Students & Peace Movement
History Notes
Baby Boomers:
- After WW11 America entered a great time of prosperity benefiting from a war
economy.
- BUT the older generations wanted to return to the way things were…
= Conventional, safe family traditions.
- The students protesting in the 1960s were the off-spring of those soldiers who
returned home from WW2.
- Youth grew up with privilege, few concerns and relative financial affluence.
= A total rejection of their parents' way of life.
- Young people spend more years in school and are more affluent than previous
generations.
- Young people stayed with their peers for at least 12 years.
- College campuses in particular team with young people who had the freedom to
question the moral and spiritual health of the Nation.
REASONS FOR CHANGE & PROTESTS -
Contradictions at Home:
- America's role as a global power gay people who were advocating social change
with a powerful argument. (Help others)
- They argued that America's global leadership made American social problems
not simply domestic problems but international ones.
Unequal Economic Prosperity:
- Incomes increased in the United States after World War 2 and more Americans
went into the middle class.
- in 1945 and 1960 the gross national product of the US increased.
- But not everyone shared this new national prosperity and those who didn't
wondered why.
= Discrimination of a major role.
= Against black people and women.
, The Changing Role of Federal Government:
- Many Americans had come to believe that the Federal Government had the
responsibility to protect them from unfair and unjust social forces.
The New Left:
- Was a broad political movement made in the 1960s and 1970s campaigning for
social issues such as civil and political rights, feminism, gay-rights,
abortion-rights, gender roles and drug policy reforms.
- Was a new political party.
PEACE MOVEMENTS -
Protests Against Nuclear Weapons:
- Protesters were concerned the future nuclear explosions would have devastating
effects on people and long-lasting effects on the environment.
- Einstein and Oppenheimer both spoke out against the dangers of nuclear
weapons and using nuclear weapons.
- In the UK 1957 both the Direct action committee (DAC) and the campaign for
nuclear disarmament (CND) were formed by pacifists demanding the total
renunciation of nuclear war by the UK and all other countries.
- In 1958 the famous and universal peace sign was designed.
March on Aldermaston (1958):
- One of the biggest matches ever organized against the development of nuclear
Arms.
- Organized by the DAC and the CND.
- Consisted of a march that lasted for four days over the Easter weekend.
- Went from Trafalgar Square in London to a town called Aldermaston.
- Aldermaston was where the British atomic weapons research establishment was.
- The March was attended by over 20,000 people.
- They adopted the slogan “Ban the bomb.”
- The March was repeated over many years and the CND movement gained
support.
Consequences of the March:
- Organizations similar to the CND spread across the world and gained support.
- Ban the bomb marches became headline news in the nuclear and non-nuclear
Nations.
History Notes
Baby Boomers:
- After WW11 America entered a great time of prosperity benefiting from a war
economy.
- BUT the older generations wanted to return to the way things were…
= Conventional, safe family traditions.
- The students protesting in the 1960s were the off-spring of those soldiers who
returned home from WW2.
- Youth grew up with privilege, few concerns and relative financial affluence.
= A total rejection of their parents' way of life.
- Young people spend more years in school and are more affluent than previous
generations.
- Young people stayed with their peers for at least 12 years.
- College campuses in particular team with young people who had the freedom to
question the moral and spiritual health of the Nation.
REASONS FOR CHANGE & PROTESTS -
Contradictions at Home:
- America's role as a global power gay people who were advocating social change
with a powerful argument. (Help others)
- They argued that America's global leadership made American social problems
not simply domestic problems but international ones.
Unequal Economic Prosperity:
- Incomes increased in the United States after World War 2 and more Americans
went into the middle class.
- in 1945 and 1960 the gross national product of the US increased.
- But not everyone shared this new national prosperity and those who didn't
wondered why.
= Discrimination of a major role.
= Against black people and women.
, The Changing Role of Federal Government:
- Many Americans had come to believe that the Federal Government had the
responsibility to protect them from unfair and unjust social forces.
The New Left:
- Was a broad political movement made in the 1960s and 1970s campaigning for
social issues such as civil and political rights, feminism, gay-rights,
abortion-rights, gender roles and drug policy reforms.
- Was a new political party.
PEACE MOVEMENTS -
Protests Against Nuclear Weapons:
- Protesters were concerned the future nuclear explosions would have devastating
effects on people and long-lasting effects on the environment.
- Einstein and Oppenheimer both spoke out against the dangers of nuclear
weapons and using nuclear weapons.
- In the UK 1957 both the Direct action committee (DAC) and the campaign for
nuclear disarmament (CND) were formed by pacifists demanding the total
renunciation of nuclear war by the UK and all other countries.
- In 1958 the famous and universal peace sign was designed.
March on Aldermaston (1958):
- One of the biggest matches ever organized against the development of nuclear
Arms.
- Organized by the DAC and the CND.
- Consisted of a march that lasted for four days over the Easter weekend.
- Went from Trafalgar Square in London to a town called Aldermaston.
- Aldermaston was where the British atomic weapons research establishment was.
- The March was attended by over 20,000 people.
- They adopted the slogan “Ban the bomb.”
- The March was repeated over many years and the CND movement gained
support.
Consequences of the March:
- Organizations similar to the CND spread across the world and gained support.
- Ban the bomb marches became headline news in the nuclear and non-nuclear
Nations.
