U.S. History Chapter 26

How and why did the United States escalate its role in the Vietnam War?

...Didnt want to be seen as soft on communism. Concerned would jeapordize congressional support for his domestic plans. Johnson then authorized military action when each side didnt know if they suffered damage

In what ways did the Warren Courts rulings advance the liberal agenda?

...Struck down the poll tax, and continued to voting rights act. There were interacial mariages, and they did criminal justic system, religion and private sexual practices.

What groups were attracted to the 1960 conservative movement? Why?

...Women and African Americans because they were gaining more rights. young americans were attracted.

What problems and challenges did Johnsons Great Society legislation target?

...fought against Poverty. Hand up, economic growth. It failed to meet liberal expectations because it would have takena lot of money to lift each person.

What is La Raza Unida (The United Race) and why is it important?

A Mexican-American political party established by Jose Angel Gutierrez and other students in south Texas in 1970, La Raza Unida, or The United People, grew out of the Mexican-American Youth Organization formed in 1967 by Gutierrez and several other students, which aimed at solving problems and developing leaders in the Chicano community. The political impetus of La Raza Unida spurred a cultural awakening in Chicano music, history, and literature. Chicano scholars challenged perceptions of Mexican Americans as passive victims and helped establish Chicano studies program at numerous universities. Although, at times, La Raza Unida invoked violence, it raised the political consciousness of a generation of Mexican Americans, particularly the youth, on an unprecedented scale.

What was the American Indian Movement (AIM) and why is it important?

Founded in 1968, the American Indian Movement (AIM) is an organization dedicated to the Native American civil rights movement. Its main objectives are the sovereignty of Native American lands and peoples; preservation of their culture and traditions; and enforcement of all treaties with the United States. During the past thirty years, The American Indian Movement has organized communities and created opportunities for people across the Americas and Canada. AIM is headquartered in Minneapolis with chapters in many other cities, rural areas and Indian Nations. AIM has repeatedly brought successful suit against the federal government for the protection of the rights of Native Nations guaranteed in treaties, sovereignty, the United States Constitution, and laws.

What happened during Freedom Summer and why is it important?

Freedom Summer was a highly publicized campaign in the Deep South to register blacks to vote during the summer of 1964. Violence followed with 37 black churches and 30 black homes and businesses were firebombed or burned during that summer, and the cases often went unsolved. More than 1000 black and white volunteers were arrested, and at least 80 were beaten by white mobs or racist police officers. But the summer's most infamous act of violence was the murder of three young civil rights workers, a black volunteer, and his white coworkers.

How did President Kennedys domestic agenda reflect the liberal political ideology of the early 1960's?

He wanted to make small gains, by expanding unemployment benefits, minimum wage and social security.

How did civil rights activists presssure state and federal government officials to enact their agenda?

Holding march on washington to give the people jobs. increase pressure on lawmakers. SNCC was also pressuing them. Dr. MLK

What is the National Organization for Women (NOW) and why is it important?

In 1966, 28 women attending the Third National Conference of the Commission on the Status of Women established the National Organization for Women (NOW). The founders, frustrated the way the federal government wasn't enforcing the new anti-discrimination laws, gathered in Betty Friedan's hotel room one evening during the conference and began to form the new organization. The organization's purpose was this: To take action to bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society now, assuming all the privileges and responsibilities thereof in truly equal partnership with men (National Organization of Women). NOW was formally launched in October of 1966 at a convention in Washington DC.

What was the Cuban Missile Crisis?

In October 1962, an American U-2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba. The Americans worried that the Soviet Union would invade Cuba and increase the direct threat of nuclear war between the USA and the USSR.

What is "Roe v. Wade" and why is it important?

In its ruling, the court recognized for the first time that the constitutional right to privacy "is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy" (Roe v. Wade, 1973). Roe has come to be known as the case that legalized abortion nationwide. This decision, however, did not end the fervent ethical debates about this heated subject which continue to this day.

What were the Stonewall Riots and why is it important?

In the early hours of June 28, 1969, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club located in Greenwich Village in New York City. The raid sparked a riot among bar patrons and neighborhood residents as police roughly hauled employees and patrons out of the bar, leading to six days of protests and violent clashes with law enforcement outside the bar on Christopher Street, in neighboring streets and in nearby Christopher Park. The Stonewall Riots served as a catalyst for the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.

How did Kennedy handle the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Kennedy decided to place a naval blockade, or a ring of ships, around Cuba. The aim of this "quarantine," as he called it, was to prevent the Soviets from bringing in more military supplies. He demanded the removal of the missiles already there and the destruction of the sites. On October 22, President Kennedy spoke to the nation about the crisis in a televised address.

How did Khrushchev handle the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Khrushchev instigated the Cuban Missile Crisis by placing nuclear weapons 90 miles from Florida. He ultimately reached an agreement with Kennedy to resolve the crisis by agreeing to limit nuclear weapons and not place any in Cuba.

What was the Commission on the Status of Women and why is it important?

President John F. Kennedy appointed Esther Peterson to head the Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor, and in 1961, created the President's Commission on the Status of Women, chaired by the prominent advocate of women's rights, Eleanor Roosevelt. Labor unions, national women's organizations and government agencies were all represented on the Commission. The charge given to the National Commission was to investigate the level of participation of women in key political and economic areas and to make recommendations for improvement, where necessary. The commission was effective in supporting wording that bars sex discrimination and upholds the rights of women. The annual meeting of the commission fostered the establishment of the National Organization for Women (NOW).

How did organizations on the left challenge, social, cultural, and economic norms in the 1960's?

SDS condemned mainstream political topics. FSM held rallies. Counter Culturals were rebels.

How did the reality of the Vietnam War on the ground compare with the political and military assumptions for fighting it?

Since World War II, the US Army is trained in fighting large-scale wars. Its assumption was that the enemy is visible and predictable. The American method of counterinsurgency was 'almost a purely military approach,' which ignored political and social realities on the ground. The reality was that the enemy in the Vietnam War was not visible and not predictable. Politics, as well as social realities, played a huge role in the events and tactics of warfare with the enemy leaving the US without effective strategies to win.

What role did the federal government play in advancing the cause of racial equality in the early 1960s?

Supported freedom rides, law prohibited discrimination. Voting Rights Act.

What was the Black Panther Party and why is it important?

The Black Panthers were formed in California in 1966 and they played a short but important part in the civil rights movement. The language of the Black Panthers was violent as was their public stance. The two founders of the Black Panther Party were Huey Percy Newton and Bobby Seale. The Panthers upheld the right of armed self-defense. This made people sit up and pay attention to the civil rights movement. An organized and determined group of black people dedicated to improving their lot and defending their gains suddenly sprang up from the ashes of riots in over a hundred cities. It made Americans realize that institutional racism and apartheid must go. people saw that Black America must be accepted and integrated into American society or there would be no peace.

What is the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement.

What was the Free Speech Movement (FSM) and why is it important?

The Free Speech Movement (FSM) was a college campus phenomenon inspired first by the struggle for civil rights and later fueled by opposition to the Vietnam War. The Free Speech Movement began in 1964, when students at the University of California, Berkeley protested a ban on on-campus political activities.

Explain the Freedom Rides and why is it important?

The Freedom Rides were a protest against the fact that segregation of public transportation was still the rule despite its being declared unconstitutional the year before. Seven Blacks and six Whites boarded buses in Washington D.C. that were headed for the segregated areas of the South. They were met with severe violence and even jail sentences. But their actions inspired new freedom rides at train stations, airports and other bus stations across the South.

What was the Great Society and why is it important?

The Great Society was a set of domestic programs in the United States launched by Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964-65. The main goal was the elimination of poverty and racial injustice. President Johnson first used the term "Great Society" during a speech at Ohio University. New major spending programs that addressed education, medical care, urban problems, rural poverty, and transportation were launched. By combatting racial discrimination and attempting to eliminate poverty, the reforms of the Johnson administration changed the nation.

What was the Golf of Tonkin Resolution and why is it important?

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorized President Lyndon Johnson to "take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression" by the communist government of North Vietnam. It was passed on August 7, 1964, by the U.S. Congress after an alleged attack on two U.S. naval destroyers stationed off the coast of Vietnam. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution effectively launched America's full-scale involvement in the Vietnam War.

Explain the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and why is it important?

The March on Washington was a massive protest march that occurred in August 1963, when some 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Also known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the event aimed to draw attention to continuing challenges and inequalities faced by African Americans a century after emancipation. It was also the occasion of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s now-iconic "I Have A Dream" speech.

Who was the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDF)? Why are they important?

The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), also referred to as the Freedom Democratic Party was an American political party created in 1964 as a branch of the populist Freedom Democratic organization in the state of Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement to provide Southern blacks an opportunity to have their voices heard in the National Democratic Party. While the MFDP ultimately failed in its goal of gaining seats at the Democratic National Convention, it was ultimately successful as its story in Atlantic City reminded the country of the ongoing battle Southern blacks faced in gaining full citizenship rights.

What was the Port Huron Statement and why is it important?

The Port Huron Statement is a 1962 political manifesto of the North American student activist movement Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). The Port Huron Statement is about democratic ideals. It's about America's emergence from World War II as the beacon of those ideals and about our country's failure to be faithful to them. It was written primarily by Tom Hayden, a University of Michigan student and then the Field Secretary of SDS, with help from 58 other SDS members, and completed on June 15, 1962, at a United Auto Workers retreat in Port Huron, Michigan (now Lakeport State Park), for the group's first national convention. The reason The Port Huron Statement remains an important document is that it is a model political manifesto of the American left.

What was the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and why is it important?

The SDS was a student organization in the 1960s. They comprised what we call the New Left. The "old left" had been largely working class and union-based socialists in the 1930s. Many of these students had parents or grandparents that were part of the Old Left, but because of liberal reforms they were able to go to college, but brought those same values with them. The SDS was responsible for organizing students to protest against the Vietnam War, for Civil Rights, for freedom of speech, and later for women's rights.

What was the Tet Offensive and why is it important?

The Tet Offensive was a coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam in January 1968. As the celebration of the lunar new year, "Tet" is the most important holiday on the Vietnamese calendar. In previous years, the holiday had been the occasion for an informal truce in the Vietnam War between South Vietnam and North Vietnam. The offensive was an attempt to foment rebellion among the South Vietnamese population and encourage the United States to scale back its involvement in the Vietnam War. Though U.S. and South Vietnamese forces managed to hold off the attacks, news coverage of the massive offensive shocked the American public and eroded support for the war effort. Despite heavy casualties, North Vietnam achieved a strategic victory with the Tet Offensive, as the attacks marked a turning point in the Vietnam War and the beginning of the slow, painful American withdrawal from the region.

Why was the Voting Rights Act important?

The Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote as guaranteed under the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting.

How were the civil rights and black power movements different?

The civil rights movement stressed non-violent actions to effect change. The black power movement supported violence as a way to change society.

How were the civil rights and black power movements similar?

The goal of both groups were complete racial equality.

How was war averted during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

The leaders of both superpowers (USSR and USA) recognized the devastating possibility of a nuclear war and publicly agreed to a deal in which the Soviets would dismantle the weapon sites in exchange for a pledge from the United States not to invade Cuba.

What was the New Frontier and why is it important?

The term "New Frontier" refers to the economic and social programs of the presidency of John F. Kennedy. The term was used by liberal Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy in his acceptance speech in the 1960 United States presidential election to the Democratic National Convention at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as the Democratic slogan to inspire America to support him.

What is the Young Americans for Freedom and why is it important?

Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), American youth organization based on conservative principles, notably limited government, traditional social values, and free enterprise. Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) began in September 1960 when activists met at William F. Buckley, Jr.'s home in Sharon, Connecticut, to form a national youth movement that embodied the "new" conservatism of the time, which advocated for, among other issues, economic libertarianism and social traditionalism and was strongly anti-communist. Those principles were outlined in what came to be known as the Sharon Statement. YAF chapters soon appeared on college campuses across the United States, and in 1961 the group began publishing the magazine The New Guard. The organization continues to support a conservative political agenda.