation– Increased space and defense spending – Informal wage and price guidelines to hold down cost of living – Tax cut spurred one of the longest sustained advances in U.S. history• Supreme Court reform: Gideon vs. Wainwright, Esobedo vs. Illinois,

Miranda vs. Arizona, Engle vs. Vitale • Downplay civil rights legislation to avoid alienating Southern Democrats

– Kennedy record disappointing to supporters, ultimately effective with the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Warren Commission

• November 22, 1963: JFK assassinated – Lee Harvey Oswald is accused of killing– Magic bullet theory– Conspiracy theories begin to swirl

Johnson Domestic Policy• Lyndon Johnson promised to continue Kennedy's programs

– Johnson ultimately exceeded Kennedy’s record on economic, racial equality

– Example: 1964 (Kennedy's) tax cut and Civil Rights Act passed – Johnson launched “war on poverty”

• 1965: Great Society legislation advanced beyond New Deal– Medicare – Medicaid – Elementary and Secondary Education Act– Voting Rights Act

• The Vietnam war will take away from all of his programs and consume LBJ

Daisy Girl

Discussion Question

What do you know about the Vietnam War?

Johnson Escalates Foreign Policy: Vietnam War

• Hawkish foreign policy continued– 1965: Troops sent to Dominican

Republic– Determined not to "lose" Vietnam

to the Communists

• 1964: Saigon on the verge of collapse

• Johnson’s initial response– Refused to send American combat

forces but continued economic aid, military advisers and covert actions

• August 1964: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gives Johnson authority to escalate in Vietnam

U.S. Troop Levels in Vietnam (as of Dec. 31 each year)

Escalation

• U.S. effort intended to bring Hanoi into peace negotiations

• Johnson’s “sins” in Vietnam were secrecy, deceit, and the refusing to admit he had committed U.S. to dangerous conflict

Stalemate• 1968: 500,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam • War of attrition increased American losses, enraged South

Vietnamese– Viet Cong were to powerful in South Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh

Trail)• Johnson’s tactics failed to win the war

– Hamlet program • Americans gradually turned against the war

– Continued escalation of Vietnam war became the target (Doves vs. Hawks)

– 1964 Anti war movement begins at Berkley/which challenged older generation’s materialism

Vietnam Undermines Lyndon Johnson

• 1968: Tet Offensive led to conclusion that Vietnam war cannot be won– Camera’s filmed

everything (support declines)

• March: Johnson announced he will try to seek peace with North Vietnam and that he would not seek another term as president

• War is passed on to Nixon

The Return of Richard Nixon• 1968: A year of turmoil

– Presidential election– Massive protests in the streets

and on campuses (Chicago Democratic Convention)

• Richard Nixon election demonstrated desire for national reconciliation– Promises to end war but

escalates war (Cambodia/bombings)

– 1970 Kent State demonstration

The Cultural Revolution

• Widespread cultural uprising• Rejection of older values through– Sexual expression– Clothing– Drugs– Music

• Serious challenge to hypocrisy of American society

CCR Fortunate SonSome folks are born made to wave the flag,Ooh, they're red, white and blue.And when the band plays "Hail to the chief",Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord,

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no senator's son, son.It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, no,

Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,Lord, don't they help themselves, oh.But when the taxman comes to the door,Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no millionaire's son, no.It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, no.

Some folks inherit star spangled eyes,Ooh, they send you down to war, Lord,And when you ask them, "How much should we give?”

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no military son, son.It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, one.

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate one, no no no,It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate son, no no no,

Movements

• Black Power Movement – Rise of militant leaders who advocated for African Americans

to establish control of their political and economic life– April, 1968: MLK assassinated

• Ethnic Nationalism – Native American, Mexican American, etc… emulated the

African American movement

• Women’s Liberation – 1963: Friedan's The Feminine Mystique– 1966: NOW (National Organization of Women) is formed to

challenge sex discrimination in the workplace

The End of an Era

• Election of 1968 ended 30-year era of liberal reform, activist foreign policy

• Americans sought less intrusive government