David G. Myers (7) noted that the celebration and defense of personal liberty lies at the heart of the American dream, driving the free market economy and fostering movements that focus on social reform and change efforts. In the 1960s in the United States, for example, various groups came together to institute attitudinal and policy reforms that would ensure the equality of all Americans regardless of race. At the same time, the "civil rights movement" was a movement composed of many different factions ranging from the nonviolent protests of groups such as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the more radical Congress of Racial Equality (CARE), the ultra-radical Black Panthers, and so forth (Foner, 282-238).
Why would a movement with a single overarching goal splinter or develop factions? Simply put, Foner (283) argues that ideological and organizational fragmentation tends to be quite common because agreement on a goal does not necessarily mean that there will be agreement on strategies or processes. I the civil rights movement, the Black Power faction called for a degree of separatism that the SCLC and Dr. Martin Luther King as antithetical to the American democratic ethos. In other words, cohesion and conflict within social movements tends to be a natural artifact of disparate ideologies, beliefs, and value systems that reflect individual experiences as well as group strategies.
Foner, Eric. The Story of American Freedom. New York:
Myers, David G. The American Paradox. New Haven, CT:
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