Diary Entrys

As a black male that has never voted before, Johnson's Great Society has made a real impact on my life. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 made so that I can vote without having to take a literacy test or any other voter qualification tests. I think it was great what happened with the Civil Rights Act of 1968, banning housing discrimination and extended constitutional protections to Native Americans on reservations. After the great society there was federal funding for cultural centers which have made my community much more welcoming. 

President Johnson's Elementary and Secondary  Education Act has made a real difference in my children's education. I am a single mother with 3 young children and it is relieving to know that my children are learning while I have to work. The act provided schools with significant federal funding. The funding is used for buying materials  and start special education programs to schools with a high concentration of low-income children. The Act established Head Start, which had originally been started by the Office of Economic Opportunity as an eight-week summer program, as a permanent program.

 As a strong environmental advicate, I was very pleased to see President Johnson's determination to keep our environment clean and safe. The main contribution to the environment was aimed at the conservation of untouched resources. Just a few of acts that were passed were the Wilderness Act, Land and Water Conservation Act, Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act, and the National Trails System Act. 

Work Cited

Appleby, Joyce. "The American Vision: Modern Times" New York. Glencoe. 2006

Interviews

Bruce Tripp - born: 1948

Growing up Tripp lived in a small town in Indiana he described as "untouched" by the war. A "leave it to beaver" type place. Tripp went to college from 1966-1970. He went to Arizona State University. Going to college made him exempt from the draft. He said it was one of the best reasons to go to college. He mentioned that you were given a draft card and you had to notify the Draft Board where you were if you decided to travel. When asked about the war he says "the country was torn in half." He mentioned that "people were questioning everything." His opinion on the war was that he should stand by his country no matter what, saying "love it or leave it." He didn't contribute in any protesting, but it was prevalent in college. He says that there were also many hippies and drugs in college, he portrayed it as "a way of protesting" or "dropping out of society." He mentioned that music was very relevant. He described rock 'n' roll as "huge." He also got very excited when he remembered his first transistor radio.

Sharon Warren - born: 1953

Sharon went to high school from 1968-1971. She says her high school was somewhat segregated. She talked about how black people were bused in from "colored areas" or as she said, "brown town." Racism was very strong in the neighborhood she lived in. She has a black child living with her family and here home was vandalized and obscenities were written on her door. She describes the civil rights movement as something to focus on when the war started to wind down. As a women, the draft did not effect her much, but she did know many friends that were drafted and killed in Vietnam. She described the war as "the war that divided establishment vs. kids." She mentioned that drugs were very prevalent including: marijuana, LSD, and heroine, also Cheech and Chong became heroes to high school students. She talked about how twice a year at her high school there would be a "black and white race riot."

Song Lyrics

"For What It's Worth"
Buffalo Springfield

There's something happening here
But what it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware

I think it's time we stop
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's going down?

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking' their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind

It's time we stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's going down?

What a field day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly saying, "hooray for our side"

It's time we stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's going down?

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
Step out of line, the men come and take you away

We better stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's going down?

We better stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's going down?

We better stop
Now, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's going down?

We better stop
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's going down?

"Oxford Town"    
Bob Dylan

Oxford Town, Oxford Town
Ev'rybody's got their hats bowed down
The sun don't shine above the ground
Ain't a-goin' down to Oxford Town.

He went down to Oxford Town
Guns and clubs followed him down
All because his face was brown
Better get away from Oxford Town.

Oxford Town around the bend
He comes to the door, he couln't get in
All because of the color of his skin
What do you think about that, my frien' ?

Me and my gal, my gal's son
We got met with a tear gas bomb
I don't even know why we come
Goin' back where we come from.

Oxford Town in the afternoon
Ev'rybody singin' a sorrowful tune
Two men died 'neath the Mississippi moon

Somebody better investigate soon.

Ain't gonna let nobody   

The Freedom Singers  

Turn me around! Turn me around! Turn me around!
      Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around
      I'm gonna keep on a - walkin' keep on a - talkin'
      Marchin' down to freedom's land!

      Ain't gonna let injustice
      Turn me around! Turn me around! Turn me around!
      Ain't gonna let injustice turn me around
      I'm gonna keep on a - walkin' keep on a - talkin'
      Marchin' down to freedom's land!

      Ain't gonna let segregation...

      Ain't gonna let oppression...

      Ain't gonna let your jail cells...

      Ain't gonna let your violence...

      Ain't gonna let nobody...   

Keep on pushing by The Impressions

I've got to keep on pushing (mmm-hmm)
I can't stop now
Move up a little higher
Some way, somehow

'Cause I've got my strength
And it don't make sense
Not to keep on pushin'

[Chorus:]
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Keep on pushin'

Now maybe some day
I'll reach that higher goal
I know that I can make it
With just a little bit of soul
'Cause I've got my strength
And it don't make sense
Not to keep on pushin'

Now look-a look (look-a look)
A-look-a yonder
What's that I see
A great big stone wall
Stands there ahead of me
But I've got my pride
And I'll move on aside
And keep on pushin'

[Chorus]

[Repeat to fade]:
Keep on pushin'

Intro

The 1960s was a decade when Americans gave new life to the nation's democratic ideals. African Americans used sit-ins, freedom rides, and protest marches to fight segregation, poverty, and unemployment. Feminists demanded equal job opportunities and an end to sexual discrimination. Mexican Americans protested discrimination in voting, education, and employment. Native Americans demanded that the government recognize their land claims and the right of tribes to govern themselves. Environmentalists demanded legislation to control the amount of pollution released into the environment.

Civil Rights Poems

Oppressed by Jim Crow
degrading citizenship rights
violence in the south
unhindered and encouraged by southern goverments
separate but equal
like Brown v. board of education
banned but not diminished discrimination

Power
integration?
robbing people of their identity and heritage
we need Power
Self determination
racism will be present
but we shall be self sufficient

Chicano Movement
political empowerment
and social inclusion
failure to live up to promises
reclaim birthright and national heritage
undocumented or documented
all are equal and it is time
to take a stand

Native Americans
seizing facilities
and violence
will show them
what they've done isn't right
and will not be forgotten

Feminist Movement
Liberation of women
suffrage
gender equality
domesticating women
and making them the
"second gender"
is wrong...

Who, What, Where, When, and Why?

Watergate Scandal

Who

• Richard Nixon
• Democratic National Commitee
• Nixon Administration
• FBI
• Committee for the Re-election of the President

What

Political scandal that happened as a result from the break-in of the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. Nixon's administration attempted to cover up their involvement in the break-in. Evidence was found against the Presidents administration and it was revealed that President Nixon had a tape recording hidden in the Oval Office. The tapes revealed his attempt to cover up the illegal activities that occurred at Watergate. It ultimately led to the resignation of Richard Nixon.

Where

The headquarters for the Democratic National Committee are located at the Watergate office complex in Washington, DC.

When

The Break-in occurred on June 17, 1972. In July 1973 evidence mounted the President and his administration. The president eventually resigned on August 9, 1974.

Why

The men who broke in were tapping the phone lines and taking important documents

Political Cartoons

Vietnam War Political Cartoons

As protesting kept happening over the war in Vietnam, people got fed up with the protesters. Some Americans were more upset about the young protestors than about the war. The protestors to the right are saying that the war in Vietnam is a dirty one while the figure to the left insists that all wars are dirty. This cartoon shows the ones against the war efforts as the unrealistic ones while the ones supporting the war effort say that no matter how awful it is, the U.S. was right to try and stop communism.

The U.S. claimed that their postion hasn't changed in the war despite the changing circumstances in Vietnam. The U.S. President Lyndon Johnson, the man on the left in the cartoon, changed American policy in Vietnam to use American soilders to attack communism in Vietnam. The cartoon is saying that President Johnson was lying about the American policy in Vietnam.



U.S. involvement in Asia grew gradually in the 1950's and 60's. This shows step-by-step the the involvement. At each step the U.S. hoped that the war in would conclude with victory.