Chapter 30: The Turbulent Sixties, 1960-1969 (#3) Johnson Escalates the Vietnam War
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| Ethnic Nationalism
Native Americans – decried the callous use of their identity as football mascots Puerto Ricans – demanded their history be included in school and college texts Polish, Italian, and Czech groups – insisted on respect for their nationalities Ethnic Heritage Studies Act of 1972 – now gave what one sponsor of the measure called “official recognition to ethnicity as a positive constructive force in our society today” Mexican Americans – César Chávez – organized the poorly paid grape pickers and lettuce workers in California into the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) national boycott of grapes – led to a series of hard-fought victories over the growers 5-year struggle resulted in a union victory – but at an enormous cost 95% of the farmworkers involved had lost their homes and their cars helped spark an outburst of ethnic consciousness among Mexican Americans leaders campaigned for bilingual programs and improved educational opportunities call themselves Chicanos – take pride in their cultural heritage Women’s Liberation women soon realized that they could only achieve respect and equality by mounting their own protest still relegated to stereotyped occupations such as nursing and teaching few female lawyers and even fewer women doctors gender roles – portrayed on television commercials continued to call for the husband to be the breadwinner and the wife to be the homemaker Betty Friedan – began the effort to raise women’s consciousness with her book The Feminine Mystique attacked the prevailing view that women were completely contented with their housekeeping and child-rearing tasks, claiming that housewives had no self-esteem and no sense of identity 1964 – Civil Rights Act – helped women attack economic inequality head-on by making it illegal to discriminate in employment on the basis of sex filed suit for equal wages, demanded that companies provide day care for their infants and preschool children, and entered politics to lobby against laws that – in the guise of protection of a weaker sex – were unfair to women advocates began to attack laws banning abortion and waged a campaign to toughen the enforcement of rape laws National Organization for Women (NOW) – founded by Betty Friedan in 1966 – challenged by those with more extreme views many women were repelled by the harsh rhetoric of the extremists and expressed satisfaction with their lives most women supported the effort to achieve equal status with men 1972 – Congress responded by voting to send the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) – to the state legislatures for ratification Download 28.13 Kb. Share with your friends:
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