Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Minorities and Counter Culture Blog
Part 1- SUMMARIZE Sections 1 and 2 on Latin Americans, Native Americans, and Women. In about a 3/4 page- discuss how their rights and equalities did or did not change during this era. Make sure to draw similarities and differences. Part 2- DEFINE counterculture and explain what role it played in both Civil Rights and War Protests. (about 1/4 page).Save this document, then copy and paste it HERE. Also, respond to ONE student's post.
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During the 1960s, many diverse ethnic groups started immigrating to the United States. Mexican Americans migrated to the Southwest and California. Puerto Ricans moved into New York City’s West Side. A large Cuban population also formed in New York, Miami and New Jersey. Immediately these minorities were forced into a segregated lifestyle including run down housing and a higher percentage of unemployment. As Latinos started to fight for their rights, The United Farm Workers Organizing Committee was set in place to act as a union for these farm workers. “Brown Power” movements were starting to be made all over the country by many ethnicities. La Raza Unida (The People United) was then created by Jose Angel Gutierrez. Many minorities kept to their heritage and did not form into any sort of main stream, making it hard for any race to fully integrate with the rest of the nation. Native Americans joined the train when the American Indian Movement (AIM) took place.
Native Americans did accomplish some of what they wanted to, such as the Indian Education in 1972, along with the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act in 1975. These laws allowed to tribes to have greater control of their own education and various life affairs. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 gave more than 40 million acres to native tribes in recognition of their land. This sparked a wave of activism from the Native Americans—something that we all hoped we would see eventually.
Another movement in the 1960s was the women’s movement. These actions promoted feminism across the country. When women earned the right to vote, the movement for these rights started to erupt. Although this strive did not remain consistent for 40 years, it reawakened in 1960 with many strong ideas. The number of women increased by 40% in the 1960s. Although they were low paying tedious jobs, women still appreciated the right to labor. To legally recognize it, Kennedy organized the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women in 1961.
During the civil rights movement, women felt that their role was far less important. Leaders of committees such as SNCC and SDS were male and the women withheld less important roles. Women started to get together to discuss what they thought about these civil rights to make them feel more important. The National Organization for Women (NOW) was created to achieve the goals women had in mind. Bigger controversies that dealt with sports and social standings were identified by many and protested against in time.
In 1973, women were allowed to right to abortion within the first 3 months of the pregnancy. Many thought this issue would provide closure with that decision, but the subject is still controversial today.
Counterculture is a movement made up of mostly white, middle-class college youths who had grown disillusioned with the war in Vietnam and injustices in America during the 1960s. This specific group of people makes up a great amount of the contributing population at this time. Without the intense support of this population, the nation lost a lot of its valuable reason. Instead this generation became a generation of hippie culture. They cared about living easy at taking the world one day at a time. As far as its role with protest, it had no sort of negative effect on any part of the 1960s debates because the idea was so easygoing that no one needed to deal with anything. It really changed the way Americans thought at the time.
Katie Olsen
The 1950’s and beyond was a time of growth in the United States. Often growth is not easy and the Civil Rights Movement is an example of a nation growing. The fight for African American rights is what most people think about when the subject of Civil Rights comes up but they were not the only minority to struggle for equality. Those in the United States who are often referred to as Latinos come from Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Central and South America. The 1960’s was a time when many Latinos faced discrimination and prejudice and the result was poverty. Latinos wanted not only better working and living conditions but also a greater respect for their culture and heritage. Cesar Chavez was a farm worker during this time and he believed that the farmers must unite and form a union to get higher wages and other benefits that they were being denied. Because of the efforts of Chavez and others the National Farm Workers Association was formed and later the United Farmers Organizing Committee. Chavez followed the path of Martin Luther King, Jr. and worked to gain rights nonviolently. The success of Latinos in California inspired others in places like New York to demand Spanish speaking classes for their children in schools. Latinos also gained ground politically. Movements like La Raza Unida and the Mexican American Political Association helped to elect Latinos to political office.
There are hundreds of Native American Tribes in the United States but they have all experienced many injustices. Like the Latinos, Native Americans have a great desire to keep their heritage alive. They have always strongly resisted being assimilated into mainstream America. Many have also suffered from unemployment, alcoholism, and a high infant mortality rate. In 1961, Native American from 61 groups met in Chicago to draft the Declaration of Indian Purpose. They wanted to have the right to choose how they would live. Progress was made but it was slow and many young Native Americans felt things should move faster. The American Indian Movement was organized and this group was often militant. Over the last few decades Native Americans have won several legal victories that have restored lands and given monetary settlements for past wrong actions taken by the United States.
Women are not a minority in the United States but they have felt that they have not shared the same rights and opportunities that men have had access to. The women’s movement began in the 1960’s and became known as feminism. Women wanted what the minority of this same time wanted; equality when it came to economic, political, and social issues. Often those who were fighting for the rights of minorities did not recognize the rights of women and put them in inferior positions. Women did get gain political and social rights but they failed to achieve equality in the Constitution. The Equal Rights Amendment failed to get the number of states needed to ratify it. However women now have greater choices in careers and are gaining more political offices in order to have more say in the future.
A movement made up almost entirely of white, middle-class college kids who had become disillusioned with the Vietnam war and what they felt were the injustices in America became known as Counterculture. The movement wanted to create a society based on peace and love and so “hippies” (members of the counterculture) left their homes, school, or work to be a part of this new society. Anything that was conventional was rejected. The movement was for civil rights and they rejected war. Thousands gathered on the White House Lawn and sang protest songs to show their rejection of the mainstream society. Drugs, rock “n” roll, and sexual freedom were looked at as the way to gain self-awareness. The peace did not last very long and soon violence was the norm in the communities formed by the hippies. Taking drugs and listening to music did not pay the bills.
Michael Wilkins
Ellis island was known at first as Gull island named by the Mohegan tribe. Then it was renamed by the Dutch because its rich supply of oysters. Then it was renamed again after the hanging of a pirate, it was then called Gibbet Island after the instrument used to hang the pirate. Finally Samuel Ellis purchased the island and gave it his name Ellis island. Ellis island was bought by New York. Was then sold to the federal government. The U.S army erected Fort Gibson but then was dismantled. The Unites states used Ellis island as a depot for 260,000 pounds of powder. They had to remove the depot due to complaints. They the used Ellis island as a Immigration screening port. Ellis was enlarged fourteen acres in order to hold all the buildings needed. First Immigration office opened on January 1st of 1892. On the opening day, Col. John B. Weber, the new commissioner for the post of New York, showed a ten dollar gold piece to the first immigrant to go through the gates of the new station. A Fifteen year old named Annie Moore's response to the gift was "she will never part with it, but will always keep it as a pleasant memento of the occasion." The Workers of the building were not impressed with the architecture of the building they complained of leaky roofs and other things. Nothing was done of the terrible architecture. But finally there was a fire that burned every thing but a few buildings. They had to close the island for a while to rebuild every thing. Ellis island now is a museum. This island has served many purposes all very different. In the end Ellis island served its purpose to the fullest and was a great help to the great U.S.
Tanisha Riutta
The 1960’s were considered years of change and a time when civil rights movements were at the prime.
With the rapidly growing Latin American presence in the United States it was becoming more and more prominent that they faced discrimination, poverty, and poor living and working conditions. During the 1960’s the Farm Worker Movement and Cesar Chavez accomplished gaining higher wages and other workers benefits that Latin Americans had not been provided through years of hardworking and backbreaking labor. They used peaceful means such as protesting and boycotting to obtain their objective. Cultural pride and a movement in schools and politics also grew winning Latin Americans seats in congress and bilingual classes in schools.
The Native Americans were another group that had a long history of grievances and mistreatment from the government and the U.S. since the early colonial days. Native Americans had little desire to assimilate into the American culture they did not fit into and resented. The Native American movements were sometimes peaceful and sometimes violent. Still, despite the means Native American people had won more government acknowledgment and eventually regained lost land and received financial compensation.
Women, who make up approximately half of the world’s population, were still treated as second class citizens. Certain jobs were limited to men as they were labeled “Men’s work” and were closed off to women. The limited work opportunities that women did have paid poorly in comparison to the pay men received. While the feminist movement that had gained women the ability to vote had been in a long decline it suddenly sparked again into vigorous Civil Right Activism that lead to the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting the discrimination based on race, religion, origin, and gender. Feminism was a movement and belief that women should have equal political, economic, and social standing as men.
The Counterculture was a movement made up of white middle class college youths who rejected the Vietnam War and internal American injustices. Another word for the counterculture would be the “Hippie Culture”. The Counterculture played an important role in the Civil Rights movement because they rejected society’s social norms and policies and were more likely to stand by minorities and protest with them. Hippie cultures were home of drug usage and open sexual behavior. The hippie culture was associated with bright colors, government rejection/mistrust, and a desire to create an ideal society that was peaceful, loving and intertwined. ‘Hippie’s” would leave their homes and live communally having to rely on one another to survive. The counterculture movement, however, was a short lived one which resulted in thousands of hippies to rely on government offices to collect welfare and food stamps for a time. It did leave a legacy of free thought and more liberal ideals in society that is still quoted today.
@Katie
I don't know for sure but I think the hippie culture may have had an impact on the soldiers returning from Vietnam. I know the counterculture was very against war and they had many protests against the Vietnam war. When the soldiers returned from Vietnam they didn't return to a country that really welcomed them home. I think the culture may have had a negative impact on veterans.
@Nightbane85
I think that is interesting that you had the idea the new culture had a negative affect on the soldiers returning. I have to agree with you! Soldiers didn't want to come home to something that didn't seem worth fighting for, and that may have been how a lot of them felt. Thanks for opening my eyes to that!
Katie Olsen
@SaraFish
I liked that you pointed out that the Native Americans have always have a long list of grievances with the government. For years they were pushed off their land and pushed into a life they didn't necessarily want to be a part of. To fight for their rights now means a great deal of difference than the fighting of rights for women. (Just an example) I liked your idea!
Katie Olsen
Elizabeth Hudy
Chapter 31 Reading
Part 1-
Latino unemployment rate was about 50% higher than that of whites. They had to live in segregated Spanish-speaking neighborhoods, called barrios. Chavez and Huerta formed the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee to work for the rights of farm laborers in unison. Using their peaceful tactics, they were guaranteed higher wages and new benefits. With the huge population of Spanish-speakers, the Bilingual Education Act was enacted to fund bilingual and cultural courses among schools. Latinos also gained several political and representative positions.
With the views and needs of Native Americans failing to be properly accounted for, President Johnson created the National Council on Indian Opportunity. A series of other reforms also followed, including the Indian Education Act, the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, giving the tribes more power in their own lives. They also won settlements that allowed them to regain possession of millions of acres of land that was once theirs.
In the 1960s, a renewed wave of feminism grew, fueling desires for women to have the same rights and opportunities as men. Despite the increase in women in the workplace, a Presidential Commission on the Status of Women report revealed that not only were women rarely promoted to higher power jobs, but they were also paid a lot less than men were, even for doing the same exact work. Just as it had helped African Americans, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination and made the EEOC to handle claims of such. With the help of several women’s rights groups, women were allowed in all educational programs, many schools, and even in the US Congress.
Part 2-
Counterculture, made up of primarily white college students, was a society that turned their back on the injustices in America and instead turned to peace and love. Members of this movement, known as hippies, were marked by their unique clothing, drugs (in particular, LSD), rock music, and sexual freedom. Many of them left their school and work to join a world of peace and harmony. By the 1970s, however, the movement began to wear off. They found that the listless ways of the counterculture did not provide enough guidance, as many had no way to pay the bills or to break their drug abuse habits. The outrage over the disrespect people saw in the counterculture led to angry conservatives. The dramatic response of these conservatives contributed to a new conservative movement and course among the nation’s politics.
@Michael Wilkins
I thought it was interesting how you interpreted the counterculture's love of sex, drugs and rock n roll as their way of gaining awareness and attention. At first I disagreed with you, thinking that it wasn't really meant as a tool but as a way to enjoy themselves. But now that I think about it, it did give them a lot of attention, so that is a logical explanation.
Part 1: In the 1960s, Latinos faced much discrimination. The jobless rate of Latinos and the percentage of Latino families in poverty were both nearly 50% higher than that of whites. In the 1960s, they demanded for equal opportunity and a respect for their culture and heritage. Due to the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee, a contract was negotiated that would guarantee higher wages and other previously denied benefits. Thus other Latino “brown power” movements were inspired across the country. Due to demands, Congress enacted the Bilingual Education Act for Spanish-speaking children, and they eventually also won the establishment of Chicano studies programs at various colleges and universities. Also, in the 1960s, eight Hispanic Americans served in the House and one Hispanic senator was elected. La Raza Unida (Mexican-Americans United) helped get various candidates elected for mayor, or on school boards and city councils. Others were also able to reclaim land that had been taken from Mexican landholders. Yet not all of the minority groups were as fortunate.
There were many Native Americans who clung to their heritage and did not want to blend with the mainstream society. Yet the Native Americans as a group have been the poorest of the Americans and have suffered from the highest unemployment rate. Many young Native Americans created the American Indian Movement just like how the Latinos created their own organizations. This rights organization began largely as a self-defense against police brutality but it also protected Native American rights. Native Americans everywhere joined the march dubbed the “Trail of Broken Treaties” to protest the US government’s treaty violations throughout history and make demands for the restoration of 110 million acres of land. Eventually, Congress passed the Indian Education Act and the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. They were able to regain some of their lost land because of the broken treaties similar to how the Latinos regained the land taken from the Mexican American landholders.
Though women were not a minority group, they were treated as second-class citizens. The theory of feminism or the belief that women should have equality with men, once again gained momentum in the 1960s. Women were still shut out of many jobs that were “men’s work” and they were still being paid less but this was largely ignored until the establishment of the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. Even in civil rights organizations, women were given lesser roles, which is ironic, so women began to form their own groups including the National Organization for Women, and the National Women’s Political Caucus, to act against sexism. Congress eventually passed a ban on gender discrimination as a part of the Higher Education Act, thus several all-male colleges opened their doors to women. Congress also passed the Equal Rights Amendment but it went down in defeat. Yet despite the resistance to the women’s movement, it helped countless women open their lives to new possibilities.
Part 2: Counterculture was a movement made up mostly of white, middle-class college youths who had grown up not realizing the truth about the war in Vietnam and all of the injustices in America. Now that they knew the truth, they simply turned their backs on traditional America, thus the hippie era was born. With the hippies came a new sexual freedom and acceptance of drugs. Rebellious hippies all across the nation exercised their freedom and rights as individuals. They also actively opposed war and instead promoted peace and love. The hippie era, though short-lived, was an era of liberation and led to many liberating changes in the American society.
I like how Katie Olsen said that the hippie generation lost all sense of reason. They might have believed in what they were doing but they did not think it through. Even though I am all for peace and love and no more war, the hippies did not go about promoting for in the best possible way because they harmed themselves in the process with drugs among other things.
The rights of women, African Americans, and Native Americans changed drastically, and in a good way. All had protested for their equal rights and they earned them. The Latino community was tired of the hard work of farm labor. They earned very little pay and worked extremely hard. In 1962, an inspirational Latino figure by the name of Cesar Chavez formed the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee. The Latino committee, under Cesar Chavez began to demand better privileges from the owners of the grape farms, who generally had mostly Latinos working under them. The grape owners refused, and so Chavez convinced super markets to stop selling California grapes. The grape owners eventually acknowledged his requests. They also won cultural privileges like classes in Spanish in schools, and elected Latinos for political positions. However, their financial situation was not as bad as Native Americans. who suffered from an extremely high unemployment rate and other problems. A group called the American Indian Movement was formed, and rights for Native Americans were upheld and protected by this group. Some of their confrontations with the government involved violence, but many of their demonstrations won back land and more benefits for them. The Native Americans situation was not very similar to the situation of American women fighting for equality. They wanted more opportunities and rights. They were seen by almost all of society as the head of the household, the one who cooked and cleaned, and the one who took care of the children. Women tried for more rights, like better jobs, because their own jobs were low wage and considered appropriate for women. On the year of 1966, the National Organization for Women was created to pursue women’s rights and opportunities. In one demonstration, women threw “women’s garbage” into a “freedom trash can”. Demonstrations and NOW pressured society to not discriminate women and men. These created many new rights for women.
Counterculture was a movement of youths (college aged) who went against traditional American ways and turned towards ways of peace and love. These ideals turned away the ideas of segregation and war. Many “hippies” were heavily against war and completely for Civil Rights. Their peace and love concept was the biggest reason for this. They staged many protests and demonstrations, and they were very vocal about these subjects.
Katie- I think you should have included Cesar Chavez in your paper, because he was extremely important for the creation of the United Farm Workers Organizing Comittee and was one of the most influential Latino men speaking back then. He organized boycotts of California grapes and won higher wages for farm workers, who were generally Latinos.
The 1960's was a time of equality, for during this time, many different groups recieved equality in the United States. Latino's, or people of Latin American descent, were one of groups who fought for equality. Many Latino's were treated poorly because of their ethnicity, and because of this, they had a higher poverty and unemployment rate. In the workplace, Latino's were paid less than white workers and received few benefits for their efforts. These were some of the reasons why the Latino's began to push for equality. In 1962, a union called the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee was formed with the aim to guarentee higher wages and benefits previously denied to them. They peacefully boycotted goods and convinced others to do the same unitl the farm owners finally gave them their equal rights in the workplace. Many other Latino movements sprang up in the country, such as a movement to have bilingual classes and Latino culture classes.
Native American's were also another group unequal to white American's. Native American's had a social reputation even worse than the Latino's with a higher unemployment rate and the most poverty stricken. However, Native American's were a very cultural people, and many simply refused to fit in to mainstream American life because it did not respect their heritage. The American Indian Movement was formed in 1968 by Native American's who were unhappy with the pace of their reforms. AIM was a movement which sought to gain equality for Native American's by confronting the government. One example was the "Trail of Broken Treaties" which was a march in Washington D.C to protest all the times the United States government broke their promises. Another example was when AIM led a group of 200 Native Americans to a village called Wounded Knee and seized hostages. After these incidents the US government passed the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act which increased the rights of Native American's and also returned land that had been signed to Native Americans.
Women began a movement for equality as well. This movement was based on the policy of feminism. Feminists believed that women should have the same economic, political, and social equality with the men. Only about 40% of women actually worked for wages in 1960, and they were still not allowed to have jobs that were percieved as a job for a man. One of the committees made to fight for women's equality was called the Natinonal Organization for Women. NOW strived to allow women to pursue jobs and to issue guidelines to employers saying that women could now have a job that was traditionally for males. The Equal Rights Amendment of 1972 guarenteed that men and women would have the same rights. Although ERA was not passed in the end, women had won more work opportunites and more rights.
Counterculture was a movement of white, middle class youths who turned their backs to war and traditional America and tried to focus on making a society about peace and love. The Civil Rights movements fell into the belief system of the counterbulture, or the "hippies" and the hippies heavily supported these movements. Hippies did not support war however. War goes against their basic principles, love and peace, and because of this, hippies were against any type of war or violence.
Ethan Gunnerson
Katie- I disagree with you that hippies had no negative effect on any part of the 1960's debates. I think that the hippies, even if they were easygoing, would protest and strike out at anything they found against "hippie culture." They were not afraid to protest against the ideas and events that they disagreed with, and because of this, they would have a negative impact on many of the 1960 controversies.
Ethan Gunnerson
Part 1:
Latin Americans came from everywhere; from Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and South America. Young Mexicans started calling themselves Chicanos and Chicanas. They had influences in both school and government. Many Native Americans started to start to fight for their rights along with the Hispanics.
In the 1960 feminism became the new women’s rights movement. Women started to become more of a common place in the workplace. The Equal Rights Amendment came into play and many were startled by it. Many felt that the extreme feminists were only oppressed in their own mind.
Both women and Latin and Native Americans gained more rights. Thanks to the active support of so many people they were able to get many laws passed. Both Latin and Native Americans gained rights through the introduction of new laws. Many women tried to have the ERA passed but ultimately failed. Even though the law did not pass the number of women working rose in the coming years. In a sense they were able to get enough attention on their efforts that it did not matter if the laws were passed or not.
Part 2:
Counterculture is a sociological term that describes the traits and characteristics of a culture or subculture that contradicts mainstream culture. This heavily affected both the civil rights movements and the war protests. In a sense it started both of these events. Without the idea of counter culture everything would probably still be continuing as they did in the 1950s. It’s this idea that changes our behavior and pushes us to do extreme things.
@Michael
I agree with the sex, drugs, and rock n roll. They were big influences that still are very prominent even today.
Latin Americans, Native Americans, and women all strived to achieve equality during the Civil Rights Movements.
Latin Americans did this by organizing unions and implementing peaceful strikes. Cesar Chavez helped unionize Californian field workers, but the grape growers of California refused to accept them as a union. He then called upon farm workers all over the county to boycott Californian grapes. This, along with a three week fast that he endured, helped to earn better wages and benefits for farm workers including many Latin Americans. Latin American students also helped win cultural pride for Latin Americans. They organized walk-out where they would leave campus and demand classes taught in Spanish, programs about their culture, more Latin American teachers, as well as programs to lower the Latin American dropout rate. These demands were met with the Bilingual Education Act as well as a Chicanos studies program. Latin Americans also organized the Mexican American Political Association that helped elect Latin Americans across the county and gain political recognition for Latin Americans.
Native Americans also fought for equality. Despite tribal distinction, altogether, Native Americans were the poorest people group in America, often falling to alcoholism, tuberculosis, and high childhood death rates. During the Civil Rights Movement, Native Americans decided that enough was enough. Leaders like Dennis Banks, part of the American Indian Movement, help inspire Native American to speak out for rights. They used the U.S.’s broken treaties, stolen land, and attempts of genocide gone unpunished as the basis for their protests. With the motivation from AIM, Native Americans participated in marches like the Trail of Broken Treaties and other protests. In comparison to Latin American protests, Native American protests were much more violent. Examples of violent protests would be their occupation of Bureau of Indian Affairs and the capture of Wounded Knee which ended in either death or hefty property damage. In the end, Native Americans earned the rights to some of their land through the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 and other acts. They also gained more control over the education and governing of their own people through the Indian Education Act and the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.
Women faced discrimination even while supporting civil rights groups. This constant discrimination through work, politics, and life produced a civil rights movement for women as well. NOW was an organization that fought for equal rights for women and succeeded by pressuring EEOC, an organization to prevent discrimination at work, to enforce the ban on gender discrimination and make sex-segregated jobs illegal. With these changes came the Higher Education Act, this helped to open all-male colleges to women as well. The women’s rights movement faced harsh opposition with ERA, though and the bill could not pass because so many feared that it would lead to same sex marriages and end a family focus in America.
Counter Culture is a culture, primarily youth, which opposes the established culture. This played a huge role in the Civil Rights Movement and War protests because the older generation accepted war and traditions for what they were but the younger generation had a fresh opinion on these views and refused to fall under the pressure to conform to these ideas. Without a fresh opinion and the youth’s senseless ability to feel that they are invincible to law and expectations of tradition, change would not be fought for. The 1950’s was a decade of a society that fell under pressure to conform but the 1960’s was a decade where the youth stood firm to indifference. The counter culture of the sixties helped push Civil Rights and the idea that war was not necessary. They hoped when the pre-existing culture doubted.
I agree with Taylor because the Civil Rights Movement and The war protest might have never occurred had there been no counter culture to rebel against traditions and accepted prejudices.
In the 1960s, the Latin American population grew from 3 million to over 9 million. Many Mexican Americans reside in former Mexican territories, and some came as braceros (temporary laborers). After the U.S. occupation of Puerto Rico, many Puerto Ricans migrated to the United States, mostly in New York City. There are large Cuban communities in New York City, Miami, and New Jersey who originally came to escape Communist rule. Latinos faced ethnic discrimination in jobs and housing. Céasar Chávez and Dolores Huerta established the National Farm Workers Association in 1962 to unionize Latino farm workers for more pay and benefits. They also merged with a Filipino agricultural union and formed the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC). In New York, classes taught in Spanish were being demanded by Puerto Ricans. This led to the Bilingual Education Act in 1968. Mexican Americans began calling themselves Chicanos for pride. During the 1960’s, eight Latinos served in the House and Joseph Montoya was elected senator of New Mexico.
Native Americans suffered greatly well into the 1960s. They were the poorest of Americans. They suffered from the highest unemployment rate and were much more likely to develop TB and alcoholism. Eisenhower’s “termination” policy in 1954 relocated Native Americans into urban American life. This failed and the Native Americans still remained poor. In 1961, Native Americans drafted the Declaration of Indian Purpose. This allowed Native Americans to choose their own way of life. President Lyndon Johnson accepted this in 1968; however, many Native Americans did not like how slow the process was going. The American Indian Movement (AIM) began in 1968 as a militant organization, but branched out to protect the Native American Rights. The Indian Education Act was passed in 1972. The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act in 1975.
Feminism became a large topic in the 1960s. Women believed that they should have economic, political, and social equality with men. The ratification of the 19th amendment in the 20s really boosted this movement. In 1960, forty percent of women worked for wages in clerical work, domestic service, retail sales, social work, teaching, and nursing. Women began to have “consciousness-raising” sessions and discovered a large pattern of sexism. The National Organization for Women (NOW) was created to pursue women’s goals. Women had many other ways of contributing to the movement. They would use the title Ms., and would refuse to adopt their husband’s surname. Eventually, several all-male colleges began allowing women. In 1973, the Supreme Court gave women the right to have an abortion. Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in 1972. This guaranteed that both men and women would have the same rights and protections.
Latin Americans, Native Americans, and Women were all able to achieve better rights and greater representation. They were successful because people and communities all wanted the same thing. They teamed up and worked together to create unions and organizations. This gave them a bigger voice and more power to be recognized by the public and government.
Counterculture describes the beliefs and values of a group that runs “counter” to those of the social mainstream. People that belong to this concept don’t follow what has traditionally taken place in society. This mindset is what brings change in a community. Counterculture played a major role in both Civil Rights and War Protests. People who created organizations and unions to bring change had beliefs different to what everyone else in society wanted. Those who protested war were not encouraged or enticed by nationalistic wartime propaganda. Feminists were different in that they wanted more opportunities and the same rights men had. Latin Americans wanted better wages and benefits. Native Americans wanted more say in how they could live their lives. The people that wanted and sought to change the way society was were examples of counterculture.
@SaraFish I find it ironic that hippies protested, rejected, and distrusted the government, but ended up having to rely on the government to collect welfare and food stamps in order to survive. They had good intentions and ideas. It's always good to have groups of people who disagree with the current beliefs and the way things are being run. Otherwise nothing would ever change. But because they did not have the bests plans to express their desire for change, they ultimately failed.
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