The 1970s was labeled the golden age of terrorism due to hundreds of politically motivated and notorious acts of terrorism from “New Left” groups such as the Weather Underground.
The Weather Underground was one of several activist groups that were part of the New Left, composed of young baby boomers who believed in new social and political ideals amid the Cold War. The group used their acts of domestic terrorism to express their anti-war, anti-government, and revolutionist ideals. According to Prairie Fire, which was the manifesto for the Weather Underground, each act of violence had the intent to
“disrupt the [American] empire[:]… to incapacitate it,… to expose every weakness,…[and] to provoke leaps in confidence and consciousness [within the people].”1
Their mission statement highlights the main objective of the Weather Underground, which was to disrupt and weaken the American government's hold on power. The group believed violence was necessary to achieve their goals since they saw the existing political and social structures as inherently oppressive and corrupt, aligning with the New Left. The group believed that carrying out violent attacks could expose the government's
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Their bombings not only caused significant damage but also garnered international attention due to their high-profile targets. Furthermore, their ability to carry out such attacks without getting caught for years added to the overall perceived power of radical New-Left groups. The high number of bombings by the Weather Underground targeting government buildings, combined with their ability to evade capture, directly contributes to the perception that the 1970s was a time of increased terrorist activity, solidifying the era's label as the golden age of terrorism. One specific attack claimed by the group was the bombing of Capitol Hill. As described by What Violent Acts Get Defined As Terrorism by Peter Feurher, although the Capitol Hill bombing
The motivations of the terrorist are another way it related as we learned the most basic motivations are the need for terrorists to change the way the government acts about something either socially, economically, or politically. Rudolph’s motivations were about his Christian religion which is why he bombed abortion clinics and a lesbian bar, the Olympic Park bombing seems to be more obtaining notoriety for his cause, however. His action also made him a right-wing terrorist. We learned that right-winged group are anti-government and often associated with white supremacy. Rudolph did attend the Church of Israel faith which believes that white people are the chosen people, however Rudolph claims that race had no bearing on the locations he chose to
Drew Becker 22-3-18 CRW Henderson The Birmingham Church Bombing The 1960s was known for its upheaval and civil unrest. One of the most notable examples was the Birmingham Church bombing. The bombing influenced not only the civil rights movement in the United States.
A bomb explodes outside of the FBI building in Oklahoma City. Over one hundred people were killed, the side of the building was blown open, and no one knew who did such a malicious thing. A few days later, people know Timothy McVeigh was the terrorist who blew up the FBI building. People like Timothy McVeigh don’t just blow up buildings just because they feel like it. Timothy, like the many other people after him, is called a terrorist because of the reason behind his violent doings.
The Red Scare of 1919-1920 was a nationwide fear of communists, socialists, anarchists, and more. The September 11th terrorist attack that took place in 2001 in New York City, Manhattan, Arlington County and Virginia was a four series coordinated terrorist attack by a Islamic terrorist group. They both have many similarities. In the Red Scare a post office discovered 38 bombs that had been mailed to leading Americans politicians and capitalist after that an Italian anarchist was blown up. The nation’s top law enforcement official then became convinced that there was a plot underway.
With the help of the FBI, or Federal Bureau of Investigation the radicals were put under surveillance and a lot of Russians who were not American citizens were sent back to Russia. During the Red Scare, one of the deadliest terrorist attacks against the US happened. In 1920a wagon filled with explosives blew up in New York's financial district, killing 38 people and injuring 150 others (Section 5 script). With all that going on America’s defenses got better and the FBI became more
In 1956, the FBI created their counterintelligence program (COINTELPRO) to deal with the threat of communism in the United States. Placed within the framework of a fight against subversive activities by agents and organizations, the FBI used the program against anyone they deemed a threat to the American way. The mandate of the program was to destroy the communist infiltration, not by external harassment, but by exacerbating the internal fight currently raging within the party. (Something Happening Here, pg. 27) In the following years, COINTELPRO were used against various other groups and organizations, including what the FBI referred to as “Black Liberation / Black Hate” groups. COINTELPRO against “Black Extremists” officially started
Despite the attack on 9/11 being the biggest and deadliest act of terrorism to date, it certainly was not first encounter the U.S. has had over the course of its history. The first recorded instance of terrorism in America dates back to 1622 when the Jamestown colony was attacked by the Powhatan Native Americans, who killed nearly 30% of the colony’s white population (Beutel, 2007). However, it wasn’t until 1867 that the first terrorist organization, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was formed. Originally created as a non-violent social organization, the white supremacist group quickly turned to violence and became the face for white southern resistance against policies made by the Republican Party to establish equality for Blacks during the Reconstruction
Domestic terrorism has always been apart of American culture even in fiction and in reality societies. For example Charles Manson and Jeffrey Dahmer were serial killers known for their cruel actions of domestic terrorism. Jeffrey Dahmer is known for the murder of 17 men from 1978 to 1991. Charles Manson was the leader of a cult group called the Manson Family which caught national attention when the group killed actress Sharon Tate and six other people. It is a universal fact that Manson and Dahmer were not mentally stable.
Many acts of terrorism still happen today. Terrorism is the use of violence against a person's property. In the 1800's, John Brown was against slavery and fought for what he believed in, but his actions were violent and he terrorized many people. Even though terrorism can be defined in many ways, John Browns actions at Harpers Ferry and Pottawatomie Creek were acts of terrorism, which justify him as a terrorist.
In August of 1967 the fbi opened up a counter intelligence program on what they called “Black Extremist” they would use whatever means possible to disrupt black power and civil rights organizations which consisted of spreading disinformation, planting evidence to get Panthers arrested, and infiltrating the party with
America has gone through difficult times with war, but has gone through harder times with the war on terror. Terrorism is defined as the use of terror or threat. The war on terror became a big deal on December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed by hundreds of Japanese fighter planes, but has been a bigger deal since that attack on the Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.. The bombing of the Twin Towers and to the Pentagon was like a Pearl Harbor but for the 21st century. Terrorist turn to violent means such as killing and bombing of the government.
The section expands the definition to include “a violent, criminal act intended to affect the conduct of government by mass destruction” (1)(B)(iii). The section also defines domestic terrorism as “any act that is “dangerous to human life, involves a violation of any state or federal law intended to influence government policy, or coerce a civilian population” (5)(B)(i)(ii). A problem with the definition of domestic terrorism is that the term is broad in scope, and could encompass non-terror activist organizations (e.g., Greenspace, Operation Rescue, etc.), and subject them to being
The world mourned when the Twin Towers burned, when Brussels was bombed, and when ordinary people were slain at a concert in Paris. All of these atrocities happened because of radicalization, the taking an ordinary person and influencing their views to be more extreme politically or socially. Radicalization is a social issue that was presented in the novel, Unwind, by Neal Shusterman. One of the main characters, Lev, was radicalized by a terrorist group, known as the Clappers. Clappers lace their blood with explosives and then clap to blow themselves up, killing as many people as possible.
Over the history of the United States, there have been many attempts of terrorism on our soil, many through domestic roots. One such political quarrel that marked the radicalization of the American public far enough to bring about terrorism were on the terms of certain legislations, the concept of abolitionism and anti-abolitionism. Legislations like the Missouri Compromise, and Fugitive Slave act were very controversial to the general public, both in the North and South. At this time, many abolitionists chose to perform pacifist demonstrations rather than violent conflict to achieve their dream. Generation of sentiment against slavery culmunated in John Brown was a calculated terrorist as he used extreme forms of violence against the populus
Both the Boston Marathon Bombers and the Weatherman Underground have similarities and differences. One of the most obvious similarities is that they are both responsible for terrorist acts. Both the Boston Marathon Bombers and the Weatherman Underground have set off bombs in their attacks, and both have killed. While the Weather Underground have now attempted to brush off their bombings as never hurting or killing anyone, their bombings have been tied to the death of at least one police officer.