THE NEW LEFT AND THE COUNTERCULTURE
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Transcript of THE NEW LEFT AND THE COUNTERCULTURE
THE NEW LEFT AND THE COUNTERCULTURE
THE NEW LEFTThe New Left : Left wing movements in the 1960s and
1970s. Demanded changes in American society
Social Activism "New Left" :: anti-war/college protests, Hippie Movement,
Peace movement
STUDENTS FOR A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY (SDS) Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
Founded by Tom Hayden & Al Haber at University of Michigan corporations have too much power in government
Port Huron Statement, 1962. Dedicated to “Participatory Democracy”
• Major protest years: 1967-68
"We would replace power rooted in possession, privilege, or circumstance, with power rooted in love, reflectiveness, reason, and creativity."
-SDS, "Port Huron Statement“
OPPOSITION TO VIETNAM Saw war as…
Having no strategic goal Morally unjust Draining American resources
1968 US spent $322,000 for every 1 communist killed $53 per person in poverty programs in
the US
1968: YEAR OF RAGE Columbia University: student protest. Chicago Democratic Convention: Anti-war
demonstrations. Clashed with police all around the convention center Battle of the streets- television redirected attention away
from the convention to the protests outside
1968: YEAR OF RAGE CBS News Anchorman Walter Cronkite goes to
Vietnam – Reports that the war is unwinnable; “Honorable Peace”
Known as the “most trusted man in America.”
1968ASSASSINATIONS: KING & KENNEDY
Shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, Robert Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan
James Earl Ray shot King on April 4th, 1968
THE NATION DIVIDESWho is fighting? 80% from lower economic levels - DRAFTHawks & Doves Hawks: more force to win the war – stop Com Doves: US should withdraw
KENT STATE MASSACRE Kent State University (Ohio) – May 4, 1970 – The
Ohio National Guard clashed with student protesters on campus.
The Ntn’l Guard shot at protesters, killing 4 and wounding 9.
OTHER MOVEMENTS: FEMINISM Women’s Rights Movement was called Feminism
Demands "women's liberation." :equal pay, equal rights, freedom to plan their families
Betty Friedan -- The Feminine Mystique (1957) Addressed dissatisfaction with the status quo of the 1950s “the problem that has no name”
FEMINISM & SEXUAL REVOLUTION An important aspect of Feminism for women
was control of their sexuality and reproduction.
The Birth Control Pill -1960Revolutionary change for women’s sexuality Women could own their sexuality because they could
control reproduction for the first time Griswold v. Connecticut – 1965- Overturned
Connecticut law that prohibited use of contraceptives.
Roe v. Wade – 1973 –Supreme Court found that women had the right to choose to have an abortion during the first three months of pregnancy. States could not prevent this practice.
GAY RIGHTS/LIBERATION MOVEMENT
Starting point is the Stonewall Riots 1969 Transgender, lesbian and gay male patrons at the Stonewall
Inn (bar) resisted a police raid on June 28, 1969. The riots that resulted @ Stonewall provided a rallying point
for the movement
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NEW LEFT
The antiwar protest led to the abolishment of the military draft.
The War Powers Act of 1973 that curbed the President’s power
Contributed to the public’s suspicious view of the government
COUNTERCULTURE Counterculture A. Pursuit of altered states of consciousness and
unconventional lifestyles
“TURN ON, TUNE IN, DROP OUT” The Hippie Movement, most commonly
associated with the counter culture was less politically engaged and less activist than the New Left.
COUNTERCULTURE
Drugs were central to the counterculture 1. Influenced by the Beat movement 2. Timothy Leary encouraged experimentation with LSD.
Famous for saying “turn on, tune itn, drop out”
SUMMER OF LOVE 1967 100,000 people converged in Haight-Ashbury, San
Francisco cultural and political rebellion
A social experiment due to alternative lifestyles Communal living Communal sharing of resources (even among strangers) Free love
WOODSTOCK AND ALTAMONT Woodstock: August 1969.
Exemplified the counterculture Thirty-two of the best-known musicians of the day
appeared 500,000 attended No major incidents of crime or violence.
victory for peace and love.
ALTAMONT Altamont: December 1969
300,000 people attended “Woodstock West."
marred by considerable violence, including one homicide and three accidental deaths
LEGACY?
As the “Sixties” ended the youth movements left America with what some would call more social freedom.
Dress, appearance, lifestyle, and social behavior all changed.
While some Americans found it liberating, others, particularly on the political Right view(ed) the 1960s movements as the beginning of moral decay in the country