Many argued that it was unfair that they could go to war, drink, and get pregnant, but could not vote. In 1971, the 26th Amendment stated that 18 year-olds now had the right to vote. One of the reasons the youth counterculture reacted so strongly to the War was largely due to the strength of the media. Graphic video of the War including the use of napalm as well as continuous updates on the death toll were being played out in their living rooms on T.V. This inspired youth to protest the war by demonstrating all over America, the largest of which consisted of 250,000 people marching on Washington in November 1969.2
The New Left
Vietnam, civil rights, racism, poverty, and qualities of life were all issues that were questioned by the growing radicalism in the 1960’s and 70’s. The movement was characterized by groups such as Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) who were formed to consolidate management and execute their ideologies. These groups were primarily composed of university students. These groups sought individual freedom, they were against government bureaucracy and they were especially opposed to the influence that corporate America had on society. The goal of the New Left was to change the morals and ethics of America to reflect their own ideals.
The SDS was founded at the University of Michigan in 1960. This group actually coined the phrase “New Left” in their 1962 Port Huron Statement. This statement attacked the lack of individual freedom and the power that they perceived to be held by the government, corporations, and universities. For the SDS, colleges and universities were a natural base to promote their ideals and to subsequently promote change in America.
The Free Speech Movement was formed at the University Of California at Berkley, in 1964 and was focused on the War in Vietnam. It was there where sit-ins and takeovers of campus buildings became a common way to protest. In 1965, a national campaign was instituted against the draft. The frequency and intensity of protests against the draft grew through the middle years of the 1960’s. In the first half of 1968 more than 100 colleges and universities participated in demonstrations of several issues including the war.
During this time one of the most historical and well-known demonstrations took place at Columbia University. The issue that sparked demonstration was the university’s decision to eliminate a black housing unit to build a gymnasium. The SDS and black students took over several campus buildings for almost a week. Toward the end of 1968 the SDS began to fall apart as their protests and other activities were becoming more and more disliked and disapproved of by the general population in America. However, more radical groups such as the Weathermen did emerge as the SDS faltered. The Weathermen condoned more confrontational forms of protests which provoked police into the brutality that occurred on the protestors at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
The Flower Children
During the latter years of the 1960’s a new group emerged. This group was composed of mostly white middle-class students like other New Left groups but with out the political motivation and drive. They were called hippies or flower children. During the late 60s and early 70s the New Left was characterized by the Hippie Movement. They rejected the conventional values of previous generations. Hippies were characterized more by their free lifestyle which included their unorthodox dress, the use of illegal drugs, mostly marijuana and LSD, liberated sexual attitudes, and new wave music. Groups of hippies would frequently practice their life style together in communes.
The ideals of the 1960’s provided the basis for the sexual revolution, and the Women’s Liberation Movement. Inspired by new medical alternatives such as the birth control pill and growing acceptance of the idea of abortion gave people a freedom they had never seen before. The traditional roles of women were changing as well due in large part to author Betty Friedan’s Feminine Mystique. Sex, and equality were the prominent issues for women. Both men and women of the counterculture youth opposed traditional ideas, engaged in “free love”, experimented with drugs, and pursued a self indulgent and out-spoken life style. Their slogan “trust no one over thirty” widened the generation gap. As the rebellion became more extreme, older Americans opposition became more wide-spread.
One can compare the youth hippie movement of the 60’s and 70’s to the youth counterculture that existed in the “roaring 20’s.” Prohibition in 1920 made it a crime to manufacture, transport, or sell alcohol. For many, consuming alcohol became a way to rebel against these restrictive laws. Whereas the youth of the 60’s and 70’s were attracted to marijuana, the drug of choice in the 1920’s was alcohol. As for music, the hippies had rock and roll, and the 1920’s culture listed to jazz. Women in both eras rejected traditional roles. The “Flappers” of the 20’s dressed in a provocative way (for the day) and drank alcohol and danced to excess. Women in the 60’s and 70’s engaged in sex and drugs, and drew attention to themselves by showing their unwillingness to conform to what previous generations expected of them.
The counterculture of the 1960’s and 1970’s was characterized by increased disapproval toward conventional American standards and morals. They had some major issues at the basis of their dissent including the War in Vietnam and Civil Rights. To show their separation from their elders they wore unorthodox clothing and grew their hair long. At the beginning of the social revolution, protests were more toward moralistic events such as the War in Vietnam however, as the decade progressed the tone of the movement became more self indulgent. All of these characteristics and manifestations helped to define the counterculture of the 1960’s and 1970’s.
Notes
1Oates, Stephen B. Portrait of America. 5th ed. Vol. 2. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991.
2http://www.well.com/~mareev/TIMELINE/1969-1979.hotmail
Counterculture Timeline: The Height of the Sixties: Moratorium and The Strike 1969-1971
Bibliography
http://www.well.com/~mareev/TIMELINE/1969-1979.hotmail
Counterculture Timeline: The Height of the Sixties: Moratorium and The Strike 1969-1971
Oates, Stephen B. Portrait of America. 5th ed. Vol. 2. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991.
Oates, Stephen B. Portrait of America. 6th ed. Vol. 2. NY: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995.
