National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence
The National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence was a federal body established by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the wake of significant political turmoil and social unrest in the late 1960s, particularly following the assassinations of prominent figures like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Its primary mission was to investigate the underlying causes, consequences, and potential prevention strategies for violence in American society. Chaired by Milton S. Eisenhower, the commission focused on various forms of violence, including political assassinations, firearm offenses, and the dynamics between demonstrators and law enforcement.
The commission's work culminated in its final report, titled "To Establish Justice, to Insure Domestic Tranquility," published in December 1969. This report, along with preceding task-force findings, delved into the sociological and psychological impacts of media portrayals of violence, particularly on children. Additionally, the commission addressed law enforcement practices amidst public disorder, highlighting the need for improved accountability and training. Ultimately, the commission advocated for a reevaluation of national priorities and emphasized the importance of research in understanding and preventing violence in society.
National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence
IDENTIFICATION: Federal body appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to examine the causes, consequences, and prevention of violence in American society
SIGNIFICANCE: The commission was created in response to recent political assassinations and a wave of urban rioting growing out of racial disorders and protests against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
President Lyndon B. Johnson created the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence shortly after civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. , and Senator Robert F. Kennedy were gunned down in early 1968. The mission of the government body was to examine the broad nature, causes, and consequences of individual and collective violence in the United States.
The commission was chaired by Milton S. Eisenhower, the brother of former president Dwight D. Eisenhower. On December 10, 1969, the commission issued its final report titled To Establish Justice, to Insure Domestic Tranquility. That report had been preceded by several volumes of task-force reports broadly covering the causes, processes, and consequences of violence as well as recommendations for research and prevention.
During its investigations, the commission examined specific forms of violence including assassinations and political violence, individual and group acts of violence, firearm offenses, confrontations of demonstrators and police, and historical perspectives of violence in America. One of the commission’s task-force reports examined the sociological and psychological effects of media portrayals of violence—particularly those on television—on audiences. The commission noted its concerns about the powerful influence television had on what children learned. Television, it noted, “is never too busy to talk to them, and it never has to brush them aside while it does household chores.”
Another commission report considered law and order in America, discussing the role of law enforcement, including issues of accountability, training, staffing, and finances, in light of governmental reaction to public disorders in Chicago and the Washington, D.C., riots in 1968. In its final report, the commission suggested a reordering of national priorities and recommended specific steps to accelerate research initiatives that would address the causes and prevention of violence in American society.
Bibliography
Curtis, Lynn A., ed. American Violence and Public Policy: An Update of the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1985.
Lange, David L., Robert K. Baker, and Sandra J. Ball. Mass Media and Violence: A Report to the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1969.
National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence. To Establish Justice, to Insure Domestic Tranquility. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1969.