Between 1960 and 1970, Quebec experienced major social changes during a period known as the Quiet Revolution. These changes were the result of different social groups speaking up to demand greater social justice and equality. They were inspired by events that took place a few years earlier in the United States and France, which led to significant changes in mindsets and politics.
In the United States, many groups were fighting for equal rights for Black citizens. At that time, racial segregation divided Afro-Americans from the so-called White population. This means that they were set apart and treated differently from the rest of society because of their ancestry and skin colour. Black people faced discrimination in many public places such as public transportation, restaurants and the workplace.
Segregation is the act of physically and spatially separating a group of people from the rest of society because of their race, gender or religion, causing a social divide.
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In 1963, thousands gathered to protest against the injustices Black citizens experienced as they marched on Washington. Protesters demanded recognition of civil and human rights set out in the U.S. Constitution, such as the right to equal protection.
A constitution is a legal document that determines a State’s organization and structure. It is often the founding document, including all the laws: legislative, executive and judicial powers and their jurisdictions. It also contains the laws that structure the various institutions, as well as individual rights and freedoms.
Protests took many forms, such as marching in the street and boycotting discriminatory businesses or services. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. were two very influential civil rights activists in the United States.
These Black civil rights movements helped get new laws passed that made racial segregation illegal. As part of the social movement for change in the United States, several other groups were fighting for a more equal and respectful society for everyone. Artists criticized the injustices of the American political and economic system, while other groups demanded gender equality or the abolition of the death penalty. America’s involvement in the Vietnam War was unpopular with young Americans, and so groups of students also opposed military conscription.
Military conscription, commonly known as the draft, is the mandatory enlistment of young people into the military. Conscription has been employed by the U.S. federal government several times during wars or international conflicts. From 1965 to 1975, hundreds of thousands of young American men were drafted into the army to fight in the Vietnam War.
In France, many students and workers held fierce protests against their government. In the 1960s, France’s economy was in good shape, but social inequality was widespread. Students demanded change in universities and wanted to modernize both government and educational institutions. At the same time, workers were demanding better working conditions. Students protested while workers went on strike, plunging France into a major cultural, social and political crisis.
Much like in Canada and the United States after the Baby Boom, young people made up a large portion of the French population in the 1960s. In France, and all around the world, this new generation rejected the old-fashioned society, demanding change and better living conditions. The violent student protests forced the government to intervene. Numerous clashes between protesters and the police shook the streets of Paris for several days. The 1968 student protests in France reached such a point that the movement became known as ‘May 68’.
The working class also put forth their demands in the spring of 1968. Workers protested poor working conditions and mistreatment by employers. Strikes became frequent. Seven million workers refused to work to put pressure on the authorities, disrupting France’s economy with strikes that halted public services and forced factories to stop production. Negotiations were difficult and the workers’ demands were denied. In late May, workers were forced to return to work.
The student protests and workers’ strikes became a major crisis for politicians and unions. Social measures improved, aided by the increased power given to unions. Unions are groups that represent workers and negotiate with employers to improve working conditions, including salaries.