Summary of "The Way the Wind Actually Blew: Weatherman Underground Terrorism and the Counterculture, 1969-1971"

Seminar Overview

The seminar focused on the history and legacy of the radical left-wing group Weatherman (later Weather Underground), active from 1969 to the mid-1970s. It explored the group’s origins, tactics, internal conflicts, and impact on the broader 1960s counterculture and anti-war movements.

Key Points and Arguments

Background of SDS and Weatherman

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was the largest leftist student organization in the U.S. during the 1960s, peaking with over 100,000 members.
By 1968-69, a radical faction within SDS, calling itself Weatherman (named after a Bob Dylan lyric), emerged. This faction advocated armed struggle and aligned with Third World revolutionary movements and the Black Panthers.
Weatherman rejected peaceful protest and traditional organizing, believing white working-class and students were irredeemably racist.
In June 1969, this faction split SDS, effectively destroying the original organization.

Transition to Weather Underground and Armed Struggle

Between late 1969 and early 1970, Weatherman evolved into the Weather Underground, committing to guerrilla warfare against U.S. government and capitalist targets.
Their first major violent action was the 1970 firebombing of the home of a judge involved in the Panther 21 case.
The most infamous event was the 1970 townhouse explosion in New York City, where three members died while preparing nail-studded dynamite bombs for an attack on a military dance.
This tragedy led to a strategic shift within the organization: they renounced lethal violence against people and focused on property damage to avoid casualties.

Internal Divisions and Strategy Shifts

Bernardine Dohrn and Jeff Jones led the faction advocating non-lethal bombings and re-engagement with the broader anti-war and counterculture movements.
John Jacobs led the opposing military faction, which was expelled after the shift away from lethal violence.
Despite the shift, a small lethal faction persisted, eventually leading to a 1976 coup by Clayton Van Lidhigraf, who resumed planning deadly attacks but was infiltrated and arrested by the FBI.

New Findings and Revisionist Narrative

Professor Arthur Axeen presented new research challenging the long-accepted narrative (Narrative A) promoted by former Weather leaders Bernardine Dohrn and Jeff Jones. This narrative portrayed lethal plans like the Fort Dix bombing as rogue acts by crazed individuals.
Axeen introduced a darker “Narrative B,” supported by recently published memoirs of other Weather members and newly declassified FBI files. This narrative shows that the leadership approved multiple coordinated lethal bombings planned for March 6, 1970, in New York and Detroit.
The Detroit bombing was foiled by an FBI informant, and the townhouse explosion aborted the New York attack.
Had these attacks succeeded, they would have caused mass casualties and likely triggered severe government repression.
The leadership covered up the extent of their lethal intentions to maintain control and legitimacy within the underground movement.

Impact on the Left and Legacy

The implosion of SDS and the violent turn of Weatherman symbolized the fracturing and radicalization of the late 1960s left.
Some former leaders, like Dohrn and Jones, later reintegrated into mainstream society and academia, while others, such as David Gilbert, remained imprisoned for violent acts.
The Weather Underground’s history complicates simplistic portrayals of 1960s radicals as purely idealistic or nonviolent.

Discussion Highlights

Participants debated the relative importance of Weatherman in SDS’s demise, noting other factions also contributed to its fragmentation.
The ethical and strategic contradictions within Weatherman’s approach to violence were examined, including their rejection of Black Panther advice to reduce violence.
The FBI’s surveillance, infiltration, and illegal tactics against Weather Underground were detailed, including the role of Mark Felt (“Deep Throat”).
The seminar explored the challenges of interpreting memoirs and FBI documents, acknowledging biases and gaps in the historical record.
Comparisons were drawn between the U.S. leftist violence and European groups like Germany’s Red Army Faction, emphasizing that the U.S. radicals were more violent than often portrayed.
Contemporary implications were discussed, including the differing experiences of younger activists today who have not faced the same levels of repression or defeat.

Funding and Support

Weather Underground members lived modestly, with no foreign funding; money came from donations, jobs, and some trust funds.
Bernardine Dohrn once lived on a yacht donated by a Hollywood actor but generally lived a Spartan lifestyle.

Conclusion

The seminar underscored the importance of revisiting and revising historical narratives with new evidence.
The Weather Underground’s story is a cautionary tale about radicalization, violence, and the complexities of revolutionary movements.
The discussion emphasized the need to understand the broader social and political context of the 1960s and the continuing relevance of these lessons for modern activism.

Presenters and Contributors

Professor Arthur Axeen (University of Maryland) – Main speaker, historian specializing in ancient Rome and 1960s American radicalism.
Marian Barber – Associate Director, National History Center.
Ross Johnson – Senior Scholar, Wilson Center.
Stanley Faulk – Military Historian.
Steven Shore
Dne Kennedy – George Washington University.
Son Hong – Public Policy Scholar, Wilson Center.
Zed David – Senior Scholar, Wilson Center.
Bill Ays – Senior Scholar, Wilson Center, former Weather member and author of Fugitive Days.
Bernardine Dohrn – Former Weather Underground leader (discussed extensively).
Jeff Jones – Former Weather Underground leader (discussed extensively).
Kathy Wilkerson – Former Weather member, memoirist.
Mark Rudd – Former Weather leader, memoirist.
Howard Mockinger – Former Weather member, scholar.
David Gilbert – Former Weather leader, imprisoned.
Naomi Jaffy – Former Weather leader.
Larry Grathwall – FBI informant within Detroit Weather Collective.
Britney Crawford – Archivist, National Archives.
Judy Howlet – Participant and arts colleague.
Kai Bird – Former Wilson Fellow.
Andy Becker – Filmmaker and activist.
Michael Kasen – Georgetown University.
Peter Guri – Independent analyst.
Others – Various scholars, former activists, and audience members contributing to Q&A.

This seminar provided a nuanced, evidence-based reassessment of the Weather Underground’s violent phase, challenging sanitized narratives and highlighting the complex interplay of ideology, violence, and political strategy in the late 1960s and early 1970s radical movements.