scholarly journals THE 1966 WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON CIVIL RIGHTS

1998 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 259-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
KEVIN L. YUILL
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
White House ◽  
High Point ◽  
Howard University ◽  
Racial Issues ◽  
The Vietnam War ◽  
American Creed ◽  
Governmental Institutions

Lyndon B. Johnson fails to mention the 1966 White House Conference on Civil Rights in his autobiography and the conference has been equally ignored by historians. Yet this conference, promised in Johnson's famous Howard University speech in 1965, was to be the high point of Johnson's already considerable efforts on civil rights. Underlying the confusion and rancour that characterized the conference held in June 1966 (but more especially the ‘planning conference’, held in November 1965) was a struggle to maintain the integrative impetus of the ‘American Creed’ against the realization that integration was unlikely to take place except in the very long term. The conference transcripts, recorded verbatim, provide a useful reminder of the very different mood of the mid-1960s, suggesting that the extent of panic after the Watts riot went beyond racial issues into fears for the survival of political and governmental institutions. Especially evident is the fragmentation of Johnson's liberal civil rights coalition before dissent on the Vietnam War ensured his downfall.

“Fuck Him, He Wasn’t With Us”

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Bussel
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
Urban Revitalization ◽  
National Politics ◽  
Political Expression ◽  
Direct Involvement ◽  
The Vietnam War ◽  
The 1960S

This chapter examines the convergence of events that thrust Harold Gibbons into the maelstrom of national politics and led to his estrangement from the Teamsters's hierarchy. It first considers how Gibbons's rifts with Teamsters played out among Local 688's membership in St. Louis, which helped oust Gibbons in the summer of 1973, terminated his political partnership with Ernest Calloway, and signaled the demise of their quest for total person unionism and working-class citizenship. It then discusses Calloway's gradual withdrawal from direct involvement in civil rights activism and union affairs by the end of the 1960s, assuming instead the role of respected community elder. It also describes Gibbons's opposition to the Vietnam War and his difficulty in finding outlets for political expression during the last years of his career, even as he continued with his advocacy of interracial politics and comprehensive strategies for urban revitalization. Finally, it reflects on Calloway's death on December 31, 1989.

Provoking America: Le Duan and the Origins of the Vietnam War

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 86-108
Author(s):  
Zachary Shore
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
The United States ◽  
Strategic Thinking ◽  
The North ◽  
The Vietnam War ◽  
The 1950S

This article concentrates on the North Vietnamese official who became the driving force within the Vietnamese Workers’ Party (VWP) and was crucial in shaping the Vietnamese Communists’ protracted war strategy. A great deal has been written about the personality and policies of Ho Chi Minh, but Le Duan's powerful influence on strategy has been largely overlooked. The article covers Le Duan's background and rise to power as the VWP First Secretary, as well as his strategic thinking about the United States from the 1950s through the deployment of U.S. ground troops in 1965. Although other VWP leaders influenced wartime strategy, Le Duan as First Secretary carried the greatest weight within the Politburo and exerted the strongest influence over the southern Communists, who were pivotal in fighting both U.S. and South Vietnamese forces. In his role as head of the southern Communists Le Duan developed strategies for defeating the United States and then implemented them as his power grew. The article spotlights several recurrent themes in his thinking: the nature of a protracted war, the role of casualties, and U.S. global standing. Each of these subjects influenced how the North Vietnamese intended to defeat the United States over the long term and offers insights into how Hanoi understood its enemy.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Rob Christensen
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
Civil Rights Movement ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Racial Integration ◽  
High Profile ◽  
The Vietnam War

This chapter provides an overview of North Carolina’s leading political family, the Scotts. It examines the rural progressivism that was a powerful influence in mid-20th century North Carolina, and how that progressivism declined with racial integration, the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement and other high-profile social issues

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