--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That's where we all kind of were in the…" description: "\"That's where we all kind of were in the mid-1960s. Students for a Democratic Society grew from a small group of socialists at the university of Michiga..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/bill-ayers-1848_1960s_that-s-where-we-all-kind-of-were-in-the_237696.png" --- # That's where we all kind of were in the mid-1960s… ![“That's where we all kind of were in the mid-1960s. Students for a Democratic Society grew from a small group of socialists at the university of Michigan into a national organization, and in many ways, its growth was driven by the Vietnam War.” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/bill-ayers-1848_1960s_that-s-where-we-all-kind-of-were-in-the_237696.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/bill-ayers-1848_1960s_that-s-where-we-all-kind-of-were-in-the_237696.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/bill-ayers-1848_1960s_that-s-where-we-all-kind-of-were-in-the_237696.png) > “That's where we all kind of were in the mid-1960s. Students for a Democratic Society grew from a small group of socialists at the university of Michigan into a national organization, and in many ways, its growth was driven by the Vietnam War.” [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Student activism expanded rapidly, fueled by the Vietnam conflict, transforming a small campus group into a national movement. **In simple terms:** War spurred student groups to grow nationally. Key Takeaway Recognize how crises amplify activism. Themes activism war student movements growth Mood critical historical Type analytical documentary When to use this quote - college campuses - national protests - policy debates - media coverage Key Concepts social change political mobilization grassroots organization Questions to Reflect On - How do crises shape collective action? - What drives a small group to become national? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on war may oversimplify motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Democratic society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic-society/) [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Michigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/michigan/) [Organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organization/) [Small Group](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-group/) [Small groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-groups/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) [Vietnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vietnam/) [Vietnam war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vietnam-war/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [The fact is that in my prep school, I went to a boarding school, 39 young men graduated from that prep school. Five years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-fact-is-that-in-my-prep-school-i-went-to-a-boarding-school-39/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[Students for a Democratic Society\] it's a social democratic program. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/students-for-a-democratic-society-it-s-a-social-democratic-program/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [It transmitted because on the campuses, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was recruiting, was organizing. Students for a Democratic Society was founded at Michigan just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/it-transmitted-because-on-the-campuses-student-nonviolent/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [Students for a Democratic Society was founded in 1961.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/students-for-a-democratic-society-was-founded-in-1961/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[Students for a Democratic Society\] was on many campuses and it was a powerful organization. It was founded by Tom Hayden, who passed away… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/students-for-a-democratic-society-was-on-many-campuses-and-it-was-a/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The end of Students for a Democratic Society is viewed by me and a lot of other people as a terrible sorry in many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-end-of-students-for-a-democratic-society-is-viewed-by-me-and-a/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [Students for a Democratic Society was also affiliated with the civil rights movement everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/students-for-a-democratic-society-was-also-affiliated-with-the-civil/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [“Millennials, instead of a danger, are really a reflection of the society in which they grew up in, and in which all of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-kadakia/millennials-instead-of-a-danger-are-really-a-reflection-of-the/) [Crystal Kadakia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-kadakia/) > [In the mid-1960s, as hard to believe as it may be now, choosing to go into academic philosophy was not an imprudent career choice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/in-the-mid-1960s-as-hard-to-believe-as-it-may-be-now-choosing-to-go/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [We were born in this society, we grew up in this society. And we learn to be like everyone else, playing nonsense all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-were-born-in-this-society-we-grew-up-in-this-society-and-we-learn/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I grew up in a middle to upper-class house with fairly liberal sentiments, but to me it was always very obvious that the society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pieter-hugo/i-grew-up-in-a-middle-to-upper-class-house-with-fairly-liberal/) [Pieter Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pieter-hugo/) > [“THESE MANIFESTATIONS OF BACKLASH—against family breakup, illegitimacy, welfare, crime, riots, black activists, anti-war demonstrators, long-haired hippies, government programs that favored minorities, elitists, liberals generally—exposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-patterson/these-manifestations-of-backlash-against-family-breakup-illegitimacy/) [James T. Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-patterson/) > [I got interested in the idea of music that could make itself, in a sense, in the mid 1960s really, when I first heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-got-interested-in-the-idea-of-music-that-could-make-itself-in-a/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Living in a bubble as I said in a featherbed of privilege. That's why leaving home, leaving the prep school and going to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/living-in-a-bubble-as-i-said-in-a-featherbed-of-privilege-that-s-why/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ When \[my dad\] was at the University of Michigan, my mom was a social-worker. As he rose, he voted for \[Adlai\] Stevenson initially. Then… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/when-my-dad-was-at-the-university-of-michigan-my-mom-was-a-social/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## More by Bill Ayers > [ It wasn't \[Barack\] Obama per se; it was the feeling on the ground; it was seeing an old black woman in a wheelchair being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/it-wasn-t-barack-obama-per-se-it-was-the-feeling-on-the-ground-it-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I didn't respond to people thrusting microphones at me and asking me questions that were unanswerable in a sound bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-didn-t-respond-to-people-thrusting-microphones-at-me-and-asking-me/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I haven't been silent. I teach, I lecture at universities, I write, I'm not silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-haven-t-been-silent-i-teach-i-lecture-at-universities-i-write-i-m/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ One of the great crimes of the Bloomberg/Klein administration \[in New York City\] is that they've removed themselves from communities, as if communities have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/one-of-the-great-crimes-of-the-bloomberg-klein-administration-in-new/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I was involved in the anti-war movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-involved-in-the-anti-war-movement/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[Lyndon \] Johnson was responding to a black freedom movement that was tearing the country open and he did what he had to do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/lyndon-johnson-was-responding-to-a-black-freedom-movement-that-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ I'm wary of government. Part of \[the Tea Party\] impulse is to dislike and be worried about the rich. I'm that way too. So… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-m-wary-of-government-part-of-the-tea-party-impulse-is-to-dislike/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ I'd been arrested many times by then. I'd been an organizer, so many things had changed over those three years \[from 1965 till 1968\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-d-been-arrested-many-times-by-then-i-d-been-an-organizer-so-many/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [You cannot live a political life, you cannot live a moral life if you're not willing to open your eyes and see the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/you-cannot-live-a-political-life-you-cannot-live-a-moral-life-if-you/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I was a good liberal in some sense at that point. I wanted to end a war. I wanted to support the civil rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-a-good-liberal-in-some-sense-at-that-point-i-wanted-to-end-a/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The fact is that in my prep school, I went to a boarding school, 39 young men graduated from that prep school. Five years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-fact-is-that-in-my-prep-school-i-went-to-a-boarding-school-39/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[The whole first year at university\] was a great time for me and great time of awakening. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-whole-first-year-at-university-was-a-great-time-for-me-and-great/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The truth is that the antiwar movement was powered by the working class. The students were the ones that got the media and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-truth-is-that-the-antiwar-movement-was-powered-by-the-working/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [There was one moment when J. Edgar Hoover and us had the same distorted lens about who we were - "a real threat," you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/there-was-one-moment-when-j-edgar-hoover-and-us-had-the-same/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [Every politician - FDR, Lyndon Johnson, Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama - they're all conservative by nature. They are part of the big thing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/every-politician-fdr-lyndon-johnson-abraham-lincoln-barack-obama-they/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) [Explore all 204 Bill Ayers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## More 1960s quotes > [We do need different types of propulsion to get to Mars. I wrote one of the first Ph.D. theses on that in the 1960s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-do-need-different-types-of-propulsion-to-get-to-mars-i-wrote-one/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Each year more than 100,000 high school graduates, with proved ability, do not enter college because they cannot afford it. And if we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/each-year-more-than-100-000-high-school-graduates-with-proved-ability/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Sometimes a party must sail against the wind. We cannot heed the call of those who say it is time to furl the sail.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kennedy/sometimes-a-party-must-sail-against-the-wind-we-cannot-heed-the-call/) [Edward Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kennedy/) > [ \[In the 1960s\]...you could take LSD but you couldn't wear a pantsuit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsey-johnson/in-the-1960s-you-could-take-lsd-but-you-couldn-t-wear-a-pantsuit/) [Betsey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsey-johnson/) > [Is it a coincidence that stories from the private life became more popular just as the grand hope for public redemption through revolution was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/is-it-a-coincidence-that-stories-from-the-private-life-became-more/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [I think the general anxiety of the 1960s - '70s spawned our interest in the living dead. When people worry about the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/i-think-the-general-anxiety-of-the-1960s-70s-spawned-our-interest-in/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“A friend once told me a story about a former Black Panther leader in a Midwest community who in the 1960s had his phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-j-rodr-guez/a-friend-once-told-me-a-story-about-a-former-black-panther-leader-in/) [Luis J. Rodríguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-j-rodr-guez/) > [I was never bothered about my position in the industry. If I had believed in it, I wouldn't have allowed anyone to get ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharmendra/i-was-never-bothered-about-my-position-in-the-industry-if-i-had/) [Dharmendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dharmendra/) > [Under the system that we now have to nominate presidential candidates, for instance, I would prefer that we have a system that is closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beschloss/under-the-system-that-we-now-have-to-nominate-presidential-candidates/) [Michael Beschloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beschloss/) > [My son Bill, who came to me in 1960-he was 14 then, quoted the old parable to me: "It is not by their words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/my-son-bill-who-came-to-me-in-1960-he-was-14-then-quoted-the-old/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [There is a book called San Francisco Tape Music Centre:1960s Counterculture and the Avant-Garde and this book describes everything that you want to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/there-is-a-book-called-san-francisco-tape-music-centre-1960s/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [Much of the art of the 1960s, from body art to video and direct performance, was concerned with similar issues. And then there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valie-export/much-of-the-art-of-the-1960s-from-body-art-to-video-and-direct/) [Valie Export](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valie-export/) > [I went through college in the 1960s without having any idea that I was going to have to make a living. When I graduated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/i-went-through-college-in-the-1960s-without-having-any-idea-that-i/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > [“At the beginning of a decade when everything was beginning to seem possible, nothing seemed impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-lee-shetterly/at-the-beginning-of-a-decade-when-everything-was-beginning-to-seem/) [Margot Lee Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-lee-shetterly/) Browse all 486 1960s quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That's where we all kind of were in the mid-1960s. 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