Scholars Week Poster

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Scholars Week Poster The Rise and Fall of Students for a Democratic Society Lauren Storch School of Humanities and Global Studies, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah, NJ, 07430 Introduction The Progressive Labor Party Revolutionary Youth Movement Students for a Democratic Society was created as The Progressive Labor Party joined SDS in In 1969 another radical faction called the an organization whose goals were to activate 1966 as a platform to gain members for their Revolutionary Youth Movement split from SDS after young people into become political vehicles in own organization. The PL faction continued opposing its stance on labor rights. RYM gained order to spread democracy. SDS found its home to grow and dominate SDS. PL activists support by rallying with Hispanic organizations like across college campuses and its numbers soared wanted to emphasize the working class to the Young Lords and Brown Berets, along with the during the early 1960s. SDS became subject to combat issues surrounding workers rights Black Panther Party. RYM eventually split into institutional collapse during the later half of the and Capitalism, while SDS was more another faction within itself called RYM II that decade as internal and external forces conflicted focused on ending the war in Vietnam and positioned itself against the Weathermen. RYM and with the movements overarching ideology. The combating racism. In 1969 SDS removed the RYM II were unstable groups with little to no radical factions that distanced themselves from PL Party from its organization due to a lack institutional structure or strategy, making their efforts SDS contributed to the collapse of the organization of joint fundamental beliefs. Internal ineffective and dangerous. and by the 1970s there was a new revolutionary conflicts in SDS caused many to lose culture that had gained prominence in the United confidence in the organization and either States. distance themselves or created their own factions. The overall structure of SDS was How Its Foundation Led To beginning to crumble during this time. Its Collapse The Port Huron Statement SDS was founded upon principals which The statement calls for “participatory supported universal inclusion and lack of strong democracy” as a way for individuals to determine The Weathermen organizational authority. The irony of SDS is their own independence and assist in creating a that its founding institutional features were more civil world. The critical manifesto essential simultaneously the reason for its collapse. to the foundation of SDS was drafted by one of A group of SDS deserters who began to call themselves the Weatherman believed in using Membership soared due to lack of singular their future presidents, Tom Hayden. The early leadership, but that same structure gave room for leaders' ability to articulate democratic messages violence and destruction to display their oppositional groups to take hold. In the instance of and create a digestible narrative of reinvention political beliefs. A slogan used by the group came across in their communications both stated for activists to “bring the war home,” SDS, bringing in bureaucratic methods may have verbally and through written statements. So long by inflicting damage on American soil instead saved the organization from institutional collapse. as the organization maintained reasonably of Vietnam. The group moved underground in It is because of this complicated dynamic that manageable numbers, SDS was able to speak, 1969 after its formation due to being resistance movements are unable to compete with disagree and make arrangements for protest as investigated by the FBI for criminal activity stable institutions, forcing a constant readjustment one unified group. and general public backlash. They began to be in goals and ideology which ultimately leads to known as the Weather Underground. organizational chaos. .
Recommended publications
  • The Personal Account of an American Revolutionary and Member Ofthe Weather Underground
    The Personal Account of an American Revolutionary and Member ofthe Weather Underground Mattie Greenwood U.S. in the 20th Century World February, 10"'2006 Mr. Brandt OH GRE 2006 1^u St-Andrew's EPISCOPAL SCHOOL American Century Oral History Project Interviewee Release Form I, I-0\ V 3'CoVXJV 'C\V-\f^Vi\ {\ , hereby give and grant to St. Andrew's (inter\'iewee) Episcopal School the absolute and unqualified right to the use ofmy oral histoiy memoir conducted by VA'^^X'^ -Cx^^V^^ Aon 1/1 lOip . I understand that (student interviewer) (date) the purpose ofthis project is to collect audio- and video-taped oral histories of fust-hand memories ofa particular period or event in history as part ofa classroom project (The American Century Projeci), I understand that these interviews (tapes and transcripts) will be deposited in the Saint Andrew's Episcopal School library and archives for the use by future students, educators and researchers. Responsibility for the creation of derivative works will be at the discretion ofthe librarian, archivist and/or project coordinator. 1 also understand that the tapes and transcripts may be used in public presentations including, but not limited to, books, audio or video documentaries, slide-tape presentations, exhibits, articles, public performance, or presentation on the World Wide Web at the project's web site www.americancenturyproject.org or successor technologies. In making this contract I understand that J am sharing with St. Andrew's Episcopal School librai"y and archives all legal title and literar)' property rights which J have or may be deemed to have in my interview as well as my right, title and interest in any copyright related to this oral history interview which may be secured under the laws now or later in force and effect in the United Slates of America.
    [Show full text]
  • The Path to Revolutionary Violence Within the Weather Underground and Provisional IRA
    The Path to Revolutionary Violence within the Weather Underground and Provisional IRA Edward Moran HIS 492: Seminar in History December 17, 2019 Moran 1 The 1960’s was a decade defined by a spirit of activism and advocacy for change among oppressed populations worldwide. While the methods for enacting change varied across nations and peoples, early movements such as that for civil rights in America were often committed to peaceful modes of protest and passive resistance. However, the closing years of the decade and the dawn of the 1970’s saw the patterned global spread of increasingly militant tactics used in situations of political and social unrest. The Weather Underground Organization (WUO) in America and the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) in Ireland, two such paramilitaries, comprised young activists previously involved in the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Northern Irish Civil Rights Association (NICRA) respectively. What caused them to renounce the non-violent methods of the Students for a Democratic Society and the Northern Irish Civil Rights Association for the militant tactics of the Weather Underground and Irish Republican Army, respectively? An analysis of contemporary source materials, along with more recent scholarly works, reveals that violent state reactions to more passive forms of demonstration in the United States and Northern Ireland drove peaceful activists toward militancy. In the case of both the Weather Underground and the Provisional Irish Republican Army in the closing years of the 1960s and early years of the 1970s, the bulk of combatants were young people with previous experience in more peaceful campaigns for civil rights and social justice.
    [Show full text]
  • The BG News October 22, 1981
    Bowling Green State University ScholarWorks@BGSU BG News (Student Newspaper) University Publications 10-22-1981 The BG News October 22, 1981 Bowling Green State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news Recommended Citation Bowling Green State University, "The BG News October 22, 1981" (1981). BG News (Student Newspaper). 3912. https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/3912 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Publications at ScholarWorks@BGSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in BG News (Student Newspaper) by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@BGSU. The B G News Thursday Bowling Green State University October 22, 1981 Reagan attends Mexican summit CANCUN, Mexico (AP) - President sure at meeting the president. "It's Ronald Reagan arrived in Mexico mutual," Reagan responded. yesterday for the first summit confer- ence of 22 rich and poor nations, AS HE LEFT the White House yes- saying the road to prosperity for the terday morning, Reagan said he may hungry and impoverished nations of have been too narsh last week when the Third World is lighted by private he said he would be entering a "hos- enterprise, not massive foreign aid. tile atmosphere" at Cancun. Shortly after settling into his hotel "We go to Cancun with no illu- suite on this island resort, Reagan sions," Reagan said in a brief depar- conferred with Chinese Premier Zhao ture statement. "The problems of Ziyang. "Although this is a first meet- hunger and poverty are severe and ing between us, it should be charac- deeply rooted.
    [Show full text]
  • PRAIRIE FIRE: the Politics of Revolutionary Anti-Imperialism
    FIRE THE POLITICS OF REVOLUTIONARY ANTI-IMPERIALISM ---- - ... POLITICAL STATEMENT OF THE UND£ $1.50 Prairie Fire Distributing Lo,rnrrntte:e This edition ofPrairie Fire is published and copyrighted by Communications Co. in response to a written request from the authors of the contents. 'rVe have attempted to produce a readable pocket size book at a re'ls(m,tbl.e cost. Weare printing as many as fast as limited resources allow. We hope that people interested in Revolutionary ideas and events will morc and better editions possible in the future. (And that this edition at least some extent the request made by its authors.) PO Box 411 Communications Co. Times Plaza Sta. PO Box 40614, Sta. C Brooklyn, New York San FrancisQ:O, Ca. 11217 94110 Quantity rates upon request to Peoples' Bookstores and Community organiza- tlOBS. PRAIRIE FIRE THE POLITICS OF REVOLUTIONARY ANTI-IMPERIALISM POLITICAL STATEMENT , OF THE WEATHER Copyright © 1974 by Communications Co. UNDERGROUND All rights reserved The pUblisher's copyright is not intended to discourage the use ofmaterial from this book for political debate and study. It is intended to prevent false and distorted reproduction and profiteering. Aside from those limits, people are free to utilize the material. This edition is a copy of the original which was Printed Underground In the US For The People Published by Communications Co. 1974 +h(~ of OlJr(1)mYl\Q~S tJ,o ~Q.Ve., ~·Ir tllJ€~ it) #i s\-~~\~ 'Yt)l1(ch ~, \~ 10 ~~\ d~~~ee.' l1~rJ 1I'bw~· reU'w) ~it· e\rrp- f'0nit'l)o yralt· ~YZlpmu>I')' ca~-\e.v"C2lmp· ~~ ~[\.ll10' ~li~ ~n.
    [Show full text]
  • FBI Investigations Into the Civil Rights Movement and the New Left
    Columbus State University CSU ePress Theses and Dissertations Student Publications 12-2019 FBI Investigations into the Civil Rights Movement and the New Left Meredith Donovan Follow this and additional works at: https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Donovan, Meredith, "FBI Investigations into the Civil Rights Movement and the New Left" (2019). Theses and Dissertations. 330. https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/330 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Publications at CSU ePress. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of CSU ePress. COLUMBUS STATE UNIVERSITY FBI INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AND THE NEW LEFT A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE HONORS COLLEGE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR HONORS IN THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY COLLEGE OF LETTERS AND SCIENCES BY MEREDITH DONOVAN COLUMBUS, GEORGIA 2019 1 Copyright © 2019 Meredith Donovan All Rights Reserved. 2 FBI INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AND THE NEW LEFT By Meredith Donovan Committee Chair: Dr. Gary Sprayberry Committee Members: Dr. Sarah Bowman Dr. Ryan Lynch Columbus State University December 2019 3 Abstract This paper examines how the FBI investigated civil rights organizations and social movements from the 1950s through the 1970s. It compares the reasons for the investigations, the investigative methods, and the extent of the investigations. The paper uses FBI files as the basis for the information and to form the argument that the FBI chose its targets based on who posed a significant threat to the status quo.
    [Show full text]
  • The Weather Underground
    The Weather Underground a film by Sam Green and Bill Siegel 92 minutes/color 2003 Sundance Film Festival, Documentary Competition 2003 South by Southwest Film Festival 2003 Philadelphia Film Festival 2003 San Francisco Film Festival — Golden Gate Award, Best Documentary Feature PRELIMINARY NOTES DISTRIBUTOR CONTACT: Ken Eisen Shadow Distribution P.O. Box 1246 Waterville, ME 04903 Tel. 207-872-5111 Fax: 207-872-5502 [email protected] SYNOPSIS Hello, I’m going to read a declaration of a state of war... within the next 14 days we will attack a symbol or institution of American injustice. Bernardine Dohrn Thirty years ago, with those words, a group of young American radicals announced their intention to overthrow the U.S. government. In THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND, former Underground members, including Bernardine Dohrn, Bill Ayers, Mark Rudd, David Gilbert and Brian Flanagan, speak publicly about the idealistic passion that drove them to bring the war home and the trajectory that placed them on the FBI s most wanted list. Fueled by outrage over racism and the Vietnam War, the Weather Underground waged a low-level war against the U.S. government through much of the 70s-bombing targets across the country that they considered emblematic of the real violence that the U.S. was wreaking throughout the world. Ultimately, the group s carefully organized clandestine network managed to successfully evade one of the largest manhunts in FBI history, yet the group s members would reemerge to life in a country that was dramatically different than the one they had hoped their efforts would inspire.
    [Show full text]
  • The Weather Underground: a Study in Mobilization
    W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1981 The Weather Underground: A study in mobilization Paul Michael Pigulski College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons, Political Science Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Pigulski, Paul Michael, "The Weather Underground: A study in mobilization" (1981). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539625157. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-svfy-tz10 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND: U A STUDY IN MOBILIZATION A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Sociology The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Paul Pigulski 1981 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Author^ Approved, August 1981 Edwin H. Rhvnj£U This thesis is dedicated to the Vietnamese people, and to Hoa Trung Tran and Ngoc-Hao Phung Tran. I trust, their lives will never be subject to the sufferings their countrymen endured. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS _ . iii ABSTRACT ............................................ v INTRODUCTION ............................................ 1 CHAPTER ONE - REVIEW OF L I T E R A T U R E ................
    [Show full text]
  • The Weather Underground Report Committee on The
    94TH CoNobasg let eeio#8 00MMITTEN PRINT THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND REPORT OF TH7 SUBCOMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE INTERNAL SECURITY ACT AND OTHER INTERNAL SECURITY LAWS OF THn COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY UNITED STATES SENATE NINETY-FOURTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION JANUARY 1975 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OF110 39-242 WASHINGTON : 1975 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents U.8. Government Prnting Office, Waohington, D.C. 2040a Pice $1.60 jJ54QC~ -.3 COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY JAMES 0. EASTLAND, MIsisppi, Chbaimon JOHIN L. McCLELLAN, Arkansas ROMAN L. 71 It USKA, Nebraska PHILIP A. HART, Michigan III RAM L. FONO0, Hawali EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Mamaohusmtts H1UOH SCOTT, Pennsylvania BIRCH BAYH, Indiana STROM TiUItMON D, South Carolina QUENTIN N. BURDICK, Nmth Dakota CIJA RLES McC. MATHIAS, JR., Maryland ROBERT C. BYRD, West Virginia WILLIAM L. 8('OTT, Virginia JOHN V. TUNNEY, California JAMES ABOUREZK, South Dakota SUnCOMMiTTIv To INVKSTIOATH TIe ADMINISTrATION o0 THE, INTERNAL SECURITY ACT AND OTHER INTERNAL SECURITY LAWS JAMES 0. EASTLAN ), MAisissdppi, Chairman JOHN L. McCLELLAN, Arkanras STROM TIHURMOND, South Carolina BIRCH BAYJI. Indiana J. 0. SOURWINH, Chief Cownsel ALYONUO L. TARADOCHIIA, Chief InIVtesgalor MARY DOOLEY, Adcng Director of Research RESOLUTION Resolved, by the Internal Security Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, that the attached report entitled "The Weather Underground," shall be printed for the use of the Com- mnittee on the Judiciary. JAMES 0. EASTLAND, Chairman. Approved: January 30, 1975. (n) CONTENTS Pan Foreword ......................................................... v The Weatherman Organization 1 Overview ......................................................... 1 Weatherman Political Theory-----------------------------. 9 Weatherman Chronology ........................................... 13 National War Council .....---------------------------- 20 The Faces of Weatherman Underground ............................
    [Show full text]
  • The Way the Wind Blew a History of the Weather Underground
    The Way The Wind Blew A History Of The Weather Underground Author: Ron Jacobs Publisher: Verso Date: 1997 ISBN: 1-85984-167-8 Table of Contents Preface....................................................................................................................1 1. 1968: SDS Turns Left...........................................................................................3 2. Weather Dawns: The Break and the Statement .................................................13 3. Into the Streets: Days of Rage ..........................................................................21 4. Down the Tunnel: Going Underground ..............................................................35 5. Women, The Counterculture, And The Weather People .....................................45 6. Changing Weather.............................................................................................61 7. A Second Wind? The Prairie Fire Statement ......................................................75 8. The End of the Tunnel: Weather and Its Successors..........................................83 Bibliography.............................................................................................................i A Weather Chronology ............................................................................................v The Cast ...............................................................................................................xiii List of Acronyms ................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Prison Break of Timothy Leary
    Portland State University PDXScholar Young Historians Conference Young Historians Conference 2020 Apr 27th, 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM You Don’t Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows: The Prison Break of Timothy Leary Phoebe N. Holman Lakeridge High School Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/younghistorians Part of the History Commons, Legal Studies Commons, Political Science Commons, and the Sociology Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Holman, Phoebe N., "You Don’t Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows: The Prison Break of Timothy Leary" (2020). Young Historians Conference. 11. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/younghistorians/2020/papers/11 This Event is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Young Historians Conference by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. YOU DON’T NEED A WEATHERMAN TO KNOW WHICH WAY THE WIND BLOWS: THE PRISON BREAK OF TIMOTHY LEARY Phoebe Holman Dr. Karen Hoppes History 203: History of the United States Portland State University February 28, 2020 YOU DON’T NEED A WEATHERMAN TO KNOW WHICH WAY THE WIND BLOWS: THE PRISON BREAK OF TIMOTHY LEARY On January 21, 1970, psychologist and researcher Timothy Francis Leary was sentenced to ten years in prison for possession of marijuana, along with an additional ten years he had been given for a separate arrest in 1965. Leary, who was known as a pioneer in the study of psychedelics, a rapidly spreading cultural drug craze, was jailed at the Men’s Colony West Minimum Security Prison in California, though he alleged in court that the police officer who had arrested him planted the marijuana.
    [Show full text]
  • The Contribution of the Weather Underground to the Canon of Trauma Literature
    Hamline University DigitalCommons@Hamline Departmental Honors Projects College of Liberal Arts Spring 2013 Blowin' in the Wind: The onC tribution of the Weather Underground to the Canon of Trauma Literature Caitlin D. Bishop Hamline University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/dhp Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Bishop, Caitlin D., "Blowin' in the Wind: The onC tribution of the Weather Underground to the Canon of Trauma Literature" (2013). Departmental Honors Projects. 1. https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/dhp/1 This Honors Project is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Liberal Arts at DigitalCommons@Hamline. It has been accepted for inclusion in Departmental Honors Projects by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Hamline. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Blowin' in the Wind: The Contribution of the Weather Underground to the Canon of Trauma Literature Caitlin Bishop An Honors Thesis Submitted for partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation with honors in English from Hamline University April 13, 2013 Abstract Title: Blowin‟ in the Wind: the contribution of the Weather Underground Organization to the canon of trauma literature Name of author(s), (Faculty Mentor), Department, Institution and Institutional Address: Caitlin D. Bishop, (Anne Elstrom Park), English, Hamline University, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55104 Abstract: The literature of the Weather Underground Organization is, to a large degree, a single and superfluous voice in an outpouring of other texts drafted by those who directly experienced the horror of the American War in Vietnam. Declarations, statements, and communiqués penned by the organization, later revised into compilations and memoirs, attempted to rile and rouse a generation of activists.
    [Show full text]
  • COINTELPRO.S.Pdf
    COINTELPRO, FBI Counterintelligence, Covert Operations, Black Bag Jobs, Church Committee COINTELPRO http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/cointel.htm (1 of 7) [9/3/2001 11:33:41 AM] COINTELPRO, FBI Counterintelligence, Covert Operations, Black Bag Jobs, Church Committee COINTELPRO was the FBI's secret program to undermine the popular upsurge which swept the country during the 1960s. Though the name stands for "Counterintelligence Program," the targets were not enemy spies. The FBI set out to eliminate "radical" political opposition inside the US. When traditional modes of repression (exposure, blatant harassment, and prosecution for political crimes) failed to counter the growing insurgency, and even helped to fuel it, the Bureau took the law into its own hands and secretly used fraud and force to sabotage constitutionally - protected political activity. Its methods ranged far beyond surveillance, and amounted to a domestic version of the covert action for which the CIA has become infamous throughout the world. The COINTELPRO Papers: Documents from the FBI's Secret Wars Against Dissent in the United States by Ward Churchill & Jim Vander Wall Preface - The Face of COINTELPRO HTML Index to the Documents Introduction - A Glimpse Into the Files of America's Political Police Chapter 1 - Understanding Deletions in FBI Documents Chapter 2 - COINTELPRO - CP/USA Chapter 3 - COINTELPRO - SWP Chapter 4 - COINTELPRO - Puerto Rican Independence Movement Chapter 5 - COINTELPRO - Black Liberation Movement Chapter 6 - COINTELPRO - New Left Chapter 7 - COINTELPRO
    [Show full text]