Categories: All - social - protest - nuclear - resistance

by Carlin Spagnola 5 years ago

118

Zinn 22-25

In the late 1970s, a movement against nuclear weapons gained momentum, initially led by Christian activists and bolstered by growing public discontent over Ronald Reagan’s military spending.

Zinn 22-25

Zinn 22-25

Ch. 25: War in Iraq, Conflict at Home

Two Storms
In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast states of Mississippi and Louisana. The federal government was slow and inefficient in helping the survivors.
Congress approved plans to build a 750-mile fence along the southern borders of California and Arizona.
One result was a wave of resentment against millions of immigrants, especially mexicans.
The Bush administration tried to keep the country fiercely nationalistic.
The Anti-War Movement
By 2006 a majority of Americans were against the war and lacked confidence in the President.
So the military stepped up it's recruiting efforts and they targeted teenagers.
5,500 soldiers deserted.
Protests against the war in Iraq took place all over the United States.
The Iraq War Begins
The fall of 2006, the US congress passed a bill that allowed the CIA to continue the harsh interrogation of suspected terrorists in secret prisons. The bill also did away with the right of habeas corpus for an "unlawful enemy combatant" and even a US citizen.
They were locked up in Guantanamo bay and rumors came out of torture.
The Government created "unlawful enemy combatants" to not have to give prisoners their rights.
Operation Iraqi Freedom had brought neither democracy, nor freedom, nor security, to Iraq.
By the middle of 2006, more than 2,500 Americans had died.
A vast majority of the Iraqi's wanted US troops out of Iraq.
The capture of Saddam Hussein in december 2003 did nothing to stop the attacks.
But it wasn't accomplished.
President Bush stood triumphantly on an aircraft carrier in front of a huge banner that said "Mission Accomplished"
"Operation Iraqi Freedom" dropped thousands of bobs on Iraq and sent more than a hundred thousand soldiers into the country.
Weapons of Mass Destruction?
in 2002, The Bush Administration said that it would take military action on Iraq on it's own and protests took place all over.
The Vice President insisted that the weapons were real and Condoleessa Rice, the secretary of state, spoke menicingly of a "mushroom cloud"
A united nations team made hundreds of inspections all over iraq and it found no weapons of mass destruction or any evidence that Iraq was working on a nuclear weapon.
Bush wanted the American public to think that Iraq and its dictator Saddam Hussein, threatened the United States and the world.
Richard Clarke (advisor to the president on terrorism) later said that immediately after the 9/11 attacks, the White House looked for reasons to attack Iraq even though no evidence linked Iraq to the attacks.
Afghanistan After the U.S. Invasion
The defeat of the Taliban brought a group called the Northern Alliance into power. They had committed many acts of violence against the people of Kabul and other Afghan cities.
Taliban insisted on strict interpretations of Islam that denied righs to women.
US leaders justified this on the grounds that the invasion had removed the Taliban from power but it hadn't.
The US forces had bombed and invaded Afghanistan and killed thousands of civilians and forced hundreds of thousands away from their homes.

Ch. 23: The End of the Twentieth Century

Visions of Change
Protestors started showing up wherever meetings of the rich and powerful took place.
The WTO (World Trade Organization) had a goal to bring the principles of capitalism to work everywhere through free-trade agreements between nations.
The labor movement was alive too. Groups were showing how people would work together to acheive a goal.
Activists for peace, women's rights, and racial equality continued their struggle.
Throughout the Clinton years, many americans did protest government policy and demanded a more fair and peaceful society.
Choices
By the end of the Clinton years, the US had more than 2 million people in prison.
Cities kept falling into despair. Farmers were forced off their land, young people were without jobs and turned to drugs and crime.
One expert suggested lowering the country's military mudget would save 60 million dollars for the country's needs and adding a wealth tax to the nation's wealthiest could have added 100 billion to that amount. But nothing was done.
Many people couldn't afford housing, health care, or even enough food.
40 million people had no health insurance. Babies and yound children dies of sickness and malnutrition.
The US was the Richest country in the world but the cost of living rose faster than the average wage of ordinary working people.
Moving Toward the Middle
Throughout his presidency, clinton chose more conservative judges.
"Crime Bill" made more crimes punishable by death and set aside 8 billion dollars to build new prisons.
Clinton approved an attack by the CIA on a group of religious extremeists killing at least 86 men, women, and children.
He tried to win over white conservatives voters by coming out in favor or welfare cuts and a strong military.
To win votes he decided to make the democratic party less liberal and more conservative. He had to do just enough for the blacks, women, and working people to keep their support.
Clinton was President in 1992 and failed to live up to his promise of change. He seemed to be more interested in getting votes than in bringing about social change.

Ch. 24: The "War on Terrorism"

The Terrorist Attack and the Response
For 10 years the US kept Iraq from trading with other countries.
Family members of people who had died on Sep. 11, urged BUsh not to match violence with violence.
Although Bush cautioned AMerican's not to take out their anger on Arab Americans, the government rounded up people for questioning.
The Patriot Act gave the department of justice the power to hold noncitiznes on nothing more than suspicion.
The bombing of Afghanistan was devastating to the country.
Bush should have known that terrorism could not be defeated by force because the result is more terrorism.
The president set out to capture or kill him to destroy his organization called Al-Qaeda.
The administration believed that the attack was ordered by Osama Bin Laden
Bush had immediately declared a "war on terrorism"
September 11, 2001
A Close Election
Gore wanted a recount but it was confirmed.
But Bush had an advantage, his borhter was governor of FLorida, and Florida's secretary of state.
It was not clear who had more votes in Florida.
Gore Recieved hundreds of thousands more votes the Bush.
Bush was known for his close ties to the oil industry.

Ch. 22: Resistance

Remembering Columbus
Educators were encouraged to tell their students the truths about Columbus.
Two years later other Americans joined them in speaking out against columbus and for the first time there were nationwide protests against columbus events.
In 1990, indians from all over the Americas met to organize against the celebrations that were being planned.
The five-hundredth anniversary of Columbus arrival in the US was in 1992.
War and Antiwar
The war lasted just 6 weeks and when bush ran for reelection in 1992, he lost.
9 days after the war had started, more than 150,000 opeople marched through the streets of Washington D.C..
He wanted the war to be over before a national anti-war movement could form. But protests started in the months leading up to the war.
People would not automatically support a new war, which is why Bush launched the air war against Iraq in 1991 with overwhelming force.
The vietnam war had ended in 1975 and AMericans felt that Vietnam had been a terrible tragedy that should not have been fought.
Social Issues
Copper miners went on strike. They were attacked by state troopers but they held out for 3 years.
Mexican American farmworkers had taken action against unfair and oppressive working conditions. they urged customers not to buy califormia grapes until the workers recieved better treatment.
In the south there was no great movement like the civil rights movement of the 1960's.
Money was being spent on guns instead of children.
People Reacted angrily to Reagan's cuts in social services. People protested the loss of government moey to pay for teachers, police, and firefighters in their community.
No More Nukes!
Doctors started teaching the public about the medical harm that nuclear war would bring. Physicians for Social Responsibility was formed.
Christian activities were pioneers of the movement, but more people joined as a protest against Ronald Reagan's huge military budget.
Movement against nuclear weapons was is the late 1970's when Jimmy Carter was President.