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