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Fbi Investigations Into The Civil Rights Movement And The New Left, Meredith Donovan

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines how the FBI investigated civil rights organizations and social movements from the 1950s through the 1970s. It compares the reasons for the investigations, the investigative methods, and the extent of the investigations. The paper uses FBI files as the basis for the information and to form the argument that the FBI chose its targets based on who posed a significant threat to the status quo. The FBI had a social and political motive to suppress dissent against the government and to suppress the people who challenged laws to advance their rights. The movements examined are the civil …