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Other protest movements: students, women and anti-Vietnam
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The civil rights movement inspired other groups. In the 1960s and early 1970s, students and women also campaigned for change.
Students
The Berkeley Free Speech Movement (1964) protested against bans on political activity at the University of California.
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) called for more democracy and opposed the Vietnam War.
Anti-Vietnam protests: draft-card burning, marches and campus sit-ins.
Hippies rejected mainstream values in a 'counter-culture'.
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) called for more democracy and opposed the Vietnam War.
Anti-Vietnam protests: draft-card burning, marches and campus sit-ins.
Hippies rejected mainstream values in a 'counter-culture'.
Women
Eleanor Roosevelt chaired a presidential commission on the status of women (1961) that showed inequality.
Betty Friedan's book The Feminine Mystique (1963) described the frustration of many housewives.
The National Organization for Women (NOW) was set up in 1966, with Friedan as its first president.
The more radical women's liberation movement used protests and raised awareness.
Betty Friedan's book The Feminine Mystique (1963) described the frustration of many housewives.
The National Organization for Women (NOW) was set up in 1966, with Friedan as its first president.
The more radical women's liberation movement used protests and raised awareness.
Abortion and opposition
In Roe v. Wade (1973) the Supreme Court ruled that women had a right to abortion in the early stages of pregnancy.
Phyllis Schlafly led opposition to feminism and campaigned against the Equal Rights Amendment, which was never ratified.
Phyllis Schlafly led opposition to feminism and campaigned against the Equal Rights Amendment, which was never ratified.
Why did The Feminine Mystique matter to the women's movement?
- It showed that many middle-class women felt trapped as housewives.
- It sold widely and made people talk about women's roles.
- It helped inspire the creation of NOW in 1966.
Answer: It put women's frustration into words and helped start organised campaigning.
Students: Berkeley Free Speech Movement (1964), SDS, anti-Vietnam protests, hippies. Women: Eleanor Roosevelt's commission, Friedan's The Feminine Mystique (1963), NOW (1966), women's liberation, Roe v. Wade (1973). Opposition: Phyllis Schlafly and the campaign against the ERA.
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