The Cold War and Civil Rights: Origins, Implications, and Conflicts

1. Unit #5 Cold War, Civil Rights

2. Cold War • What do we know about the Cold War? • Who is responsible for the Cold War? • What was the Marshall Plan? • How did McCarthy make his appeal?

3. McCarthyism • The Manchurian Candidate (3:02) (This is a scene with a McCarthy like Character, the movie is very good!): • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5xpNBs-km0

4. Cold War • Stifling of the far left that was popular in the 1930s, reaction against Civil Rights agitation • New coalition of liberals and conservatives around the idea that non-aggression would inflate spending and jobs numbers while promoting security without war • Viewed as a national effort to defeat Soviet Communism, but it was actually a series of local movements: China, Korea, Indochina, the Philippines, Latin America, Iran, Cuba, Guatemala, Chile, Africa • Calling anti-imperialist struggles “communism” allowed for bi-lateral support for US intervention • McCarthyism stands out: blacklisting makes fight against communism seem backwards, repressive, and eventually ridiculous, but liberals were for it too, it was not an extreme position, it was domestic policy for 50 years

5. Cold War • Truman's Executive Order 9835, 1947: required the Department of Justice to draw up a list of organizations were "totalitarian, fascist, communist or subversive . . . or as seeking to alter the form of government of the United States by unconstitutional means." • Not only membership in, but also "sympathetic association" with, any organization on the Attorney General's list would be considered in determining disloyalty. • By 1954, there were hundreds of groups on this list, including the Communist party, the Ku Klux Klan, the Chopin Cultural Center, the Cervantes Fraternal Society, the Committee for the Negro in the Arts, the Committee for the Protection of the Bill of Rights, the League of American Writers, the Nature Friends of America, People's Drama, the Washington Bookshop Association, and the Yugoslav Seaman's Club. • It was not McCarthy and the Republicans, but the liberal Democratic Truman administration, whose Justice Department initiated a series of prosecutions that intensified the nation's anti-Communist mood. The most important was the prosecution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in the summer of 1950.

6. Cold War: what is the “5th column”? • Captain America: "Beware, commies, spies, traitors, and foreign agents! Captain America, with all loyal, free men behind him, is looking for you. . . .“ • With all of the fire power built up the US military was very active despite the fact that it was not in a “hot”war, the following is a list of places and operations in which the US was involved

7. Greek Civil War, 1946–1949 • Malaysian Emergency, 1948–1960 • Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1948–Present • Korean War, 1950–1953 • Suez Crisis, 1956–1957 • Cuban Revolution, 1953–1959 • 1959 Tibetan uprising, 1959–1973 • Laotian Civil War, 1953–1975 • Vietnam War, 1957–1975 • Guatemalan Civil War, 1960–1996 • Congo Crisis, 1960–1965 • Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1961 • Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 • Angolan Civil War, 1974–2002 • Ogaden War,1977–1978 • Afghan-Soviet War, 1979–1989 • Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979 • Iran-Iraq war, 1980–1988 • Invasion of Grenada, 1983 • Nicaraguan Civil War, 1979–1990 • Salvadoran Civil War, 1980–1992

8. Eagle Claw (1980) Attempted rescue of American hostages held in Tehran • Earnest Will (1987–88) American protection of Kuwaiti oil tankers in the Persian Gulf during the Iran–Iraq War • Eager Glacier (1987–88) U.S. spy planes gather intelligence about Iran. • Nimble Archer (1987) U.S. retaliates for Iranian missile attack on reflagged Kuwaiti tanker. • Praying Mantis (1988) U.S. retaliates against Iran for mining frigate. • Prime Chance (1987–88) Special operations to protect Kuwaiti tankers, run largely from barges in the northern Persian Gulf. • Evening Light (1980) failed U.S. attempt to rescue embassy hostages in Tehran • Fortune (1951) 1951 CIA plan for a coup in Guatemala. Executed as Success • Golden Pheasant (1988) US deployment in Honduras • Just Cause (1989) US invasion of Panama • Acid Gambit Rescue of Kurt Muse. • Bushmaster Security operations near US facilities. • Sand Flea rehearsal for Just Cause. • Mongoose (1962) plan for information gathering, sabotage, civil insurrection and the overthrown of the Cuban government. • Northwoods (1960s) plan to incite war between the United States and Cuba. • Peter Pan (1960s) transfer of Cubans to the US • Phibriglex (1962) US plan and mock invasion by its armed forces of a Caribbean island. The exercise took place on Vieques and the purpose of the mock invasion was to overthrow a fictitious leader called "Ortsac", whose name was, in fact, Castro spelled backwards. It occurred in August, shortly before the Cuban Missile Crisis. It is also known by the names Operation Ortsac, Operation Swift Strike II and Exercise Phibriglex-62. • Power Pack (1965) US deployment in the Dominican Republic • Success (1954) 1954 CIA coup in Guatemala. • Urgent Fury (1983) US invasion of Grenada • Argus (1959) test of nuclear bombs in the upper atmosphere. • Blowdown (1963) Australia/US/UK simulated nuclear explosion in a rain forest. • El Dorado Canyon (1986) US strikes against Libya • Morning Light (1978) Joint Canadian-US effort to recover Cosmos 954, a nuclear powered Soviet RORSAT. • Operation Morris Dance (1987) Australian response to the first of the 1987 Fijian coups d'état. • Mount Hope III (1988) covert recovery of a crashed Soviet-made helicopter from Africa. • Nuclear testing List of all known named nuclear tests. • Orion (1960) DARPA project to design a nuclear pulse propulsion system.

9. Cold War • Marshal Plan • Truman Doctrine • McCarthyism • House Un-American Activities Committee • Cuban Missile Crisis • http://www.globalresearch.ca/a-timeline-of-cia-atrocities/5348804

10. The “Civil Rights” Era • A “Movement of Movements” • Confluence of technology, politics, law, historical experience, and the fighting of the Cold War • What are some of the movements? • Labor • Civil Rights • Students • Anti-War • Anti-Poverty • Women • Environment

11. Civil Rights • Two students are talking quietly, but seriously, to each other. • A third student, standing at the next locker, overhears the conversation, which happens to be about an act they have committed in violation of school rules. • The third student shares the conversation with two other students, one of whom reports the incident to the principal's office. • The principal searches the lockers of the first two students, locates some incriminating evidence, and suspends the students in accordance with school policy.

12. Do the first two students have a right to privacy? • Does the third student have a right to freedom of speech? • Are the other students are morally or legally obligated to report the incident? • Can the locker search be conducted without a warrant? • De we have a right to privacy? • https://www.aclu.org/your-right-privacy?redirect=issues/privacy/isprivacy.html

13. Civil Liberties versus Civil Rights • Bill of Rights: https://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/bill-of-rights/ • Civil Liberties are Liberty from government interference (think Bil of Rights) • Civil Rights can involve Positive actions taken by government to ensure equality • Battles are often cases of Right vs Right, right to free press, right of government to keep secrets: • 1971 Pentagon Papers and the New York Times • National Security Vs Freedom of the Press • Religious Freedom • Right to have full equal access to public life, right to practice religion freely despite discrimination as a result • How far should the government go to take positive action?

14. Thought Experiment • Select one law, principle, practice, custom, tradition, etc. that you think needs to be changed today • How would you go about changing it? • How would you attract supporters? • What would you do create the change? • What would you do to maintain the change and ensure that it is enduring? • Consider legal, social, ethical, cultural implications

15. Our Issues • If we want to make a positive change for our issues is it more important to change people’s Hearts and Minds or change Laws? • Can we change hearts and minds without changing laws and vise versa?

16. Recent Campaigns • Cigarettes • Drugs • Drunk Driving

18. The Long Civil Rights Movement and the 1960s • CRM • Early CRM 1955 (Emmitt Till) - 1964 (Freedom Summer) • Mid CRM 1964 (Black Power) - 1968 (Civil Rights Act, death of King and Kennedy) • Long CRM 1966 (Black Panthers) - Today (Black Lives Matter) • Ethnic Nationalism 1964-1970s: Black, Brown, Yellow, Red Power, AIM, Chican@ Movement, Farm Workers, Internationalism, Global anti-imperial struggles • Student Movement: 1962 (SDS), New Left, free speech, labor • Anti-War Movement, 1965-Today- Anti-imperialism, anti-violence, anti-draft • Counter Culture (1950-1970s) Art, Religion, Drug Culture, Sexual Revolution, Hippies, Yippies (Youth International Party), Communes • Conservative Backlash 1960 Young Americans For Freedom Sharon Statement, COINTELPRO, Drug War, War on Poverty • The Implosion: Democrats divide, campus and urban violence and destruction, Altamont concert, divisions in the movements, death of important figures, severe repression from the state • New Emergence: Women’s Movement, Environmental Movement, Radical Feminism, Moral Majority, Triumph of Conservatism, Dominance of MIC and Surveillance State

21. Violence Vs Non-violence • Is violence ever justified? • Is self-defense violence? • Is violence ever effective? • Understanding non-violence as a tactic • What is Civil Disobidience?

22. Malcolm X: The Bloodless Revolution (4:36): • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO9UF3q6Fhg

23. Civil Disobedience • What is civil disobedience? • Active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power • Examples: • Henry David Thoreau, 1849 over Mexican American War • Gandhi's example in India • What is direct action? • Use of strikes, demonstrations, or other public forms of protest rather than negotiation to achieve one's demands • Examples:

24. Civil Disobedience • Arguments For CD: • The law was broken to protest a greater crime: Segregation, Racism, Vietnam, Limiting Free Speech, Denying Civil Liberties • King: God’s higher law. If government law violates the law of God then it is unjust; one has a moral responsibility to disobey it. An individual who breaks a law that is unjust and accepts the penalty by staying in jail is expressing the highest respect for the law • The US foundation myths enshrine CD it boycotts, Sons of Liberty, the Boston Tea Party, and Revolution • Arguments Against CD: • Lawlessness can not be justified on the grounds of individual beliefs • If we let the individual conscience guide disobedience to the law, we must take all consciences • Government can not function if people take it upon themselves to break the law • When people take the law into their own hands, there is no longer government, CD destroys democracy

25. Civil Disobedience • Are citizens ever justified in breaking a law? • If it is right to disobey unjust laws, who decides which laws are unjust? • How far should CD go? Is violence ever justified, if so when? • Does CD strengthen or destroy democracy? • Can someone rob a bank claiming that the money was taken to protest immoral banking practices? • Can Democrats ignore laws passed by Republican majorities or viceversa? • What if a person decided the government was spending tax money in immoral ways? Should that citizen be allowed to decide to not pay taxes?

26. Students, Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll, are these cultural elements as “Revolutionary” as the political movements of the time? • Does sexual liberation have “revolutionary” potential? • Pros and Cons • Does drug use have “revolutionary” potential? • Pro and Cons • Does art and music have “revolutionary” potential? • Pros and Cons • Does the hippie movement have “revolutionary” potential? • Pros and Cons • Does the student movement have “revolutionary potential? • Pros and Cons • Does religion have “revolutionary” potential? • Pros and Cons

27. Organizing

28. Grassroots organizing • Abolition of slavery • Right for labor to organize • Changes in child labor laws • Voting rights for black citizens and women • Prohibition of Alcohol • Prayer in school

29. Collectives Cooperatives Communistic Nationalist Assimilationist Anarchistic Hierarchical Separatist Internationalist Radical/Revolutionary Models, Styles and Modes of Organization

30. Consensus based Democratic Violent/Self Defense Non-Violent/Direct Action Group Structures

31. S. M. A. R. T. Model • S – be Specific • M – successes need to be Measureable • A – plan needs to be Activating • R – goals and plan need to be Realistic • T – Time specific

32. Benefits of Organizing • What are the benefits of organizing? (think of both historical and recent examples) • Group power • Increased ability to apply pressure • A presence that can attract publicity • Funding • Solidarity • Taco Bell’s tomato farmers, removal of sweat shop clothing on campus, Affirmative Action, handguns out of department stores, 1 million person protest of war in New York, WTO protests in Seattle, Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, IWW unionizing in Milwaukee, anti-Mayoral takeover of MPS, collective bargaining, LGBTQ rights

33. Downfalls of Organizing • What are some of the problems with organizing? (especially organizing on a large scale) • You can be targeted • You can be infiltrated • Activities can vilify the group • Can get bad publicity • Have to deal with intra-group disputes

34. Success • The benefits of successful organizing are obvious what about some problems with success? • Homogenization: The leaders of particular groups, or the most successful organizations often end up deciding the fate of others not actively involved or opposed

35. Violence Vs Non-violence • Is violence ever justified? • Is self-defense violence? • Is violence ever effective?

36. Hierarchy of Violence • As long as violence flows downward it is generally accepted, legitimated, legalized • Once it flows upward it violates the hierarchy • Think of domestic abuse, women are beaten and killed all of the time, once a woman fights back or kills its news • Think of the environment (US has exported its violence) • Black Lives Matter