7: A divided union: Civil Rights in the USA, 1945-74

Unit 1: McCarthyism and the Red Scare

Causes:
Cold War
1. The Cold War led to renewed fears of communist world revolution and Soviet espionage
2. Americans were scared by the rapid spread of communism to Eastern Europe and then China
3. US paranoia of communism was increased by the Berlin Blockade and Korean War
4. Fear of nuclear war increased in 1949 after the USSR successfully tested an atom bomb

Soviet Spies
1. American communists were suspected of spying for USSR and trying to overthrow the government
2. The USA was desperate to prevent the Soviets finding out how to make an atomic bomb
3. Fears of communist spies appeared confirmed by Klaus Fuchs, Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs
4. Their convictions convinced people there was a threat and made them believe other allegations

Political Ambition
1. The Red Scare gave publicity to politicians who wanted to raise their profile e.g. McCarthy
2. The HUAC deliberately targeted high profile figures beginning with the Hollwood Ten
3. Republicans gained votes by accusing Democrats of not standing up to the USSR and communism
4. Eisenhower was reluctant to oppose McCarthy as he feared it would cost him and the party votes
5. Richard Nixon first came to prominence for his role in the conviction of Alger Hiss

Paranoia & Hysteria

1. Hysteria was fueled by the House Un-American Activities Committee and McCarthy’s accusations
2. There was strong public support for McCarthy
3. Hysteria was increased by the media e.g. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
4. A witch hunt developed where anyone opposed McCarthy was accused of being a communist

2nd Red Scare:

1947 Federal Employee Loyalty Programme

3 million government employees were investigated by FBI for communist links
Led to around 300 job losses as security risks but no spying charges

Hollywood Ten
19 leading screenwriters and producers were accused of being communists to the HUAC
10 refused to answer questions citing the 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech
They were imprisoned for 11 months and studios said they would not employ them
This was the origin of the blacklist that eventually included hundreds of people

1950 Conviction of Alger Hiss for Perjury

Hiss was a high-ranking State Department official e.g. US delegate at Yalta
He was accused of being a Communist by Whittaker Chambers but denied it
Richard Nixon pursued the case and found evidence that Hiss had spied for the USSR
Recent evidence suggests but does not prove that Hiss had been a Soviet spy

Conviction of Klaus Fuchs for Espionage

Fuchs had worked on the US nuclear programme and passed vital data to the USSR

McCarran Act
Prevented communists from having a passport or working in defence industries
Passed over Truman’s veto: ‘the greatest danger to freedom of speech’ since 1798
1951 Conviction of Julius & Ethel Rosenberg for Espionage
They were executed in 1953 for passing US atomic secrets to the USSR
The judge blamed the Korean War on them helping the Soviets gain the bomb
They were the first US civilians executed for spying; others involved were only jailed
Both members of the Communist Party: Julius had been recruited as a spy in 1942
Decoded Soviet intelligence has proven Julius was a spy but Ethel may have innocent

McCarthyism:

1. The Second Red Scare was given new impetus by the emergence of Joseph McCarthy in 1950
2. During his brief ascendancy, the witch hunt of Communists reached a new peak
3. McCarthyism was based on bullying, false accusation and intimidation of opposition
4. His accusations were based on non-existent, old, disproved or exaggerated evidence

1950 ‘Wheeling’ Speech by Joseph McCarthy

McCarthy was a Republican Senator for Wisconsin in danger of losing his seat
He sensationally claimed: ‘I have here in my hand a list of 205 … names … known to
the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party’
He later changed the figure to 57 and then gave evidence of 81 ‘loyalty risks’
The figures were based on earlier investigations: most had already been cleared
The speech caused a media frenzy and national prominence for McCarthy

Tydings Committee
The Senate established an inquiry into McCarthy’s charges under Millard Tydings
‘Let me have him for three days … and he'll never show his face in the Senate again’
The committee’s report concluded the accusations were a ‘fraud and a hoax’

1951 McCarthy Attacks on General Marshall for Loss of China

Impact of McCarthism:

Damage to Lives & Careers

1. Many prominent Americans had their lives and careers ruined, as well as many insignificant ones
2. Paul Robeson and Arthur Miller had their passports removed; Chaplin was banned from entry
3. Hundreds were blacklisted by Hollywood e.g. Dalton Trumbo ; 117 jailed for contempt of Congress
4. The blacklist was only broken in 1960 and many never worked again
5. The threat of being blacklisted forced others to ‘name names’ to the HUAC e.g. Elia Kazan

Fear of McCarthyism
1. Politics and public life became dominated by a culture of fear, distrust and accusation
2. Anyone who opposed McCarthy was accused of being a Communist and attacked
3. People were afraid to speak out against McCarthy even though the majority always opposed him
4. Even President Eisenhower was reluctant to speak out against McCarthy despite opposing him
5. Eisenhower did not even defend his mentor General Marshall against McCarthy

Republican Gains
1. Republicans gained votes by accusing Democrats of being weak against Communist threat
2. People were reluctant to voice left-wing views and less workers joined unions
3. Eisenhower did not oppose McCarthy as it might cost him the Presidential election in 1952
4. In the 1950 Congressional elections, all the Democrats McCarthy campaigned against lost
5. This included Tydings, after McCarthy published a faked a photo of him with a Communist leader
6. Republicans including Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan owed their rise to the Red Scare
End of McCarthyism:

October 1953 1st See It Now Programme on McCarthy

February 1954 McCarthy Attacks on Army

Abuse of war hero General Zwicker outraged the army, veterans and Eisenhower

March 1954 2nd See It Now Programme on McCarthy

April 1954 Start of Army-McCarthy Hearings

December 1954 Censure of McCarthy by US Senate

Ed Murrow & See It Now

1. Murrow was a distinguished journalist and became one of McCarthy’s most prominent critics
2. His programmes on McCarthy were a key turning-point and helped turn the tide against him
3. They publicised McCarthy’s intimidatory tactics and lack of evidence for the first time

Lack of Evidence
1. McCarthy’s accusations had been on non-existent, old, disproved or exaggerated evidence
2. This lack of evidence gradually became apparent: his bullying could not continue to cover it up
3. His accusations did not lead to any convictions for spying

Army Hearings
1. McCarthy was widely seen to have gone too far by attacking the army the year before
2. The army sent evidence of McCarthy’s corruption to the media
3. The hearings were televised live and watched by 20 million Americans
4. It was the first time many Americans had seen McCarthy’s bullying tactics and lack of evidence
5. Welch said: ‘Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?’

Opposition
1. Many Americans had always opposed McCarthy but been afraid to speak out against him
2. The highest he ever scored on opinion polls was only 50% of people in his favour in January 1954
3. McCarthy was increasingly viewed as a liability even among Republicans and anti-communists
4. As soon as the tide turned against McCarthy, everyone who had been too afraid before spoke out
 A7: A divided union: Civil Rights in the USA, 1945-74
Unit 2: The Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s
Causes:

Segregation
1. The main cause of the Civil Rights Movement was opposition to the injustice of segregation
2. Its aims were to gain equality for blacks and end segregation, racial discrimination and injustice
3. In 1896 in Plessy v. Ferguson the Supreme Court had decided that ‘separate but equal’ was legal
4. 17 Southern states followed the ‘Jim Crow’ laws on segregation as well as Washington DC
5. Segregation was enforced in schools, transport, shops, restaurants, hotels and other services
6. Many blacks were excluded from voting by unfairly enforced literacy tests and poll taxes
7. Only 5% of blacks were registered to vote in Mississippi and few more anywhere in the South
8. Blacks suffered discrimination in employment, education, justice and housing
9. Blacks had a lower life expectancy, lower income and were more likely to be illiterate
10. In the North, blacks were better educated and richer but still suffered from discrimination
11. Large black populations in Northern cities also facilitated activism, later causing Black Power
12. Many campaigners were motivated by injustice e.g. 3 of Malcolm X’s uncles were killed by whites

Civil Rights Movement

1. The NAACP led the early Civil Rights campaigns such as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
2. It pioneered the tactics of legal challenges and political pressure used by other campaigners
3. It paved the way for later Civil Rights leaders and groups e.g. Martin Luther King, CORE, SNCC
4. Direct action provoked white violence, gaining publicity and forcing the government to take action
5. The Church gave black leaders the education, dignity and audience to campaign for Civil Rights
6. Church groups played a key role e.g. SCLC: Martin Luther King was a Baptist minister
7. World War 2 raised blacks’ expectations: NAACP membership grew from 50,000 – 450,000, 1940-6

Martin Luther King Non-Violence (See Unit A7.3: Causes of Success)

Chronology:

1954 Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka

The NAACP argued that segregated black schools were inferior not ‘separate but equal’
They used the case of Linda Brown to challenge the 20 states with segregated schools
She had a long, dangerous journey to school although there was a white school nearby
The Supreme Court ruled that ‘separate educational facilities are inherently unequal’
A 2nd ruling, Brown II, in 1955 ordered states to desegregate ‘with all deliberate speed’
Consequences:
1. The ruling led to violence in the South; White Citizen’s Councils were set up
2. Senator Harry Byrd organised ‘Massive Resistance’ & closed schools for 2 years
3. Some good black schools closed and black teachers lost jobs
4. The decision set a precedent – leading the court to desegregate buses too in 1956
5. The government was obliged to enforce the law e.g. at Little Rock in 1957

1955 Murder of Emmett Till

Till, a 14 year old black boy from Chicago, was staying with relatives in Mississippi
He was brutally beaten and killed after reportedly wolf-whistling at Carolyn Bryant
His mother insisted on an open casket and public funeral: 50,000 people viewed the body
Bryant’s husband Roy and his half-brother were tried but acquitted by an all white jury
They admitted they had murdered him in a magazine article the following year
 Consequences:
1. The brutal murder and the murderers’ acquittal provoked national outrage
2. It helped trigger the Civil Rights Movement
3. Its impact and influence was cited by both Muhammad Ali and Rosa Parks

1955-6 Montgomery Bus Boycott

In the South, buses were segregated and blacks had to give up their seats to whites
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white in Montgomery and was arrested
Claudette Colvin had been arrested earlier and her case taken to the Supreme Court
Yet Parks was used for a boycott: she was respectable; Colvin pregnant but unmarried
The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was set up with King chosen as head
The boycott lasted over a year: car pools were arranged; black taxis charged less
Consequences:
1. The bus company lost 2/3 of its income during the 381-day boycott
2. The Supreme Court ruled in Browder v. Gayle that segregated buses were illegal
3. Montgomery was forced to desegregate its buses – the boycott was ended
4. Martin Luther King, MIA President, rose to prominence and founded the SCLC
5. The boycott demonstrated the potential of his strategy of non-violent direct action
6. King’s house and 4 Baptist churches were bombed; integrated buses were shot at

1957 Civil Rights Act

1st Civil Rights legislation since Reconstruction designed to defend blacks’ voting rights
Courts able to prosecute states that prevented people voting, but had little practical effect

Establishment of Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

1957 Little Rock Nine

In 1957 6 states still did not have a single black student at a white school despite Brown
The NAACP registered 9 black students at the all white Little Rock Central High
Governor Orval Faubus used the Arkansas National Guard to prevent their admission
President Eisenhower was forced to intervene to uphold the Supreme Court ruling
He federalised the Arkansas National Guard and sent the army to protect the students
Consequences:
1. The students were admitted but faced constant abuse from fellow students
2. Faubus shut down all Little Rock high schools for the 1958-9 school year
3. It forced states to accept the Supreme Court decision and desegregate

Opposition & Revival of KKK:

1. Southern Democratic Senators blocked government action e.g. filibusters of Civil Rights Act
2. Martin Luther King’s house was firebombed and he was shot at during the Montgomery Bus Boycott
3. There was particular opposition to desegregation of schools e.g. Orval Faubus, Harry Byrd
4. The Ku Klux Klan was revived after World War 2 to lead opposition to Civil Rights
5. They were responsible for a series of bombings of blacks’ houses in Birmingham from the 1950s
6. This included the death of 4 black girls in the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing
7. Bull Connor worked with the Klan, allowing them to attack the 1961 Freedom Rides
8. Klan members were also responsible for numerous murders and normally acquitted by white juries
9. In 1964, Samuel Bowers established the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan to oppose Civil Rights
10. He ordered murders including the Missippi Burning murders of Chaney, Schwerner and Goodman
11. Senator Robert Byrd who led the filibuster against the Civil Rights Act had been a Klan member

Causes of Success: (See Unit A7.3: Causes of Success)

 A7: A divided union: Civil Rights in the USA, 1945-74
Unit 3: The Impact of Civil Rights, 1960-74
Chronology:

1960 Greensboro, N Carolina Sit-Ins

4 black students sat at a Woolworth’s lunch counter where blacks normally had to stand
Within a week, the number had increased to 400; the store then closed after a bomb scare
Consequences:
1. There were similar sit-ins throughout the South, involving over 70,000 people
2. Some stores and cities desegregated – including Woolworth’s in Greensboro
3. The protests gained national publicity and support from President Eisenhower
4. The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was established

Nashville, Tennessee Sit-Ins

500 udents organised sit-ins in restaurants despite facing violence and intimidation
The arrest of 150 students protesters led 4,000 to march in protest against the violence
Nashville was desegregated by May 1960 after national media coverage

1961 Freedom Rides

CORE protested segregation on interstate buses, despite Supreme Court rulings
Black and white campaigners rode buses to the South, breaking the local laws against it
The first Freedom Ride was attacked in Alabama by mobs, while the police stood aside
In Anniston, Klansmen firebombed one bus and tried to burn the passengers to death
In Birmingham, the 2nd bus was attacked by Klansmen carrying baseball bats and pipes
Police Commissioner Bull Connor had promised not to intervene for 15 minutes
The riders were again attacked in Montgomery, after its escort stopped at the city limits
Bobby Kennedy’s assistant John Seigenthaler was beaten unconscious
The rides continued under police protection but hundreds of riders were arrested
Consequences:
1. The Civil Rights Movement was strengthened by the violence against the Rides
2. The Rides gained huge publicity and inspired a generation of protesters
3. JFK was reluctantly forced to intervene to prevent further violence
4. Desegregation of interstate buses was enforced in September by Bobby Kennedy

1962 Admission of James Meredith to University of Mississippi

Meredith applied to ‘Ole Miss’ after being inspired by JFK’s inaugural address
When he was rejected twice, he appealed: the Supreme Court ruled he had to be admitted
When the Governor blocked his admission, Bobby Kennedy sent 500 federal marshals
Two marshals were killed and 160 people wounded in the ensuing violence

April 1963 Birmingham, Alabama Campaign

Martin Luther King led protests in a rigidly segregated city with strong KKK links
Its notoriously racist police force would react with violence, discrediting the whites
Police Chief Bull Connor arrested over 1,000 protesters including Martin Luther King
TV news showed images of dogs and fire hoses being used against women and children
JFK said ‘The Civil Rights Movement should thank God for Bull Connor’
Consequences:
1. The Civil Rights Movement was strengthened and King’s fame grew
2. The national media coverage contributed to the passing of the Civil Rights Act
3. Birmingham was desegregated and Bull Connor was sacked
4. 4 children were killed in the KKK bombing of a Baptist Church in September
August 1963 March on Washington
Approximately 200,000 blacks and 50,000 whites joined a peaceful march in the capital
King made his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech; musicians included Bob Dylan and Joan Baez
Consequences:
1. It gained huge publicity and showed the extent of support for Civil Rights
2. The peaceful march increased pressure on Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act

1964 Civil Rights Act

Landmark legislation outlawing segregation in schools, workplaces and public facilities
It made discrimination in employment and government illegal, ending the Jim Crow laws
The bill was introduced by JFK after a speech in June 1963 and forced through by LBJ
It was passed after JFK’s assassination despite filibusters by Southern senators

Freedom Summer
Civil Rights campaigners encouraged blacks to register to vote in Mississippi
1,000 SNCC volunteers came from other states, mostly young whites from the North
Freedom Schools taught black history and politics, as well as to pass literacy tests
Consequences:
1. Freedom Summer contributed to the passing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act
2. 430,000 blacks registered to vote in 20 months but few in Mississippi
3. Blacks were still prevented from registering to vote by threats and violence
4. Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was not recognised at 1964 Convention
5. Over 1,000 volunteers were arrested, 80 beaten; churches and homes firebombed
6. 3 volunteers were murdered by the KKK in the ‘Mississippi Burning’ murders
7. Violence and opposition to the dominance of white activists led to Black Power

1965 Selma to Montgomery Marches

Selma remained segregated and only 2.4% of blacks were registered to vote
600 marchers including Martin Luther King were brutally attacked on ‘Bloody Sunday’
A 2nd march took place peacefully 2 weeks later after LBJ took over the National Guard
Consequences:
1. Jim Clark, Selma’s racist sheriff was voted out after more blacks registered
2. The Voting Rights Act was introduced by LBJ and passed by Congress

Voting Rights Act

Outlawed discriminatory practices used to stop blacks from registering e.g. literacy tests

Watts Riots
34 people were killed in riots that lasted 6 days in Watts, Los Angeles

1967 Detroit Riot

43 people were killed and 2,000 buildings burned down in 5 day riot
There had been riots in 150 US cities in the first 9 months of 1967
Causes:
1. Often triggered by acts of police brutality or injustice (or MLK assassination)
2. Conditions for blacks in North: unemployment, poor housing, discrimination
4. Influence of Black Power rhetoric on Black youth rather than non-violence

1968 Assassination of Martin Luther King by James Earl Ray

Triggered race riots in 100 cities including Washington, Chicago, Detroit and Boston
46 people killed; 27,000 arrested; millions of dollars of damage wrecking inner cities
Contributed to Congress passing the 1968 fair Housing Act
Success:

Successes
1. Desegregation:
• Legal challenges had segregation outlawed and direct action forced the government to enforce this
• Segregation in schools was declared illegal by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education
• Eisenhower enforced this in Little Rock in 1957 and schools were gradually desegregated
• The Montgomery Bus Boycott and Freedom Rides led to desegregation on buses and transport
• Sit-ins and protests e.g. Greensboro, Nashville and Birmingham forced towns to desegregate

2. Legislation:
• The Civil Rights Movement focused on persuading and pressurising the government to take action
• Non-violence gained support from whites and made it hard for the government to oppose
• This led to the pioneering legislation passed by LBJ: Civil Rights had achieved its main aim
• The March on Washington played a decisive role in the Civil Rights Act being passed

3. Voting Rights:
• Freedom Summer and the Selma march pressured the government to pass the Voting Rights Act
• 430,000 blacks registered to vote in 20 months due to the actions of Civil Rights campaigners
• The proportion of blacks registered to vote increased from 35%-80% in Texas, 1960-‘6
• This led to Jim Clark being voted out in Selma and Carl Stokes being elected mayor of Cleveland
• Blacks have since gone on to become Secretary of State and President: Condoleeza Rice, Obama

4. Attitudes:
• Non-violence gained admiration for blacks’ courage and dignity, giving them moral high ground
• It gained them the support of educated whites: 50,000 marched on Washington; Freedom Riders
• Martin Luther King was courted by JFK and LBJ and won the Nobel Peace Prize
• Racism is now taboo: no one can openly voice racist views in modern America
• The election of Barack Obama as President in 2008 showed that attitudes to blacks have changed

Failures
1. Discrimination:
• Southern states ignored Civil Rights laws: six still did not have any blacks at white schools in 1957
• Schools remain effectively segregated in many parts of the USA today
• Only 28% blacks were registered to vote in Mississippi by 1966 and less blacks still vote
• Blacks remain underrepresented in Congress, government and top jobs: Obama is an exception

2. Poverty:
• The Civil Rights Movement did little to address black people’s unequal living standards
• Average black income remains less than white and blacks are more likely to be unemployed
• Many blacks live in poverty in urban ghettoes with little opportunity and high rates of crime
• One in nine black men aged 20-34 was in prison in 2008: one in three go to prison at some stage

3. Prejudice:
• Legislation could not change the attitudes of white people: prejudice remained especially in South
• Civil Rights opponents – Strom Thurmond, George Wallace – won votes in Presidential elections
• The Civil Rights Movement provoked horrific violence e.g. Emmett Till, attacks on Freedom Riders

4. Rise of Black Power:

• Black Power was a reaction to the perceived failure of the Civil Rights Movement
• Radicals felt non-violence meant blacks were still victims and opposed the slow pace of change
 • Black Power lost blacks the support of the government and scared white supporters
• Martin Luther King was assassinated and there were race riots across the USA

Causes of Success:

Role of Martin Luther King

1. King was responsible for the non-violent tactics and direct action that were so successful
2. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the campaigns in Birmingham and Selma, Alabama
3. His ‘I have a Dream’ speech at the March on Washington helped lead to the Civil Rights Act
4. His example and inspirational speeches encouraged both blacks and whites to support Civil Rights
5. He had huge political influence which played a key role in the passing of the Civil Rights acts
6. His message of peace and unity led to him winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964

Role of Supreme Court

1. From the 1940s, the NAACP focused on legal challenges to segregation due to Congress opposition
2. Thurgood Marshall first challenged Plessey v. Ferguson by winning Sweatt v. Painter in 1950
3. The Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruling that segregation was illegal was a vital watershed
4. The court ruled this applied to buses in 1956 in Browder v. Gayle, after Claudette Colvin’s arrest
5. The government was forced to enforce the Supreme Court’s decisions e.g. Little Rock
6. The court also ordered the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith in 1962

Role of Civil Rights Groups (See Unit A7.2: Civil Rights Movement on NAACP)
1. The Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) founded by James Farmer Jnr. led the Freedom Rides
2. John Lewis took part in the Nashville sit-ins, Freedom Rides & Selma and chaired the SNCC, 1963-6
3. The March on Washington was organised by Philip Randolph and NAACP, CORE, SNCC, SCLC
4. Freedom Summer was organised by CORE, the NAACP and SNCC

Government Support
1. Civil Rights depended on the support of successive Presidents and decisions by the Supreme Court
2. Eisenhower intervened to protect the Little Rock Nine and Kennedy to protect the Freedom Riders
3. Johnson’s political skill and support for Civil Rights were vital in the Civil Rights Acts being passed
4. He used JFK’s death to gain emotional support for the Civil Rights Act which had been blocked
5. He took advantage of Martin Luther King’s assassination to have the Fair Housing Act passed

Impact of Non-Violence
1. Non-violence gave blacks the moral high ground and proved impossible for whites to oppose
2. Direct action e.g. sit-ins, marches aimed to provoke whites into a violent reaction
3. White violence attracted sympathy for Civil Rights and gained publicity for the movement
4. It led to support from whites as well as blacks and forced the government to intervene
5. It gained international recognition which shamed and pressured the government into action

Black Power:

Causes
1. Lack of Change:
• Many blacks opposed Martin Luther King’s moderation and the slow pace of change
• Malcolm X believed that King and Civil Rights were holding blacks back
• Blacks realized Civil Rights was not improving their living standards
• The failure of King’s ‘Northern Crusade’

2. Violence:
• Black Power advocates opposed compromise with whites and relying on legislation
 • They believed only violence could free blacks: whites would never willingly accept equality
• They felt non-violence continued to make blacks victims and wanted to confront white intimidation
• They wanted to take power not continue to depend on whites granting them favours

3. Urban Ghettos:
• Black radicalism was fostered by poverty and discrimination especially in the North
• It was supported by young black men who were angry about their lives and lack of opportunities

4. Separation:
• Some radicals advocated separation from whites rather than desegregation and integration
• The Black Panthers and others established black businesses and community movements
• The Black is Beautiful movement promoted pride in African-American culture and heritage

Stokely Carmichael & Black Power

1. SNCC had a younger more radical membership than other Civil Rights groups
2. Stokely Carmichael, a radical advocate of black power, replaced John Lewis as President in 1966
3. The SNCC voted to expel white members, who had dominated movements like Freedom Summer
4. He pioneered the term ‘Black Power’ in a rally in 1966 after the shooting of James Meredith
5. He later joined the Black Panthers before moving to Guinea in 1968, thereby losing influence
6. At the 1968 Olympics, two athletes gave a black power salute on the podium during the US anthem

Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam

1. The Nation of Islam was led by Elijah Muhammad from 1934 to 1975
2. It gained notoriety from the late 1950s due to Malcolm X and Muhammed Ali
3. Malcolm X became the group’s spokesperson and the most prominent black radical
4. Membership increased from 500 to 30,000, 1952-63 after Ali’s high-profile conversion
5. It advocated the superiority of blacks and the complete separation of blacks and whites
6. Support for black independence led to involvement in community projects and business
7. Malcolm B became disillusioned with Elijah Muhammad and left the Nation of Islam in 1964
8. He founded the Organisation of Afro-American Unity & called for ‘freedom by any means necessary’
9. He was assassinated in 1965 by 3 Nation of Islam members but his ideas influenced Black Power

The Black Panthers

1. Founded in 1966, led by Huey Newton and Bobby Searle, 2,000 members
2. Influenced by Malcolm X’s black nationalism and commitment to violent action
3. Provided community support in Oakland: food, medical clinics, classes on black History
4. Followed Marx’s model of a small party of disciplined revolutionaries and even had a uniform
5. Ten-point plan called for employment, housing, education and freedom to run their own community
6. Socialism led to support for all oppressed groups not just blacks
7. Emerged as key part of 1960s counter-culture: links to hippies and celebrities
8. Believed in armed resistance to oppression, in particular the police, and carried guns
9. Frequent conflict and shoot-outs with FBI and police: 34 killed, leaders imprisoned
10. J Edgar Hoover called them ‘the greatest threat to the internal security of the country’
11. Yet their significance and threat was greatly exaggerated by Hoover to lose Black Power support

Consequences
1. Decline in government support
2. Decline in white support
3. Racial tension and race riots
4. Increased crime and decreased education among Black youth
 A7: A divided union: Civil Rights in the USA, 1945-74
Unit 4: Protest Movements
Causes:

Progressive Era
1. Peace and economic prosperity gave young people the security to fight for greater freedom
2. The emancipation and rebellion of the Roaring 20s was revived after the Depression and War
3. Protests were a reaction against the conservatism and conformity of the 1950s Affluent Society
4. Women and young people were inspired to fight for emancipation from patriarchal limits
5. JFK’s election in 1960 led to a new era of progressive politics and fresh demands for reform
6. The Kennedys embodied the hopes of a new generation for freedom, equality and civil rights
7. People were also inspired by protest movements and progress around the world e.g. Paris in 1968

Baby Boom
1. The Baby Boom after WW2 meant there were a lot of both housewives and teenagers in the 1960s
2. The housewives were disillusioned with their unfulfilling lives and ready to fight for equality
3. The teenagers were determined to gain emancipation and fight for a better, fairer world
4. They had higher expectations of life following the rapid economic growth of the 1950s

Impact of Civil Rights Movement

1. The Civil Rights Movement inspired a generation and paved the way for other protest movements
2. It encouraged other groups who faced discrimination to fight for equality such as women
3. It showed the potential of legal challenges, pressure for legislation and non-violent direct action
4. The sit-tins of the Civil Rights Movements were copied in teach-ins, be-ins, even bed-ins
5. Many student leaders had taken part in Freedom Rides and Freedom Summer e.g. Mario Savio

Student Movement:

Other Causes
1. Vietnam & the Draft:
• Opposition to Vietnam was the main focus of the student movement, uniting disparate groups
• Opposed the cost, US deaths, the death of innocent people, the corrupt S Vietnamese government
• ‘The Draft’ gave everyone an incentive to fight against the war, to avoid being sent to Vietnam
• Vietnam transformed Students for a Democratic Society into a more popular and radical group
• Media coverage of atrocities fuelled attacks on the war as immoral and imperialist

2. Student Radicalism: (See SDS & Berkeley Free Speech Movement below)
• By 1970, 40% young people went to college: student numbers rose 300%, 1950-70
• Students became more confident fighting for their rights, saying ‘don’t trust anyone over 30’
• They started supporting left-wing political ideas, opposing ‘the system’, especially after Vietnam

3. Hippie Culture:
• Hippies were based on ideas of peace, free love, communal living, psychedelia and flower power
• They dropped out from conventional society, wore colouful clothes, saying ‘Make love not war’
• 750,000 people lived in over 10,000 communes by the early 1970s
• Drugs were a key cause of the Hippie movement, especially LSD which was legal until 1966
• Music was central to the culture and many musicians were overtly political e.g. Bob Dylan
• Haight-Ashbury became the centre of the movement: 15,000 hippies moved there by 1966

1960 Establishment of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

 Opposed aggressive Cold War policies and the arms race, racial discrimination & big business
Its 1962 Port Huron Statement opposed ‘racial injustice, war and the violation of human rights’
Advocated non-violent civil disobedience to fight for popular involvement in US democracy
Organised much of 1960s student radicalism including Free Speech Movement and teach-ins
Campaigned for students to have a greater role in how universities were run; opposed curfews
Played lead role in anti-war movement including major demonstration in Washington in 1965
Grew in importance after 1965 as opposition to the war increased: membership grew to 100,000
Dissolved in 1969 due to disagreements between different factions

1964-5 Berkeley Free Speech Movement

Campaign for free speech, academic freedom, lifting of ban on political activities on campus
Leader Mario Savio and other Freedom Summer activists had been banned from campaigning
800 students were arrested after a demonstration by 1-4,000 students at which Joan Baez sang
Succeeded in forcing Berkeley to allow political activity, but Savio & 3 others were jailed
1st mass civil disobedience at a university: showed that Civil Rights tactics could succeed
Triggered rest of student movement, but also contributed to Reagan’s election as Governor
Older people saw the protesters as troublemakers, calling it the ‘Filthy Speech Movement’

1965 1st US troops sent to Vietnam

‘Flower Power’ coined by poet Alan Ginsberg

Teach-Ins
3,500 attended the first at Michigan, organised by SDS, with anti-war debates and music
10-30,000 attended Berkeley teach-in including faculty, Norman Mailer and others
Berkeley saw the first draft card burnings and a coffin was carried to the local Draft office
Strikes, sit-ins, marches and demonstrations would continue at Berkeley for years

1967 Human Be-In, San Francisco

20-30,000 attended including antiwar Berkeley radicals and the emerging Hippie movement
Its cause was a new law banning LSD; Timothy Leary said ‘Turn on, tune in, drop out’

March on the Pentagon

Over 1,000 had people returned their draft cards in ‘Stop the Draft Week’ events across USA
100,000 joined a demonstration in Washington and over 30,000 staged a vigil at the Pentagon
A plan to airdrop 10,000 flowers was foiled; Yippie leaders tried to levitate the building

1968 Presidential Campaign of Bobby Kennedy

Triggered by successes of anti-war candidate Eugene McCarthy in primaries against LBJ

Columbia University Protest

Most famous of protests in which 1m students went on strike in ‘Ten Days of Resistance’
Part of worldwide student protests and riots in 1968, shutting down many universities

Democrat National Convention Protests

5 days of demonstrations by thousands of protesters were met by excessive police violence
Protests led by Youth International Party (Yippies) nominated ‘Pigasus Pig’ as President
‘Chicago 8’ were arrested and sentenced to jail terms: Yippies, SDS leaders, Black Panthers

1969 Woodstock Festival

500,000 hippies heard music from Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, Jefferson Airplane

Establishment of Weather Underground

Grew out of radical wing of SDS: bombed banks and government buildings including Capitol
1970 Kent State University
4 killed and 9 injured when National Guard fired on protest against US invasion of Cambodia
4 million students at over 450 universities and schools joined only nationwide student strike

Success
1. Opposition to the Vietnam War played a large part in US withdrawal in the years after 1969
2. Student protests contributed to LBJ’s decision not to seek re-election as President in 1968
3. Students took the lead in Civil Rights movement: Freedom Rides, Freedom Summer, SNCC
4. The Civil Rights and Student Movements largely achieved their goals
5. JFK’s New Frontier and LBJ’s Great Society led to Medicare, Social Security, the Peace Corps
6. Successfully challenged conservatism, patriarchy, hierarchy and family values of 1950s

Failure
1. Anti-Vietnam protesters were attacked as unpatriotic; hippies as undermining society
2. Hippies became increasingly disillusioned as their dreams of a better world failed to materialise
3. The assassination of the Kennedys seemed to mark the end of the Liberal hopes vested in them
4. Economic depression made jobs, stability and security seem more important than reform and protest
5. Most hippies and activists ‘sold-out’ as they grew up and adopted the lifestyles they had criticised
6. Drug overdoses led to the deaths of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison in 1970-1
7. The optimism of the 1960s turned into anger and pessimism in the 1970s, as reflected in punk
8. The hippies failed to have any impact on US politics or achieve lasting change
9. Left-wing protest became associated with terrorism as former student leaders resorted to violence
10. Richard Nixon won the 1968 election for the Republicans and was re-elected in a landslide in 1972
11. Support for liberal values declined and there was renewed support for traditional family values

Women’s Movement:
1. Women had gained the vote in the USA in 1919 by the 19th amendment but still faced restrictions
2. They were expected to focus on their roles as wives and mothers and faced discrimination at work
3. This led to the rise of ‘second-wave feminism’ in the 1960s, building on the success of the 1st wave
4. It emerged in 1963 with The Feminine Mystique and the Presidential Report on American Women
5. The NOW was founded in 1966 and used court cases and political pressure to try to gain equality
6. Change was also caused by the pill becoming widely available in 1960, and electrical appliances
7. The Women’s Liberation Movement emerged in the late 1960s with more radical aims and tactics
8. They staged protests, burned bras as symbols of male repression and said women didn’t need men
9. Betty Friedan and other moderates criticised the radicals, arguing they were not taken seriously
10. Others like Phyllis Schlafly gained prominence by leading opposition to the women’s movement
11. She was criticised for emphasising women’s role as mothers despite her own successful career
12. Conflict increasingly came to focus on reproductive rights: contraception and especially abortion
13. Feminists argued that ‘The personal is political’ and that women should have the right to choose
14. The conservative backlash under Ronald Reagan in the 1980s brought the second-wave to an end

Other Causes
1. Impact of World War 2:
• Women started working in factories to replace the men who had gone to fight
• The number of women working increased from 12 to 19 million during the war
• 300,000 women also joined the armed forces, including as WASPs, air service pilots
• Many would be reluctant to resume their traditional role as housewives after the war

2. Discrimination in Employment:
• Women made up almost half of the workforce by 1960, up from 28.8% in 1950 and 19% in 1940
• A commission set up by JFK reported in 1963 that women workers were treated unfairly
 • They were paid only 50-60% of men’s wages, even for the same work, and had less responsibility
• Access to top jobs was limited: 95% of managers were men; only 4% of lawyers were women
• Women could be dismissed when they married and there was little or no provision of child care

3. Female Activists:
• Eleanor Roosevelt was a pioneer of the women’s movement both as First Lady and after
• She held press conferences only for female journalists, wrote articles and spoke on the radio
• She also inspired women as founding Chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights, 1946-52
• JFK appointed her the chairperson of the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women
• She had made him promise to set up the commission in return for supporting him in 1960
• Betty Friedan triggered the 2nd wave women’s movement with The Feminine Mystique in 1963
• She was the founding President of NOW and organised the Women’s Strike for Equality

1961 Establishment of Presidential Commission on the Status of Women by JFK

Its creation with Bobby Kennedy as a member showed the importance of women’s issues
It had a seminal role in the emergence of the ‘Second Wave’ of the women’s movement
Members of the committee would later take the initiative in forming the NOW

1963 Publication of The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan

Friedan attacked the idea that women’s main roles were as wives and mothers
Her research showed that the Baby Boom mothers felt depressed by their servile lives
She argued that married women with children needed to continue to work to be fulfilled
It became a best-seller and triggered the rise of the women’s movement

Equal Pay Act

The Presidential Report on American Women has revealed discrimination in all areas of life
Act outlawed discrimination based on sex; called for paid maternity leave, affordable child care
Women’s wages rose from 62% of men’s in 1970 to 80% in 2004

1964 Civil Rights Act

It banned discrimination based on sex as well as race and religion after a late amendment

1965 Griswold v. Connecticut

Griswold had been arrested after setting up a birth control clinic in Connecticut
Supreme Court banned prohibition of contraceptives for violating ‘right to marital privacy’
It was a first step to abortion rights: Roe v Wade would also be based on right to privacy

1966 Establishment of National Organization for Women (NOW)

The NOW was established by 28 members of the successor to JFK’s Commission on Women
It was a ‘NAACP for women’ to fight for equality in politics, education, employment; the ERA
Betty Friedan was the 1st President; it had 40,000 members by the early 1970s
It used similar tactics as the Civil Rights Movement: demonstrations, court cases, legislation
It gained $30m in back pay for women who had been paid less than men for the same jobs

1968 Miss World Protests

New York Radical Women picketed contest to protest against sexism
Most famous example of more radical tactics employed by Women’s Liberation Movement
Yet it received mostly negative publicity

1970 Women’s Strike for Equality

Betty Friedan organised the strike on the 50th anniversary of the 19th Amendment
It gained wider support for the feminist movement: 50,000 attended the march in New York
1970-3 Roe v. Wade
Norma McCorvey had two children by different fathers and now wanted an abortion
Lawyers used her case to challenge abortion laws: she was given the name Jane Roe
The Supreme Court ruled against restricting a woman’s right to an abortion in the 1 st trimester
Culmination of the pro-choice campaign by NOW and Women’s Liberation activists

1972 Equal Rights Amendment passed by Congress

The amendment, initially proposed in 1923, was passed following pressure from NOW
It needed to be ratified by 38 states to be enacted and soon was by 30 states
Phyllis Schafly, however, led a campaign to ‘STOP the ERA’ by preventing ratification
She was a Catholic opponent of abortion and believed a woman’s place was in the home
She argued women could be drafted into the army and would lose ‘dependent wife’ benefits
Eventually only 35 states ratified the amendment and public opinion changed by the 1980s

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

Banned exclusion from any educational activity based on sex: huge impact on sport provision

1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act

Prevented firing or not hiring or promoting a woman if she is or may become pregnant

Success
1. The Women’s Movement achievement broadly achieved its goals of gaining women equality
2. Women are no longer expected just to be wives and mothers and not have a career
3. More women earn degrees than men and there are more women in the workforce than men
4. No jobs are now restricted to women: there are female boxers and thousands of female soldiers
5. Women gained the right to abortion, generous paid maternity leave and good childcare facilities
6. Many women reached the very top of society: 3 of the last 4 Secretaries of States have been women
7. More female Supreme Court Judges have been appointed since Sandra Day O’Connor in 1981

Failure
1. The Equal Rights Amendment was not ratified after the campaign against it by Phyllis Schafly
2. Women are still paid less than men and are forced to choose between children and a career
3. Women face a ‘glass ceiling’: they are under-represented in management of top companies
4. Women still have to fight harder than men to be taken seriously in politics and business
5. The Women’s Movement has been taken over by the bitter controversy over abortion
6. Feminists have been opposed by both men and women for constantly fighting about gender issues
7. A stereotype of bra-burning feminists: ugly, man-hating, lesbian, aggressive, angry
8. The women’s Movement was blamed for the increasing numbers of divorces and abortions
 A7: A divided union: Civil Rights in the USA, 1945-74
Unit 5: Nixon and Watergate
Richard Nixon:

1. Nixon was elected to Congress in 1947 after falsely accusing his opponent of being a Communist
2. He took a lead role in the House Un-American Activities Committee & McCarthyite witch hunts
3. He pursued the case against Alger Hiss finding the evidence that led to his conviction in 1950
4. He was elected to the Senate in 1950 & served as Eisenhower’s Vice-President from 1953-1961
5. He was narrowly defeated by JFK in 1960 election after appearing tense & aggressive in debates
6. He was seen as untrustworthy – Democrats asked ‘Would you buy a used car from this man?’
7. He narrowly won the 1968 election by saying he had a secret plan to end the Vietnam War
8. US troops remained until 1973: he secretly authorised the bombing of Laos and invaded Cambodia
9. He was, though, responsible for a thaw in the Cold War: nuclear détente, visiting China in 1972

Causes:

Watergate Burglary
1. The arrest of the burglars triggered the scandal after it became clear they had links to CRP
2. It proved impossible to stem a stream of revelations of White House involvement in dirty tricks
3. The burglars also demanded hush money for staying quiet: Nixon told Dean he could find $1 m
4. The accusations by one of the burglars, James McCord, of a cover-up were a key turning-point

Investigations
1. The Washington Post investigation led by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward played a crucial role
2. They revealed evidence of a White House cover-up from anonymous sources e.g. Deep Throat
3. The media coverage led to greater publicity and increased the potential damage from the scandal
4. The Senate investigation and Archibald Cox also refused to submit to pressure from Nixon

Cover-Up
1. There is no evidence that Nixon knew about the burglary, it was the cover-up that caused his fall
2. He abused the power of the Presidency to cover up the illegal actions of his officials
3. He was shown to have repeatedly lied when he denied knowledge of the burglary and cover-up
4. The ‘Saturday Night Massacre’ and resignation of key advisers made him look ridiculous
5. Nixon’s involvement was shown when his counsel John Dean testified against him
6. The ‘smoking gun’ tape provided proof, leading to Nixon’s impeachment and resignation

Dirty Tricks
1. The burglary led to repeated revelations of Nixon’s officials’ involvement in dirty tricks
2. His campaign had spied on the Democrats, disrupted their rallies and broken into buildings
3. He used the CIA to try to cover-up the scandal and bribed the burglars to make them plead guilty

Corruption
1. It was also revealed that he used millions of government money himself and avoided taxes
2. He had also wanted to alter the constitution to stand for a third term as President
3. Nixon would later say to David Frost: ‘When the President does it, that means it is not illegal’
Chronology:

June 1971 Publication of Pentagon Papers based on leak by Daniel Ellsberg

Nixon created the ‘Plumbers’ to investigate the leak: Gordon Liddy, Howard Hunt
They broke into the office of Ellsberg’s psychologist to find incriminating evidence
Nixon’s involvement forced him to cover-up Watergate, even if he did not order it

June 1972 Arrest of Watergate Burglars

5 men were arrested bugging Democrats in the Watergate building, Washington
The FBI linked them all to the Committee for the Re-election of the President (CRP)
It revealed a conspiracy of dirty tricks run by former AG John Mitchell, head of CRP
The Democrats had been spied on and their rallies had been disrupted during election
CRP had raised $60m – a lot through extorting companies with government contracts

Investigation by Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward of Washington Post

November 1972 Re-Election of Richard Nixon

Landslide win over George McGovern despite revelations

January 1973 Conviction of Watergate Burglars

March 1973 One of Burglars, James McCord, accused White House officials of covering up
Claimed that he had been pressured into pleading guilty but Nixon denied claims

April 1973 Establishment of Senate Committee to investigate Watergate

Hearings from May to August were televised live and seen by 85% of Americans

Resignation of 4 key Nixon advisers

John Dean, who Nixon forced to resign, later became the key witness against Nixon
Nixon promised ‘There can be no whitewash at the White House’

May 1973 Appointment of Archibald Cox as a Special Prosecutor by Nixon

July 1973 Revelation of Existence of Taped Recordings of White House Meetings

Nixon refused to release the tapes despite subpoenas by Cox and the Senate

October 1973 ‘Saturday Night Massacre’

Cox was dismissed for refusing Nixon’s order to drop subpoena of tapes
The Attorney General and his deputy resigned rather than dismiss Cox

December 1973 Tape shown to have a gap of 18 ½ minutes

Nixon had been forced to release transcripts by new prosecutor Leon Jaworski

March 1974 Indictment of Watergate Seven

July 1974 Supreme Court ordered Release of Tapes

House Judiciary Committee Voted to Impeach Nixon

August 1974 Release of ‘Smoking Gun’ Tape

Proved Nixon had been lying that he had not known about cover-up by his officials

Resignation of Nixon
September 1974 Pardon of Nixon by new President Gerald Ford
31 of his officials were imprisoned for offences relating to Watergate

Consequences:

New Laws
1. Congress passed a series a laws to limit Presidential powers to prevent further abuses
2. 1974 Privacy Act strengthened the Freedom of Information Act on access to government records
3. The 1973 War Powers Act prevented Presidents declaring war without Congressional approval
4. The 1974 Congressional Budget Control Act prevented Presidents withholding funds from
programmes they opposed
5. The 1978 Ethics in Government Act ordered senior officials to release annual financial records
6. The 1974 Election Campaign Act set limits on campaign contributions and set up the FEC

Tricky Dicky
1. Nixon became known as Tricky Dicky: corrupt, untrustworthy, ruthless, devious and false
2. The tapes also showed Nixon swearing and talking like a criminal rather than like a President
3. He was shown to be only interested in money and power & willing to use any means to gain them
4. Coming from a poor background, he was jealous of privilege and determined to reach the top
5. In every defeat he saw a conspiracy by liberal intellectuals in the media and government
6. He expected total control and obedience as President despite the checks on executive power

Damage to Republicans
1. The career of many Republican officials was ended by Watergate and 31 were imprisoned
2. The Republicans lost seats in disastrous mid-term elections in 1974
3. Gerald Ford was defeated by Jimmy Carter in the 1976 Presidential election

Damage to US Presidency
1. Watergate permanently damaged the image of the Presidency and public faith in politicians
2. Only 14% of Americans trusted the US government afterwards compared to 57% in 1958
3. Its impact was such that future scandals were given the suffix – gate e.g. Whitewatergate
4. Nixon’s Vice President Spiro Agnew also resigned in 1973 for accepting bribes and tax evasion
5. The USA entered a period of national decline under Presidents Ford and Carter