The New Left

1. The New Left An anti-war movement

2. Why did this cause emerge? • Reaction stemmed from Vietnam War, Chinese Cultural Revolution, and black radicalism of the time • Specifically by college students, many of whom were trying to avoid the draft • Continuation of the progressive movement • Change in focus from labor issues to opposition of authority and war • Movement towards the values of the Counterculture

3. What were the goals of this group? • Social activism • Original goal was to oppose the U.S. government (“The Establishment”) • Major focus later became the anti-war effort • Also supported civil rights movement and free speech • Social revolution

4. How were they going to achieve these goals? • Nonviolent civil disobedience • Demonstrations were not always peaceful • Rallies on college campuses, sit-ins, marches • Called for a participatory democracy • Clashes with local police • Formation of various organizations

5. The Students for a Democratic Society • Came to represent the foundation of the New Left • Founded by Tom Hayden in 1962 • Centered in college campuses • During the Vietnam War, became the leading anti-war organization • As a result, the war became the primary focus of the SDS

6. The Weathermen (The Weather Underground Organization) • Took a more radical and violent approach to opposing the war • Consisted of former members of the SDS • Founded at University of Michigan in the late ‘60s • “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows” • Goal was to overthrow the U.S. government • Carried out a series of attacks, including bombing government buildings, riots, and jailbreaks • “Days of Rage” event to rally the public behind the anti-war effort

7. The Weathermen, continued

8. Was this cause successful? Why or why not? • Partially successful • The New Left was not directly responsible for the end of the Vietnam War • However, it made a large contribution to the public’s growing disapproval of the war, which in turn helped bring about the end of the war • Also drew a lot of attention to the inequalities in American society

9. What became of this cause by the late 1970’s/early 1980’s? • Powerful for a brief amount of time • Eventually fragmented • Dissent within the movement between nonviolent members and those who wanted to take a more radical approach • The war ended and the movement lost its focus • Both the SDS and the Weathermen fell apart and dissolved