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In 1968 the United States of America was participating in a violent war that some of the general public greatly disapproved of. Tension between political parties was rising and this did not help efforts with the war. Anti-war sentiment was growing in popularity amongst the younger generation; they wanted to get their voices heard. Protest and riots were occurring more frequently and growing larger in size all throughout the United States. This was the case for a certain eight Chicago men who protested peacefully. The case that followed their arrest became known as the Chicago seven trials. Originally it was the Chicago eight until one of the members, Bobby Seale, was bound and gagged in court ordered by Judge Julius Hoffman (Rubin web). This displayed one of the many mistreatments of the members of the Chicago Seven throughout the case. The case became a highly publicized spectacle throughout the nation. In retrospect the case is noted as a great injustice and an example of abusive power in the Chicago court system at the time.
The late sixties was a time of turmoil in the United States. It was a transition period between the psychedelic sixties and the revolutionary seventies. The youth of the United States was becoming increasingly aware of the politics of war, the draft and other general misuses of governmental power. With the Democratic National Convention being held in Chicago during 1968, political tensions were running high throughout the city. Numerous protests were held during the time surrounding the convention in protest of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s policies on the Vietnam War. Most notably, the group of Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, David Dillinger, John Froines, Lee Weiner and Bobby Seale...
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...sting was at its height.
In the case of Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, David Dillinger, John Froines, Lee Weiner and Bobby Seale there was a great deal of injustice, however ultimately justice was served because all charges were dropped (Davis web). Although the men were protesting against a governmental war they were not attempting to incite a riot. The trial was highly publicized due to the sheer ridiculousness of the sentencing and the defendants’ reaction to the trial itself. The initial trial is significant because it shows a clear picture on how the government treated the rising counter culture of the late sixties and seventies. Ultimately the trial acts as a marker of how the justice system can be corrupt. After the arduous process of the court trial, all seven men came out of the ordeal with minor infractions and minimal jail-time.
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.
Ever since human civilization came into existence, people have been putting rules in place to determine who is behaving according to social norms and moral values and who is not. Because the majority of Western societies have historically been democratic, it makes sense that the public have a say in the enforcement of said rules. It is for this reason that the trial became a popular means of deciding upon punishment for those perceived to have broken the law, while also allowing them an opportunity to testify against their charges. Socrates underwent this process in 399 BC on charges of impiety and corruption of the youth of Athens , as did Louis Riel in 1885 on charges of treason for leading a Métis rebellion . Although they lived during vastly
The Massie trial can relate to other trials we have concurred in class but in many different ways, because these citizens were treated unfairly because of the government or court records. For example the trial My Lai was about how citizens that were treated unfairly from all aspects. The My Lai trial didn’t just have one person to be murdered but multiple, 200-500 citizens were killed from woman, men and children by soldiers to who were directed to kill the enemy. But instead only one person was killed and one was supposedly
Chicago Riots Have you ever felt as if your government is doing the wrong thing? During the Democratic National Convention in 1968, an estimate of 5-7K protesters were not happy with the results on what was happening in the government. So a group called Yippies started an organized protest. They started to have riots in places like Chicago, where soon after the police came in and started to relentlessly beat the protesters with billy clubs.
During the Emmett Till trial, it shocked many white people in many parts and it became an international news story. White people come together again in order to continue fighting after a defeat to the defense of the men who had kidnapped and brutally murdered Emmett Till. Many people stood up who had never stood up before due to the irritation cases of Emmett Till.
In conclusion, Ralph Tortorici’s trial was unfair. Through his history of anger and solitary that later lead to a severe illness, the lack of proper trial due to the reason that the prosecution should not have gone forward after there was clear evidence of Ralph’s unstable mental health and the lack of support for his paranoia schizophrenia are all factors that demonstrate why Ralph was given an unjust trial.
He begins by expressing how during the 1968 US Democratic National Convention, a protest activity was done by many “Anti-war Democratic groups in Chicago.” He explains that the protest activity was “their” way of expressing their anger in the involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War. Haynes Johnson shows bias in this article because he explains the impacts of the Democratic National Convention from the perspective of an anti-demonstrator. He expresses just how in its psychic impact, and its long-term political consequences, the Convention eclipsed any other such convention in American history, destroying faith in politicians, in the political system, in the country and in its institutions. Haynes Johnson wrote, “I can still recall the choking feeling from the tear gas hurled by police amid throngs of protesters gathering in parks and hotel
A revolutionary activist once said “the only way to support a revolution is to make your own”(Abbie Hoffman Quotes). The 1960s were a revolutionary era and it is only apt that a man like Abbie Hoffman would reach the apogee of his career as an activist in those years. Abbie Hoffman was justified in his act of revolutionary political activism because of his cofounding of the Yippies, his beliefs for a better government, and being a part of public riots and protests that exposed his beliefs to the public.
Contrary to popular understanding, the worst punishment for this crime is a small fine. Upon his arrest, the ACLU took full responsibility for all monetary charges incurred during the course of the trial. The defense appointed the country’s greatest criminal lawyer of the time, Clarence Darrow, who would later gain fame in the acclaimed Leopold and Loeb trial.... ... middle of paper ...
In the duration of one year, 1968, the American national mood shifted from general confidence and optimism to chaotic confusion. Certainly the most turbulent twelve months of the post-WWII period and arguably one of the most disturbing episodes the country has endured since the Civil War, 1968 offers the world a glimpse into the tumultuous workings of a revolution. Although the entire epoch of the 1960's remains significant in US history, 1968 stands alone as the pivotal year of the decade; it was the moment when all of the nation's urges toward violence, sublimity, diversity, and disorder peaked to produce a transformation great enough to blanket an entire society. While some may superficially disagree, the evidence found in the Tet Offensive, race relations, and the counterculture's music of the period undeniably affirm 1968 as a turning point in American history.
... Simpson Trial is a real life example of how once the crime is determined, courts follow a fair trial system and then corrections follow. Again, I will take up this example and will try to explain how I think the justice prevailed in this case.
Racial discrimination in this time period was a very crucial issue. This case should have never happened. Why were these men murdered for fighting for what they believed in? The civil rights act of 1964 was a prime example of what should have been done before these men were murdered and all of these executions might have been prevented. To this day racial segregation, religion and other forms of discrimination still go on but something is being done about it. Innocent people are not being murdered because of three men who lost their lives due to discrimination. Even though these men are gone it is because of their death that people are still fighting for equality.
The Hippie Movement changed the politics and the culture in America in the 1960s. When the nineteen fifties turned into the nineteen sixties, not much had changed, people were still extremely patriotic, the society of America seemed to work together, and the youth of America did not have much to worry about, except for how fast their car went or what kind of outfit they should wear to the Prom. After 1963, things started to slowly change in how America viewed its politics, culture, and social beliefs, and the group that was in charge of this change seemed to be the youth of America. The Civil Rights Movement, President Kennedy’s death, new music, the birth control pill, the growing illegal drug market, and the Vietnam War seemed to blend together to form a new counterculture in America, the hippie.
The Vietnam War was well on its way by the time the Democratic Convention of 1968 rolled around, and so were the anti-war protests. After the Tet Offensive in the spring of 1968 and the famous Broadcast of Walter Cronkite, the American public had begun to lose trust in the plans of Lyndon Johnson for Vietnam, and was protesting for peace. The Democratic Convention was an important time and place for protestors to display their displeasure with the Vietnam War, as many important decisions were to be made. The Chicago Seven was made up of radical protestors from two main groups, the MOBES (National Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam) and the YIPPIES (Youth International Party). MOBE was the more politically focused of the two while the YIPPIES engaged in promoting an uninhibited lifestyle.
During the Vietnam War in the United States young men and women started to protest mainly against the war, but also against the Establishment—the values, tradition, and views of their parents. Those who rejected the Establishment became hippies, dropping out of society to live together in communes. “Make love, not war,” they demanded and “never trust anyone over thirty.” For the first time in society, drug use became widespread and young people experimented with new freedoms.