Nathalie Roux

Chapter 29 (Brinkley) Civil Rights, Vietnam, and the Ordeal of Liberalism

The 60s In Picture :

The 60s In Video: Tet offensive, marine in the Vietnam War : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0oCdTH0jWQ Martin Luther King Jr. I Have a Dream Speech : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ6frC7hboc Reading Questions : --Pages 811-816, New Frontier and Great Society: 1. What were the key elements of Kennedy's domestic New Frontier agenda and what political challenges (in brief) made implementation difficult? Kennedys New Frontier agenda was set up to make democratic, legislative and economic reforms in the United States. However, the fact that Congress was dominated by Republicans and

conservative democrats (known as Dixicrats, democrats from the South who were against the civil rights movement) made it hard for Kennedy to implement his new reforms. His reformes still : Kept inflation under control with guide lines over prices and discussions between big unions and business communities Cut taxes - direct economic advancement - doubled rate of growth and cut unemployment; only moderate inflation 2. Explain the domestic Great Society agenda of Lyndon Johnson (healthcare, poverty and hunger, housing and urban development, immigration) and briefly assess its successes and failures. first time ever in the U.S., creation of important new social welfare programs. Medicare : provider of federal aid to the elderly for medical expenses, benefits were for all elderly regardless of their needs Poverty and hunger : Office of economic Opportunity- created numerous new educational, employment, housing, and health-care programs/ Community Action programs- jobs for poor + valuable experience in administrative, political work/ the OEO reduced poverty by spending nearly $3 billion Housing and urban development : (1961) Housing Act - $4.9 billion in federal grants to cities for the preservation of open spaces, the development of mass transit systems, and the subsidization of middle income housing/creation of a the new Department of Housing and Urban Development/ inauguration of the Model Cities programs (federal subsidies for urban redevelopment programs) Education : (1965) the Elementary and Secondary Education Act/ federal spending for education rose greatly (aid to private and public schools) Immigration : (1965) the Immigration Act - strict limit on number of newcomers admitted to country each year (170,000) Success : $11.5 billion in tax cut- substantial economic growth; lowered poverty, bettered education Failures : programs extremely expensive; the government wasnt able to find revenues to pay for them/ many of the programs didnt turn out to work the way they were supposed to. --Pages 816 823, Battle for Racial Equality and the Civil Rights Movement: 3. Summarize the key Supreme Court decisions and their impact on reform in the early 1960s. Brown vs. Board of Education (1954) segregation in school unconstitutional Cooper vs. Aaron (1958) all states must follow every Supreme Court decisions even if their people were against it Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) - any accused individual has the right to an attorney(prior to this, attorney given by state if death penalty was a possible result of case) Heart of Atlanta v. United States (1964) interstate commerce businesses must follow all rules of the federal civil rights legislation (ex. a segregated hotel could not do business with other states) Civil Rights Act (1965) - provided federal protection to blacks attempting to exercise their right to vote.

4. What were the key events, who were the key players, and what were the primary methods of those who led the struggle for Civil Rights during the 1960s? Events : Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955) protest segregation in public buses National Guard Called to Force Desegregation in Little Rock, Arkansas (1957) Governor of Arkansas refused to desegregation of schools/ Eisenhower intervened Sit-Ins groups of protestors would ask for services that they were denied because of their race and not leave until it was given to them Freedom Rides (1961) - Groups of college students would ride on interstate carriers in protest to segregation on interstate buses. March on Washington (1963) Dr. Kings I had a dream speech; protestors got together in Washington against segregation Freedom Summer (1964) helped African Americans be able to register to vote (violence from Kuh Klux Klan or literacy test prohibited them from doing so) Players : Martin Luther King Jr. Rosa Parks (bus boycott) Ella Baker Malcolm X The Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee (SNCC) The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

Methods : Even though most of these players fought for peaceful protest and used peaceful methods to get to desegregation, some protestors turned to violence as they felt they were being attacked themselves and had no choice; especially Malcolm Xs preachings. 5. Explain the difference in philosophical approach to the civil rights struggle espoused by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Dr. King believed that peaceful protest and peaceful demonstrations along with peaceful political pressure would assure the advancement of the Civil Rights Movement because this way the whites would not be able to accuse the blacks of any kind of wrongdoing whereas Malcolm X approach was much more violent. He believed that blacks had to stop depending on the whites to live and had to take matters into their own hands when it came to their rights. Even though he didnt directly preach violence, he believed it was right for blacks to defend themselves against white oppression and violence by using violence. 6. Explain the philosophy of Affirmative Action and evaluate arguments for and against this concept. Explain the concept of white privilege. Explain the concept of reparations and assess the arguments in support of or against this approach. The philosophy that one shall choose to hire or accept a certain number of members of a minority in a working environment or a school is Affirmative Action. This concept if good in

the sense that it gives a bigger chance for minorities that are usually denied from such jobs or education to be chosen over non-minority members. However, it can also create a sort of reverse injustice towards whites or non-minorities because they will be denied the job as the minority member will be favored over him. White privilege is the theory that white people are granted a special advantage in society just because of the color of their skin that seems to be the norm that all should experience and that blacks or minorities are disadvantaged in society due to their skin color that doesnt seem to meet the norm. The concept of reparations is the idea that sum of money should be given to the descendents of slaves as an excuse for the inequalities, and torture the slaves had to endure. This could seem illogical in the sense that people who would be paying for these reparations are not to be blamed for slavery and should not, therefore, repair something they werent involved in. It could, however, act as some sort of formal excuse towards the African American population that would ease the inter-racial tensions that come up due to the subject of slavery. --Pages 823 825, Kennedy/Johnson and the Cold War: 8. Analyze Kennedy's attitude toward the Cold War and nuclear armaments and the possible long-term consequences vis--vis the Soviet Union. Kennedys attitude towards the Cold War and nuclear armaments was a much more peaceful and flexible one then that of Eisenhowers nuclear weapons- oriented defense strategy. He believed it was important to ease tensions with the Soviet Union instead of building up the nuclear armament and possibly reaching the brink of a nuclear war. Kennedy set up peaceful anti communist programs instead of fighting with the Soviet Union. (ex. The Peace Corps that sent American volunteers to work in developing countries and bring economic aid; creation of the Alliance for Progress, sort of Marshall Plan for Latin America) 9. Summarize the main events and results of the Bay of Pigs landing and the Cuban missile crisis. Bay of Pigs secret attack on Cuba in order to remove the Castro regime from power with help from the Cuban people; secret discovered by Cuban government, failure of mission Castro developed further anti-U.S. mentality, as well as other communists ( Soviet Union). Cuban Missile Crisis U.S. naval blockade around Cuba to prevent Soviet ships from bringing nuclear war heads to the countries and installing nuclear weapons close to the United States; direct confrontation between U.S. and Soviet Union; could have ended in nuclear world war; Khrushchev and Kennedy come to agreement, tensions are relaxed between the two opposing powers (USSR weapons are removed in Cuba and U.S. weapons are removed in Turkey) 10. Compare and contrast the arguments for continued confrontation or conciliation with the Russians in the context of the Cuban missile crisis. Continued confrontation would have meant shown the World that the United States isnt scared of anything and is ready to fight for capitalism, however, it was very dangerous to do so because it would most definitely have led to war and, therefore, nuclear war = mutual assured destruction. Conciliation was the better idea in order to avoid MAD and a Nuclear World War III.

--Pages 825 836, Johnson and American involvement in Vietnam 11. Understand the reasons for America's involvement and gradual buildup of military strength in Vietnam, and how this escalation undermined the Johnson administration. The U.S. had always supported the South Vietnamese in the fight against communism by giving them financial aid and weapons under Kennedy. Johnson didnt have much of a choice because he inherited what was already a substantial American commitment to the survival of an anticommunist South Vietnam. He felt the need to continue this fight against communism their because it had been Kennedys plan. Furthermore, his advisers believed in the containment of communism. 12. Describe the escalation of America's involvement in the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1968. What was the strategy and why didnt it work? In August 1964, an American destroyer on patrol in international waters in the Gulf of Tonkin was attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. Furthermore, in 1965, 7 Marines were killed by the North Vietnamese forces. This angered the U.S. and Johnson announced the beginning of U.S. bombings of North Vietnam. By 1967, over 500 000 U.S. troops were involved in the containement of communism in Vietnam. The U.S. strategy was that of attrition. They believed that since they had a more powerful military, they would be able to destroy all North Vietnamese troops and force them to stop fighting. This strategy didnt work because they were never able to discourage the communist forces who would fight until they gained control of the country. 13. Explain why and how the year 1968 seemed to mark a turning point in the Vietnam War. In 1968, on January 31st in Vietnam, an extreme attack was launched by the communist forces on American strongholds in South Vietnam. The Tet offensive, this direct communist attack on the Americans, marked a turning point in the Vietnam War because the South Vietnamese (helped by the U.S.) seemed to be winning the conflict until this moment when the U.S. realized the communists would not give up, but rather fight until their last man fell. Following this revelation, Johnson had no choice but to announce a halt in the U.S. bombing of North Vietnam and later retreat from Vietnam all together. Furthermore, this year was marked by anti-Vietnam War protests in the United States as students understood the horrible reality and violence of this war that the U.S. didnt seem to have a chance to easily win. --Page 832, Folk Music Revival 14. Who were the big names producing a counter-cultural popular revival of folk music? What was the general character and message of this music? What the other key features of the cultural rebellion of the 1960s? The big names producing a counter-cultural popular revival of folk music were Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Paul and Mary, Joan Baez and Janis Joplin. Young adults who listened to this music rejected the consumerist American lifestyle and fought for peace in Vietnam and in the world.

Pages 833839, 1968: War at Home, MLK/Kennedy Assassinations, Nixon victory 15. Summarize the events and political factors that led to the return and success of Richard Nixon. Major events taking place during presidential elections were extremely destabilizing to the campaigns. Because the debate on the Vietnam War was extremely complex and heated, violent antiwar protests were taking place and Robert Kennedy was assassinated (could have been the next president), Nixon seized the moment and was able to figure out the perfect campaign that would lead to his victory; amidst the political chaos, he called for peace in Vietnam (exactly what the American public was longing for.)