Counterculture & Social Protest: 1965-1974

Counterculture & Social Protest: 1965-1974

A Decade of Protest, 1965-1974

A.    The escalation of the war in Vietnam, 1950s values, & college enrollment inspired protest on colleges

B.     The initial liberal protests began on college campuses but soon inspired other, national protests: African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Native-Americans, women, and hippies

1.      The Sixties generation was the best educated in American history

2.      Protests against Vietnam linked other social criticism—The “war abroad,” intensified a “war at home”

C.     1960s student protest began with Mario Savio & the Free Speech movement at UC-Berkeley in 1964

a.       Students protested the “corporate face” & “1950s rules” of UC-Berkeley

b.      Students rioted when denied a political voice on campus

2.      Inspired the formation of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)  to end racism, poverty, & violence

3.      Inspired college riots & calls for change across the country

D.    A new, youth counterculture began to form in 1965 emphasizing sex, drugs, & rock ‘n’ roll

1.      Beginning in San Francisco & spreading throughout the US,   the “hippie” culture emphasized:

a.       Sexual expression (Increase in premarital sex & use of the “pill”)  (“Summer of Love” in 1967)

b.      Clothing

c.       Drugs: (Use of psychoactive & hallucinogenic drugs) (Harvard professor Timothy Leary: “Let’s all try LSD!! Tune in, turn on, & drop out!”) (“Everyone must get stoned,” Bob Dylan)

d.      Music: (Folk music, British invasion & electric rock, Acid rock)

E.     1968 was the most turbulent year of this decade of protest:

1.      1968 was one of the most turbulent years in U.S. history

a.       Martin Luther King Jr. & Robert Kennedy were assassinated

b.      Riots broke out at the Democratic National Convention

c.       The Tet Offensive showed that the USA was not winning the Vietnam War

2.      Vietnam

a.       The most dramatic protest was Vietnam, led by college students & intensified from 1966 to 1968

a.       Mostly led by college students who escaped the draft

b.      Students protested the draft, military research on college campuses, & disproportionate use of black & Hispanic soldiers

c.       Protests got stronger as fighting intensified in Vietnam in 1966

b.      In 1968, the Vietcong launched the Tet Offensive against U.S. forces in South Vietnam

a.       The attack was contrary to media reports that the U.S. was winning the Vietnam War

b.      The attack led LBJ to believe that Vietnam could not be won

c.       In 1968, LBJ began discussions    to seek a truce & announced that he would not seek re-election

3.      Assassination of MLK led to race riots out in over 100 cities

4.      Assassination  of Robert Kennedy, In 1968, leading Democratic presidential candidate  was shot during the California primary, opened to door for Humphrey & Nixon in the 1968 election

5.      The 1968 Democratic Nominating Convention in Chicago revealed divisions in America

a.       Liberal Eugene McCarthy (Idealistic & anti-war—supported by upper-middle class whites & college students) vs. conservative Hubert Humphrey (Truman-style Cold Warrior—supported by Democratic party leaders; Did not campaign)

a.       Students protesting Humphrey’s nomination & Chicago police action led to violence

6.      Republicans benefited from the Vietnam disaster & a shattered Democratic party;    Nixon won the election as a reconciler

Social Protests of the 1960s & 1970s

F.      Black Power

1.      Civil Rights shifted from nonviolence/political equality to militancy/economic equality; Embrace of black culture

a.       Civil rights began to reflect the overt embrace of black culture  & pride: dashikis, afros, “dap,” rejection of “slave names,” &  the “black is beautiful” motto

2.      Stokely Carmichael (SNCC) called for seizure of power & black-controlled businesses & politics for black-controlled unions, co-ops

3.      Black Panthers (formed by Huey Newton & Bobby Seale) for defense & to serve the community

G.    Brown Power—the Mexican-American movement

1.      “La Raza” movement called for cultural awareness & political & economic rights for “Chicanos”

a.       voter registration, education & poverty reforms

2.      Cesar Chavez formed the National Farm Workers Association to assist agricultural workers  & to demand better pay for pickers

H.    Pink Power—the Women’s Liberation movement

1.      Calls for equal rights & an end to sexist stereotypes in a society with major changes to the family; “The pill”

2.      Women's Liberation movement demanded increased rights &  an end to sexism in America:

a.       In the 1960s, women were still employed in stereotypical jobs…

b.      …were still seen as “homemakers”

c.       But…in most families, both parents worked out of the home

d.      …& unmarried adults outnumbered married adults for the first time

a.       Friedan’s Feminine Mystique criticized 1950s housewife life

b.      National Org of Women (NOW) called for equal pay, child care, rape laws, & anti-abortion laws

1.      In 1973, the Supreme Court upheld abortion rights in Roe v Wade

2.      In the late 1960s, the “pill” became widely available

3.      Growth of female-run small businesses helped overcome corporate “glass ceiling”

c.       Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was revived to end sexism

1.      The ERA by fell 3 states shy of the ¾ needed for ratification

2.      The leader of the anti-ERA movement was Phyllis Schlafly who believed that women were protected by the Equal Pay Act (1963) & Civil Rights Act

3.      The feminist leaders supporting the ERA were Gloria Steinem & Betty Friedan, author of Feminist Mystique (1963) & president of NOW

3.      National Org of Women called to end “glass ceiling;” Roe v. Wade (1973)—abortion; Failure of Equal Rights Amendment

I.       Rainbow Power—the Gay Liberation movement

1.      Began in 1969 after the Stonewall Inn riot in (NYC) & led to the Gay Liberation Front (GLF)

a.       The Gay Liberation Front demanded end to discrimination & rallied gays to “come out”

2.      APA stopped classifying homosexuality as a disease & many states ended discriminatory laws

a.       The American Psychiatry Assoc ended its classification of  homosexuality as a disease

b.      ½ of all states changed their sodomy & employment laws

J.       Red Power—the American Indian movement

1.      The American Indian movement sought to service its communities & regain lost lands:

2.      Seizure of Alcatraz by the “Indians of All Tribes” called national attention to the movement

3.      The Trail of Broken Tears & Long March helped lead to a return of some tribal lands

a.       Trail of Broken Tears: Resulted in marches on the Bureau of Indian Affairs in D.C. & Wounded Knee in S.D.

b.      Long March: A 5-month protest from California to D.C. to protest past U.S. treaty violations

K.    Yellow Power—the Asian-American movement

1.      The Asian-American movement began with the formation of the Asian American Political Alliance:

a.       The Pan-Asian group Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA) protest the war in Vietnam

2.      Demanded Asian-American studies, health services, & reparations for Japanese internment

a.       Protested U.S. involvement in Vietnam & use of term  “gooks”

b.      Called for & received Asian-American studies in colleges, health services in Asian communities, & reparations for interned Japanese-Americans

L.     Civil liberties for people accused of crimes

1.      Gideon v Wainwright (1963)— all citizens, no matter the crime, have right to an attorney

2.      Escobedo v Illinois (1964)— citizens have the right to remain silent during interrogations

3.      Miranda v Arizona (1966)—suspects have the right to be told of your rights against self-incrimination

Conclusions

M.   The counterculture & “power protests” used similar methods:

1.      Active & often-militant protest for civil & economic rights

2.      Cultural pride & awareness

a.       “Black is Beautiful,” “Gay is Good,” & “Sisterhood is Powerful”

N.    These protests would continue but would faced confrontation by the conservative politics of the 1970s & 1980s

chap 30 notes society, politics, & world events from Ford to Reagan

Identifications:

·         Yuppies/VCRs/Three Mile Island

o   Yuppies: young, urban professionals who wore ostentatious gear such Rolex watches or BMW cars. they came to symbolize the increased pursuit of wealth and materialism of Americans in the 1980s, represented decade of greed, stopped being radical, worried about weight.

o   VCRs: video cassette recorders became popular in the late 70's that allowed viewers to tape and view later their favorite programs and to rent movies on cassette. As entertainment became privatized, families stayed home with the VCR instead of going to the movies

o   Three Mile Island: 1979 an accident at the nuclear plant at this location that caused a radiation leak and forced the evacuation of 140,000 people near the site. the story made headlines around the world and seemed to confirm people's fears about nuclear power.

·         Roe v. Wade/Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)/AIDS/Moral Majority/televangelists

o   Roe v. Wade: the 1973 Supreme Court decision holding that a state ban on all abortions was unconstitutional. the decision forbade state control over abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy, permitted states to limit abortions to protect the mother's health in the second trimester, and permitted states to protect the fetus during the third trimester

o   Equal Rights Amendment (ERA): a constitutional amendment originally introduced in congress in 1923 and passed by congress in 1972, stating that "equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the united states or by any state on account of sex." despite public support, the amendment failed to acquire the necessary support from three-fourths of the state legislatures. DID NOT RATIFY

o   AIDS: AIDS epidemic in the 1970s made many Americans more cautious in their sexual behavior.

o   Moral Majority: political organization of the United States which had an agenda of evangelical Christian-oriented political lobbying. Formed by Jerry Falwell. organization made up of conservative Christian political action committees which campaigned on issues its personnel believed were important to maintaining its Christian conception of moral law. this group pressured for legislation that would ban abortion and ban the states' acceptance of homosexuality.

o   Televangelists: ministers who would spread their messages via television networks

·         Gerald R. Ford/WIN/Mayaguez incident/Election of 1976

o   Gerald R. Ford: Nixon’s vice president after Agnew resigned; he became the only president never to be elected. Taking office after Nixon resigned, he pardoned Nixon for all federal crimes that he "committed or may have committed."

o   WIN: “Whip Inflation Now” a program by the ford administration to curb inflation and dramatic price increases by putting pressure on businesses to lower prices and deter consumers from hording goods. Did not really work. Start due to OPEC

o   Mayaguez incident: in May of 1975, Cambodian communists seize the ship Mayaguez and 39 Americans are held hostage. In retaliation the president ordered bombing on Cambodia and the launch of a rescue mission

o   Election of 1976: Jimmy Carter/democrat vs. Gerald Ford/republican= carter wins

·         Jimmy Carter/Love Canal/Panama Canal Treaty/SALT II/Iran hostage crisis/Camp David

o   Jimmy Carter: from Georgia was viewed as a Washington "outsider" with no political ties and no scandals, people thought he would bring fresh ideas

§  stressed human rights. because of the soviet war in Afghanistan, he enacted an embargo on grain shipments to USSR and boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Created the department of energy and the department of education. he was criticized for his return of the panama canal zone

o   Love Canal: a neighborhood in Niagara falls, New York, which became the subject of national and international attention, controversy, and eventual environmental notoriety following the discovery of 21,000 tons of toxic waste buried beneath the neighborhood

o   Panama Canal Treaty: 1978 - passed by president carter, these called for the gradual return of the Panama Canal to the people and government of panama. Very controversial. The people were not happy.

o   SALT II: (strategic arms limitation treaty) superpowers pledged to limit nuclear arms production, although signed it was never officially ratified by the American senate

o   Iran hostage crisis: in November 1979, revolutionaries stormed the American embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans hostage. The carter administration tried unsuccessfully to negotiate for the hostages’ release. on January 20, 1981, the day carter left office, Iran released the Americans, ending their 444 days in captivity

o   Camp David: peace talks between Egypt and Israel mediated by president carter

§  they led to a peace treaty the next year that returned the Sinai peninsula to Egypt, guaranteed Israeli access to the red sea and Suez canal, and more-or-less normalized diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries. this isolated Egypt from the other Arab countries and led to Sadat’s assassination in 1981

·         Ronald Reagan/Reagan Revolution/Reaganomics/deregulation/Contras/Grenada/Beirut bombings

o   Ronald Reagan: elected president in 1980 and again in 1984. he ran on a campaign based on the common man and "populist" ideas. Had participated in McCarthy trials. Iran released hostages on his inauguration day in 1980. he used the strategic defense initiative to avoid conflict. his meetings with Gorbachev were the first steps to ending the cold war. he was also responsible for the Iran-contra affair which bought hostages with guns

o   Reagan Revolution: increased defense spending reduced social programs and cut taxes they were based on supply side theory of growing the economy by cutting government interference and taxes. attempt to return America to the traditional values of church, family, and free enterprise

o   Reaganomics: these policies combined a monetarist fiscal policy, supply-side(cut income taxes), and domestic budget cutting. their goal was to reduce the size of the federal government and stimulate economic growth, unemployed started going back to work

§  it included tax breaks for the rich, "supply-side economics," and "trickle down" theory

o   Deregulation: the lifting of restrictions on business, industry, and professional activities for which government rules had been established and that bureaucracies had been created to administer

o   Contras: a Nicaraguan rebel group that got financial support from the CIA. this group was formed as a response to the overthrowing of Anastazio Somoza Debayle

o   Grenada: a small Latin country where a communist government had taken power. Reagan invaded the country in protest of communist expansion, showing that he was not pursuing détente.

o   Beirut bombings: Lebanon 1983: two truck bombs struck separate buildings housing united states and French military forces killing 299 Americans and Frenchmen - suicide bombers - led to the withdrawal of the international peacekeeping force from Lebanon - Reagan administration was & is severely criticized for its foreign policy

·         SDI/Election of 1984/Iran-Contra Affair/Mikhail Gorbachev/START/INF Treaty/Pan Am 103

o   SDI: Reagan’s proposed strategic defense initiative (1983), also known as "star wars," called for a land- or space-based shield against a nuclear attack. Although SDI was criticized as unfeasible and in violation of the antiballistic missile (ABM) treaty, congress approved billions of dollars for development.

o   Election of 1984: republican: Ronald Reagan (won in a landslide) democrat: Walter Mondale (running mate: Geraldine Ferraro-- first woman candidate).

o   Iran-Contra Affair: president Reagan authorized the off-the-books sale of stolen weapons from the pentagon to Iran in order to fund the Nicaraguan contras; congress had forbidden him to use government funds to support the contras; helped keep Iraq from winning the Iraq-Iran war (did not want a middle eastern superpower); very illegal (Iran was considered a terrorist state) and almost caused Reagan to be impeached

o   Mikhail Gorbachev: soviet statesman whose foreign policy brought an end to the cold war and whose domestic policy introduced major reforms

o   START: “Strategic Arms Reduction Talks”, talks between the united states and the soviet union in which reductions in missiles and nuclear warheads, not merely a limitation on increases, were negotiated

o   INF Treaty: 1987 agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union. Signed in Washington, DC. by US. President Ronald Reagan and Gorbachev on December 8, 1987. the treaty eliminated nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with intermediate ranges, defined as between 500-5,500 km (300-3,400 miles). under the treaty both nations were allowed to inspect each other's military installations

o   Pan Am 103: 1988 Libyan terrorist attack on US; destroyed American plane (bomb); worst terrorist attack on us until 9/11 (270 killed)

Questions:

1. Which social activist movement of the 1960s continued strongly in the 1970s and 1980s? Why?
1. The environmental movement continued strongly in the 1970’s and 1980s. It gained momentum with Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, and the environmental laws of the 1960’s and the start of Earth Day in 1970. The creation of groups such as Sierra Club and Greenpeace, for which membership increased greatly. Campaigns to save animals, plants, and the ocean were launched. In the 1970’s environmentalists attacked the nuclear plants employing rallies and protests. The Three Mile Island incident and the China Syndrome movie also aided in Environment change.
2. The woman’s movement also continued strongly. With the Roe v. Wade decision, and the ERA
2. What was the Roe v. Wade decision? Why did it prove to be politically divisive throughout the 1980s and early 1990s?

a.       Roe v. Wade was the 1973 Supreme Court decision holding that a state ban on all abortions was unconstitutional. The decision forbade state control over abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy, permitted states to limit abortions to protect the mother's health in the second trimester, and permitted states to protect the fetus during the third trimester.

2. The decision proved controversial, especially with the Evangelicals who were pro-life. The women, however, responded with Pro-life campaigns, which polls revealed represented the majority of Americans.
2. How did prospects for Native Americans improve in the late 1960s and 1970s? What significant problems continued to plague American Indians?
1. Acts of militancy by the Native Americans caused the government to give the native Americans more rights over their lives and the reservations. Pride in being Native grew. The natives also launched business ventures on the reservations, making a lot of doe. They also gained the rights guaranteed in previous treaties. Alcoholism, disease, and high unemployment rates still affected the reservations but they still gained prosperity as a whole. 
3. In what ways did religious faith play a more decisive cultural and political role in the 1970s and 1980s?
1. The evangelists took on conservative backlash against the radical changes in America. They first made movements against Roe v. Wade which led to the government stopping Medicaid for abortions. It also stopped the passing of the ERA bill. It also retrogressed the gay rights movement. New groups formed with religion and spiritual questioning. The moral majority formed the pro-life, pro-family, pro-moral, and pro-American crusade. Televangelists appeared on TV across the nation reaching millions of viewers. 
4. What were the troubles that overwhelmed the Carter administration and prevented Carter's reelection?
1. Carter gave the Panama Canal back to Panama. His sheltering of the Shah in Iran led to the hostage situation in Iran. The Iranians abused the American flag, and had anti-American mobs. Inflation grew sharply worse as a second major oil crisis drove up prices. The Federal Reserve Board pushed the discount rate ever higher. With the cost of both credit and oil so high, economic activity deteriorated to "stagflation." Carter’s reign was cursed.

Chap 29: enduring vision notes A time of upheaveal

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