Ramparts magazine,
and became well known for his book Soul on Ice. His vivid writing helped
the Panthers in spreading their ideas widely. Gradually, chapters of the
Black Panther party were established in ghettoes all across America.

Besides demanding legal rights for blacks, the Black Panthers developed a
ten-point program demanding decent jobs and decent housing. Also, arguing
that most black prisoners had been convicted in courts by people
conspicuous for their racial prejudice, they advocated that all black
inmates of American jails should immediately be released and granted
amnesty. Because blacks were not properly represented in the country and
were not treated fairly as citizens, the Panthers contended that they
should be exempted from all military service. Blacks fighting in the
Vietnam war, they pointed out, were represented in numbers above their
national proportion and were being used to fight a racist war against
colored people in Asia. Carmichael had previously made this same point
and had popularized the motto, "Hell No! We Won't Go!"

Although the Black Panthers believed in black power, they were willing to
cooperate with some extremist whites, and they wanted the entire
political system restructured to remove power from the rich and put it in
the hands of the masses of citizens. They expressed this teaching with
the slogans, "All power to the people" and "Black power to the black
people." Eldridge Cleaver had also concluded that some young whites could
be trusted to support the black cause. He had been impressed with the
commitment of some of the white college students, especially those
connected with Students for a Democratic Society. He recognized that
there were some modern John Browns who could be depended on to help the
cause. In the 1968 election, the Panthers joined with militant white
groups which were seeking both racial justice and an end to the war in
Vietnam and formed the Peace and Freedom Party. Although he was not old
enough to meet the constitutional requirements, Eldridge Cleaver was
nominated as the party's presidential candidate. In spite of the fact
that the Peace and Freedom Party received only a handful of votes, it was
a means of communicating its message to the American people.

In spite of President Nixon's appeal to the American people to "lower
their voices" of protest so that they might better be heard, many
believed that he only wanted quiet in order not to be disturbed.