The Student Movement (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
The Student Movement
The student movement exemplified the deep divisions within American society during the 1960s and early 1970s. Beginning in the early 1960s, students demanded greater participation in how universities operated, but the movement gained substantial momentum through opposition to the Vietnam War. This movement represented a generational shift in American culture and politics.
Origins of student protest
The emergence of student protest in the 1960s stemmed from multiple interconnected factors that created a unique political and cultural environment.
Students sought increased participation in their own education, wanting to influence how universities operated and demanding an end to restrictions imposed upon them. Student societies worked to expose racism within their colleges, demonstrating an awareness of broader social issues. This desire for autonomy reflected a generational rejection of traditional authority structures.
For many young Americans, both white and black, the civil rights movement provided their first experience of political activism. Martin Luther King's methods proved inspirational, and numerous white students participated in freedom marches, freedom rides, and sit-ins during the early and mid-1960s. This experience taught students effective protest tactics and demonstrated the power of collective action.
The 1960s witnessed student protests internationally. In Northern Ireland, students demonstrated for Catholic civil rights, while 1968 saw student demonstrations in Paris so serious they nearly overthrew the government. This global context showed American students they were part of a worldwide youth movement challenging established power structures.
Under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, the USA became increasingly involved in Vietnam. US involvement divided society, particularly as casualty lists mounted and media coverage highlighted atrocities against Vietnamese civilians. Opposition to the war united the student movement. Half a million young Americans fought in Vietnam, and many others faced call-up through the draft or conscription system. This direct threat to students' lives made Vietnam opposition deeply personal.
The 1960s also witnessed an explosion in pop music which expressed emerging youth culture and protest against contemporary issues. Bob Dylan's protest songs such as 'Blowin' in the Wind' and 'A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall' covered themes of changing times, nuclear war, racism and the hypocrisy of waging war. Music became a powerful vehicle for spreading anti-war and anti-establishment messages.
The Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was one of the first student protest groups to emerge in the USA. Tom Hayden established it in 1959 to give students greater influence over how courses and universities operated. Hayden, a student at the University of Michigan, led the SDS to denounce the Cold War and adopt an 'anti anti-Communism' position, demanding controlled disarmament to avoid nuclear war. The organisation also wanted to help the poor and disadvantaged.
SDS Growth and Influence
The SDS eventually formed groups in 150 colleges and universities, reaching 100,000 members by the end of the 1960s. Support increased dramatically after President Johnson announced bombing raids on North Vietnam in 1965.
The SDS achieved national prominence in 1964 when it organised a sit-in against a ban on political activities at the University of California at Berkeley. This was followed by similar sit-ins across the USA. Membership greatly increased in 1966 when President Johnson abolished student draft deferments, which had allowed some men to delay military service. The SDS established 300 new branches in response.
The SDS organised numerous activities against the Vietnam War, including:
- Staging draft card burnings
- Harassing CIA campus recruiters
- Occupying university buildings
- Destroying draft card records
These tactics escalated from peaceful protest to more confrontational direct action.
The Chicago Seven Trial
At the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, SDS protestors organised by Tom Hayden created a riot to destroy the election chances of pro-war candidate Hubert Humphrey. Hayden and six others were arrested and convicted of crossing state lines to incite a riot, becoming known as the Chicago Seven. This trial became a symbol of government repression of anti-war activists.
In the later 1960s, the student movement became more radical. Some members called themselves 'Weathermen', taking their name from the Bob Dylan song 'You Don't Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows'. They bombed army recruitment centres and government buildings. Tom Hayden disapproved of this extremism and left the movement in 1970. This radicalism decreased when three Weathermen accidentally killed themselves. President Nixon, who exaggerated the threat posed by student radicalism, used the FBI and CBI to subvert these extreme student organisations.
Opposition to Vietnam
Opposition to the Vietnam War united the student movement more than any other issue. Opposition grew due to the increasing US death toll and the tactics employed by the US military. Moreover, a disproportionate number of African American students were called up to fight in Vietnam, and influential black figures such as Martin Luther King spoke out against the war, adding racial justice concerns to anti-war sentiment.
Anti-war protests reached their peak during 1968–70. In the first half of 1968, over 100 demonstrations occurred against the war, involving 400,000 students. In 1969, 700,000 marched in Washington DC against the war. Students at these demonstrations often burned draft cards or, more seriously, the US flag, which was a criminal offence. This led to angry clashes with police, escalating tensions between students and authorities.
Kent State University Shootings - May 1970
The worst incident occurred at Kent State University, Ohio in 1970. Students held a peaceful protest against President Nixon's decision to bomb Cambodia as part of the Vietnam War. National Guardsmen, called to disperse the students, used tear gas to move them. When students refused to move, shots were fired.
The tragic outcome:
- Four people were killed
- Eleven injured
- Around 400 colleges closed
- 2 million students went on strike in protest
The press in the USA and abroad were horrified. Kent State became a turning point, demonstrating the violent consequences of the conflict between student protestors and government authorities.
The hippie movement
Other young people protested in an entirely different manner, deciding to 'drop out' of society and become hippies. This meant they grew their hair long, wore distinctive clothes, and developed an 'alternative lifestyle'. Often they travelled around the country in buses and vans, wore flowers in their hair as a symbol of peace rather than war, and adopted the slogan 'Make love, not war'.
Because they often wore flowers and handed them to police, they were called 'flower children', and often settled in communes. San Francisco became the hippie capital of America. Their behaviour, especially their use of drugs, frequently led to clashes with police who nicknamed them 'pigs'. They were influenced by groups such as The Grateful Dead and The Doors, whose music reinforced countercultural values.
The Woodstock Festival
The Woodstock Festival of August 1969 represented the highlight of the hippie movement, attended by over 400,000 people. This movement was of particular concern to the older generation because these youths refused to work and experimented with drugs such as marijuana and LSD. Many participants came from middle-class rather than underprivileged backgrounds, rejecting all the values their parents believed in.
Youth culture, defined as the beliefs, attitudes and interests of teenagers, had fundamentally changed, creating a generational divide.
Achievements and impact
The student movement brought about social, political and cultural change. One of its more enduring achievements concerned youth culture itself. By the end of the 1960s, profound changes had occurred in the whole lifestyle of the young. This was partly reflected in fashion, with the young becoming far more fashion-conscious and determined to move away from the 'norm' of the older generation. The movement permanently altered how young people saw their role in society and politics.
Although the SDS and student protests did not bring an end to the war in Vietnam, they undoubtedly helped to force a shift in government policy and make withdrawal from Vietnam much more probable. They influenced President Johnson's decision not to seek re-election in 1968, demonstrating that sustained protest could affect political careers and policy decisions.
The movement provided greater publicity for the racism still prevalent in US society. The support of many white students for black civil rights strengthened the whole movement and showed that most American youths would no longer tolerate discrimination and segregation. This cross-racial solidarity represented an important development in American social attitudes.
Historical Perspective
Historian Kenneth J. Heineman argues that student protest, which began as a rejection of parental authority and the Vietnam War, rapidly evolved into a social movement. The SDS, which began in the 1960s with just a few members, ended the decade 100,000 strong. By then it had mounted violent confrontation with university and government officials. More than 300 of the nation's 2,000 campuses experienced sit-ins, building takeovers, riots and strikes during the 1960s, demonstrating the widespread nature of student discontent.
Key dates
- 1959 – Tom Hayden established the Students for a Democratic Society
- 1964 – Berkeley Free Speech Movement sit-in brought SDS to national prominence
- 1968 – Democratic Convention riot in Chicago; anti-war protests peaked with over 100 demonstrations involving 400,000 students
- 1969 – 700,000 marched in Washington DC against the war; Woodstock Festival attended by over 400,000
- 1970 – Kent State University shootings: four killed, eleven injured, 2 million students went on strike in response
Key Points to Remember:
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The student movement emerged from multiple interconnected factors: demands for educational reform, civil rights inspiration, opposition to Vietnam, and a new youth culture expressed through pop music.
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The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) grew from a small group in 1959 to 100,000 members by the end of the 1960s, organising sit-ins, draft card burnings, and protests against the war.
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The Kent State shootings in 1970 represented a watershed moment, killing four students and prompting 2 million students to strike, forcing the nation to confront the violence used against protestors.
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The hippie movement offered an alternative form of protest through 'dropping out' of society, exemplified by the Woodstock Festival of 1969 which attracted over 400,000 people.
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Although the student movement did not end the Vietnam War directly, it influenced government policy, contributed to President Johnson's decision not to seek re-election, and permanently changed youth culture and attitudes towards racism in America.