Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement Protests
As a rule, the United States is associated with the American dream and the freedom that belongs to every human being regardless of gender, color, and even sexual orientation. However, the true face of the state built on democratic and liberal values is far from being perfect. The Movement for Civil Rights and civilian protests against the Vietnam War are the results of a discriminatory policy of the USA. Both movements had a common mechanism of beginning. Over time, people's discontent was growing gradually and finally exploded in a series of protests. Both movements have been successful using similar methods. In addition, a key role in achieving success were the highly motivated activists.
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If talk about the technique of these movements, they mostly used peaceful forms of protest. Marches, rallies, and strikes are typical for both movements. They also made extensive use of active protest. The most popular event of the Movement for Civil Rights activists has much in common with the above-mentioned action against the War in Vietnam. This action is known as a sit-in strike when a number of African-American students refused to leave the cafe for "whites only" and demanded to serve them ("Greensboro 1960"). With regard to the aspect of a motivation of both movements, they have some difference. African-Americans fought for their own rights. Participants of the protests against the Vietnam War were trying to avoid more abstract things, such as a nuclear war in the world. In addition, many US communist activists tried to protect not their own rights, but the rights of others: the Vietnamese. The main motivation for these activists was a world justice and protection of the rights of a specific group of people.
To sum up, it is needed to say that both the Civil Rights Movement and the protests against the Vietnam War have quite a lot of common things. Following principles of peace and democracy, the activists of both movements were acting through the peaceful protests, demonstrations, and strikes as the main instrument for achieving their goal. Some of them were motivated by the struggle for their own rights while others fought for the rights of others. In both cases, people were united in the struggle for justice. These people created a democratic society of the United States as it is till
During the 1960’s, there was a rising tide of protests that were taking place. College students began to stand up for their rights and protest for a stronger voice in society. The United States was going through a tough period marked by the Cold War against communism and also the war in Vietnam. From Truman to Nixon the United States government involved the country more and more in Vietnam. Nixon announced a new policy in 1968 called Vietnamization. (Foner, 4th edition, pg.1028) This policy would bring American troops back home, but it neither limited the war nor ended the antiwar movements.
Martin Luther king states 7 arguments to show his opposition to the Americans aiding the Vietnam at war. One of the reason he is against the war is that, he is against violence and America is promoting violence by fighting against the Liberation Front. It states as he walk among the ghettos of the North, and saw these “desperate, rejected and angry young men” using the “Molotov cocktails,” using violence he told them that violence is not the solution to their problems, rather they should approach a nonviolent solution. They asked him, then “what about Vietnam?” (King, 152) this question provoked him to speak against the war. In conclusion, in order for the violence to stop, in America, the government have to take the first step, so that the
The civil rights movement, by many people, is though to have happened during the 1950's and 1960's. The truth of the matter is that civil right has and always will be an ongoing issue for anyone who is not of color. The civil rights movement started when the black slave started arriving in America centuries ago. The civil rights movement is one of the most known about issues in American history. Everyone at some point in their life has studied this movement. This movement is particularly interesting due to the massive amounts of different stories and occurrences through the course of the movement. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a vital figurehead to this movement. He inspired many people who had lived their whole lives in the shadow of fear of change.
People are marching in the streets, some holding signs, reading slogans that help defend the rights of the discriminated. This happened in both the African American Civil Rights Movement and in the Women’s Liberation movement. Two movements, one cause; to get equal rights. In the African American’s case, they were discriminated against due to their race. They were oppressed by the Jim Crow laws that were molding a unequal lifestyle for the blacks. Women’s Liberation, however, was about women who were forced to stay at home, because that is where people thought they belonged. Women were also granted unfair wages as compared to men. African Americans and Women were both fighting to get equal rights, which creates similarities and differences
...War and the Civil Rights Movements in order to illustrate how the 1960s was a time of “tumult and change.” To Anderson, it is these events, which sparked the demand for recognition of social and economic fairness. He makes prominent the idea that the 1960s served as the origin of activism and the birth of the civil rights movement, forever changing ideals that embody America. The book overall is comprehensive and a definite attention grabber. It shows how the decade had the effect of drastically transforming life in America and challenging the unequal status quo that has characterized most of the nation's history. Despite the violence and conflict that was provoked by these changes, the activism and the liberation movements that took place have left a permanent imprint upon the country.
As the focus shifted toward the Cold War and building up nuclear arms, less focus was dedicated to social reform, particularly in solving the problems created by inequality. According to Suri’s book, the civil rights movement had already become a powerful force before the 1960s due to the determination of the activists and the growing dissent in America (Suri 2005). Although the civil rights movement was a strong social movement with major support from young activist around the nation and several key political activists like Martin Luther King Jr., this movement did not achieve the social reform it would have achieved if the Cold War had not been the main focus of the United States government. As discussed before, McCarthyism and the threat of communism made protests even more difficult, limiting the effectiveness of them. Violence also began to erupt as activists felt they were not being heard, which resulted in the police force retaliating against the protestors attempts to change society. The fear that these individuals were a threat to society was escalated due to the possibility of communist thought influencing
A year after Abraham Lincoln emancipated the African American slaves, America was working on restoring the country as one. Lincoln set forth a Proclamation of Amnesty and established Freedman’s Bureau to help feed, clothe, and provide supplies for those who were war refugees. It also worked helped formerly enslaved people to find work. Although the Freedman’s Bureau’s efforts aided those who served in the war and the freed slaves, it was not enough. After Lincoln’s assassination, Andrew Johnson began to implement a program that resembled Lincoln’s restoration plans. In March 1866, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and it was the first time Congress overrode a presidential veto. It became the 14th Amendment and declared that all
Both of these movements related to mainstream liberalism in a sense that they both wanted change in a social advancement rather than through rebellion. One of the most influential leaders of the African American Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr., stated in a letter from Birmingham Jail: “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights…they were in reality standing up for what is best the American dream”(75). In the document written by Casey Hayden and Mary King, they discuss how there are many similarities between the way African Americans were being treated and the way women were being treated. These women go on to say that people aren’t discussing these issues enough socially to give them adequate importance. All of these advocates for both movements chose to voice their concerns and opinions through writing or speaking to groups rather than through violence. They were parallel in this sense because they thought this was the most effective way to get the message across to America.
James A. Baldwin once said, “The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose” (BrainyQuote.com). In the 1960s, “the man” was youth across the country. The Vietnam war was in full force, and students across the country were in an outrage. Society needed an excuse to rebel against the boring and safe way of life they were used to; Vietnam gave them the excuse they needed. Teenagers from different universities came together and formed various organizations that protested the Vietnam war for many reasons. These reasons included protesting weapons and different tactics used in the war, and the reason the U.S. entered the war in the first place. These get-togethers had such a monumental impact on their way of life that it was famously named the Anti-War Movement. When the Vietnam War ended, The United States did not have a real concrete reason why; there were a bunch of theories about why the war ended. Through negative media attention and rebellious youth culture, the Anti-War Movement made a monumental impact in the ending of the Vietnam War.
The Vietnam War was a rough time for many soldiers. Memories of home, loved ones, comfort, happiness, a normal life, everything was left behind to do their duties as soldiers. They carried with them many mementos of their life at home; that way they had some kind of life to hang onto to give them the hope and comfort they needed to keep themselves pushing forward. Though, many others have done the same and kept objects to hold onto to remind themselves that there is hope and that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Despite the Vietnam War and World War I taking place during different time periods, these two wars are extremely similar because of the way they are presented in history.
The act of civil disobedience existed for a long time, dating back to the Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and early Christians. The height of the civil rights movement was the 1950’s to 1960’s. During this time period, many activists fought for racial equality and rights. Civil disobedience was practiced by these people who fought for racial equality and rights. Martin Luther King Jr. and Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mocking Bird used civil disobedience as an act of fighting back against injustice in order for a better society. These two people, Martin Luther King Jr. and Atticus Finch, of the time of the 20th century practiced civil disobedience in the name of justice.
The Civil Rights Movement began in order to bring equal rights and equal voting rights to black citizens of the US. This was accomplished through persistent demonstrations, one of these being the Selma-Montgomery March. This march, lead by Martin Luther King Jr., targeted at the disenfranchisement of negroes in Alabama due to the literacy tests. Tension from the governor and state troopers of Alabama led the state, and the whole nation, to be caught in the violent chaos caused by protests and riots by marchers. However, this did not prevent the March from Selma to Montgomery to accomplish its goals abolishing the literacy tests and allowing black citizens the right to vote.
Historically, the Civil Rights Movement was a time during the 1950’s and 60’s to eliminate segregation and gain equal rights. Looking back on all the events, and dynamic figures it produced, this description is very vague. In order to fully understand the Civil Rights Movement, you have to go back to its origin. Most people believe that Rosa Parks began the whole civil rights movement. She did in fact propel the Civil Rights Movement to unprecedented heights but, its origin began in 1954 with Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka was the cornerstone for change in American History as a whole. Even before our nation birthed the controversial ruling on May 17, 1954 that stated separate educational facilities were inherently unequal, there was Plessy vs. Ferguson in 1896 that argued by declaring that state laws establish separate public schools for black and white students denied black children equal educational opportunities. Some may argue that Plessy vs. Ferguson is in fact backdrop for the Civil Rights Movement, but I disagree. Plessy vs. Ferguson was ahead of it’s time so to speak. “Separate but equal” thinking remained the body of teachings in America until it was later reputed by Brown vs. Board of Education. In 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, and prompted The Montgomery Bus Boycott led by one of the most pivotal leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. After the gruesome death of Emmett Till in 1955 in which the main suspects were acquitted of beating, shooting, and throwing the fourteen year old African American boy in the Tallahatchie River, for “whistling at a white woman”, this country was well overdo for change.
The African American Civil Rights Movement was a series of protests in the United States South from approximately 1955 through 1968. The overall goal of the Civil Rights Movement was to achieve racial equality before the law. Protest tactics were, overall, acts of civil disobedience. Rarely were they ever intended to be violent. From sit-ins to boycotts to marches, the activists involved in the Civil Rights Movement were vigilant and dedicated to the cause without being aggressive. While African-American men seemed to be the leaders in this epic movement, African-American women played a huge role behind the scenes and in the protests.
The America¬¬¬n Civil Rights movement was a movement in which African Americans were once slaves and over many generations fought in nonviolent means such as protests, sit-ins, boycotts, and many other forms of civil disobedience in order to receive equal rights as whites in society. The American civil rights movement never really had either a starting or a stopping date in history. However these African American citizens had remarkable courage to never stop, until these un-just laws were changed and they received what they had been fighting for all along, their inalienable rights as human beings and to be equal to all other human beings. Up until this very day there are still racial issues were some people feel supreme over other people due to race. That however is an issue that may never end.