Why did a student movement develop in the 1960's and 1970's In the USA

Why did a student movement develop in the 1960’s and 1970’s In the USA?

In the 1960’s the USA was benefiting from post war affluence. People had more money because their wages had increased. This meant that parents were able to give their children “pocket-money”. Children were then able to spend this money on the things that were available at the time. These were things like going to the cinema. In the cinema they could see films made by Hollywood about daredevil young men living on the edge. The films gave the impression it was good to live for the moment, “live fast, die young” This was just what happened to young film star James Dean, he died while driving a very fast car. Films were becoming more adventurous. Sex became more explicit as in films like Ted and Alice, and . Six James Bond films, including Dr. No, From Russia With Love, and Gold finger, combined sex and violence and were enormously popular. Previous taboos on sex, violence and language were ignored. Literature also played a part in the development of the student movement, more and more books were being published that broadened the student’s minds, making them able to see things from another groups of people point of view. To kill a Mocking was a book written by Harper Lee was a book about the corruptness of the legal system and the racial and social discrimination of black people. Women were also making a stand for themselves through literature, Betty Frieden wrote the Femme Mystique about why women should change and Gloria Steinman was also another woman who led the way for many women. Music also played a part in the development; more music groups were appearing all over the country. In their songs these bands and singers would sing about the problems of the country. Elvis appeared and he began to attract many fans. The parents of the fans often disagreed with the influence of Elvis in their children’s lives because of his sexually fuelled performances. The began recording music that appealed to teenagers at school. The , from England, burst into popularity with innovative rock music that appealed to all ages. Bob Dylan was also another artist from the 1960’s. In his songs he would sing about subjects like, nuclear war, racism and the waging of war.

The 1960’s was also a decade of social unrest, many people were not happy. Many people were campaigning for civil rights and many people were also protesting against government policies. Many students were affected by the campaigning and so many of them joined in with the campaigns. This began to start a lot of political activity within the country’s colleges and universities. Students began to join groups; they were able to do this because they had more freedom, for example, in 1967 the oral contraceptive pill became legal, this gave women to option on when they wanted to have children. ...

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The American president John F. Kennedy was seen by many as an object of optimism, with who they could look forward to what their country was going to become. This optimism was shattered when; in 1963 the president was shot dead. This event coupled with the stories of horrors from the Vietnam War completely destroyed any optimism that had been present in the early part of that decade. Many American students began to see their society as corrupt. To start with, they wanted a greater say in their education. If the students thought that their society was corrupt, they would obviously begin to question what they were being taught at school and university. But as time progressed the students turned their attentions to what they saw as evil in the country. The student’s main two targets were the Vietnam War and racial discrimination. One of the first student groups to emerge from the USA was Students For A Democratic Society (SDS). This group formed more groups in over 50 universities, and the groups anti-Vietnam stance gained it increased support after President Johnson announced bombing raids of North Vietnam in 1965. By the end of 1965, the SDS had 10,000 members at 150 colleges and universities. These members held anti-war marched and in April of 1965, over 20,000 students marched on Washington DC to demand the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam. There were also some troops at the march, who told the students what they had done in Vietnam. The troops were disgusted by their actions and blamed the government. Many of them threw their medals they had received back to the government. Another group of people were also present in the 1960’s and 1970’s; these were the so-called “hippies”. They were also part of the group that marched to Washington DC. The hippies were for peace and against war. The Hippie movement endorsed drugs, rock music, mystic religions and sexual freedom. They opposed violence. . The Woodstock Festival, at which 400,000 young people gathered in a spirit of love and sharing, represents the pinnacle of the hippie movement. Many hippies moved to Haight, Ashbury, in San Francisco, in New York City, or lived in communes. The 1964 Civil Rights Act was amended to include discrimination against gender, because women who even if they were as qualified as a man would only get half of the pay he would receive. In1967 abortion and artificial insemination became legal in most states. This gave the female students the choice of when they wanted to have children and so they did not have to leave school if they accidentally became pregnant.

Lucy Wade 10RH