History of the Weathermen

The Weathermen, or the Weather Underground organization, was the violent and militant radical leftist / communist revolutionary splinter of the former Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organization.

The Weathermen splintered from the SDS when several members believed that the non-violent protests against the war in Viet Nam and racism at home were not bringing about the desired changes. Due to this belief the Weathermen often used and were criticized for using violence as a way to affect social and political change. The violent overthrow of the U.S. government became their aim. Their methods included what have been described as acts of terrorism which killed many people doing the most active years of the Weathermen, but when the organization realized that the number of deaths caused by their actions was not being well received, they began to take steps to minimize risk to human life before setting off any bombs. They did this by allowing areas to be evacuated before a bomb went off or waiting until night time to set off the bombs, when most targets were closed for the night.

The Weathermen believed that what they were doing was just and necessary in order to stop what they considered acts of violence perpetrated by the U.S. government.

While building a bomb set to detonate at a dance at a local military installation, three members of the Weathermen were killed.

The group caught the attention of the FBI and became the target of an all out man hunt forcing several members underground and into hiding.

It is often asked how the stage could have been set for a revolution of youth on the streets of America. Wars have been fought before but never has there been so much public protest. Part of the answer was technology. With television and radio broadcasts blasting the message of the Weather Underground into the homes of America it was only a matter of time before the group started to gain support.

Another ingredient for a breeding ground of revolution was the fact that in 1960 almost half of the people living in America were under 18 years old. This saturation allowed for an army of youth to be formed that would challenge the current system of racism, sexism, classism and unjust wars.

Many members who protested the actions of the U.S. government did so peacefully, but the youth who joined the Weathermen did so with the violent overthrow of the U.S. government in mind.

In 1977 high profile members of the Weathermen began to resurface, which ushered in an end to an underground movement. Two of the first members to come out of hiding were Mark Rudd and Cathy Wilkerson who surrendered to police. Rudd received two years of probation and Wilkerson received three years in prison. In 1980 Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers plead guilty to a 1969 charge of bail jumping charges related to an anti-war protest. Dohrn received a fine of $1,500 and three years on probation.

Many in the media still mark the unofficial end to the Weather Underground when member Kathy Boudin came out of hiding to take part in an armed robbery in New York. Three men were killed in a shoot out and Boudin was sentenced to 22 years in prison. She was released from prison in 2003.

Sources:

The Weather Underground. Independent Lens. PBS.