PROTEST MOVEMENTS IN THE 1960S AND 1970S

You need to know:

(a) Why did the student and women’s movements emerge?

(b) How did each movement campaign?

(d) What were their main achievements?

(e) What links were there between the protest movements?

Where can I find the information?

(1) This handout

(2) The textbook, pages 119-132

A – WOMEN

1. HOW DID THE WAR AFFECT THE POSITION OF WOMEN?

Before the war, women fulfilled traditional roles – wives and mothers. Those who had jobs or careers tended to work in areas considered to be for women – childcare, nursing, secretaries. 12 million women worked.
There had been some liberation before 1941 – women had gained the vote in 1921 and in cities, some women were defying convention by smoking, wearing daring clothes etc.
However, most women conformed to the stereotype.
When Japan attacked the USA at Pearl Harbor, the US entered the war and millions of men were called up to fight. This meant a shortage of workers, and the need for even more workers to build weapons of war. This meant employing women.
The number of women workers increased from 12 million to 18.5 million and they performed jobs in areas considered the preserve of men, such as ship building.
These women earnt more than they ever had before the war, and proved that they could do just as good a job as men. Most Americans approved – in a poll in 1942 60% of Americans favoured women helping at this time.
Women also played a role in the armed services – 300,000 joined the women’s sections of the various branches of the armed forces.
There were some improvements made as a result of the war : 4 US states made equal pay for women compulsory, some introduced laws to end discrimination against women in jobs, and the percentage of the workforce that were women rose from 19% in 1940 to 29% in 1950.

HOWEVER:

After the war, most women who had experienced the freedom and enjoyment of work, voluntarily gave up their jobs and returned to their former lives.
Discrimination against women continued in many areas and women found themselves generally excluded for the top, well-paid jobs.
Few states followed the lead of equal pay and women were often paid about half the rate paid to men for doing exactly the same job.
Women had no legal protection from dismissal in most states if they got married.
The media developed the idea of a woman’s place being in the home looking after the man and the children.
Society often treated women who put a job before getting married or being a good mother and housewife, with great suspicion. Books such as Modern Women : the Lost Sex, blamed teenage drinking and delinquency on selfish women abandoning their children, whilst The Women’s Guide to Better Living stated : “The family is the centre of your living. If it isn’t, you’ve gone astray.”

2. THE GROWING DISSATISFACTION AMONG WOMEN IN THE 1950S

In the 1950s many women, especially middle-class ones, grew tired of the Pleasantville lifestyle and wanted more than being a good wife and mother.
More women decided to better their lives. In 1950 720,000 women went to university, by 1960 that had doubled.
Yet women may now have decided to liberate themselves, but society was often against them. They found few jobs available outside the normal female jobs and they were pressurised into fulfilling their “natural” role.
Many had no choice but to conform, but the 1950s witnessed growing discontent and frustration among many women.

3. THE WOMEN’S MOVEMENT OF THE 1960S

Despite being effectively barred from top jobs, and the pressures placed upon them to stay at home, many women during the 1950s decided to act and find work. In 1950 women made up 29% of the workforce; by 1960 it was 50%.
Yet these jobs were the same low paid, often part-time jobs that women had always been forced to take.
However, the 1960s were to change all this.
In 1960 women began to question the fairness of the system and began to demand action.
In 1960 Eleanor Roosevelt, the widow of the war-time US President, set up a commission to investigate the status of women at work. She was someone who had political influence and could get attention. When she published her results in 1963, she showed that women were being treated as second class citizens in the workplace : 95% of company managers, 85% of technical workers, 93% of doctors; and 96% of lawyers were men. Women were still being paid half the rate of men in many jobs.
However two key events helped to shape the women’s movement : Betty Friedan’s book and the contraceptive pill.
In 1963 Betty Friedan wrote The Feminine Mystique, in which she voiced the anger and frustrations of many women and rejected the idea that a woman’s happiness lay in the home and women had far more to offer. Friedan called on women to reject the old ideas and demanded progress for women in the workplace. To the delight of many women, she stated that bringing up a family was a joint responsibility and that men should take on their role so that women could be freed to follow careers. This book did a great deal to get women questioning, and rejecting, the existing system. To advance the cause further, in 1966 Betty Friedan set up the National Organisation for women (NOW).
The contraceptive pill also gave women greater freedom. They could now decide whether or not to get pregnant. They were now free to prevent or delay pregnancy. It was their choice now.

4. WHAT DID THE WOMEN’S MOVEMENT ACHIEVE?

The 1960s saw several laws passed to advance the status of women :

(a) THE EQUAL PAY ACT (1963)

Employers were required to pay equal wages to men and women for doing the same job. However, this Act did nothing to tackle the problem that employers were not obliged to employ women and could discriminate against them by not offering them jobs

(b) THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT (1964)

This tried to deal with the problem of discrimination by outlawing it on the grounds of race, colour or gender. To ensure that the law was enforced, the Equal opportunities Commission was established. However, this Commission decided to focus on ensuring blacks received equal treatment and so often ignored the plight of women, allowing discrimination to continue, although it was now illegal.

Girls had often followed different school syllabuses from boys – boys were trained for work; girls for domestic tasks. This outlawed that and both sexes now had to cover the same syllabus. This, it was hoped, would equip girls for the workplace. However, many schools adapted very slowly and so it took a long time for there to be any effect.

Many women felt that the legal changes had not gone far enough. They were outraged when in 1972 the Supreme Court ruled that the US Constitution did give women and men equal rights. They felt that women were still discriminated against and were being denied access to top jobs.
NOW had been set up in 1966 by Friedan and mostly white middle-class women with a view to highlighting and challenging discrimination. It soon had 40000 members and branches in most US cities. They challenged discrimination in the courts and as a result of their actions, between 1966 and 1971 they secured $30 million in back pay owed to women who had not received equal pay. However, they often found it hard to prove discrimination and the progress of reform was slow.

5. THE GROWING MILITANCY OF THE WOMEN’S MOVEMENT

* Many women became dissatisfied with the slow pace of change and were determined to force the pace.

* This led to the rise of the Feminist Movement, where women were determined to force through equality. They termed themselves the Women’s Liberation Movement.

* However, some women wanted to go even further. These extreme feminists wanted nothing to do with men and wanted to end male control of employment, politics and the media.

* Their tactics included refusing to wear make-up, burning their bras and picketing the Miss World competition. They claimed all these were designed to please men and degrade women.

* These campaigners did more harm than good as it allowed the movement to be ridiculed by the media and led many men to stop supporting it. It also turned attention away from the real issues of discrimination and low pay.

* However, they did have one success : abortion. Between 1970 and 1973 the Roe V Wade case led to the courts deciding that the female defendant had the right to have an abortion. The victory led to abortions becoming more readily available, where before they had been illegal.

6. OPPOSITION

· Not everyone supported the Women’s Movement, including many women:

(a) Some disliked NOW as they saw it as a middle-class female movement concerned with middle-class issues rather than women’s rights across the board. They thought that the plight of poor women was being ignored.

(b) Many disliked the extremist activities of the feminists

(c) Some thought that the role of women was to be the housewife and look after the children and they could not understand why women were challenging this.

(d) Some thought abortion was wrong

· One of the most vociferous opponents was Phyllis Schafly, an author and political researcher. She was opposed to NOW’S attempt to pass an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) guaranteeing women equality. She managed to organise a campaign that stopped this Amendment even being considered until 1982, and then it was defeated by 3 votes. Her main reason was that she believed that equality may be bad for women, for example, they would be required to serve in combat under this law. She also felt that society would suffer as family life and social cohesion would be destroyed.

B – STUDENTS

WHY DID THE STUDENT MOVEMENT EMERGE?

After the war, American became the richest nation in the world. This created more jobs and more wealth for ordinary people. It saw the rise of a consumer society.
Many young people had money for the first time and began to develop their own culture, questioning the values of their parents.
The 1950s saw the growth of youth rebellion through films such as Rebel Without A Cause.
Many young people were becoming disillusioned with their society and its values – the emergence of rock ‘n’ roll gave voice to their anger and frustration. As parents hated it, so it became more attractive to teenagers. Teenagers loved the way that Elvis offended their parents and authority with his tight jeans and gyrating performances.
Beatnik poets, like Allen Ginsberg protested at the smug life of suburbia. He suggested dropping out, taking drugs etc.
By the 1960s young people wanted to distance themselves from their parents as much as possible. They demanded greater freedom in everything that they did : music, clothes, social life, sexual behaviour.
This was coupled with the release of the contraceptive pill and the wide availability of drugs.
The 1960s saw protest singers, like Bob Dylan, singing about themes that touched young people : nuclear war, racism, hypocrisy of waging war. Dylan became a symbol of change and his songs reflected the feeling of injustice felt by many young people.
In 1960 many young people hoped that Kennedy would transform the nation, but his assassination in 1963 ended their hopes. They became even more disillusioned with mainstream politics and turned to protest movements.
The Civil Rights Movement proved an inspiration for many young people, who supported sit-ins and freedom rides.
However, one of the main causes of unrest and rebellion was the US involvement in Vietnam. Young people saw the atrocities being committed in Vietnam by their government and the growing number of dead young American soldiers. This war united the student movement as they knew that many of them would be called upon to fight in the war.
The late 1960s witnessed protest movements across the world, with most of Europe suffering major riots in 1968. The ones in Paris almost overthrew the government.

HOW WAS THE CAMPAIGN ORGANISED?

As early as 1959 students were beginning to challenge the way their lives were run and organised. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was set up in 1959. It wanted to give students greater control over universities, especially courses. Yet it also wanted to help tackle the huge social problems affecting America. By the end of the 1960s it had 100,000 members and had groups in over 150 universities. It was the Vietnam War after 1965 that really aided this movement in terms of membership. It organised sit-ins at universities after university authorities tried to ban political activities on campuses.
The Civil Rights Movement led many young people to become politically active for the first time. They were horrified at what they saw and were determined to create a fairer society. Many set out to challenge forms of racism within their universities and demanded “free speech”.
The Vietnam War was the defining issue. This was the first televised war. American people saw their government using chemical weapons against civilian populations. They saw pictures of children’s skin being burnt off by napalm; they saw pictures of ordinary people being killed by their troops, they saw images of bomb destruction, and they saw dead American soldiers.
By 1968 the protest saw 400,000 students marching against the war; in 1969 there were 700,000 marching in Washington.
Sometimes these marches turned violent as students burnt their draft cards and the US flag, an illegal act. This resulted in the violent clashes with the police.
In 1970 the violence spread to Kent State University in Ohio. Nixon had decided to bomb Cambodia to try to stop the Vietnamese communists fro using it for supplies. Students organised a protest. National Guardsmen were called in to disperse the students, but shots were fired when they refused to move. This led to 4 deaths and 11 injuries. 400 colleges were closed in protest as students went on strike in anger and the US government faced criticism from across the world.
Most students protested peacefully through marches, songs and demonstrations. Yet some turned to violence. In the late 1960s some became more radical and called themselves “Weathermen” referring to a reference in one of Dylan’s songs. They began to bomb army recruitment centres and government buildings.
Other people wanted to distance themselves completely from their society. They wanted to drop-out of society and became known as hippies. They grew their hair long, wore colourful clothing and developed their own alternative lifestyles. Slogans like “Flower power” and “Make Love, Not war” became their hallmark. They were influenced by pop groups like the Doors and the high-point of their movement came at festivals like Woodstock. This group, in particular, were vilified by older members of society who could not understand why these people refused to work and led drug-infested lives, despite most coming from wealthy privileged backgrounds.

WHY WAS THE STUDENT CAMPAIGN IMPORTANT?

YOUTH CULTURE – the 1960s saw the emergence of a clearly distinct and identifiable youth culture. However, many had originally protested against consumerism but youth culture was a God-send for businesses who encouraged young people to buy clothes, records etc. It led to a boom in consumerism as every young person wanted the right clothes, shoes, records etc. Teenagers became more aware of their individuality but many wore similar items, such as the mini-skirt. Young people also rejected the morals of their parents and became more sexually permissive.
VIETNAM WAR -- Student protests did not end the Vietnam War but they did turn many Americans against it and led Johnson to decide not to run for re-election in 1968 and influenced politicians to withdraw from Vietnam sooner than many would have wanted.
CIVIL RIGHTS – The part played by students in the Civil Rights movement was certainly important and helped to strengthen the movement.
POLITICALISATION OF THE MIDDLE-CLASSES – Prior to the student movement, most of these students, who came largely from middle-class backgrounds, would have been expected to follow the views and values of their parents. Now people from middle class backgrounds were showing politicians that they were no longer willing to accept their authority, but were going to question it and speak out against it.

LINKAGE BETWEEN PROTEST GROUPS

Obviously some

STUDENTS and CIVIL RIGHTS == sit-ins, marches against racism, protest against racism in universities, protest against Vietnam as disproportionate number of black soldiers; freedom rides etc

STUDENTS and WOMEN’S MOVEMENT == more women going to university, large number of young women campaigning for equality across the board

WOMEN’S MOVEMENT and CIVIL RIGHTS

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