Weather Underground Background and Evolution Term Paper

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3. The aftermath

With the end of America's involvement in the Vietnam there was a reduction in motivational impetus of the movement. There were also a number of incidents which contributed to the decline of the organization. For example on October 20, 1981 a Brinks armored truck was robbed outside New York and a number of policemen killed. This resulted in the arrests of members of the organization and the discovery of a cache of arms and explosives. (George & Wilcox, 1996, p. 135) These arrests opened up various leads which led to further arrests and to the discovery of the Weather Underground's involvement in other acts of violence and terrorism.

However only a very few of the Weathermen were captured and many of the members actually turned themselves over to the police. The most notable members who surfaced were Bernardine Dohrn, and Bill Ayers. They were married in 1982.

Many commentators state that "The members and even the leaders of the Weather Underground were treated with remarkable leniency. "(Hewitt, 2002, p. 96) Bernardine Dohrn only received a probationary sentence and was fined $1,500. The judge even refused a nominal jail sentence and stated that "...she had suffered enough through her years in hiding separated from her family and friends." (Hewitt, 2002, p. 96) Another of the leaders Cathlyn Platt Wilkerson, served less than a year of her sentence.

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This was in spite of the fact that she had been convicted of involvement in an explosion in which three people died. Furthermore, "A group of Weathermen who sniped at a police station in Cambridge MA were fined a total of $700." (Hewitt, 2002, p. 96)

However, other members of the organization who were involved in the Brinks robbery received much harsher sentences. Some members such as Judith Clark and David Gilbert received terms of seventy five years to life. (Hewitt, 2002, p. 96) Many of the members of the organization went on to achieve a respected standing in the society. Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn are respected academics: Ayers is a Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Illinois-Chicago, and Dohrn teaches law at Northwestern University. (Grigg, 2001, p. 14)

While the Weather Underground no longer exists, the influence of this movement and the mood of dissatisfaction and rebellion that it engendered still continues to a certain degree today. Many successful academics who were active members of the SDS and the Weather Underground are still publicly critical of the government and the status quo. Some commentators state that although the Weathermen practically ceased to exist more than two decades ago, yet "The legacy lives on." This is also evidenced by the fact that previous leaders of the movement such as Ayers and Dohrn have,.....

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