Latinos, Native Americans, and Women Seek Equality Chapter 31 – Section 1&2

Latin-American Civil Rights During the 1960s, Latin-Americans fought their own battle for Civil Rights in the Southwest. One major figure in this movement was Cesar Chavez.

Native American Civil Rights Native Americans were dealing with perhaps the worst treatment in America of all. They suffered from the highest rates of poverty, unemployment, and alcoholism.

Termination Program In the 1950s, the Eisenhower administration sought to force Native Americans to assimilate through the Termination Program. This program brought an end to reservation rights and relocated many Native Americans into cities across the US. The program was an economic disaster for them.

AIM Fights Back In the 1960s, the American Indian Movement (AIM) fought for their rights too. By the mid 1970s, they had won some key victories such as: The Indian Self-Determination and Education Act – a law that gave tribes greater control over their own lands and their children’s education.

Women Fight for Equality Feminism – The fundamental belief that women and men should be equal. Feminism experienced a re-awakening in the 1960s.

In 1950, 33% of women worked for wages. By 1960, 40% worked for wages. But still, there were still rigid gender roles for certain types of jobs. Women mostly only had access to clerical jobs, service jobs, teaching, and nursing. They were paid very poorly compared to their male counterparts.

Civil Rights Act of 1964 Due to feminist activism, gender discrimination was also prohibited by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In 1972, Congress passed a ban on gender discrimination in educational institutions. Any institution receiving federal assistance had to open its doors for women – and for the first time in the nation’s history many of the top, formally all male universities opened their doors to women.

Roe v. Wade Roe v. Wade – A Supreme Court ruling that said that women had the right to have an abortion within the first three months of pregnancy.

ERA – Equal Rights Amendment Feminists on the left were advocating for the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) which would guarantee that both men and women enjoy the same rights and protections under the law. Republicans fought against this under a new “Pro-Family Movement.”

Pro-Family Movement: A movement that infused religious morality into politics. Argued that the ERA would lead to: same-sex marriage, the drafting of women, the end of laws protecting homemakers, and the end of the husband’s responsibility to provide for his family. In other words, this movement wanted everyone to subscribe to their idea of what the “American family” should be.

New Left (Modern Progressivism) New Right (Modern Conservatism) Pro-Abortion Anti-Abortion Government funding for child care Against Pro-ERA Anti-ERA Expanding career opportunities for women Expanding educational opportunities for women Overall increase in social programs Massive cuts in social programs Government regulation in the economy Return to Trickle-Down Economics [Now called “Reaganomics”] Decrease in interference in foreign nations Increase in involvement in foreign nations [cold war] War on drugs War on Drugs [Reagan]