Terms

Eugene McCarthy

In 1968, Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota decided to challenge President Johnson for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. McCarthy entered to challenge Johnson’s war policies and won 20 of 24 convention delegates in a New Hampshire primary on March 12. However, McCarthy did not win the nomination of the Democratic Party.

Robert F. Kennedy

Robert Kennedy was John Kennedy’s brother and was attorney general at age 35 during JFK’s term. Robert Kennedy was essential during the Cuban Missile Crisis and Civil Rights in policy-making. Robert Kennedy entered the Democratic conventions a candidate for President in 1968 as a New York Senator. He was leading the polls in June when he won the California primary. Then, he was assassinated in a Los Angeles hotel by Arab nationalist, Sirhan Sirhan, because he hated Kennedy for his support of Israel.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

King was the SCLC leader who deliberately violated segregation laws by sitting at while lunch counters, white libraries, and white bus stations. He was often arrested, but continued to fight for equality.

“Bull” Connor

Sheriff “Bull” Connor was the person who gave the command to attack non-violent protesters in Birmingham, Alabama with attack dogs, fire hoses, and cattle prods.

Jerry Rubin

Rubin was a radical yippy that wanted to blow up the Stock Exchange.

Mario Savio

Savio was a philosophy student at the University of California-Berkeley in 1964. By the end of that year, he was the leader of the Free Speech Movement on the UC-Berkeley campus. Savio was a civil rights activist that had taught in the SNCC’s Mississippi Summer Project.

Stokley Carmichael

Carmichael, the chairman of the SNCC, was a proponent of Black Power. He believed that the only way to escape white oppression was to have blacks control their own businesses, politics, and schools.

Malcolm X

Malcolm X, a former pimp and street hustler, was the leader of the Black Muslims. He preached separation from the white society and blamed the “white devil” for problems. X also advocated self-defense instead of MLK’s pacifism. Malcolm X was murdered in February 1965 by other Black Muslims who believed that Malcolm X was betraying their cause. Malcolm X had compromised some views and met with whites. He even supported some nonviolent civil rights methods.

James Meredith

Meredith was the first black student to attend the University of Mississippi. In order to get Meredith in school safely, President Kennedy ordered U.S. Marshals to protect Meredith in September 1962.

Medgar Evers

Evers, the director of the NAACP in Mississippi, was murdered in his own driveway in 1963.

Elbridge Cleaver

Cleaver was a leader of the militant Black Panther party. He also authored Soul on Ice.

George Wallace

Wallace, the governor of Alabama, tried to prevent Vivian Malone, a black student, from attending the University of Alabama despite federal orders.

George McGovern

McGovern was a senator that lost a very lopsided election in 1972 to Richard Nixon. He had proposed a $30 billion cut in defense spending which scared Americans.

Barry Goldwater

Goldwater was a Senator from Arizona that lost a very lopsided election to Lyndon Johnson in 1964. He had alienated voters by suggesting that Social Security be voluntary, the TVA be abolished, and that nuclear weapons be used in Vietnam. Republican leader either gave Goldwater half-hearted support or no support at all.

Timothy Leary

The leader of the countercultural revolution was Timothy Leary, the LSD prophet who promoted students to drop out and try drugs.

Abbie Hoffman

Hoffman was one of many famous yippies.

Election of 1960

Democrats nominated 43-year old John F. Kennedy for President. He promised to expand benefits of economic progress and win foreign disputes. Kennedy was a Harvard grad, a former congressman, and a senator. Lyndon Johnson of Texas was his running mate. The Republicans nominated Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge. Kennedy assured the country that he would separate church and state since people were alarmed by his Catholicism. He also appealed to the black voter. Nixon attacked Kennedy’s lack of world experience and Quemoy and Matsu statement (Kennedy said they were not worth defending) while Kennedy attacked Nixon on Cuba. TV debates helped Kennedy win 303 electoral votes to Nixon’s 219 while both had 50% of the popular vote.

The “New Frontier”

This was Kennedy’s name for the legislation he wished to pass to try to eliminate poverty, segregation, and voting rights abuses.

S.N.C.C.

Many black students in the South joined the Student Non-Violent Coordination Committee. These volunteers were largely black (some were white) and from low-income families. They understood the oppression of African-Americans and urged other blacks to vote and fight against segregation.

Freedom Rides

The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) initiated these rides. In May 1961, an integrated group of 13 “Freedom Riders” boarded buses in an attempt to desegregate interstate transportation.

1963 March on Washington

In this March, more than 1/4 million people of all different races gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in August 1963. This is where Martin Luther King, Jr. made his famous “I have a dream” speech.

Baker v. Carr

In this 1962 case, the Supreme Court ruled that the principle of “one person, one vote” must exist at state and national levels. The reapportion of state legislatures was now necessary so that each representative would serve the same number of people.

Gideon v. Wainwright

This 1963 case decision stated that a poor person charged with a felony had the right to a state appointed attorney.

Escobedo v. Illinois

In this 1964 case, the Supreme Court decided that the accused had the right to counsel during interrogation and could remain silent.

Miranda v. Arizona

This 1966 case ruled that the police had to inform criminal suspects that they could see a lawyer and remain silent and that any statement they made could be used against them.

The Great Society

This was the name for Lyndon Johnson’s sweeping reform during his tenure as president. During this time, liberal Democrats gained confidence in spending for domestic reform which they claimed to rival FDR’s 100 days.

Medicare and Medicaid

This 1965 Act (Medicare) insured the elderly against medical and hospital bills. Medicaid helped pay hospital bills for the poor.

The War on Poverty; goals of/assessment of

With more taxes being collected because of higher incomes, Johnson hoped to spend billions of dollars to end poverty. This started with a $1 billion appropriation in 1964 and continued with the Job Corps to provide skills, work experience, education, and counseling for young people. Project Head Start prepared low-income preschoolers for grade school. Upward Bound helped poor high schoolers go to college. Legal Services for the Poor, Volunteers in Service to America, and the Model Cities program also helped to fight poverty. Results were mixed. Power-hungry mayors were created and many of the rural poor remained poor while Northern migration continued. However, may people were able to get out of poverty.

Election of 1964

The Democrats renominated Johnson who made this a campaign of shared values and aspirations of the majority of the nation. Republicans nominated Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona. Goldwater alienated many by suggesting that Social Security be voluntary, the TVA be abolished, and the use of nuclear weapons in Vietnam was necessary. Many Republicans did not even endorse Goldwater. Johnson won while carrying 61% of the popular vote and all but six states. Democrats in Congress also gained a large majority.

Economic Opportunity Act

In 1964, Johnson signed this act into law. $1 billion was allocated to fight poverty. This was the beginning of Johnson’s war on poverty.

“Impeach Earl Warren”

The Warren Supreme Court was a very liberal one, giving rights to women, African-Americans, and even criminal suspects. The John Birch Society, a right-wing organization the started to campaign to impeach Earl Warren.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

President Johnson used the memory of JFK to persuade Congress to pass this act which outlawed discrimination in public accommodations and in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was established later in the year to investigate and arbitrate on complaints of job discrimination. The government was given authority to withhold funds from public agencies that discriminated and the attorney general was given the authority to grant voting rights and end school segregation.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

This act gave the attorney general the authority to supervise voter registration in areas where fewer than half the minorities of voting age were registered.

Civil Rights Act of 1968

This was the third civil rights act that Johnson signed into law. This act banned racial and religious discrimination in the sale and rental of housing. Part of this legislation was the Indian Bill of Rights that gave these constitutional protections to reservation Indians living under tribal self-government.

Watts Riot

In August 1965, in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts, a race riot broke out. Angry blacks started the violence because they were upset by their joblessness and lack of opportunity. They looted white-owned stores, set fires, threw rocks, and shouted “Get Whitey!” and “Burn, Baby, Burn!” 34 people were killed.

“Black Power”

This was the new theory of many young African-Americans who believed that blacks needed to be independent and establish their own independent institutions.

Kerner Commission; findings of

This study stated that white Americans never understood that African-Americans would never forget that the white society is deeply implanted in the ghetto. White institutions created, maintained, and condoned the ghetto.

Black Panthers

This was a group of African-Americans that wore leather jackets and carried weapons. This group wanted to destroy capitalism and scared white Americans.

Head Start

Project Head Start was part of President Johnson’s War on Poverty. This program prepared low-income preschoolers for grade school.

Job Corps

The Job Corps provided marketable skills, work experience, remedial education, and counseling for young people.

VISTA

The Volunteers in Service to America was a group that helped Johnson’s War on Poverty.

1968 Democratic Convention

In this convention, Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota and Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York challenged Johnson for the 1968 Democratic nomination. McCarthy won the New Hampshire primary on March 12. On March 31, Johnson announced that he would not seek the nomination. Robert Kennedy was leading the polls and had just won the California primary when he was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan. Outside the Chicago convention hall, police officers policed and beat demonstrators on national television. Hubert Humphrey, the Vice President for President and Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine of Vice President were nominated.

Election of 1968

Voters were not very enthusiastic about this election. Humphrey and Nixon were unable to drum up much support. Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama was the nominee of the American Independent party and appealed to conservatives. He wanted to bomb Vietnam with nuclear weapons. He also wanted to suppress protest. Nixon won with 43% of the vote (301 electoral) to 42% for Humphrey (191 electoral) and 8.4% (46 electoral) for Wallace.

SDS and the Port Huron Statement

Two years before the confrontations at UC-Berkeley, a group of students, the Students for a Democratic Society, met in Port Huron, Michigan. Tom Hayden, Al Haber, and the other white middle-class college students issued the Port Huron Statement which condemned racism, poverty amid plenty, and the Cold War. They also called for Americans to practice democratic ideals, not just preach them.

Counterculture

This was the phenomenon that occurred during this period. People idolized Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro. They wore “Mao caps,” a cult uniform and used the term “Right on.” Millions of students tried marijuana, amphetamines, and hallucinogenic drugs. History was called the most irrelevant of 21 subjects.

the New Left

People in this group were united in hatred of racism and the Vietnam War. However, leftists were very different in other beliefs.

Assassination of Robert Kennedy

Robert Kennedy was leading the polls when he was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan, an Arab Nationalist, after winning the California primary. Sirhan was angry over Kennedy’s support of Israel.

Moratorium Day

This was a November 1969 march on Washington by 500,000 people to protest for the end to the Vietnam War.

Equal Rights Amendment

In 1972, Congress approved this amendment and sent it to states for ratification. This amendment was for gender equality.

Hippies and Haight-Ashbury

The Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco was prevalent with “flower children.”

Woodstock

In the 1960s, the Beatles became a popular band. Other musicians such as Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin became popular. In 1969, Woodstock was held in upstate New York and attracted 400,000 people for days in the rain in mud without shelter or violence and with love, drugs, and rock music.

The Greening of America

Written by Charles Reich. This book reveals the origin of peace, love, and harmony.

Election of 1972

Democrats nominate Senator McGovern over Humphrey, Edward Kennedy, and Muskie. Republicans renominated Nixon by using his role as a world statesman. McGovern proposed to cut defense spending by $30 billion, scaring many. Vietnam was almost over, helping Nixon win the election with 60.7% of the popular vote while McGovern only won Massachusetts and D.C.

Nixon’s “Southern Strategy”

This strategy led to Nixon’s landslide victory in 1972. He carried the Deep South which had been traditionally Democratic.

Free Speech Movement

This was a movement on the UC-Berkeley campus after university administration banned civil rights and anti-war recruitment in Sproul Plaza, the students’ gathering place. Students ignored the order and were suspended or arrested. On October 1, a police car was immobilized by surrounding students for 32 hours. By December, the Free Speech Movement had seized and occupied the main administration building. The state police was sent in and arrested 800 people. Protesting students then shut down classes for several days.

Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

In April 1968, MLK was shot and killed by James Earl Ray in Memphis. It is unknown if Ray was acting alone or was part of a conspiracy. Blacks reacted with riots in 168 cities and towns. 34 blacks and 5 whites were killed.

Roe v. Wade

This 1973 Supreme Court case struck down state laws that made abortion a crime. These laws were ruled to violate a woman’s right to privacy. Only in the last three months of a pregnancy could a state bar abortion.