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There are many things that define the eventful, complex year of 1969, but the spirit of the time is depicted through contrast. President Richard Nixon struggled with balancing peace and American power. The spirit of the year is remembered by the struggle for peace and the conflict it created.
As it is often portrayed as a peaceful year, 1969 had its fair share of events that negatively impacted society. Differences in ideas, race, and culture caused a general upheaval among the people of the time. With so many different, extremely opposite beliefs, conflict was inevitable. In particular, minorities attracted disagreements sometimes resulting in violence. A prime example is the Stonewall riots. With New York law prohibiting homosexuality in public, the gay community grew angry especially because gay establishments were often being shut down and raided. A group of gay customers at the Stonewall Inn took a stand, causing the outbreak of a riot. This riot speaks to how drastic the different viewpoints of the year were and how people would resort to violence to be heard. Another example of violence due to differences in beliefs is the attack on the Black Panther party in Chicago. The party was an icon for the anti-war movement; they protested racism and African Americans being drafted. During this raid in Chicago, Sgt. Daniel Groth arrived, gun in hand, at a flat on Monroe St. that was a stronghold of the Black Panther Party. Seven minutes of gunfire resulted in the death of two Black Panther Party leaders, Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. These two iconic leaders made an impact in African American society and their death disrupted the movement for African American peace and equality. This murder displays the intense hostility in ’69 and ...
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...iews in society. These opposite viewpoints such as supporting peace and supporting war often ended in conflict and even violence. So did peace or violence determine the spirit of the time? There cannot be one without the other and with that said, the impact they had on each other is the best way to describe the spirit of ’69. The Vietnam War and riots are remembered right alongside the peaceful rallies and the hippie culture. Along with Nixon, American citizens struggled with the balance between peace and American power, even the “silent majority” (those who remained neutral). Everyone wanted freedom, but some expressed it through violence, some through peace, and some by doing nothing at all. 1969 will always be remembered as an interesting year and people will continue to incorporate the year’s positive aspects (peace, fashion, music, etc.) into today’s society.
The 1960’s was a time society fantasized of a better world. However, the horrors of the Vietnam War soon became evident; the mass amounts of death occurring because of the war became a reality. It created a “movement”, especially in American colleges, in order to stand up for what they believed to be “right”. By 1970, many Americans believed sending troops to Vietnam was a mistake, however there were also various individuals becoming increasingly critical of the student antiwar movement
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.
In this paper, I will be talking about the 1968 Riots and Gallaudet College during its weeklong take-over by the United States military. I will also briefly explain who Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was and why his death had impacted the Black community directly and how Gallaudet College was impacted as a result. I will be using several academic articles and journals written about this incident and use the Gallaudet Buff and Blue newsletters heavily for my main source as well as analytically.
Particularly during the Vietnam War, tensions had been brewing over civil rights and pacifist movements, often headed by young people or students who felt that the government were not listening to their opinions and interests. With the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, racial tensions came to a head, sparking riots and animosity towards the government, who some perceived as countering or hindering the civil rights movement. The police and National Guard reacted violently to these riots, and in the case of student protests, many of which were peaceful, such during as the 1970 Kent State ‘Massacre’ where four were killed and nine injured during an anti-war demonstration. This was particularly damning as unarmed students were killed, and the reaction was immense. The Kent State ‘Massacre’ made it clear that to many social dynamics, the police, and by extension the government, were becoming the
On April 4th, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, an event that would change history forever occurred. That was the day James Earl Ray assassinated the driving force of the Civil Rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. It shook the nation, as the man who was planning on bringing peace and racial harmony in the United States was killed in an instant. He was probably the most influential scapegoat in American history, setting out to create equality for all races in America. There were many extremist white-based groups which detested the idea of equality, believing that whites were superior over all, groups like the Ku Klux Klan. Martin Luther King did not back down when groups like the KKK harassed him; he used their hate against them and allowed it to thrust him forward for the sake of bettering his cause and pushing towards racial equality. In the end, Martin Luther King was assassinated for his passion and beliefs; his hard work paid off because after his death, there was at least legal racial equality in the U.S. His bravery and strength
In Living for the City, Donna Murch details the origins and the rise to prominence the Black Panther Party experienced during the 1960s and into the 1970s. The Civil Rights Movement and eventually the Black Panther Movement of Oakland, California emerged from the growing population of migrating Southern African Americans who carried with them the traditional strength and resolve of the church community and family values. Though the area was heavily driven by the massive movement of industrialization during World War II, the end of the war left a period of economic collapse and social chaos in its wake. The Black Panther Party was formed in this wake; driven by continuing violence against the African American youth by the local police forces, the Black Panther Party’s roots consisted mostly of educational meetings of local African American college students.
The Chicago riot was the most serious of the multiple that happened during the Progressive Era. The riot started on July 27th after a seventeen year old African American, Eugene Williams, did not know what he was doing and obliviously crossed the boundary of a city beach. Consequently, a white man on the beach began stoning him. Williams, exhausted, could not get himself out of the water and eventually drowned. The police officer at the scene refused to listen to eyewitness accounts and restrained from arresting the white man. With this in mind, African Americans attacked the police officer. As word spread of the violence, and the accounts distorted themselves, almost all areas in the city, black and white neighborhoods, became informed. By Monday morning, everyone went to work and went about their business as usual, but on their way home, African Americans were pulled from trolleys and beaten, stabbed, and shot by white “ruffians”. Whites raided the black neighborhoods and shot people from their cars randomly, as well as threw rocks at their windows. In retaliation, African Americans mounted sniper ambushes and physically fought back. Despite the call to the Illinois militia to help the Chicago police on the fourth day, the rioting did not subside until the sixth day. Even then, thirty eight
Even before the eve of the Revolution, the colonists constantly had the image of independence lingering in the back of their heads. The colonists felt that they were first on a loose leash, and as that leash tightened over the years, the colonists began to understand their true culture and identity. As time passed, the colonists developed a greater sense of their identity and unity as Americans and by the eve of the Revolution, even though at first the colonists were unorganized and had problems with being united, they remained determined to gain their identity and unity as Americans.
At this time, America saw itself as the "good guys" of the world. the war. By 1969, the supposed quick war was not over, the amount of. American casualties were rising, and the cost of war had increased. amount of taxes, which frustrated the American people.
Growing up in the post-Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, most US citizens have a broad and unspecific knowledge of this movement and its effects. Even fewer citizens know the causes and the driving factors of the movement. The Dredd Scott Decision, and Plessy v. Ferguson were two of the driving forces behind social change in the 1960s. There is a simple progression of American civil laws and the precedence they carry; likewise, the change in the American ideas of equality, and the interpretation of the 13th-15th amendments forged the way for these court cases to hold credence.
Police brutality has been an apparent mark on the struggles, trials, and tribulations of people of minorities for years, primarily Black people. From the times of slavery to the present unlawful targeting and murders of black citizens with no justification, police brutality has been an enema in Black American culture for hundreds of years. Seen both in James Baldwin’s “Going to Meet the Man” and in the current happenings of the United States. The hashtag “#BlackLivesMatter” has been a focal point in the current struggle for equality of the races. The current outpouring of support for black lives and
The 1960’s was an era of constant turmoil as a result of the fight for equal rights for all races, a fight led by the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. Even before they were both murdered, the mostly peaceful Civil Rights movement was gaining traction, but still actually gaining equal rights at a painfully slow pace. Founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, the Black Panther Party emerged as a revolutionary group who aimed to change not only the unfair government but the slow pace at which the Civil Rights Movement was progressing. In the late 1960’s and the 1970’s, The Black Panther’s consistently stood up for their beliefs on Civil Rights and were successful in changing it into
In the 1960s it was a hard time for black Americans. There was a revolution being driven by two well know black civil rights leaders. The first phase of the revolution was driven by a young Islamic black man, Malcolm X, who was a spokesperson for the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X was adamant that blacks needed to take care of their own business. In the issue of black integration in American culture. Malcolm X had the ability to reach any one member of the black nation in America. This revolution was cut short on a sad day in February of 1965, when Malcolm X was assassinated. This left a void in the hearts of the people who he had touched upon in his revolt. This was where things began to get funky.
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.
The mid 60’s was the era when there was an outburst of riots. In the summer of 1964, Blacks rioted in Harlem, Rochester and Philadelphia. They attacked both police and property. The violence and destruction became more massive the following summer. There were riots in the Watts section of LA, and then in Chicago, Springfield, Mass and again in Philly. Ghetto violence rose again in 1966 with 18 different riots, and peaked in 1967 with 31 riots, of which Newark and Detroit were the worst. The assasination of Martin Luther King Jr.