Under what Conditions is Protest Effective?

I believe that protest is effective under many different conditions. Many protests to do not work because they do not have many people that support them, but when there is a pressing issue that people care about then they make sure to voice their opinion. There is strength in numbers, and when those protesting have numbers they are sure to have pleasing results. I also believe that protest is effective more when it is dealing with a social issue. It seems to me that social issues get more attention than any other issues.

A protest is also effective when it is against a war. If the people of a country is against a war a country is in then the leaders of the country are eventually going to listen to their people. I believe that protest is effective under these conditions.

The Civil Rights Movement was a movement in the 1950s and 1960s were African Americans fought for equal rights. I have to say that out of all the movements that I have mentioned that the Civil Rights Movement is definitely the most recognizable. The Civil Rights Movement mainly utilized many non-violent tactics to get there point across. One peaceful protest was the March on Washington. The March on Washington drew out around 200,000 people to advocate for equal rights for African Americans. Another protest was the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which started when Rosa Parks was kicked off a bus for not moving out her seat for a white person. People started to crowd buses to limit the collections of fares that they gathered, successfully driving down the money the buses made. Although both of these protests were successful, many peaceful protests did not work.

The Anti-War Movement, the Student Movement, and the Youth Movement are all closely tied with one another. If you talk about one, you have to talk about the other. The Youth Movement was a movement in which young adults, teens, and children were going against their elders’ beliefs, and was a time where the youth of the United States were more actively involved. The Youth Movement was really a jack of all trades, they fought for equal rights with the Civil Rights Movement, protested against the Vietnam War, advocated for the ending of discrimination based on gender, and other movements that were happening at the time. The Student Movement was a movement where college students fought against racism, fought for student rights, and fought to end the Vietnam War. The Student Movement also utilized non-violent protests as a way to raise awareness. They held many rallies, protests, and teach-ins. Some of their protests were successful, others were not. One protest that was unsuccessful resulted in the Kent State Shooting. The students were protesting against the war when they were shot at by the United States military forces. While this particular protest was unsuccessful, it inspired other protests and helped shaped public opinion against the war.

The Anti-War Movement was a movement where people fought to end the Vietnam war. Many people apart of the Youth and Student Movement were apart of the Anti-War Movement. There were teach-ins that were held at colleges to question America’s Vietnam policy and how to change that policy. Another example is the Chicago Convention of 1968, which was used by students to protest against the Vietnam War. Another protest was the March Against the Vietnam War. This was a time where the public opinion for the war was starting to wane. Overall, I believe that the Anti-War protest did work. In fact, when President Nixon ran, he promised Americans that he would work to end the Vietnam War. He also used this tactic when he ran for his second term.

The Environmental movement was a time in the 1960s and 1970s where there was a push for the government to address environmental issues that were occurring in the United States. This push was caused by many environmental issues that had occurred in the United States for a long period of time. These issues include the Cuyahoga River catching on fire 8 times, oil spills in the ocean and on land, and the pollution of the Great Lakes. There were also many books and writings that raised awareness for environmental issues and protested about how the Earth was being treated. Some examples of these books is Silent Spring by Rachel Carson and The Lorax by Dr. Seuss.Americans were outraged by how the environment was being treated and started to protest. One group called Greenpeace was one of the rallying forces that helped shed a light on the environmental issues occurring in the United States. This group led many protests. One protest was held on what we now refer to as Earth Day. Millions of people came together to protest, and it shows how the American people knew what was happening to the environment and how they wanted to stop it.Protests were a leading factor as to why there were more laws concerning the environment, but I believe the most successful form of protest came from the writings and books that sparked awareness throughout the United States about how the Earth was being affected by what people were doing.

The Migrant Farmers Movement was a time where migrant farmers band together against injustices they faced. These farmers made their own labor union and demanded to have the same rights as everybody else. They demanded that their pay, education, and housing was improved. This movement was full of nonviolent protests, like the Delano Grape Strike. The Delano Grape Strike was a protest that lasted for five years where migrant farmers demanded better pay. The strike was a success and there were many other strikes, boycotts, and marches that followed. Overall, there were reforms that were made, but these were only minor victories.

The Feminist Movement was a movement in which women wanted equal rights. Women wanted equal rights in the workplace, in politics, and wanted to get away from stereotypical housewife role. To do this they organized protests and advocated for women’s rights with groups like NOW. One memorable protest was at the Miss America Pageant of 1968. The protesters were furious at how the pageant exploited women. The protesters crowned a sheep and threw items viewed as feminine into a “Freedom Trash Can”. There were other less crazy protests, but this protest outshines them all. Like the Environmental Movement, the Feminist Movement also had protested in the form of writing. The book The Feminine Mystique disagreed with the idea that women had to marry and have children. This book became a bestseller and is credited by some to be the start of the 1960’s Feminist Movement. The protests paid off, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, prohibiting discrimination based on sex, color, religion, and race. Women were also offered a pill to prevent them from having children. One of the most landmark victories of the Feminist Movement was Roe v. Wade. Roe v. Wade was a Supreme Court decision that made it legal for women to be able to have an abortion. I believe that the Feminist Movement was highly successful and that protest was a major reason as to why it was successful.

Finally, is a lesser-known movement among the other 1960s and 1970’s movements. This was the Gay Liberation Movement. The Gay Liberation Movement was a movement where the LGBT community wanted to end discrimination homosexuals and for people to gain more acceptance towards homosexuality. One way the leaders of the Gay Liberation Movement thought to gain more acceptance towards homosexuality was for more people to come out. They were very successful in doing this, which was one of the first steps to gaining equality. The Gay Liberation Movement also used protesting as a way to get their message across. Some of the protesting was peaceful, while others were quite violent. One example of their violent protesting is the Stonewall Riots. The Stonewall Riots were many violent confrontations between police and members of the gay community. These riots started when the police raided a gay club called the Stonewall Inn. The members of the club were fed up with how they were treated and decided to do something about. However, the police did have a reason to go into the gay club. There were laws against disorderly conduct in bars, which was viewed as homosexual behavior by the New York State Liquor Authority. This meant that homosexuals could not be served in bars. Homosexuals rebutted this by “sip-ins”, which were like sit-ins. They would ask to be served in bars and when refused they made a complaint to the New York State Liquor Authority. Eventually, the New York State Liquor Authority could not make bars refuse to serve people based on their sexuality. There are many other small victories for the LGBT community, but the big victories come in the 21st Century.

Protesting is effective when it is concerning social issues, war, or when there is a massive group of people supporting the protest. There was a massive group of people supporting the Civil Rights Movement, the Anti-War Movement, and the Feminist Movement. The Civil Rights Movement, the Feminist Movement, the Migrant Farmers Movement, the Gay Liberation Movement, the Youth Movement, the Environmental Movement, and the Student Movement all had to do with social issues that were happening within the country. The Anti-War Movement, the Youth Movement, and the Student Movement all had to do with war. Overall, all the movements that I have mention fit into at least one category, and some fit into all categories. The only movement that could be argued where protesting was not effective was the Environmental Movement, which I would have to agree with, but only for one reason. The Environmental Movement did not need people to protest, the environment was doing a great job speaking for itself. Other than the Environmental Movement, all the other movements were successful with the help of protests. Overall, protesting is a great tool to use when a change needs to happen, and if the with the right resources and conditions, that change can happen.

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