A DIVIDED UNION? THE USA 1945-1970 (key issue 4)
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- Created by: Laura
- Created on: 31-12-12 14:21
Why did the student movement emerge?
- The legacy of the 1950's e.g. formation of gangs.
- Elvis Presley was very infulential.
- The 'Swinging Sixties' - wanted gretaer freedom in everything: music, clothes and social life.
- Universities - wanted greater say in education.
- Protest singers e.g. Bob Dylan.
- The death of JFK.
- The influence of Martin Luther King.
- The worldwide phenomena.
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What was the importance of the conflict in Vietnam
- Opposition the war united the student movement.
- Reasons for opposition:
- Many students were called up through draft system.
- Opposition grew with number of casualties.
- Students questioned the right of the USA to be in Vietnam.
- US methods of warfare brought even greater opposition.
- The media did a lot to whip up the student opposition.
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How did the students campaign?
- Involvement with civil rights.
- Many were appalled at the racism and were determined to expose racists in their own colleges.
- The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
- Set up in 1959 by univeristy students Tom Hayden.
- 'Anti-anti-Communism'.
- Formed groups in 150 colleges and universities.
- Opposition the war in Vietnam.
- 100 demonstrations against the war.
- They burnt draft cards or, more seriously, US flags.
- Kent State University - violent clashes with police, police open fired and 4 people were killed. 400 colleges were closed as two million students went on strike to protest.
- The 'Hippy' movement.
- 'Dropped out' of society and became hippies.
- Refused to work, experimented with drugs, were from middle-class backgrounds.
- Student radicalism.
- Later 1960s - student movement views became more radical.
- Began to support violence to achieve their aims.
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Why was the student movement important?
Influences:
- Youth culture:
- Profound changes in lifestyle of the young.
- Greater sexual permissiveness.
- Vietnam:
- Helped to force a shift in government policy and make withdrawal from Vietnam more likely.
- Racism:
- Provided greater publicity for the racism.
- The support of white students for black civil rights strengthened the whole movement.
- American youths would no longer tolerate discrimination or segregation.
- Middle-class origins:
- Bulk of students were middle-class.
- To oppose the government was vitually unheard of and shook the older, more conservative generation.
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The impact of the Second World War on women.
In some aspects, the position of women improved:
- Could do male-dominated jobs.
- 4 US states made equal pay compulsory.
- Protection from discrimination.
- 1940 - 19% of workforce was women.
- 1950 - 28.8% of workforce.
- Joined armed forces.
However at the end of the war:
- Women willingly gave up their wartime jobs to return to their traditional roles.
- Women were generally excluded from the top, well-paid jobs.
- On average, earned 50-60% that men earned for doing the same job.
- Women could still be dismissed from their job when they married.
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How did the women's movement emerge?
Position of women, 1945-60:
- Progress in WW2 did not continue for most women.
- Media encouraged them to go back to their traditional role.
- Women who went to work were treated with suspicion from society and were blamed for many of the social problems of the 1950s.
The 1950s:
- Middle-class background began to challenge traditional roles.
- Women much better educated.
- Women in employment continued to increase (1950 - 29% of work force, 1960 - 50%)
The 1960s:
- 'Swinging Sixties' led to greater freedom.
- Contraceptive pill gave females more choice.
- 1966 - Betty Friedan set up the National Organization for Women (NOW).
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How did the women's movement develop?
- Women’s Liberation Movement (WLM):
- Known as feminists, more extremist than NOW.
- All signs of male supremacy to be removed.
- Stopped wearing make-up, burnt bras.
- Activities did more harm than good as they brought the wrong sort of publicity.
- Campaign to legalise abortion:
- Feminists argued it was wrong to force women to have babies they didn’t want.
- Estelle Griswold case (1965) encouraged further cases
- Opposition to the women’s movement:
- NOW dominated by white, middle-class females.
- Objected to extreme demands of WLM.
- Some women accepted traditional roles.
- Some women were anti-abortion.
- Not seen to be doing enough for poor women.
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