Transcript Slide 1

DAYS OF RAGE, DAYS OF FEAR
1964-1970, ESPECIALLY 1968
EUGENIA LANGAN
MATER ACADEMY CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL
HIALEAH GARDENS, FLORIDA
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
TODAY
 WHAT WENT WRONG IN THE U.S. IN THE
SECOND PART OF THE 1960s?
 WAS 1968 A TURNING POINT IN OUR HISTORY?
BROAD
 WHAT CAUSED THE CONSERVATIVE
REVOLUTION OF 1980
 HOW DID AMERICAN IDENTITY CHANGE IN THE
LATE 1960s?
RACE RELATIONS
BLACK POWER MOVEMENT
 PORTRAYED BY GOVERNMENT AS
SCARY BLACK
MILITANTS (ON FBI COINTELPRO
(UNCONSTITUTIONAL SPYING ON PRETTY MUCH
EVERY POLITICAL ORGANIZATION TO THE LEFT OF
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY)
 MARTIN LUTHER KING'S NONVIOLENCE STRATEGY
GOT LAWS PASSED – BUT THE LAWS DIDN'T CHANGE
ANYTHING
 INSTITUTIONAL RACISM BEGAN TO END, BUT
SOCIAL RACISM DIDN'T AND NEITHER DID POVERTY
FOR MOST BLACK PEOPLE (LEGACY OF SLAVERY)
 MALCOLM X (1925-65) – "BY ANY MEANS
NECESSARY"
 LEFT NATION OF ISLAM, BECAME SUNNI MUSLIM,
SUPPORTED BLACK NARTIONALISM BUT
CONDEMNED BLACK RACISM!

MET WITH CASTRO, NASSER
ON FBI LIST!
 MALCOLM X QUOTATIONS:
 "I BELIEVE THAT THERE WILL ULTIMATELY BE A
CLASH BETWEEN THE OPPRESSED AND THOSE
THAT DO THE OPPRESSING. I BELIEVE THAT THERE
WILL BE A CLASH BETWEEN THOSE WHO WANT
FREEDOM, JUSTICE AND EQUALITY FOR EVERYONE
AND THOSE WHO WANT TO CONTINUE THE SYSTEMS
OF EXPLOITATION."
 "A RACE OF PEOPLE IS LIKE AN INDIVIDUAL MAN;
UNTIL IT USES ITS OWN TALENT, TAKES PRIDE IN ITS
OWN HISTORY, EXPRESSES ITS OWN CULTURE,
AFFIRMS ITS OWN SELFHOOD, IT CAN NEVER
FULFILL ITSELF."
 'WE ARE NONVIOLENT WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE
VIOLENT WITH US."
ASSASSINATED, FEBRUARY 21, 1967 –
APPARENTLY BY NATION OF ISLAM
 SNCC UNDER STOKELY CARMICHAEL AND H. RAP
BROWN: "BLACK POWER":
"IT IS A CALL FOR BLACK PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY
TO UNITE, TO RECOGNIZE THEIR HERITAGE, TO
BUILD A SENSE OF COMMUNITY."
 BLACK PANTHER PARTY, FOUNDED 1966 IN
OAKLAND, CA. (MAOIST)
TOP LEFT TO RIGHT: ELBERT "BIG MAN" HOWARD; HUEY P. NEWTON
(DEFENSE MINISTER), SHERMAN FORTE, BOBBY SEALE (CHAIRMAN).
BOTTOM: REGGIE FORTE AND LITTLE BOBBY HUTTON (TREASURER)
 BLACK PANTHER 10-POINT PROGRAM
"1. WE WANT FREEDOM. WE WANT POWER TO
DETERMINE THE DESTINY OF OUR BLACK AND
OPPRESSED COMMUNITIES.
2. WE WANT FULL EMPLOYMENT FOR OUR PEOPLE.
3. WE WANT AN END TO THE ROBBERY BY THE
CAPITALISTS OF OUR BLACK AND OPPRESSED
COMMUNITIES.
4. WE WANT DECENT HOUSING, FIT FOR THE SHELTER
OF HUMAN BEINGS.
5. WE WANT DECENT EDUCATION FOR OUR PEOPLE
. . . TEACHES US OUR TRUE HISTORY AND OUR ROLE IN
THE PRESENT-DAY SOCIETY.
6. WE WANT COMPLETELY FREE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL
BLACK AND OPPRESSED PEOPLE.
7. WE WANT AN IMMEDIATE END TO POLICE BRUTALITY
AND MURDER OF BLACK PEOPLE, OTHER PEOPLE OF
COLOR, ALL OPPRESSED PEOPLE INSIDE THE UNITED
STATES.
8. WE WANT AN IMMEDIATE END TO ALL WARS OF
AGGRESSION.
9. WE WANT FREEDOM FOR ALL BLACK AND OPPRESSED
PEOPLE NOW HELD IN U. S. FEDERAL, STATE, COUNTY,
CITY, AND MILITARY PRISONS AND JAILS.
10. WE WANT LAND, BREAD, HOUSING, EDUCATION,
CLOTHING, JUSTICE, PEACE AND PEOPLE'S COMMUNITY
CONTROL OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY.
RACE RIOTS IN MAJOR CITIES 1965 – 1967
 CAUSES:
 UNDERLYING – LACK OF PROGRESS UNDER
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, > 200 YEARS OF
DISCRIMINATION, AND POVERTY (LEGACY OF
SLAVERY)
 SPECIFIC: CONFRONTATIONS BETWEEN
POLICE AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN INNER
CITIES
 THE WORST: WATTS, L.A., AUGUST 11-15, 1965 –
"BURN, BABY, BURN"
 PEOPLE OF WATTS V. 14,000 NATIONAL
GUARDSMEN
 34 KILLED, 1032 INJURED, 3438 ARRESTED
 AND A NEIGHBORHOOD DESTROYED
 THE SECOND-WORST: NEWARK, N.J., JULY 12-17, 1967
 PEOPLE V. NATIONAL GUARD
 26 DEAD, ≈ 800 INJURED, NEIGHBORHOOD DESTROYED
KERNER COMMISSION REPORT, 1967:
"
"OUR NATION IS MOVING TOWARD TWO SOCIETIES;
ONE BLACK, ONE WHITE SEPARATE AND UNEQUAL."
"Our nation is moving toward two societies;
one Black, one White separate and unequal."
THE VIETNAM QUAGMIRE
(WAR)
HO CHI MINH:
IF WE HAVE TO
FIGHT, WE WILL
FIGHT. YOU WILL KILL
TEN OF OUR MEN AND
WE WILL KILL ONE OF
YOURS, AND IN THE
END IT WILL BE YOU
WHO TIRES OF IT.
HOW RIGHT HE WAS!
WHO WAS THE U.S. FIGHTING IN VIETNAM?
 THE VIET CONG ("CHARLIE“) = SOUTH VIETNAMESE
WHO WANTED A UNIFIED NATION, I.E., MOST SOUTH
VIETNAMESE PEOPLE
 FARMERS BY DAY; GUERILLAS AT NIGHT.
 VERY PATIENT PEOPLE WILLING TO ACCEPT MANY
CASUALTIES.
 THE US GROSSLY UNDERESTIMATED THEIR RESOLVE
AND THEIR RESOURCEFULNESS.
THE GUERILLA WINS IF HE DOES NOT
LOSE, THE CONVENTIONAL ARMY
LOSES IF IT DOES NOT WIN.
MAO ZEDONG
HAWAII
 FROM THE TIME LBJ TOOK
OFFICE, SECRETARY OF
DEFENSE ROBERT
MCNAMARA URGED
ESCALATION OF THE WAR
 JOHNSON WAS INSECURE,
FELT COWED BY THE IVY
LEAGUERS IN JFK’S
CABINET (BUT HE KEPT
THEM)
 PARANOID ABOUT LOSING
AND BEING BLAMED
VIETNAM
U.S.
MAINLAND!
DOMINO THEORY =
JUSTICATION TO
PUBLIC FOR
ESCALATION
 AUGUST 1964 – GULF OF
TONKIN INCIDENT AND
RESOLUTION
 AUGUST 5: LBJ ANNOUNCED ON NATIONAL TV THAT
NORTH VIETNAMESE PT BOAT FIRED ON U.S.
DESTROYER MADDUX (A LIE, WELL KNOWN TO BE,
BUT NOT ADMITTED BY U.S. GOVERNMENT UNTIL 2005)
 AUGUST 7, CONGRESS PASSED GULF OF TONKIN
RESOLUTION, AUTHORIZING THE PRESIDENT TO :
“TO TAKE ALL NECESSARY MEASURES TO REPEL ANY
ARMED ATTACK AGAINST THE FORCES OF THE UNITED
STATES AND TO PREVENT ANY FURTHER AGGRESSION.”
BUT WHO WAS THE AGGRESSOR IN VIETNAM?
TET
OFFENSIVE,
JAN. ‘68
THE ESCALATION OF THE WAR
VIRTUALLY ALL DRAFTEES!
 THE TET OFFENSIVE, JANUARY
1968:
 67,OOO VIET CONG (S.
VIETNAMESE) AND NORTH
VIETNAMESE TROOPS INVADED
SOUTH VIETNAM, TOOK EVER
MAJOR CITY, INCLUDING SAIGON
 U.S AND ARVN (ARMY OF
REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM) TROOPS
CAUGHT WITH PANTS DOWN, BUT
THEN RETOOK SOUTH VIETNAM
 NONETHELESS, SEEN BY THE
MEDIA AND THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE AS A DEFEAT
 THE CREDIBILITY GAP
 VIETNAM WAS THE FIRST “TELEVISED WAR” (AND
THE PENTAGON’S MADE SURE IT WAS THE LAST ONE
 EVERY NIGHT ON THE NETWORK NEWS WE’D HEAR
BODY COUNTS ACCORDING TO THE GOVERNMENT –
AND WE’D ALSO SCENES OF BATTLE AND ITS
AFTERMATH THAT MADE THE BODY COUNTS TOTALLY
IMPLAUSIBLE 
 DOUBT THAT ANY “OFFICIAL STORY” IS TRUE –
PERSISTS TO THIS DAY.
BY 1968, POLLS SHOWED THAT THE MAJORITY
OF VOTERS OPPOSED THE VIETNAM WAR
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER – 1965 - 73
FEATURED ON THE NIGHTLY NEWS: AFTERMATH OF A
NAPALM ATTACK . . . BUT OF COURSE WE USED
NAPALM ONLY AS A DEFOLIANT!
U.S. BACKED SAIGON POLICEMAN SUMMARILY
EXECUTES SUSPECTED VIET CONG AGENT
"WE HAD TO DESTROY THE VILLAGE IN ORDER
TO SAVE IT" ACTUAL CAPTAIN'S EXPLANATION
TO REPORTER FOR A "SEARCH AND DESTROY
MISSION" LIKE THE ONE SHOWN BELOW
MY LAI MASSACRE, 1968
CHARLIE COMPANY, 1ST BATTALION, 20TH INFANTRY,
COMMANDED BY MIAMIAN LIEUTENANT WILLIAM
CALLEY. SLAUGHTERED 300 – 500 UNARMED CIVILIANS
WILLIAM CALLEY,
SO PEOPLE BEGAN TO WONDER:
WHAT THE HELL WERE WE DOING
OVER THERE? WE'RE LOSING
ANYWAY
BY 1968, POLLS SHOWED THAT THE MAJORITY
OF VOTERS OPPOSED THE VIETNAM WAR
THE ANTIWAR MOVEMENT/ THE NEW LEFT
 STUDENTS FOR A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY (SDS)
 FOUNDED 1962 (PORT HURON STATEMENT) – CIVIL
RIGHTS, SOCIAL JUSTICE, ETC.
 BERKELEY FREE SPEECH MOVEMENT AND SIT-IN,
1964
 1965: BOMBING OF N. VIETNAM  SDS "TEACH-INS"
AND DEMONSTRATIONS ON CAMPUSES NATIONWIDE
 THE DRAFT GAVE STUDENTS A STAKE IN THE WAR.
AS LONG AS A MAN WAS IN SCHOOL, HE WAS EXEMPT
FROM THE DRAFT. NOT EVERYONE WANTED TO GO TO
GRAD. OR PROP. SCHOOL ( BUT VIETNAM WAR PH.D.
GLUT IN ’70s – EARLY ’80s)
 INCREASING CAMPUS RADICALIZATION/
SPLINTERING
 SDS VAGUELY MARXIST
 YOUNG SOCIALIST ALLIANCE/ SOCIALIST
WORKERS PARTY – TROTSKYIST
 PROGRESSIVE LABOR PARTY – MAOIST
 AND MANY, MANY OTHERS
 NATIONAL MOBILIZATION COMMITTEE – "THE
MOBE" -- 1967 – 70 – UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION
FOR ALL
TOM HAYDEN, A
FOUNDER OF SDS AND
LEADER OF ANTIWAR
MOVEMENT
MARRIED JANE FONDA,
1970
LATER A CALIFORNIA
STATE LEGISLATOR
 EARLY ANTI-WAR DEMONSTRATIONS
“HEY, HEY, LBJ!
HOW MANY KIDS
DID YOU KILL TODAY?”
’60S COUNTERCULTURE
(OVERLAPS WITH ANTIWAR
MOVEMENT TO SOME
EXTENT)
COUNTERCULTURE
FORMER HARVARD
PSYCHOLOGY
PROFESSOR
TIMOTHY LEARY,
THE "GURU" OF LSD
ALLEN GINSBURG
IN THE 1960s.
PEACE!
HIPPIES AND FREAKS
 "SUMMER OF LOVE," 1967 – NATIONWIDE
(INCLUDING COCONUT GROVE)
" IF YOU'RE GOING TO SAN FRANCISCO,
BE SURE TO WEAR SOME FLOWERS IN YOUR HAIR...
IF YOU'RE GOING TO SAN FRANCISCO,
YOU'RE GONNA MEET SOME GENTLE PEOPLE THERE"
SCOTT
MCKENZIE
AND A LOT OF THOSE GENTLE PEOPLE WOUND UP
AS DRUG ADDICTS AND PROSTITUTES
BE-IN!
COMMUNES – BROOK FARM WITH DRUGS
Drug culture
“ACID ROCK” -- BUT ITS CONVENTIONS WERE THE
BASIS FOR ALL LATER ROCK
JIMI HENDRIX
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, BIG BROTHER AND
THE HOLDING COMPANY
1968
 APRIL 4, 1968: MARTIN LUTHER KING
ASSASSINATED -- HE WAS ON THE FBI LIST!
JAMES EARL
RAY, THE
ASSASSIN
 KING ASSASSINATION  RACE RIOTS
NATIONWIDE
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: SDS TAKE OVER, APRIL 2330, 1968
COLUMBIA STUDENTS AND NY NATIONAL
GUARDSMEN CONFRONT EACH OTHER
 MARCH 12, 1968: PEACE CANDIDATE EUGENE
MC CARTHY NEARLY BEAT LBJ IN NEW
HAMPSHIRE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY (7% SPREAD)
MANY YOUNG VOLUNTEERS WORKED FOR "CLEAN GENE“ –
THE ‘68 ELECTION WAS THE FIRST THAT YOUNG PEOPLE GOT
INVOLVED IN
 MARCH 16, 1968: ROBERT F. KENNEDY
ENTERED DEMOCRATIC RACE
INSPIRED MANY MORE YOUNG VOLUNTEERS
JOHNSON’S
POPULARITY
DROPPED IN
1968 FROM
48% TO 36%.
 MARCH 31, 1968: LBJ WITHDREW!
"I SHALL NOT SEEK, AND I
WILL NOT ACCEPT, THE
NOMINATION OF MY PARTY
FOR ANOTHER TERM AS
YOUR PRESIDENT"
 THE TRAGEDY OF LBJ
 HIS “WAR ON POVERTY” SUCCEEDED IN PASSING
MORE WELFARE AMD REFORM LAWS THAN THE
NEW DEAL HAD:
 SOCIAL SECURITY ACT OF 1965: MEDICARE AND
MEDICAID – HEALTH INSURANCE FOR ELDERLY AND
POOR PEOPLE (1965)
 ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ACT OF 1964:
 HEAD START – FEDERALLY FUNDED PRE-K
 JOBS CORPS – FEDERALLY FUNDED GED AND
VOCATIONAL TRAINING FOR POOR YOUNG PEOPLE
 VOLUNTEERS IN SERVICE TO AMERICA (VISTA) –
“PEACE CORPS” IN U.S., TO TRY TO WIPE OUT
ILLITERACY, EDUCATION, ETC.
 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
 VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1935
HE’D
BEBECAUSE
REGARDED
ONE
OFOF
THE
GREATEST

BUT
OF AS
THE
COST
THE
VIETNAM WAR,
PRESIDENTS
IN HISTORY
– BUT
FOR VIETNAM
NONE OF THE
WELFARE
PROGRAMS
EXCEPT
MEDICARE AND MEDICAID (WHICH ARE FUNDED BY
SPECIAL TAXES ALL WORKING PEOPLE PAY) WAS
EVER ADEQUATELY FUNDED – AND AFTER LBJ, THE
NATION LOST TO MOOD TO FUN WELFARE FOR THE
POOR
 JUNE 5, 1968: RFK WON DEMOCRATIC PARTY
AND WAS ASSASSINATED BY PALESTINIAN
SIRHAN SIRHAN
FIRST ACT OF ISLAMIC TERRORISM IN U.S.?
 AUGUST, 1968: DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION IN
CHICAGO – "POLICE RIOT" AGAINST
DEMONSTRATORS (MOBE, YIPPIES) AND
REPORTERS
 WHOM DID THE FEDS ARREST AND PROSECUTE
FOR THE RIOT?
THE CHICAGO SEVEN, INCLUDING HAYDEN, ABBE
HOFFMAN AND JERRY RUBIN + BOBBY SEALE
 THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE: VP HUBERT
HUMPHREY
THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT WERE NOT HUMPHREY
FANS
1968 CANDIDATES
NIXON, HUMPHREY, AND SEGREGATIONIST GEORGE
WALLACE
 ISSUES:
 VIETNAM
 LAW AND ORDER
 CIVIL RIGHTS
"NIXON'S THE ONE!"
 "PEACE WITH HONOR" =
"SECRET" PEACE PLAN
 LAW AND ORDER
 REPRESENT "THE
SILENT MAJORITY"
1968 RESULTS
POPULAR
VOTE/ %
ELECTORAL VOTE
NIXON
31,275,165
(43.3%)
302
HUMPHREY
31,266,006
(42.7%)
191
WALLACE
9,906,473
(14%)
46
1968
THOUGH WALLACE TOOK ONLY DEEP SOUTH STATES,
HE GOT VOTES IN ALL STATES. THIS REFLECTS WHITE
RESENTMENT AT BLACK RIOTS
AND THE REST OF THE
DECADE
 1969: WEATHERMAN (LATER WEATHER
UNDERGROUND) DAYS OF RAGE
"YOU DON'T NEED A
WEATHERMAN TO
KNOW WHICH WAY
THE WIND BLOWS."
DYLAN
MIDDLE-CLASS,
EDUCATED KIDS!
MUCH ULTRALEFT RHETORIC, INCLUDING "KILL THE
PIGS." SOME BOMBINGS, NO INJURIES
SOME OF THEM BLEW THEMSELVES UP – MARCH
1970, GREENWICH VILLAGE
 APRIL 30, 1970 - NIXON ANNOUNCED U.S.
INVASION OF CAMBODIA (AFTER PROMISING
PEACE IN 1968)
 MASSIVE STUDENT DEMONSTRATIONS
“YOU SEE THESE
BUMS, YOU KNOW,
BLOWING UP
CAMPUSES STORMING
AROUND ABOUT THIS
ISSUE.”
RICHARD M. NIXON
 KENT STATE UNIVERSITY SHOOTINGS, OHIO, MAY 4,
1970
PEACEFUL STUDENT PROTESTS OF INVASION
OF CAMBODIA
 OHIO GOVERNOR JAMES RHODES CALLED OUT THE
NATIONAL GUARD:
“THEY'RE WORSE THAN THE BROWN SHIRTS AND THE
COMMUNIST ELEMENT AND ALSO THE NIGHTRIDERS AND
THE VIGILANTES. THEY'RE THE WORST TYPE OF PEOPLE
THAT WE HARBOR IN AMERICA. I THINK THAT WE'RE UP
AGAINST THE STRONGEST, WELL-TRAINED, MILITANT,
REVOLUTIONARY GROUP THAT HAS EVER ASSEMBLED IN
AMERICA."
THE GUARD
FIRED 67 SHOTS
AT UNARMED
STUDENTS
FOUR KILLED, NINE WOUNDED – SOME WERE NOT
DEMONSTATORS – JUST WALKING PAST DEMO
SHE TURNED OUT TO BE A RUNAWAY FROM MIAMI
TIN SOLDIERS AND NIXON COMING,
WE'RE FINALLY ON OUR OWN.
THIS SUMMER I HEAR THE DRUMMING,
FOUR DEAD IN OHIO.
GOTTA GET DOWN TO IT
SOLDIERS ARE CUTTING US DOWN
SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE LONG AGO.
WHAT IF YOU KNEW HER
AND FOUND HER DEAD ON THE GROUND
HOW CAN YOU RUN WHEN YOU KNOW?
GOTTA GET DOWN TO IT
SOLDIERS ARE CUTTING US DOWN
SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE LONG AGO.
WHAT IF YOU KNEW HER
AND FOUND HER DEAD ON THE GROUND
HOW CAN YOU RUN WHEN YOU KNOW?
TIN SOLDIERS AND NIXON COMING,
WE'RE FINALLY ON OUR OWN.
THIS SUMMER I HEAR THE DRUMMING,
FOUR DEAD IN OHIO.
NEIL YOUNG,
“OHIO”
WOUNDED SURVIVOR REUNION, 1975
 JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY SHOOTING,
MISSISSIPPI, MAY 14, 1968 (BLACK COLLEGE!)
 STATE AND LOCAL POLICE OPENED FIRE ON
STUDENT PROTESTORS.
 TWO KILLED (INCLUDING ONE HIGH-SCHOOL
STUDENT). 12 WOUNDED
POLICE FIRED
INTO DORM –
CLAIMED
THEY SAW
SNIPER
FBI
CONCLUDED
– NO SNIPER
THE DEAD: PHILLIP LAFAYETTE GIBBS, L (21) AND
JAMES EARL GREEN (17)
 THERE ARE NO HIT SONGS ABOUT THE JACKSON
STATE SHOOTINGS!
 JOE, 1970: PETER BOYLE AS BLUE COLLAR
GUY WHO KILLS HIPPIES
FILM-MAKERS DID
NOT INTEND JOE AS
A HERO – BUT HE
WAS!
 HARD HAT RIOT, MAY 1970: NYC CONSTRUCTION
WORKERS ATTACKED STUDENT DEMONSTRATORS
THE 1960s LEFT US A DIVIDED
NATION!
WHITE VERSUS BLACK
OLD VERSUS YOUNG
POOR VERSUS PRIVILEGED