Martin Luther King Jr

Who is Martin Luther King? 

Martin Luther King is one of the most remembered leaders during the civil rights movement of the 1960's. He was a baptist minister and social activist, who led the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. Thanks to the leadership and initiative that King had, he was able to helped put a stop to the segregation between the Whites and the African Americans in the South and in other areas as well. He was also another key to the creation of the civil rights act of 1964 and the voting rights of 1965. Thanks to all of the contributions that King gave to his community and the impact that he made on society to change the relationships between the Whites and the African Americans, he was able to receive a Nobel Peace Prize among other awards for his contributions.

On the night that Rosa Parks was arrested for not following the rule of African Americans needing to be sitting in the back of the bus, Martin Luther King was elected to lead the boycott. Thanks to the boycott that King was able to lead and the participation of many African Americans, the rule about where certain races could sit on the bus changed, creating a huge positive step for change among the community that has been segregated.

Martin Luther King was also different from other leaders during the time of the civil rights movement because he was a leader that protested peacefully. He was a leader that wanted to bring all races together, rather than separating them and creating one race be the most superior. For example, Malcolm X was a leader that prefer to take different measures in which would be more violent. He didn't really care bringing the races together but rather just having the African American community be treated fairly and equally, and if that wasn't something that would be reached then he would resort to violence in order for the Black community to get what they want.

Martin Luther King is most known for his "I Have a Dream" speech. It is a speech that was well spoken and well written because it was able to appeal to the audience and was able to point out the problem that "separate but equal" is not fair. He would bring the idea of having all races come together, and living in a society in which no one would be judged for their ethnicity but rather their character and the type of person that they are.




Sources:

http://www.biography.com/people/martin-luther-king-jr-9365086#the-southern-christian-leadership-conference

Women's Liberation Movement

Inspired by the success of the civil rights movement, the women's liberation movement developed and pushed for greater socioeconomic equality for women. It challenged the representation of women in the media, violence against women, and societal values that limited women. During the movement, many women saw a connection between circumstances in their personal life and in the larger world, which lead to the spread of "the personal is political". Betty Friedan's 1963 book, the Feminine Mystique also inspired many women to challenge traditional expectations of middle class women. Friedan, notably, was also one of the many women who founded the National Organization for Women in 1966. It was the leading liberal organization supporting women's rights. Another important development was the national magazine Ms., founded by Gloria Steinem, Letty Cottin Pogrebin and many others. Many women's rights groups also developed out of New Left activist groups, however even within these groups, women were frustrated by their second- class treatment.

An important event during the women's rights movement was the 1968 protest at the Miss America Pageant. This was the first time that many Americans heard about the women's liberation in the media. The pageant in American culture revealed much about society's attitudes and expectations for women. The women's rights movement protested the standards of beauty and validation by men that were perpetuated by the Miss America Pageant. 

Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 was another important success of the movement. Title IX banned sex discrimination in all aspects of education-- in faculty hiring, admissions, and even in student bodies. This also had a major impact on funding for female sports teams at college and high school levels.

Sources:

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/brief-history-womens-rights-movements

The Great Society

President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society programs marked the peak of liberal agenda in American politics. In this program, Johnson hoped to create a series of programs that would end racial discrimination, alleviate poverty, and address other pressing social issues.

Johnson took office following the assassination of President Kennedy. His domestic programs reached remarkable efficiency that were comparable to the New Deal. Ultimately, the "Great Society" failed to grow with the costly and largely unpopular war with Vietnam.

A major goal of the program was to eliminate poverty in America. The Great Society developments included welfare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, and public housing. Johnson also created the Office of Economic Opportunity, which oversaw many of these initiatives. Despite the boldness of these new initiatives, poverty was embedded in American society and too difficult to eradicate within such a short period. The war with Vietnam also became costly, taking billions of dollars that could have been used to fund antipoverty programs.

Sources:

http://www.pbs.org/johngardner/chapters/4c.html

Postwar Suburbia

Following WWII, many Americans relocated to suburbs and towards the "sun belt". Economical growth, federal spending, the baby boom, expansion of higher education, and technological advancements all lead to this demographic change.

Earlier residential suburbs were often built around commuter railroad stations in the late nineteenth century. But post- WWII, suburbs witnessed unprecedented growth. New suburban communities were built outside of major cities due to the housing crunch created by returning soldiers. Large numbers of these soldiers married, had children, and sought affordable housing. Because of the G.I. Bill, many veterans could now access low-interest loans to purchase homes and attend college.

Race also influenced the development of suburbs. Several white Americans wanted to move away from communities in the south that had become integrated because of African American work in war industries.

Developers also facilitated the growth of suburbia. William Levitt, for example renovated land outside of cities to create large developments of identical looking houses. These houses were mass produced, quickly and cheaply.

The expansion of Federal and local highways also attracted Americans to suburbs. Following the Interstate Highway Act, people could now access cities easily from the suburbs. The interstate highways system also promoted defense measures, allowing Americans to safely leave their communities to go to the city. 

Despite all these developments that lead to the growth of suburbia, it should be noted that not Americans shared prosperity to do so. As upper-middle class and middle class families left the cities, they also took with them the ability to pay taxes for the city. The tax bases of cities shrunk dramatically and meant that cities could not allocate as much money to public education or even policing. Crime became prevalent and school systems failed. This made suburbs even more attractive to middle- class families. 

Sources:

http://www.ushistory.org/us/53b.asp

Antonin Scalia and the Rise of Modern Conservatism

The Civil Rights Movements that took place during the 1950’s, the 1960’s, and the

1970’s served as big blows towards the Republican party and their conservative ideology. The 1960’s in particular witnessed a tremendous fall in popularity for the Republican party, which can easily be seen in the presidential elections of 1964. Lyndon B. Johnson, the former vice-president of John F. Kennedy. Had no problem in beating Barry Goldwater. Johnson had been able to associate himself with the popularity of President Kennedy, and his ideas for the Great Society appealed to many underrepresented groups that wanted different forms of assistance. Lyndon Johnson was also a big supporter of the Civil Rights Movements that were taking place at the time. Barry Goldwater, on the other hand, could not see eye-to-eye with the general public on many issues. He rejected Johnson’s ideas for a Great Society just like he rejected the Civil Rights Acts of 1964. Goldwater was also not a big supporter of the Civil Rights Movements. His ideas and his tendencies made him an easy target for Lyndon Johnson. President Johnson repeatedly portrayed Goldwater as a dangerous right-wing extremist that did not care about civil rights nor the well-being of others. As a result, Johnson won by one of the biggest landslides that has ever been seen in the history of American presidential elections.

Despite Goldwater’s inability to wage a successful presidential campaign many

political analysts would say that ultimately Goldwater won something much more valuable than a presidential election. His ideas served as the basis for modern right-wing conservatism, a response to the liberal tendencies of the Democrat party and the actions of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movements. While liberals and progressives were fighting for new laws and new measures the new wave of conservatism would look to return to some of the old ways that the country used to live by. Thus Goldwater became known as the father of modern conservatism. The effects of his actions were visible with the election of President Nixon and President Reagan, both of whom were conservatives and somewhat strict interpreters of the Constitution. It was indeed President Reagan that would appoint Antonin Scalia, one of the greatest justices of the Supreme Court in the history of our country. Scalia would go one to become instrumental in the rise of conservatism. His opposition to affirmative action and his advocation for originalism in constitutional interpretation would lead him to make important decisions that would only cause a new conservatism movement to grow even more.

Antonin Scalia

One of these decisions was the decision in the case of District of Columbia v.

Heller, in which Antonin Scalia would become one of the first judges ever to grant an individual the right to bear arms based on the Second Amendment. Some of his other decisions would not be so popular, however. Towards the end more and more women were demanding their right to abortion. The decision in the case of Roe v. Wade marked a huge step in the right direction for many of these female activists. However, Scalia would then try to overturn the decision on the case of Roe v. Wade, arguing that anti-sodomy laws were unconstitutional. Scalia always dissented on decisions that it was unconstitutional to execute mentally disabled or teenage

prisoners. He also disapproved of the Miranda decision, the decision that required police officers to read prisoners their rights.

Antonin Scalia had a legacy that was very different to the legacies that were

left behind by other judges. Scalia was a conservative at a time where it was not normal to be a conservative. He protected conservative values at a time were progressive movements were gaining more and more momentum. It is figures like him that make us ask ourselves what would happen to our country in the next few years. Will our country continue on its progressive path, or will more and more people go back to promote the conservative values that have existed in our country for a long time?

The African-American Civil Rights Movement Then and Now

For many Americans the 1950’s was somewhat of a dream. After years of

struggle and turmoil millions of American men were ready to go back to their homes with their families and restart their lives. Years of economic depression and global war had left the Americans with no wish for any more conflicts. Most of them simply wanted to rest and enjoy the good things of life, something that many of them had not been able to do for years. However, the outcomes of the Second World War left many yearning for more. After working in factories and serving the U.S. Army many women felt as if they had now proven themselves to be equal to their male counterparts. Similarly, after making great contributions for the United States in the Second World War many African-Americans felt as if they had finally showed that they deserved the same rights that White Americans had enjoyed for many decades. Nevertheless, their pursuit for civil rights would not be easy. African-Americans would face tremendous opposition from politicians and conservative groups, particularly from the South, that would try to stop the process by any means possible. This internal conflict would lead to turmoil within America at an already troubled time when the United States was already start to face the Soviet Union in a Cold War that threatened the safety of Americans and the existence of capitalism. In both the First and the Second World War the United States had tried to act as the champion of freedom and the great leader of democracy throughout the entire globe. However, the Civil Rights Movement reminded Americans that despite the way they were trying to portray themselves to the rest of the world the country still had many issues to solve.

In 1963, one-hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation, African-Americans

in the South were still living in an unequal world of disenfranchisement, segregation, and other forms of oppression. The “Jim Crow” laws that had been instituted at the state level had also ensured that African-Americans would never had an access to certain classrooms, bathrooms, theaters, train cars, juries, and legislatures. Such living conditions forced many African-Americans to resort to different kinds of protest. Figures such Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. would rise to prominence during this era and rekindle the dreams of many African-Americans of one day being able to live just like their White counterparts did. Like any other process, the Civil Rights Movement took place in different stages and it was marked by different achievements that were made by the African-American community.

W.e.b. DuBois(top left), Malcolm X(top right), Martin Luther King, Jr(bottom left), Rosa Parks(bottom right)

The first few victories of the Civil Rights Movement were the Civil Rights Acts

of 1957 and 1960, laws that gave African-American moderate gains. Another great victory was the decision that the Supreme Court made in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954. This decision allowed African-Americans to go to the same schools as White Americans, which simply reversed the decision that the Supreme Court had made in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson. Nevertheless, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was arguably the single greatest piece of legislation that was ever passed in favor of minorities. It added on the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960, and it validated the rights of African-Americans that had been denied for

generations. In addition, the Voting Rights Acts of 1965 extended the right to vote to all African-Americans.

The African-American Civil Rights Movement was a movement whose overall

purpose was to give African-Americans the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality. Many would believe that such a movement would have died away, especially when we compare the living conditions of many African-Americans now to the living conditions of African-Americans in 1950. Nevertheless, it seems as if in the minds of many these struggles for civil rights just do not stop. Nowadays many are still talking about “white privilege”, racial profiling, and the idea that our country is still as racist as it was back then. To say that institutionalized racism in our country is just as big as it was fifty years ago would be absolutely preposterous. Nevertheless, as we saw in the “Jim Crow” South and the decision of Plessy v. Ferguson, racism does not have to be institutionalized at a national level in order to become a problem. Racism is something that can become a problem any time someone discriminates against someone else, even if it is not encouraged by laws. Therefore, it is hard not to think about why civil rights movements are still taking place nowadays. Maybe the only difference between our society today and our society fifty years ago is that back then racism is institutionalized and today it is not.

The Space Race and Education In American Schools

The Cold War was obviously a strenuous period for many people all across

the United States. Just like the Second World War, the Cold War was able to change the lives of millions of Americans in many ways. Some of these changes were unpleasant, but other changes were for the better. One aspect of American life that truly changed at a frenetic pace throughout the entire Cold War was education. The Space Race encouraged many Americans to seek for jobs as engineers and scientists so that the United States would not lag behind their Soviet counterparts. This shift extended into American schools, where students were now being encouraged to take math and science classes and told to excel in those subjects. However, American schools were not always this way. There was a time where parents and adults felt that school was being far too easy on American teenagers. Some would joke that while Soviet teenagers were studying and reading books at their school libraries American teenagers were dancing and flirting at school dances. Many felt that this relaxed pace and apathetic behavior over education was causing the United States to fall considerably behind the Soviet Union in science and technology. It would take a major event for the Americans to realize just how far behind they were, and how much work they had ahead of them in order to ever catch up with the Soviets.

As the Cold War continued to touch every single aspect of American and Soviet lives

both sides began to feel that competitive itch against each other. One of their main competition was the famous Arms Race, a competition in which each nation was spending exorbitant amounts of money on nuclear weapons and defense. Soon space exploration would also serve as an arena for Cold War competition. Exploration was something that the Americans had always felt they were good at. The concept of Manifest Destiny had allowed them to take over new lands and thrive in adverse conditions. Some Americans felt that space was no exception. To them, space exploration was a new step in the history of the United States, and to let any other country have more success in space exploration would be completely unacceptable. Therefore, when the Americans received the news about the launch of a Soviet R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile named Sputnik not too many Americans were thrilled. Sputnik’s successful launch showed the Americans just how far the Soviets had gone in their own projects for exploration, and it gave them a sense of urgency to not only emulate what the Soviets had done but to also surpass whatever the Soviets had ever done.

This renewed sense of urgency led to the rise of the National Aeronautics and

Space Administration, which is today more commonly known as NASA. This was a federal agency that would be dedicated to space exploration. President Eisenhower would also create two national security-oriented space programs that would operate simultaneously with NASA’s programs. The first program was spearheaded by the United States Air Force. This organization was dedicated towards exploiting the military potential of space. The second program was led by the Central Intelligence Agency, which is today more commonly referred to as the CIA. It was

also partly led by the Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office. This second programs would use orbiting satellites to gather intelligence on the Soviet Union and its allies. Overall, the combination of these two programs would represent an attempt by the Americans to not only match the Soviet but to also overpower them.

However, the creation of these programs did not seem to worry the Soviets at

all. In fact, after the launch of Sputnik in 1957 the Soviets continued to make gigantic steps in their space exploration. In 1959 they launched Luna 2, the first space probe to hit the moon. In April of 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit the Earth. He would travel in a capsule-like spacecraft that was named Vostok I. The United States would soon follow suit in their own efforts of exploration. In March of 1961 Alan Shepard became the first American astronaut in space. Later, President Kennedy would make the bold claim that before the end of the decade the United States would land a man on the moon. It becomes very easy to notice that both countries were captivated with the Space Race, and that neither side wanted to give up any advantages. However, later it becomes important to see how this overall sentiment of urgency and patriotism translated into education reforms.

Sputnik

American education was undergoing reforms even before the launch of

Sputnik. In fact, the earliest reforms took place in the early 1950’s and they were spurred by the investment of the National Science Foundation. Some would go as far as saying that the launch of Sputnik was not the main reason for education reforms in the United States. Perhaps the biggest reasons were the publication of a book on “Soviet Professional Manpower” and the Soviet detonation of the hydrogen bomb, both of which happened in 1955. Whatever the reason was, it is safe to assume that the competitive relationship that the United States had with the Soviet Union catalyzed the improvements in education and other changes that took place within the United States.

It would be hard to compare the era we live in to the Cold War. Nevertheless, even

today we see how different aspects of education in the United States change over time. It makes us wonder whether or not we are ever going to achieve a definite system and standard for education. Or maybe our education system will never stop changing.