...Political Movements in the 20th Century HUM/300 Political Movements in the 20th Century During the 20th century several major political events took place that changed the worldwide view of civilization and shook up the collective consciousness. World War I and II showed the dark side of technology when used to hurt humanity. Civil movements surged around the world as a result of minorities trying to regain their identity, which various governments throughout the world restricted. The authors will examine major political events that had a notable effect on the 20th century, including, the influences of World War I and II, the surge of the Civil Rights Movement, and the Gender Equality Movement. The author’s examination will consider the works of artists and how his or her creative expression reflected the mood of the era. Political Events: World War I and II World War I (WWI) started in 1914, and lasted through 1918. The political event that triggered this war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The war tactics employed in World War I changed the methods and strategies in future conflicts bringing more devastation. Some of the new strategies included trench warfare, chemical warfare, and upgraded technology; it introduced chemical weapons including chlorine and phosgene, which produced devastating damages. The exposure to high levels of these gases resulted in temporary blindness, difficulty...
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...The Civil Rights Movement is popularly known to have started in the mid 1950’s—but I do agree with Jacquelyn Dowd Hall’s article “The Long Civil Rights Movement and the Political Uses of the Past” that the Civil Rights movement did not begin so late. Structurally, culturally, and ideologically the Civil Rights movement began decades before the nation became aware of it. The work of civil rights activists such as A Philip Randolph, beginning in the mid 1920’s, affected change in the structure of government by pushing for anti-discriminatory legislation for Black workers. Further affecting structural institutions was the effect that World War II had on Black Americans, who were disillusioned by the hypocrisy of the United States fighting for...
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...Music of the 1960s and its Effects on American Popular Culture by Jennifer Frondelli April 17th, 2013 Music of the 1960s Thesis: The music of the 1960s had a significant effect on the public opinions of the time on topics such as the Vietnam War and the subsequent draft, the civil rights movement, and the Cold War. I. Introduction a. Thesis Statement II. The Vietnam War and the draft a. Prominent Artists 1. Simon & Garfunkel 2. The Rolling Stones 3. Creedence Clearwater Revival b. Public Opinion 1. Anti-War 2. Anti-Draft 3. Protests III. The Civil Rights Movement a. Gospel 1. Martin Luther King Jr. 2. Church Gatherings 3. Protests b. African American Music 1. Jazz 2. Freedom Singers 3. Folk, Rock 'n' Roll, Blues, Soul c. Prominent Songs/Hymns 1. “We Shall Overcome” 2. “Oh Freedom” 3. “Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Us Around” IV. The Cold War a. Themes 1. Potential Nuclear Attack 2. American/Soviet Nationalism 3. Symbolism b. Prominent Artists 1. Bob Dylan 2. Simon & Garfunkel 3. Joan Baez c. Influence V. Conclusion a. Thesis Statement The 1960s was, historically, a significant decade in America. The country underwent many changes both politically and culturally. From the presidential assassinations, to the social revolutions by the younger generations, to the war raging across half way around the world, the 1960s were a time of both societal...
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...Alex Hasson Professor Covington Intro to Politics March 12, 2015 The importance of Social Movements “A social movement that only moves people is merely a revolt. A movement that changes both people and institutions is a revolution.”(MLK) Social movements take on all kinds of forms throughout history. Social movements can be described by many things and are made up of different people and ideas. Social movements can have extreme impacts on an entire nation. Social movements take on many different form and have many different interest in what they want to get out of it. They can tear down societies and build new ones or create equality and change for others. While some movements don’t last long they put ideas in people’s heads and can create a whole new wonderful thing. Social movements are loosely organized but sustained campaign in support of a social goal. They are either trying to create a social change or stop one from happening. Social movements are not just a gathering of people in a crowd. This is due to the fact the a crowd cannot have single voice if it is not brought together by some type of leadership and will completely disburse if not held together by a strong centralized leadership with a common ideal. (Britannica)Social movements must have capable leaders. (Dobson) Grievances of people are a large way for a social movement to begin with a certain aspect controlling or causing grievance to people help motivate people to come together and make change to benefit...
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...cultural movement began in 1960s in the wake of Vietnam war. The young people were frustrated due to racism, gender issues, consumerism, and the conservative nature of society in general. They were looking for a change and found it in the emerging counter cultural movements of 1960s. The youngsters began to question the traditional values and culture of the Orthodox American society. They welcomed sex, drugs and pop music. The counter culture movement reached its heights in 1969, when the young people attended the Woodstock Music and Art Festival at Newyork. The festival became a symbol of anti-war movement. The festival was a mixture of hippie, pop and drug culture. One of the notable feature of the counter culture movement was the sexual freedom and rise of feminism. There was a steep rise in abortions, orphans and divorce. Political activism on the part of women resulted in the formation of National organization for Women (NOW). Other than women, homosexuals were also raised their voice for equality which was later included the Civil Rights issue. Stone Wall Inn riots in 1969 and the establishment of Gay Liberation Front were important steps in their struggle for civil rights. The counter cultural sentiments were also expressed in movies and arts. The movement did not limit in North America alone, but spread to Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. An international rock and roll group from Britain known as the Beatles was widely popular. The counter culture movement had merits...
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...After the Civil War and the reorganizing of the Southern states, Black Americans inaugurated a crusade and difficult journey for sanctioned racial equality. Members of the Radical G.O.P. assisted Blacks by bringing forth legislations such as the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendment; however, White anti-Black supremacists in the Southern States ignored these laws and made certain that Blacks remained fearful, and away from the voting booths. Several strategies employed by the Whites hindered and kept Black Americans from acting upon their newfound Civil Rights laws. Some of these tactics included: poll taxes, testing Blacks for their ability to read, and write and that also familiar, public lynching’s were employed by the Black Codes. Even though the Civil War ended, racial disapproval, and destruction in the Southern States continued (Bowles, 2011). The Compromise of 1877 ruined the chances of Blacks to depart from a life of farmers and inferior citizenship. Along with many injustices Black Americans faced following the Civil War, only strengthen their efforts, and never once consider giving up the fight for equality. After Black Americans battled in the war between the North and South, the social and racial environment was very crucial in America, and insisted upon immediate attention. Blacks were thought of as contraband of war before they were authorized to contribute to the war effort; however, Black soldiers attained the legal right to take part...
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...counterculture. The counterculture was a group of movements focused on achieving personal and cultural liberation, was embraced by the decade’s young Americans. It included rejection of conventional social norms, reaction to political conservatism of the Cold War period and to extensive Military intervention in Vietnam, and the rejection of racial segregation (lect.,”Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll”, week 6). Because many Americans were members of the different movements in the counterculture, the counterculture influenced American society. As a result of the achievements the counterculture movements made, the United States in the 1960s became a more open, more tolerant, and a freer country. One of the most powerful counterculture movements in the sixties was the civil rights movement. In 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act to end racial discrimination in employment, institutions like hospitals and schools, and privately owned public accommodations. In 1965, congress returned suffrage to black southerners, by passing the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Foner 2009). In the case of Loving v. Virginia (1967), the Supreme Court ruled that laws prohibiting interracial marriage were unconstitutional(Foner 2009) . Because of the civil rights movement in the sixties, minorities gained more rights than they had prior to the 1960s. During this time, a group of writers became known for jump-starting the rebellion of the youth culture. They were called the Beats and symbolized underground...
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...DISC 1313 December 4, 2015 Music and The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s All forms of Black music, from jazz to rock and roll, played an important part in the Civil Rights Movement. The songs were sung for multiple purposes and played a critical role in inspiring, activating, and giving voice to the people involved. The evolution of music during the early 1950’s and 1960’s in the Black freedom struggle reflects the evolution of the Civil Rights Movement itself. The progressive thought of the 1950s nurtured new ideas and cultures including the Civil Rights Movement and the fast spread of rock and roll. One such cultural revival occurred after the end of World War II during a time of change, prosperity and restoration. The “Puritan dicta” outlined by Baldwin represents the American ideology before the Second World War. As the first settlers of this nation, the Puritans set the mold for many common American ideologies. In the Puritan view white represented good and black represented evil, including Africans and their culture. After the war, Baldwin states that the former puritanical views of whites will be challenged. Musicians such as Elvis Presley were the first to issue this challenge to white society. Early rockers like Elvis would pave the way for social commentary in music that would add much fire to the Civil Rights Movement. To fully understand the explosion of popularity of Black music in the years following World War II, one must understand the social conditions...
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...was growing up, one of the great elements of American culture was the protest song. There were songs about the civil rights movement, the women's rights movement, the antiwar movement. It wasn't just Bob Dylan, it was everybody at the time.” Said by George Clooney an American actor, director, producer, screenwriter, activist, businessman, and philanthropist. As he said, the 60s and 70s were decades of change that happened in America. The civil right movement, anti-war movement, counterculture, feminist movement and all those protests took place in America, had changed all aspects of U.S in certain ways. Led Americans to question authority, seek public policy and challenge traditionalism. The most significant event during...
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...The American Civil War, simply know as the Civil War throughout the United States was fought from 1861 to 1865. It was a fight between the north and the south, formally referred to as the Confederacy and the Union. The origin of the war revolved around the pressing issue of slavery, especially the expansion of slavery into the western territories. In 1865, after four years of bloodshed that left over 600,000 Confederate and Union soldiers dead, the Confederacy collapsed and much of the south’s infrastructure had been destroyed. The Civil War had come to an end. Slavery was abolished and the difficult process of restoring national unity and guaranteeing civil rights to the freed slaves began. This period is noted in history as the Reconstruction Era. Working towards a progressive tomorrow, the American Civil War marked the start of a dramatic shift in America’s thinking. At the start of the Reconstruction Era (post Civil War), the South was left torn apart. Roads and houses needed to be rebuilt and the people needed assistance. From 1863 to 1865, presidents Andrew Johnson and Abraham Lincoln took adequate steps designed solely for the purpose of bringing the South back to a level of economic stability. Radical Republicans consisted of American politicians within the Republican Party. They supported the rights of African Americans to vote, hold political office, and have the same economic and legal freedoms and opportunities as the whites. During the whole of the Reconstruction...
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...African American trying to earn true inequality in civil rights movements, free spirited hippie era and the closing of the Vietnam War. Many of those events that happened in that decade has been prolific in are day in age now and the strides in development in our country today. The cultural arts in this time period were creative but also very powerful. The way they dressed, and music that was listened to reflects to who they were and what they represent and allowed them to express themselves. . The 1960’s was a major part of American history in so...
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...American culture as the root and foundational source. field and subject that deals with and is devoted to the study academic subject.  Black studies is critical due to the fact that so many supposed authorities on black studies only know half of our history themselves. We must go deeper and start right from the beginning and critical dissect, study and “peel back the layers“ that are continuously evolving in thought and practice of African and African American people. Dispora is the dispersing of people from their original homeland, in this case African people. African diaspora is the dispersing of communities throughout the world as a  result of the movement of peoples from Africa, predominantly to America, the Caribbean and South America,...
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...* Essays » * History World War Ii Through the 1970's By micahneisha33, March 2013 | 9 Pages (2,045 Words) | 402 Views | Report | ------------------------------------------------- This is a Premium essay Sign Up to access full essay * * * * * * March 3, 2013 In this paper I will go into details explains two major historical turning points that occurred during the period of World War II through the 1970’s, and the effect it had on today’s society, economy, politics and culture. In this paper I will also give two reasons why in the late 30’s Americans wanted to remain out of the European conflict. In this paper I will talk about the role women played to helped win World War II, will describes two civil rights breakthroughs, explain two ways the Vietnam War brought political awareness to a new generation of young Americans and I will talk about two programs that president Lyndon Johnson Great Society Agenda had put into effect and that are still into effect today. A turning point was in 1962, the world experienced a threat so real, so dangerous, and so deadly; that any believed Armageddon was approaching. The Cuban Missile Crisis was undoubtedly the closest the world has come to nuclear war in its entire existence. The presence of Soviet nuclear warheads on Cuban soil, less than 100 miles from the coast of Florida shocked the world. The discovery of the missiles was completely unexpected; the public's reaction was not. Thousands...
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...Assignment: A movement that is changing the world Shadrach Diamond Kaplan University SS 310-06 April 25, 2012 The 1960s was a decade filled with changes that had an effect on the nation and the world like none other. During this period, Civil Rights movements took place, the country was at war, a U.S. president was assassinated, and humans walked on the moon. Music and television were creating a completely different culture. For the first time a presidential election was broadcast on TV giving millions of Americans the ability see this event, and the Beatles were influencing the youth with their magical music and lyrics. The events that occurred in this decade not only touched this planet as a whole, but it also made an impression on my personal life. The city I live in saw a big change during the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. New Orleans, Louisiana, has a large black population who shared the same dream that Martin Luther King spoke about at the Capital. “On August 28, 1963, more than 250,000 people from across the nation came together in Washington, D.C. to peacefully demonstrate their support for the passage of a meaningful civil rights bill, an end to racial segregation in schools and the creation of jobs for the unemployed” (Hansan, n.d.). Martin Luther King Jr. was a pioneer for the Civil Rights movement who encouraged other people to follow him and help change the country’s laws. Because of the advancements in the Civil Rights movement for...
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...The Role of the American Government in creating Race Wars and Racial Tension There has been a long standing history of cultural divide in this country. The United States of America was built upon this premise. Race has always been a defining factor of what position you have been placed in society. America was founded upon a revolutionary approach, and once America was conquered by Europe, they set their government up to only include Europeans. The system was developed by Anglo-Saxons as a self-serving mechanism that excluded all other races. The Native Americans experienced this first hand when their country was occupied by British, French, and Spanish crusaders. This, amongst other invasions, led to the first examples of racial wars and tension in American history. We have seen this play out throughout the generations of our ancestors, who have experienced this state of racial tension, segregation, and slave ownership on both sides of the equation. America has always had racial tension from its inception. Several Civil Wars have occurred on American soil, and race has been an issue in most of them. We have been taught in society that being a certain race can define your future and potential for success. This has been proven in every aspect of American life. The infrastructure of the United States was built by several different races, some by choice, and some through slavery, and this is the driving force behind the deep seeded tension experienced by current Americans today...
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