Social Movements of the 1960’s

HUSH Unit 6

The Start of the Women’s Movement

The Feminist Movement began in the late 1800’sConcentrated on gaining right to vote

Seneca Falls ConventionDeclaration of Sentiments

19th Amendment ratified in 1920

Reproductive Rights

Margaret Sanger opens birth control clinic in 1923Shut down by police…then reopened

Birth control information is declared to be “not obscene” in 1936

Birth control pills are developed and first approved by FDA in 1960

Equal Pay??

Stereotypes in the 19th century and early 20th century limited women to household jobs or low paying jobs

By the early 1960’s, about half of all women held a job

President Kennedy’s “Commission on the Status of Women” is established in 1960 But on average, women still made only .63 to every

$1 men made

Equal Pay Act

Congress passes the Equal Pay Act in 1963, making it illegal for employers to pay a woman less than what a man would receive for the same job

Since 1963, when the Equal Pay Act was signed, the closing of the wage gap between men and women has been at a rate of about half a penny a year.

Impact of the 1964 Civil Rights Act on Women’s Rights

Many women who had been involved with the Civil Rights Movement applied techniques to their own struggles

A section of the 1964 Civil Rights Act called Title VII contained a section that outlawed discrimination on the basis of gender

This Act gave feminist groups legal standingExtremely important!

Civil Rights Act- Title VII

"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."

Betty Friedan

Women began looking for

ways to explore other aspects

of their lives Betty Friedan’s book, The Feminine

Mystique, influenced many lives The book described “the cultural patterns

that prevented women from achieving their full potential”

AKA as “the problem that has no name”

NOW

The National Organization of WomenFounded in 1966 by Friedan and others

Sought pay and job equalityCalled for more of an balance in child

rearing and household responsibilitiesServed as the major vehicle to end sex

discrimination and promote equality

Ms Magazine

Ms. Magazine was first published as a sample insert in New York magazine; 300,000 copies are sold out in 8 days.

The first regular issue was published in July 1972.

The magazine became the major forum for feminist voices, and cofounder and editor Gloria Steinem is launched as an icon of the modern feminist movement

The Equal Rights Amendment

The 26th Amendment (proposed)Proposed 1972 change to the U.S.

Constitution “Equality of rights under the law shall not

be denied…on account of sex.”Did not receive needed 38 states;

proposal died in 1982

Roe v Wade

Landmark Supreme Court case in 1973Legalized abortion in the U.S.

Became a radical cause on both sides

Equal Credit Opportunity Act

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act was passed in 1974

It prohibits discrimination in consumer credit practices on the basis of sex, race, marital status, religion, national origin, age, or receipt of public assistance.

Opposition to Women’s Movement

Phyllis Schlafly, a conservative political activist led a campaign to block passage of the ERA

Feared that the ERA would lead to women in combat, coed bathrooms, and the end of traditional families

Became powerful political force

The Impact of Feminism

More women entered college, law school, and medical school

Women were admitted to military and police academies

Women became more involved in politicsWomen became more involved in

popular music “I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy

“I Am Woman”

“I am woman, hear me roar

In numbers too big to ignore

And I know too much

To go back an' pretend

'Cause I've heard it all before

And I've been down there on the floor

No one's ever gonna

Keep me down again….”

“Oh yes, I am wiseBut it's wisdom born of painYes, I've paid the priceBut look how much I gainedIf I have toI can do anythingI am strong (strong)I am invincible (invincible)I am woman…”

“You can bend but never break me'Cause it only serves to make meMore determined to achieve my final goalAnd I come back even strongerNot a novice any longer'Cause you've deepened the conviction in my soul”

Oh, yes, I am wiseBut it's wisdom born of painYes, I've paid the priceBut look how much I gainedIf I have toI can face anythingI am strong (strong)I am invincible (invincible)I am woman

I am woman watch me growSee me standing toe to toeAs I spread my lovin' arms across the landBut I'm still an embryoWith a long, long way to goUntil I make my brother understand

Oh, yes, I am wiseBut it's wisdom born of painYes, I've paid the priceBut look how much I gainedIf I have toI can face anythingI am strong (strong)I am invincible (invincible)I am woman

Oh, I am womanI am invincibleI am strong

I am womanI am invincibleI am strongI am woman

Ethnic Minorities Seek Equality

LatinosAsian-AmericansNative Americans

Latinos

Latino population was growing quickly

Family origins in Latin America Also known as Chicanos in

1960’s-1970’s Had been seen as outsiders

and denied employment, education, and housing

Large numbers of Latinos and Chicanos began to organize themselves into powerful political groups

Civil Rights for Latinos The Mexican American Civil Rights

Movement, one of the least studied social movements of the 1960s, encompassed a broad cross section of issues—from restoration of land grants, to farm workers rights, to enhanced education, to voting and political rights.

Also known as the Chicano Movement addressed negative stereotyping of Mexicans in mass media and the American consciousness through the creation of works of literary and visual art that validated the Mexican-American ethnicity and culture.

http://www.albany.edu/jmmh/vol3/chicano/chicano.html

Important Milestones

The Bracero Program, created under a joint U.S.-Mexico agreement in 1942, permits Mexican nationals to work in U.S. agricultural areas on a temporary basis and at wages lower than domestic workers The Bracero Program is terminated in 1963.

In 1968, the U.S. Congress designated "National Hispanic Week" in mid-September, to coincide with the Independence Day celebrations in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua on September 15, and with Mexico's Independence Day on September 16. In 1988, Congress expanded the commemoration, appointing the month running from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 as "National Hispanic Month."

Important Court Case

1974: In Lau v. Nichols, the Supreme Court rules that, under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, school districts are required to provide assistance to LEP (limited-English-proficient) students that ensure that they receive the same opportunities as fluent English students

Cesar Chavez

Founder of United Farm Workers (UFW)

Was a migrant worker from Arizona; his family was among the first to strike for equal rights and pay in the fields

Organized Mexican field hands against powerful grape and lettuce farmers

Chavez and Grape Boycott

Striking farm workers and supporters begin a national boycott of California table grapes in1967

In 1968 Cesar Chavez fasts in Delano for 25 days. He is joined by Sen. Robert

Kennedy at the end of the fast. The UFW campaigns for Robert Kennedy in the California primary

Resulted in a 1975 California law that required collective bargaining for migrant workers

Asian Americans

Have faced discrimination since their arrival in the U.S.

The prejudice reached a peak in the 1940’s (Internment camps)

Most were well-educated by 1960’s, yet still earned less and found less jobs available in management

This began to change by 1970’s The new state of Hawaii sent several Asian-

Americans to Congress changing stereotypes

Immigration from Asia

The most significant change in immigration from Asia occurred when highly restrictive "national origins" quotas were lifted in 1965.

The new country-specific quotas enabled significant immigration from every country in Asia, which led to dramatic and ongoing changes in the Asian American population in the U.S.

Native Americans

By 1871, Native American tribes were not recognized as independent powers However Native Americans were not considered

US citizens, either!

After 1924, Native Americans who had been born in the U.S. were granted citizenship

However, it wasn’t until 1948 that all were given the right to vote

Old stereotypes vanished slowly

Native Americans and Discrimination

Native Americans suffer from many of the same social and economic problems as other victims of long-term bias and discrimination - including, for example, disproportionately high rates of poverty, infant mortality, unemployment, and low high school completion rates.

The struggle for equal employment and educational opportunity is key to addressing these problems

Discrimination Against Native Americans

American Indians faced discrimination similar to the segregation that as African Americans experienced

In some states you could find three separate drinking fountains labeled "whites," "Colored" and "Indian." There were also three sections in some

movie theaters.

The American Indian Movement (AIM)

The native civil rights movement began with the founding of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in 1968.

AIM began as a rallying group for the rights of Indians living in urban areas, and initiated a series of protests and confrontations that continued into the 1970s

The American Indian Movement (AIM)

“Everything is tied to our homeland”

1. Indian land claims included: Seneca Nation in New York Seminole Nation in Florida

2. Fight for autonomy (self-government) on Indian Reservations

Violence in the Movement

Members of AIM briefly took over the headquarters of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C.

They complained that the government had created the tribal councils on reservations in 1934 as a way of perpetuating paternalistic control over Native American development.

Issues of the Movement

During the Summer of 1968, two hundred members of the Indian community came together to discuss various issues and critical developments within the Native American community. Amongst them were --  Police Brutality  Slum Housing  80% unemployment rate Disgraceful if not shameful practices of the Minneapolis

public school system and its lack of concern regarding Indian education.

Racist and discriminatory policies of the Hennepin County welfare system toward Native American clients.

Questionable behavior of federal government in its regard to Native policies

The Occupation of Alcatraz in 1969

Several Native American groups claimed the former prison

The occupiers held the island for nearly eighteen months, from Nov. 20, 1969, until June 11, 1971, reclaiming it as Indian land and demanding fairness and respect for Indian peoples. The occupiers held the island for nearly eighteen months, from Nov. 20, 1969, until June 11, 1971, reclaiming it as Indian land and demanding fairness and respect for Indian peoples. The protest failed and federal

officials removed the protestors in 1970

The Confrontation at Wounded Knee

In 1973, about 200 Sioux, led by members of AIM, seized the tiny village of Wounded Knee, South Dakota the site of the last great massacre of Native Americans by the U.S. cavalry (1890).

Among AIM’s demands was a review of more than 300 treaties between the Native Americans and the federal government that AIM alleged were broken.

Wounded Knee was occupied for 70 days before the militants surrendered. Two AIM members were killed and a dozen people were hurt

including federal marshals AIM leadership were jailed for the protest and

violence.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

All of the civil rights laws that protect people from discrimination because of race or color or national origin also protect American Indians including the Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Environmental Movement

Roots of the Environmental Movement can be traced back to the late 1800’s, and to the New Deal Early environmentalists

included John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt

Muir was instrumental in persuading TR to preserve vast public lands as parks, forests, and wildlife preserves

There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of giant sequoias and redwoods, the Canyon of the Colorado, the Canyon of the Yellowstone, the Three Tetons; and our people shoud see to it that they are preserved for their children and their children's children forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred." Teddy Roosevelt, Outdoor

Pastimes of an American Hunter 1905.

Best Seller’s List

Rachel Carson Author of Silent Spring Condemned the use of

chemical

pesticides such as DDT which

threatened the food chain

destroyed many

birds and fish including the bald eagle

Important Environmental Actions

The creation of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 1974Chief goal to ensure that nuclear power

faculties were operated safely

Earth Day

Earth Day was created in April 1970 Increased awareness and clean-up dayCelebrated on April 22Wear green, walk to school, and plant

some flowers! http://www.earthday.net/earthday2007.aspx

Government Action

Creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970

http://www.epa.gov/epahome/intro.html The first EPA undertakings set standards for

factory waste, car emissions, and the use of pesticides and toxic substances The Clean Air in 1970 The Clean Water Act in 1972

Problems between businesses and the new laws continue today

Consumer Safety Expert

Ralph Nader

Headed a consumer effort to

protect Americans from

unsafe products Published, Unsafe at Any

Speed: The Designed-in Dangers of the American Automobile in 1964

Later, headed efforts to make baby food, insecticides, and the meatpacking industries safer; ran for president in 2000