My group would benefit a lot if we used maps and data to express our information. Since we are focusing on different elections throughout history, we can use data from voters to how they felt about different president’s campaign. We can take data from individual states or the country as a whole and see how one sets of ideas favored some voters and another set of ideas favored other voters (Republican and Democratic).
The value of mapping can be useful when researching Presidential Elections, because many surveys are presented in a map form. One of the more famous maps is the one that shows which state will go Republican (Red) and Democratic (Blue). Im sure based on the topic of my group’s project we will be looking at this type of map from multiple elections or creating this type of map to help facilitate our project.
One of the main questions that my group is considering basing our project on is: how often do presidents and opposing candidates break or keep their promises while in office or running for office? The idea of text mining is to thoroughly read different articles or other forms of written research and to find patterns throughout the research. These patterns consist of repeating statements or words that a person, in this president or opposing candidate), would say. This is a very beneficial way of doing our research because when a candidate is running for president or any type of office they usually use specific phrases to get the public’s attention and they constantly repeat these phrases whenever they are in public.
Like, my group member Tatsiana stated in her post, we attempt to compare what the president did during his term and what he said when he was campaigning. Unfortunatly the class is only until december, so we will not be able to do the project for the entire 4 year term of the president for this current election, but hopefully we will get an idea of what he will do up until the due date of this proejct. Along with this current election, we will also look at past presidencies and make the same coomparison. It is important that I say this becase both professors use this current election as a topic for postings and for topics of discussion in class, so it would only seem appropriate to integrate this election into our project.
Who created the artifact?
– Zubeida Mustafa
When was the artifact created?
– First Quarter, 1969
Where was it created?
– In the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs / Pakistan Horizon
Why was the document created?
– To express the author’s take on the Presidential Election of 1968 and the cause for its outcome.
Why is the document a primary source?
– It is the firsthand account of the 1968 Presidential Election.
How trustworthy is the source?
– Very. It is a “non-official, non-party, and non-profit making body”.
What other questions might you ask the source in order to better understand what it reveals about the events of 1968?
Did Nixon win the 1968 election solely because of the public’s views of the Democrats and their policies on the Vietnam War?
I would look for other artifacts that would possibly contain surveys done on the American public to see if they actually felt strongly against the Democratic party during the 1968 election. Also I would wonder if this is the only reason why the Republicans won the election, or did the people who voted for the Republicans strongly believe that they had a better campaign for that voting year. In order to find out more, I would conduct more research and see if there were voting polls taken during that time period, and if so, what the general public thought.
I would also try to find out if the Republicans won because of the Democratic candidate, Hubert Humphrey, or they would have won regardless of who the Democratic candidate was because either (a) Nixon had a stronger campaign, (b) the general public was upset at President Johnson’s actions in the Vietnam War, or (c) Hubert Humphrey was not a very likable candidate and/or his platform was weak.
Announcements
- Watch the presidential and vice-presidential debates at Baruch
- Categorizing posts!
Blog Posts Review
- Various shades of primary sources
- Read every type of source in a range of ways
- How do we assess the credibility of sources?
- Agency and causation
- Precision
- From sources to an argument
Reading
- Free write: what is the difference between an “archive” and a “collection”?
- Key Concepts:
- Archive vs. collection
- Provenance
- Original order
- Collective control
- Authenticity
“Materials created or received by a person, family, or organization, public or private, in the conduct of their affairs and preserved because of the enduring value contained in the information they contain or as evidence of the functions and responsibilities of their creator, especially those materials maintained using the principles of provenance, original order, and collective control.
Stephen Brier and Joshua Brown, The September 11 Digital Archive: Saving the Histories of September 11, 2001, Radical History Review, Fall 2011.
- http://911digitalarchive.org/
- key concepts
- Is this an archive or a collection?
- “archivist-historians”
- born-digital vs. scanned acquisitions
- inequality of access to digital media
- review different methods of inputting information: text and image scans, emails, websites, listservs, text via form on site, images and video via upload, call-in system, collaborations with other collectors (e.g. Sonic Memorial Project and Here is New York: A Democracy of Photographs), digital and analog interviews and sound recordings (including collaborations with Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center, and the Chinatown Documentation Project;
- perspectives of “ordinary” people
- challenges ahead: more standardized open-source database and web publishing platform, more complete metadata, redesigned web site, permanent archival home (expected to turn over to LOC in 2013)
Group Project
Group 1
Caroline, Anton, Eli, Cameron, Leanardo
Group 2
Estevan, Tatsiana, Phillip, Jordan Burgos
Group 3
Felipe, Jordan Smith, Robert, Pablo
Group 4
Guang, Cary, William, Stephen, Shaif
Who created the artifact?
- The artifact was created by Roman Kupchinsky.
When was the artifact created?
- The artifact created on July 27, 2008.
Where was it created?
- The artifact was publish in the Ukrainian Weekly.
Why was the document created?
- To express the author take on the 1968.
Why is the document a primary source?
- The document is a primary source because it give first hand account and his opinion of the subject matter, as a person that has live through those times.
How trustworthy is the source?
- The source is trustworthy because Roman Kupchinsky is a Vietnam Veteran, former President of Prolog Research Corp(1978-1988), former Director of Ukrainian service of Radio Free Europe (2000-2008)
What other questions might you ask of the source in order to better understand what it reveals about the events of 1968?
- If I could ask my source questions I would ask him what was his view on the elections before and after the War. Next, if he voted who did he voted for, and why? Third questions, would he still had fought in the Vietnam knowing what he know now? Why did he join the army, was he a volunteers or he got drafted. What was his take on the death of Doctor Martin Luther King. Jr. What are his stances on each candidate and what he satisfy with the outcome of the election.
If you were going to be constructing an argument about the relationship between the cultural conflict embodied by the artifact you’re presenting and the 1968 election, what other artifacts would you look for? How might you go about finding them? What other background reading would you need to do? What other questions would you ask?
- If I were to construct an argument about the relationship between the cultural conflicts embodied by the artifact I presenting and the 1968 election, other artifacts I would look to include in my presentation is other Vietnam War Veterans view on the 1968 election. I would reach out to Vietnam War Veterans through email or mail and conduct an interview with a Vietnam War Veteran I knew from my gym. In addition I would research books, article, journal or diaries written by former Veterans regarding their views on the 1968 election in. I would go about my research by going to my local library, Baruch library and New York Public Library and look for documents written by the Vietnam War Veterans and email or mail the author if I have further questions. The background reading, I would need to do is read about the key debate issues in the 1968 election, and the stances each candidate took on the Vietnam War. As well as research how did the Vietnam War have on the elections. The questions I would ask are how has the war change your views on toward life, society and politics. Any things you would do differently, if you were given the chances. What are you views on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Did you think the Vietnam War was justify.
Sources:
- United States Ch-53 Sea Stallion helicopter lands for resupply at Khe Sanh April 1968 during the war in Vietnam
This image, taken from the Art Museum Image Gallery database, was captured in April 1968 during the war in Vietnam. It wasn’t clear who actually took the picture. However, this picture symbolizes an issue that changes American wars politically during future time of war in the United States after 1968. Particularly it was pictures during the Vietnam War that caused the bitter unrest in the United States during the election of 1968. Following the Vietnam War there was less press coverage sanctioned by Cs ongress and the executive office of other wars to avoid the public for seeing images that might cause civil unrest and turn public opinion against the government.
The conflict of culture has always been a part of the United States presidential elections. The article below taken from New York Times which was created during the election period shear some light on one of the issues during the 1968 presidential election especially showing the problem with the great disparagement between voters with respect to gender gap, particularly with women and those who were less educated. The second Source was highlights polling information that
Source New York Times
Source Women and Social Movements: Factors that influence Voter Turnouts
I found this article in the Financial Times Historical Archive. This article was written by Joe Rogaly on October 4, 1968 and featured in the Financial Times. The conflict facing Americans during this time in 1968 centered around the Vietnam War that was taking place and the newly announced vice-presidential candidate knew that was on people’s minds. George Wallace chose Curtis LeMay to be his running mate, a man known for his hostile remarks on the Vietnam War and his stance on using nuclear force on Vietnam. Many saw this political choice as a threat to Wallace’s campaign because LeMay might frighten away voters with his talk of bombing. However, Lemay’s views on another social issue that was prevalent in the 1960s, the fight for civil rights and racial issues, and on continuing the segregation of blacks and whites appealed to those who favored keeping blacks at arm’s length.
Source Rogaly, Joe. “Counting on the Charms of Another Military Hero.” Financial Times [London, England] 4 Oct. 1968: 3. Financial Times. Web. 28 Sep. 2012.
- Anonymous
- August 07, 1968
- Miami, Fl
- To depict police escorting a man injured during a riot
- It is an original source of information about the topic
- Yes, biggest news corporations rely on AP, even though the identity of photographer is unknown.
- How much less publicity did the Miami Riot get in 1968 compared to the Chicago Riot?
I would try to obtain recordings of news broadcast of that time. I would compare how much attention was given to the race riot in Miami, where African-American community protested the poverty and racism at home Vs. the Chicago Riot that was initiated by the white majority protesting war in Vietnam. One of the 3 TV networks – ABC, CBS, NBC, must still have records that I could use. They might be willing to share them for educational purposes; not for the profit-seeking purposes. I would also need to do extensive research about each riot and identify who were the protesters/rioters, what were they protesting, what kind of damage did the rioting cause in each respective city, did people get hurt, and whether the protests were answered. News articles by major publications from that time might help me answers these questions. Another important piece of information to research is the platform of the Republican and Democratic Conventions, as well as the reactions of all the politicians who witnessed the riots happening during the Conventions.
DS106 really surprised me with the creativity that has developed with the various projects. I found it interesting to see that so many web tools which are fairly very new were used in all sorts of ways. Editing, linking, adding, research and copying has to be done in a professional way, which the community does and it does it with creativity. I like how they follow the guide lines that they set up for themselves but are not written down anywhere. The community is following unwritten rules about what to do and what not to do, yet bring something interesting and very creative to the table. Open source is the way to go!
[entry-title]
Participants in a Students for a Democratic Society-sponsored demonstration display signs protesting the general election as a “hoax” and calling for peace in Vietnam. The demonstration was staged on the steps of the Iowa capitol building after a three-mile march under police supervision
Who created the artifact?
Anonymous but it is credited to Bettmann/Corbis / AP Images
When was the artifact created?
November 5th, 1968
Where was it created?
Des Moines, IA; at an SDS demonstration at the Iowa capital building.
Why was the document created?
To document the events that were taken place within the college community during the election year of 1968.
Why is the document a primary source?
This photograph is a primary source because it has never been manipulated (sans AP images watermark) or altered since it was captured in ’68.
How trustworthy is the source?
Very. The AP images archive is a very credible source for images.
What other questions might you ask of the source in order to better understand what it reveals about the events of 1968?
In regards to this specific event, I would ask the photographer who he spoke to at the event, and why they decide to attend. I would like to know what the overall vibe and feeling was like within the crowd that day. Also, the difference between demonstrations/protests he had attended that year that took place prior to the election as opposed to post-election.
—————————————
The major themes of the culture conflicts in 1968 are all evident in this photograph. This is a great location and time to help construct an argument about these conflicts. Along with this photograph; in order to present a more balanced view of this event, I would have to see more photographs that were taken at this very event. Ideally it would be best to gather photographs from a variety of sources, that way I can be safe in assuming I’m not getting images that are biased to a specific cause.
Along with collecting photographs from the event; written or recorded interviews from demonstration attendees would help with putting a voice to the people in the photographs. It would assist in giving a more through analysis of who was at the demonstration and why. Interviews would be nice, but video of the demonstration would be best. By seeing the event in real time, you will be able to get an unbiased view of the event from a specific vantage point. This would help in making you feel as if you were actual attendee. Any press release from the SDS or varying collegiate organizations in response to the elections, would prove vital in identifying the purpose and message they were trying to give the country with organizing the demonstration.
To gather all of these sources I would first attempt to find as many items through the Baruch Library database. Further research can be done at various databases and archives that do not fall under Baruchs database; as well as other libraries in the area.
In order to construct a well rounded argument, I would have to read further into the SDS and other demonstrations they held that year. Reading about the specific movements that are mentioned in the signage present in the photograph would also prove helpful in the arguments construction.
Robert Kennedy’s Day of Affirmation Address
http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/oS_BHcFynUepnkv95-EnSg.aspx
- The artifact was created by the JFK Presidential Library and Museum
- Artifact was created June 6, 1966
- The artifact was created at the University of Capetown, Capetown, South Africa
- The document was created as an affirmation address and discussed liberty and civil rights in the US.
- It is a primary source because it is a direct recording of Robert Kennedy as he gave the speech and saved by the JFK museum, a reliable source
- The source is trustworthy, as it saved in a historical museum which is highly acclaimed and located in Boston, MA.
- I would ask how it influenced the Democratic presidential race and what his oppositions views were to some of the ideas presented
The 68 election was crucial for the future of the United States. Robert Kennedy was a proud American who advocated civil rights and individual liberty. “A land which was once the importer of slaves, and now must struggle to wipe out the last traces of that former bondage. I refer, of course, to the United States of America.” This phrase from Kennedy in his speech illustrates his vision of eliminating cruel treatment and unjust actions towards the slaves and anything related to the matter. The topic of discrimination overshadowed our culture and was a very important conflict to be dealt with in the sixties. I would strive to hear the opinions and thoughts of other politicians regarding the same conflict and how they opposed or paralleled Kennedy. I would search other databases and ask historians who specialized in this conflict to gain more information. Speeches and documents written by political campaigns and leaders would be a good place to start. I would seek to find what actions Kennedy took while he was a politician to defend his words and how it affected the conflict. Agendas pursued and policies created would expose how much influence Kennedy had as well as the opinions of our common public and Americans. I would like to read news articles from different perspectives that could help uncover the impact Kennedy had on ridding discrimination while he was a politician. It is unfortunate that Robert Kennedy was assassinated during his campaign for president. His ideas and personality would have been a great benefit to our society going forward.
[entry-title]
Demonstrators from the National Women’s Liberation Movement picket the 1968 Miss America Pageant. (Copyright Bettmann/Corbis / AP Images)
- After checking out the database’s citation, the says that the Photographer is Anonymous. I’m assuming that means that the photographer is uncredited as they bought the picture from an amateur photographer.
- Saturday, September 07, 1968
- Atlantic City
- The Miss America pageant became a target of protests, as feminist and civil rights activist fought against what they saw as a show that was degrading to women. In 1968, 400 women from the New York Radical Women protested the event on the Atlantic City boardwalk by crowning a live sheep Miss America. They also symbolically trashed a number of feminine products such as fake eyelashes, make up and bras.
- The photograph is a primary source because the AP photos, though anonymous, are taken by their own photographers and kept in their archives. It’s been digitized for the website, but because it’s the Associated Press, it’s a reliable news wire and it is trusted to have a copy in it’s own physical archives.
- The Associated Press has been around since the mid-1800s, and is the most widely (if not only) news-wire used in most journalistic broadcasts and publications. Its style book is taught at Baruch College’s Copy Editing course, and all articles in the department as well as campus publications such as Dollars and Sense and The Ticker are written in AP Style. AP Image, as an offshoot of the Associated Press, has gained its credibility through its age, it’s influence and it’s newsworthiness.
- I would ask to see the physical copy of the photograph, and I would like to see if I could learn more about who was responsible for taking the photo and why they were kept anonymous. As mentioned in an earlier reading, curating history is not just looking into what’s been recorded, but what’s been left out of history.
In the context of the 1968 election, I would do background information on the history of this particular women’s organization, the National Women’s Liberation Movement. With the creation of the National Organization for Women (NOW) I would like to see if the two organizations ever clashed or if they worked together.
Regarding the protests, I would go back and see how it was covered in the news – were the demonstrator villainized or supported by the media? How did the presidential candidates handle the movement – did they lump it together with the civil rights and youth movements at the time, or was it its own separate issue?
Also, after the candidates made their stance, was there any policies passed to reflect their views, or was the issue pushed aside until the next administration? Did the conflict cause controversy? Were the candidates comfortable or uncomfortable talking about the women’s liberation movement?
For the photograph, I would truly like to know why the photographer is Anonymous. Being such a highly credible publication, the Associated Press is not one to just find a photo, shrug its shoulders and say, “Guess we’ll just use this one.” The people in charge at the time knew the photographer and chose not to credit them (or the photographer did not want to receive credit) – why was this? Was the conflict between women’s liberation and the mainstream media too tense at the time?
The silence speaks volumes in this case, and while the conflict of the women’s liberation movement most likely had less supporters than fans, I would like to get a better understanding of the ripple effects of protests like the one illustrated at the Atlantic City boardwalk.
Database: Encyclopedia of American Government
Nixon, Richard, Campaigning in 1968
The caption underneath the image says ” Candidates and their campaign managers try to orchestrate public appearances that will put the candidate in a favorable light. Richard Nixon appears the hero in this 1968 campaign photo. (Source: National Archives.)”
Q: Who created the artifact?
A: National Archives
Q: When was the artifact created?
A: 1968
Q: Where was it created?
A: Washington D.C.
Q: Why was the document created?
A: At the time that this image was taken, the 1968 Presidential Election was happening, where Richard Nixon won. This is why the image is showing Nixon with his arms in the air.
Q: Why is the document a primary source?
A: The image was taken while the event was happening making it an “eye witness”. Also, there is an option while I was searching to select only primary sources.
Q: How trustworthy is the source?
A: The image comes from the National Archives which is a reliable source for images and information.
Q: What other questions might you ask of the source in order to better understand what it reveals about the events?
A: I would ask for a specific date, because in history dates are one of the most important facts when learning about history. Events happen so quickly in history that is is beneficial to the reader or viewer to know when specifically this event was happening.
The image I chose for this assignment is not a direct cultural conflict, but it can still be considered a controversial because it was an extremely important election. With things like the Vietnam War, Communism, and the Civil Rights Movement all happening it makes this election imperative to the future of the United States, and many historical events occurred during the term of the winning candidate which was came to be Richard Nixon. To further my research on the election there would be a few things I would do to accomplish that. One, I go on google.com and go to the scholar area of the site where I only works made by scholars have been published. Two, I would look through old newspapers articles. For example, I would look back into the archives of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal which are highly respected newspapers and read up on events that occurred going into the election and the future president. For the sake of this class, I would ask myself some questions when reading up the topic. I would look at where the information is stemming from, when was it published, and by whom was it published.
Vietnam War with Walter Cronkite – Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3mfXnFtwQc
Vietnam War with Walter Cronkite – Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPmwkprZMic&feature=relmfu
CBS documentary
1968
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3mfXnFtwQc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPmwkprZMic&feature=relmfu
Who created the artifact?
This CBS documentary was created by Walter Cronkite and Ernest Leiser.
When was the artifact created?
In mid-February 1968, Cronkite and Leiser journeyed to Vietnam to cover the aftermath of the Tet Offensive.
Where was it created?
In Vietnam
Why was the document created?
The purpose of this artifact is to bring to American people the drama and horror of the most divisive war in American history.
Why is the document a primary source?
While traveling to Vietnam, Walter Cronkite personally witnessed and documented the events and conditions in aftermath of the Tet Offensive in early 1968.
How trustworthy is the source?
According to an opinion poll, during the 1960s and 1970s Walter Cronkite was often cited as “the most trusted man in America”.
What other questions might you ask of the source in order to better understand what it reveals about the events of 1968?
What was personal interest of Cronkite in producing this work? How powerful was the role of this documentary on the minds of the American people as well as the politics of the US compared to other TV news channels? Have Walter Cronkite received any negative reaction from administration for exposing hopeless situation in Vietnam? Would it be possible for Lyndon Johnson to win reelection in 1968 if Cronkite had not produced his epic film?
If you were going to be constructing an argument about the relationship between the cultural conflict embodied by the artifact you’re presenting and the 1968 election, what other artifacts would you look for?
CBS documentary with Walter Cronkite resulted in explosion of the anti-war movement. American public lost trust in current administration and this movement strongly affected 1968 presidential elections. Besides Cronkite documentary, I would look for prime source pictures of anti-war protests. Also, I would search for original interviews and speeches such as Cronkite’s interview with General Creighton Abrams and presidential address admitting failure in Vietnam. Also, I would use newspaper articles for that time period.
How might you go about finding them?
During my previous assignment, I learned that in order to find primary source documents I would need to search historic archives and databases.
What other background reading would you need to do?
History calls 1968 “The Year That Rocked The World” because it was filled with important events and processes leading to the presidential elections. So, in order to better understand what was happening, I would read books with memoirs and autobiographies of the people who witnessed the events.
What other questions would you ask?
Social conflicts of 1968 have broken the trust of the American public in politics and government administration. After American public has learned that government is unable and, sometimes, unwilling to address social conflicts during 1968, what were the chances that new administrations can win this trust back and not to continue that agenda and policies of the old administration? Were there any realistic ways for the administration to address and possibly solve the social conflicts of 1968?
- Select a single primary source document from your previous post (it cannot be a newspaper article). Remember: you’re looking for a document that can tell us something about the role of cultural conflict in the 1968 presidential election.
- Embed the document in a new post, either as an image file or as partial quote, with a link to the original source in the database. Read the following closely.
- Answer the following questions as briefly as possible:
- Who created the artifact?
- When was the artifact created?
- Where was it created?
- Why was the document created?
- Why is the document a primary source?
- How trustworthy is the source?
- What other questions might you ask of the source in order to better understand what it reveals about the events of 1968?
- Then, write (at the end of that post) between 250-500 words that answer the following questions:
- If you were going to be constructing an argument about the relationship between the cultural conflict embodied by the artifact you’re presenting and the 1968 election, what other artifacts would you look for? How might you go about finding them? What other background reading would you need to do? What other questions would you ask?
Due Monday 10/1 by 8am
- Comment on at least two classmates’ posts. Have they successfully completed the assignment? Are you persuaded that they are on a viable path to making a historical argument?
Due Monday 10/1 by 5:50pm
- Read Stephen Brier and Joshua Brown, The September 11 Digital Archive: Saving the Histories of September 11, 2001, Radical History Review, Fall 2011.
[entry-title]
I found this image in the apimages.com. This image is taken by a anonymous sources on Wednesday, October 16, 1968, but its copyrighted by Corbis Corporation. This image related itself to the “cultural conflict” of 1968 because it show that racial injustice is still an important issues even after the passing of civil right act in 1964.
Tommie Smith and John Carlos, gold and bronze medalists in the 200-meter run at the 1968 Olympic Games, engage in a victory stand protest against unfair treatment of blacks in the United States. With heads lowered and black-gloved fists raised in the black power salute, they refuse to recognize the American flag and national anthem. Australian Peter Norman is the silver medalist.(Copyright Bettmann/Corbis / AP Images)
The main point of this source is to get a first hand view at the effect of the Vietnam War. In a interview with Dava Ensell, a widow of a Vietnam veteran whom died in the Vietnam War with Journalist Joanne Kovace in the magazines Off Our Back title, “War Casualty:Gold Star Wife” state
It’s a mistake. I used to be for the war. I thought our country back in the revolution with the British was helped by the French. I figured we were doing the same for the South Vietnamese. But then it dawned on me that these people didn’t want help. They just wanted to be left alone to farm. They didn’t care if it were a democracy or communism. They didn’t care. They weren’t even fighting so why should we have our men killed for nothing. If any part of our mainland were attacked, then I could see war would be justified, like World War Two. But to go thousands of miles away is wrong. Men are getting killed for no reason. In my opinion if the politicians and the big business men, who are making money, would go in there and fight with the ground troops for one day that war would be over the next day. There are no two ways about it. They are keeping their own kids out of it.
This article relate back to the 1968 cultural conflict by exposing the damaging effect of war on a family. This article is published in May 27, 1971 and copyrighted by Off Our Backs, Inc.
“A Personal Memoir:1968, the watershed year” written by Kupchinsky Roman, Published in the Urkainian Weekly on July 27, 2008. Copyrighted by the Ukrainian National Association. In this memoir, Mr. Roman talks about his experience as a US soldier in the Vietnam War and his thinking about the year 1968. This relate back to the 1968 issues because it gave a first person view of parts of 1968.
1968 was the year my generation came of age. “The Year of the Monkey” was the year of dramatic, often hopeless; uprisings, brutal assassinations, riots, strikes and civil disobedience that challenged society’s ironclad beliefs and redefined for the coming generation the meaning of such terms as “democracy,” “socialism” and “national liberation.”
[entry-title]
AP Images
November 06, 1968
Taken by an anonymous photographer in NYC
– Nixon strikes his famous pose as he becomes the 37th President of the United States. Election itself was the epitome of conflict because of extremely small margin of victory by Nixon and a very strong showing by a third-party candidate. The president’s campaign promised to restore law and order in the times of public unrest, hence the double peace signs.
AP Images
August 07, 1968
Taken by an anonymous photographer in Miami
– The Chicago riot of 1968 Democratic Convention has taken away the attention from another riot that happened the same year. Interestingly enough, the Miami race riot happened during the Republican Convention(to attract more attention, no doubt). So why do we hear so little about it compared to the infamous Chicago riot? Perhaps the answer lies in the cause of each of the riots. In Chicago, people(mostly Caucasian) were protesting war, a popular topic at that time. In Miami, people(much fewer, and mostly African -American) were protesting poverty and racism.
AP Images
June 07, 1968
Taken by an anonymous photographer in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, NYC
– This picture, as good and as bad as it gets, gives us a sense of the tumultuous time period. A widow, Coretta Scott King, over the coffin of senator Robert F. Kennedy; same way he once stood over her husband’s coffin. The lost lives of two prominent civil rights activists, a presidential candidate and an iconic clergyman, will forever remain as the great sacrifices in the struggle for true freedom and equality.
Database: American History & Life
In the 1960’s and leading up to the 1968 Presidential Election, communism was a large problem in the U.S. The article, “Make Your Voice Heard” talks about the increase in education for students, specifically in math and science. The United States felt that after the launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union, there needed to be an increase in education so that U.S. can try and keep up with the other communist countries. The U.S. also felt there needed to be an increase in the Social Studies and foreign language. This was a time period were there was heavy tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. Students were specifically studying “international communism” to make them aware of what is going elsewhere in the world.
Database: New York Times (1851- 2008)
The Vietnam War was among many of the issues during the 60’s. “Vietnam in 1968“, is an article by the NY Times that talks about increase in military by President Johnson in Vietnam and how negotiations are a falso hope. An important point that the article makes is that President Johnson has got the U.S. into a war without going through Congress.
Database: New York State Newspapers
In the article, “Civil Rights Activist Speaks of the 60’s“, LeRoy Glenn Wight, a civil rights activist discusses his experience while taking a bus ride to fight against segregation in the 60’s. The article mentions other activists and their experiences dealing with the era of the civil rights movement.
The Vietnam War, Civil Rights Movement, and Communism are three of many conflicts that were going on in the United States and the world in the 60’s and leading up the 1968 Presidential Election.
Elected in 1968, Richard Nixon campaigned on the coat-tails of equal right, however his lack of attention toward’s women’s issues caused him plenty of backlash. During the election, women’s liberation was a hot topic, as the new wave of feminism flooded American politics, clashing with the culture of a “typical” female (think Doris Day and Mrs. Cleaver.)
Issues such as legalized abortions (remember, the Roe v. Wade decision wasn’t made until 1973,) the value of women’s votes, and the equality for women (especially married women) in the workplace were all highly charged issues, as women climbed the social, class and status ladder and clashed against the men who were already sitting on top.
Working women:
Currently, women make $0.77 to every man’s dollar, though this gap in wages is not something that hasn’t be fought before. In a 1962 issues of the Wall Street Journal (just six year before the election) women were already fighting for equal pay. In an article titled Senate Unit Approves ‘Equal Pay for Women’ Bill; Changes Possible: Tower to Seek to Put Limit on Labor Agency’s Role, Allow for Added Cost of Women Employes, talks of putting a limit on the Labor Agency’s role in the issue to allow for employers to afford the “added cost of women employees.” However, as the printed of this article the bill was not yet passed, women’s lobbying groups rallied for “equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill.” The article also spoke of ridiculous amendments that would be added to such a simply bill (because it’s so hard to pay everyone the same wage when you’re cheap) such as not being able to look into earlier complaints by female worker’s on unjust actions, and the bill would only cover based on “seniority or merit increase systems.” The bill looked to favor the excuses by avoiding the harsh truth that employers just do not want to pay women equally.
Abortion Laws:
In an article dated December 1968 (right after the 1968 election) by Keith Monore ,titled How California’s Abortion Law Isn’t Working: California’s abortion law The abortion reformers look to the courts for change, spoke of how California was reforming its Abortion Law. It allowed for abortions to be approved and undergone only if the mother was mentally ill. In effect, many women were suddenly mentally ill to have their cases approved, and as Monore reported, if their cases weren’t approved women would find other means to abort their pregnancies, such as seeking unsafe “alternative abortions.” While Pro-choice and Pro-lifers battle it now during this election, in 1968 women were still having the “legitimacy” of their rapes questioned, as the article quoted stories of a raped girl who became pregnant who died after she jumped off her parents’ roof to abort the child, another was of a child who despised his “parents” who was conceived after his mother (a married women) was raped though abortion was approved by medical authorities it was the declined by the district attorney.
Sexual Discrimination:
In 1966, the National Organization for Women (NOW) was formed, and is currently the largest feminist organization in the United States. Since it’s formation, NOW focuses on issues pertaining to women such as abortion rights and reproductive issues, violence against women, constitutional equality, promoting diversity and ending racism, lesbian rights, and economic justice. Using the database “Women and Social Movements,” I was able to find an article titled “How and Why Was Feminist Legal Strategy Transformed, 1960-1973.” In Document 15 was an article from November 1967 which dealt with Constitutional Protection Against Sex Discrimination, written by Mary Eastwood. The core of Eastwood’s memorandum can be summed up by one quote:
“The power of American law, and the protection guaranteed by the U.S.Constitution to the civil rights of all individuals, must be effectively applied and enforced to isolate and remove patterns of sex discrimination, to ensure equality of opportunity in employment and education, and equality of civil and political rights and responsibilities on behalf of women, as well as for Negroes and other deprived groups.”
Just like the issues before this, women have been fighting against sexual discrimination on a political for decades. Though progress has been made, there is still much to be done, and this current election may choose whether or not the war on women truly blooms to fruition.
Over the next two classes, you will be researching and constructing arguments about the role of “cultural conflict” in the 1968 presidential election.
By September 24th, 8:00am:
Find three primary sources that are each from a different database. Post your sources to the blog — make sure no classmate has posted that sources already, if they have, find another! — with a brief description that includes:
a) what database you found the sources in;
b) who created it, when it was created, and where it was created (consult Sam Wineburg’s “Thinking Like a Historian” for the type of “meta” questions you should ask of a document); and
c) a brief statement on how each artifact speaks to the role of “cultural conflict” in the 1968 election. Your response should not merely be about a conflict, but about its relationship to that specific election.
If you are confused about what constitutes a primary source, see this primer from the Yale University libraries. If you’re still confused, ask us.
Do your best to upload a copy of the artifact to the blog, which can accept pdfs, or screenshots of documents. At the very least, link to the artifact. Again… if you’re stuck, ask us.
The Newman Library provides access to a range of databases. Click here to view them.
The databases you should search within are:
- American Periodicals
- AP Images
- Art Museum Image Gallery
- BlackThought and Culture
- Cinema Image Gallery
- Economist Historical Archive
- Eighteenth Century Collections Online
- Financial Times Historical Archive
- In the First Person
- JSTOR
- New York Times (1951-2008)
- Savings and Loan Crisis Digital Archives
- Wall Street Journal (1889-1994)
- Women and Social Movements
Next week, you will each craft a historical argument using the primary sources has collected. We will spend time talking about this on Monday.
In addition to the above assignment, complete the reading: Kate Theimer, “Archives in Context and as Context,” Journal of Digital Humanities, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Spring 2012).
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