Unit 3.1 Civil Society Protests (Women's Movement, Students & Peace Movements) PDF

UNIT 3.1 CIVIL SOCIETY PROTESTS (Women’s Movement, Students and Peace Movements)  Overview Following World War II, people wanted democracy and equality. This led to a growth in mass protests by ordinary people in the 1960s. – Women’s Liberation and Feminist Mo...

UNIT 3.1 CIVIL SOCIETY PROTESTS (Women’s Movement, Students and Peace Movements)  Overview Following World War II, people wanted democracy and equality. This led to a growth in mass protests by ordinary people in the 1960s. – Women’s Liberation and Feminist Movements – Peace movements – Civil rights movements What is a Civil Society Protest? Action taken by ordinary citizens against government policies or situations deemed unfair. The purpose is to draw attention to injustices and to influence public opinion. Protests can take the form of marches, demonstrations, strikes, rallies etc.  Women’s Lib and Feminist Movements Women’s Movement started in the USA It is not one organisation, but many different groups. Aims: – Improve the status of women – End discrimination based on gender – Equal rights for women (workplace) – Recognition of the worth of women – Allow women more control over their own lives Women’s Movements in USA, Britain, Europe and SA had the same goals, but had different forms.  Reasons for rise of Women’s Movement During and after WWII, women had more employment opportunities and more women were attending universities and colleges. In the 1950s there was a return to traditional values. Women in Western countries in the 1950s: – Expected to stay home and raise families – Had limited career choices (e.g. nurses, teachers) – Were seldom promoted – Paid less than men for the same work – Lost jobs when they married – Faced sexist attitudes and sexual harassment This view of women was accepted by most. An extract from a 1950s American Home Economics textbook. The chapter heading is “How to be a good wife” Have dinner ready. Prepare yourself. Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people. Be a little happy and a little more interesting. Clear away the clutter – run a dust cloth over the tables. Don’t greet him with problems or complaints. Don’t complain if he is late for dinner. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. [Taken from: Pillay, G. et al. 2016. New Generation History: Grade 12. Page 138] Rosie the Riveter, a cultural icon of the United States, representing the American women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II  Pre-1960 In the first 20 years of the 1900s, women in Britain and USA fought for the right to vote. This was the suffragette movement. British women, over the age of 30, got the right to vote in 1918. All American women were given the vote in 1920. Very few women took positions in Parliament or Congress. Effects of WWI and WWII. – When men returned, women were expected to leave jobs and return home to care for their family. – USSR – women had been working in traditionally male jobs and continued to do so.  The Start of the Women’s Movement (USA) 1960s: views and attitudes began to change. Young women wanted greater independence and did not accept the view of women as inferior. Betty Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique had a major influence on starting the Women’s Movement. 1964: Civil Rights Act outlawed discrimination based on race, colour, nationality, religion and gender, but law was not always applied. Extract – The Feminine Mystique The problem lay buried, unspoken, for many years in the minds of American women. It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered in the middle of the twentieth century in the United States. Each suburban wife struggled with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay beside her husband at night -- she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question -- "Is this all?" For over fifteen years there was no word of this yearning in the millions of words written about women, for women, in all the columns, books and articles by experts telling women their role was to seek fulfillment as wives and mothers. Over and over women heard in voices of tradition and of Freudian sophistication that they could desire no greater destiny than to glory in their own femininity. Experts told them how to catch a man and keep him, how to breastfeed children and handle their toilet training, how to cope with sibling rivalry and adolescent rebellion; how to buy a dishwasher, bake bread, cook gourmet snails, and build a swimming pool with their own hands; how to dress, look, and act more feminine and make marriage more exciting; how to keep their husbands from dying young and their sons from growing into delinquents.  National Organisation for Women (NOW) Betty Friedan and others set up NOW in 1966.. Coalition of groups. Made up of mostly older, white, middle-class women. Tactics: – NOW used peaceful demonstrations and petitions. – They also used strikes and legal action to force workplace equality. – They campaigned to change laws. – NOW challenged discrimination in the courts. – Fought for maternity leave and childcare centres. – They encouraged married women to keep their own names. – They fought for constitutional equality, lesbian rights and economic justice.  New York Radical Women’s Collective Protested against the Miss America pageant in 1968. Many women felt that these types of contests degraded women and reduced them to the level of sexual objects. They marched, handed out pamphlets and crowned a sheep as “Miss America”. They also deposited various items in the “Freedom Trash Can” - Bras, curlers, false eyelashes, wigs, high-heeled shoes etc. These items were not burnt but passionate feminists were sometimes referred to as “bra- burners”.  The Women’s Liberation Movement A group of feminists formed the Women’s Liberation Movement (Women’s Lib). Tactics: – ‘Consciousness-raising’ … – Discussion groups to exchange ideas and develop strategies – Protests against male sexism (clubs, bars, men’s magazines) – Challenged representation of women (e.g. Miss World) – Rejected symbols of conventional femininity (bras, high- heels, make-up) which led to widespread publicity and also criticism. Many working class women not involved (did support equal pay, child care etc. though) Many African American women were involved in the Civil Rights Movement.  Other Women’s Groups More radical groups included: – NYRW (New York Radical Women) – WITCH (Women’s International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell). – Redstockings Photograph shows a feminist throwing her bra into a rubbish bin called the “Freedom Trash Can” on a boardwalk in Atlantic City in 1968 outside the Miss America Beauty pageant. otests at the 1968 Miss America Pageant  ‘The Pill’ and Abortion Before the 1960s: no effective means of birth control. 1960s: Development of ‘The Pill’ which gave women more control over their own lives. 1970s: Abortion laws were challenged by feminists. – Result: Abortion became more readily available.  Women’s protests – Rest of the world Britain: – 1968: Women strike at Ford factory – Formation of Action Campaign for Women’s Equal Rights – 1969: Equal Pay Act Western Countries: – Protests focused on divorce and abortion laws. Women’s Movement gave women more choices and opportunities Mainly a middle-class movement in industrialised countries.  Documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2 CewziXoDg 2 minutes  Achievements of the Women’s Movement Equal Pay Act (1963) – support for economic rights for women and improved earnings. Civil Rights Act of 1964 – provided a tool for women to fight discrimination in the workplace. Griswold vs Connecticut (1965): Supreme Court overturned a Connecticut law preventing the use of contraception and rule married couples should be able to practice contraception. Massachusetts vs Baird (1972): Supreme Court overturned William Baird’s conviction for distributing condoms to unmarried women – the right to privacy was extended to unmarried women. Helped liberalise access to birth control. Education Amendments of 1972: Prohibited discrimination at educational institutions. Roe vs Wade (1973): The Supreme Court ruled that a woman’s right to privacy included abortion. Federal and state laws that banned abortion were struck down.  Equal Rights Amendment Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), a proposed Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing equal rights for women. First introduced in Congress in 1923, the ERA was passed in 1972 but failed to receive the 38 state ratifications necessary to become part of the Constitution. It has yet to be adopted today.  Women’s protests in SA Position of women in South Africa was different from rest of the world: – Difficult for women to unite as races were treated differently – Many women saw their identity in their race rather than their gender However, women did participate in protests against apartheid. Many protests called for women’s rights bust also for racial equality and justice.  Women’s workers and trade unionism 1941: Food and Canning Workers Union set up by Ray Alexander. – Members of all races and mainly women – Fought for workers rights (better working conditions, better pay) By 1950s black women were working in industry Trade unions were important in bringing about the growth of women’s movements  Women in rural areas & informal sector Many women worked in rural areas and informal sector in the townships Most rural workers were women due to migrant labour system This made it difficult to organise protests  Anti-pass campaigns Government planned to extend pass laws to women. Resulted in the formation of the Federation of South African Women (FSAW) – Leaders: Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Fatima Meer 9 August 1956: March of 20 000 women to Pretoria – Aim: to deliver letters of protests to government – 20000 women participated and some were beaten, arrested and taken to prison – National Women’s Day is to commemorate this Rahina Moosa, Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph and Sophie Williams were the leaders of the 20 000 women who gathered at the Union Buildings (Pretoria) and handed over petitions from all over the country to the Prime Minister. It was a peaceful protest against carrying passes and the Bantu Education system. Liberation struggle initiatives Black Sash – NP presented a bill that would remove coloured voters from the voter’s roll in the Cape. – In response, 6 middle-class white women met and formed the Women’s Defence of the Constitution League. – They wore a distinctive black sash as a sign mourning for the death of the Constitution. – Initially white middle-class women but then became a multiracial organisation. – Also campaigned against detention without trial. – Black Sash became a significant anti-apartheid organisation campaigning. Silent Black Sash protestors demonstrate against outside the Station in Cape Town against detention without trial From: www.digitalcollections.lib.uct.ac.za  Peace, disarmament, students and anti- war movements: Introduction The peace, disarmament, anti-war and students’ movements were closely interlinked. Young people were involved in these movements as their futures might depend on them. Students were educated, had time and opportunity and began to question the values, attitudes and ideals of their societies. They were aware of the social injustices, racism and other human rights violations occurring. In the US, there was a focus on the Vietnam War as young people were directly involved (conscription of themselves or family and friends).  The Peace Movements Origins: After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, a peace movement developed to end war, especially nuclear war, due to the destruction it caused. 1960s: People were concerned that the Cold War would become ‘hot’ – Concern over the use of nuclear weaponry – People started protesting against nuclear weapons in the 1950s. Students started to challenge the dominant views of their societies.  Disarmament Movement Both USA and USSR had nuclear weapons  threat of a nuclear war was real The disarmament movement was concerned about: – threat of nuclear warfare, – the development and storage of nuclear weapons – the environmental damage caused by nuclear testing. The disarmament movement adopted the peace symbol as its logo. Its main aims were peace and an end to the development of nuclear weapons. Origins of the Peace Symbol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v cGeBgZMG6o  Treaties and Agreements around Nuclear Weapons In 1963 (after Cuban Missile Crisis) the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed by the US, USSR and Britain. It banned the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, water and outer space. Since then, most countries have signed. In 1968, the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty was signed. This aimed to limit the spread of nuclear arms and that nuclear energy was used for peaceful purposes only. Since then, 200 countries have signed. As a result of these treaties, the Peace Movement lost some of its driving power. Greenham Common Protests In 1981 a group of women calling themselves “Women for Life on Earth” marched from Cardiff (Wales) to Greenham Common near London to protest against nuclear cruise missiles stored there by the US government. They chained themselves to the fence and set up a peace camp outside. They cut holes in the fence and organized ‘sit ins’ at the site. In December 1982, 30 000 women gathered at the base. They held arms around the base in an ‘Embrace the Base’ demonstration. Some women lived at the camp with no running water or electricity or telephones and showed their commitment to the peace movement. The women used passive resistance when authorities tried to remove them from the camp. In 1993 the Greenham Common airbase closed and became a public park. Some of the peacecampers remained until 2000 protesting against the UK having submarines with nuclear weapons on board. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TIXBJuwUcE Women linking hands at the Greenham Common  Students’ Movement After WWII, large increase in Birth Rate  Baby Boomers. – Better education – More prosperous – More critical of conservative values – Protested to bring about change. By the 1960s, these Baby Boomers were studying at universities and colleges.  Students’ Movement Universities and Colleges in the 1960s: Number of students had increased Campuses were overcrowded Students were dissatisfied with conditions Students were more aware of global issues Ken Calkin started the Student Peace Union (SPU) in 1959 across many US universities. The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was formed in 1960.  Students’ Movement Aims: The students' movement protested against the authority of their parents. They wanted to change curricula in education. They also targeted traditional structures and the government in power. Other aims were to change the autocratic administration of universities, protest against nuclear weapons and the Vietnam War. They also supported the Civil Rights Movement. Peace was part of the students' movement goal, but there were subtle differences in their aims.  Students’ Movement Methods that challenged government policies Students joined ‘Ban the Bomb’ marches. Students supported the Civil Rights Movement, and many volunteered to take part in protests (e.g. Freedom Summer of 1964). They protested against American involvement in the Vietnam War. They used non-violent tactics and held teach-ins to educate people about the war. They staged demonstrations and organised draft resistance (burning the draft). Student organisations like the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) organised teach-ins and sit-ins at universities, and held rallies and marches. At the beginning of 1968 there were over 100 demonstrations against the war, involving 40 000 students. In 1969, more than 250 000 people took part in a massive anti-war demonstration in Washington. Musicians used music to express anger about Vietnam War and government policies.  Hippie Movement The youth of the 1960s rejected their parents' values by 'dropping out' and becoming hippies. They rejected the materialism of their parents and society and corporate capitalism by rejecting their work ethic and embracing alternative lifestyles. Many lived in communes and were concerned about the environment and became vegetarians. They experimented with drugs and sex. They developed a distinctive fashion (kaftans, longs skirts, bellbottom jeans, beads, sandals. Boys grew their hair) Music that they listened to was different form the norm of society. Two of their slogans were 'Make love, not war' and 'Don't trust anyone over 30'. Students also held protests about socially relevant curricula in universities, reforms in teaching methods, the right to elect student representatives. They rejected materialism. They were committed to peace and love and called themselves “flower children” because flowers symbolised peace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJgwGxY37OE  Students’ Movements around the world United in opposition to Vietnam War Some students opposed capitalism and adopted revolutionary ideas. Che Guevara and Ho Chi Minh seen as heroes. Protests against conditions at universities Demanded greater participation in university affairs Demanded curriculum reform Student Protests in Paris 1968 Students at Sorbonne University in Paris demanded reforms in systems and SRCs Authorities closed the university Students took their demonstrations to the Latin Quarter in Paris Protests lasted for days Violent clashes between police and students, hundreds of students were injured. Nation-wide strike ensued. Authorities agreed to modernise universities. Students protest at Sorbonne University Students’ Movements Successes Student protest contributed to pressure on the government and helped see the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam War and better regulation of nuclear weapons. Student protest led to changes to educational administration and curricula  changes in society As a result of student protests, young people had new rights and opportunities (e.g. lowered voting age) The Hippie Movement challenged values of older generation, created new trends in music and fashion. However, changes did not last too long. Anti-Vietnam War Movement Features: Number of protestors grew as more troops were sent. Protestors protested against US involvement and cost of the war Media played a big role in the increase in public awareness of the war Concerns raised over impact that war would have on US foreign relations 1965: Anti-War rally in Washington DC (25 000 people attended) 1969: Anti-War Rally (250 000 people) Demonstrators march along Pennsylvania Avenue in the U.S. Capitol in an anti-Vietnam War protest in Washington, on Moratorium Day, Nov. 15, 1969. Anti-Vietnam War Movement Draft protests: All American men between ages 18 and 26 need to register with the local draft board and could be called to serve in the military if there was a war. They were issued draft cards which had to be carried at all times. Some protested by burning their draft cards Other protests Many ‘draft dodgers’ left the USA Protests from Vietnam veterans (purpose was to denounce the war) Strikes and demonstrations on university campuses countrywide. Some burnt the US flag as a sign of protest Skipped lectures and held teach-ins where they discussed Vietnam. Kent State University, Ohio. Police used violence against students, killing four and wounding others. Resulted in closing of over 400 universities. More students were killed in further protests. Anti-Vietnam War Movement MLK criticised the government saying that they could use the money spent on the war to help alleviate poverty in USA.  Video clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvc 9MFQ5UyQ Hippie protestor s burning drafts John Filo captured the tragedy of the Kent State Massacre on 4 May 1970. Mary Ann Vecchio kneels over the body of Jeffrey Miller, one of the victims.  Kent State Massacre https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P wro3vCUdU&t=60s Anti-Vietnam War Movement Common slogans and chants "Hey, hey LBJ, how many kids have you killed today?" The chant "One, two, three, four! We don't want your f***ing war!" was chanted repeatedly at demonstrations throughout the U.S. in the late 1960s and early 1970s. "Draft Beer, not boys", "Hell no, we won't go", "Make love, not war", "Eighteen today, dead tomorrow“ Anti-War Songs "Imagine" - John Lennon (1971) "War" - The Temptations, later covered by Edwin Starr (1970) "The Unknown Soldier" - The Doors (1968) "What's Going On" - Marvin Gaye (1971) Other Civil Rights Movements African Americans fought for equal rights in the Civil Rights Movement (Unit 3.2) Rise of the Black Power Movement as some felt that CRM was not doing enough. (Unit 3.3) Red Power  Native American’s insisted on use of the name Native American rather than Indian. Mexicans protested for bilingual and bicultural education. They also wanted to be called ‘Chicanos’ Homosexuals protested against employment discrimination, unequal law enforcement and harassment Similarities and differences All areas of the Peace Movement had some student involvement. Methods were similar in nature such as the use of marches and rallies. Protests were peaceful. Hippies created lifestyle changes and a new sub- culture. Anti-war protesters used mass marches and individual action. They used methods including throwing away medals, burning drafts and dodging the draft by leaving the country. Students' movement used mass protest action on campuses to bring about change.  Sources Bottaro, J. [et al.] 2015. Oxford In Search of History Grade 12. Oxford University Press. Cape Town. Fernandez, M [et al.] 2013. Focus History Grade 12. Maskew Miller Longman. Cape Town. Dugmore, C. [et al].2013. Spot on History Grade 12. Pearson. Cape Town.