The Sixties

1overviewCivil RightsPresidentsJohn F. KennedyLyndon B. JohnsonRichard NixonThe Vietnam WarThe CountercultureCivil Rights Protesters Marching From Selma to Montgomery, AL

The Civil Rights movementPhases of the MovementLegalizationmid-1950s to early 1960Non-Violent Direct Action1960 1965Black Nationalism1965-1970legalizationWhat is legalization?African-Americans relying on legal means to achieve civil rights goalsBrown v. Board of Education1954 ruled segregation unconstitutional in public schoolsSeparate facilities inherently make them unequalNAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)Formed in 1909Originally focused on legislation to end lynching (the Jesse Washington case was paramount to their cause)In the 1950s and 1960s, the NAACP championed legalizationOral History Interviewee on Desegregation in Waco

Non-Violent Direct ActionThe idea that legalization is moving too slow; not enough is getting done.Peacefully and non-violently disobeying laws that African-Americans felt were immoral, unfair, and unjust.Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-56This put non-violent direct action on the radar for minorities throughout the United StatesDr. Martin Luther King, Jr.Non-violent direct action is most commonly associated with himDemonstration in Birmingham, ALMarch on Washington D.C. August 1963I have a dream speechNon-Violent Direct ActionSNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee)Played a major role in the sit-ins and freedom rides of the Civil Rights movementEspecially crucial in organizing voter registration in the SouthFreedom Summer of 1964 got both whites and blacks involved with protesting Civil Rights in the SouthAttempting to register as many African-American voters as possible in MississippiSit-inProtesters would go to restaurants for whites only and sit there all day (typically drug stores with lunch counters)Goal was to sit and wait for serviceActivists were completely passive. They would not resist any action taken against them by law enforcementAttempting to appeal to the nations conscienceFreedom RidesCivil Rights activists who rode on interstate buses into the segregated SouthGoal was to challenge segregated local and state laws by attempting to ride all forms of transportation and break these laws

Birmingham Protesters

Black nationalismThe next step after Non-Violent Direct ActionActivists begin to believe non-violence is not doing enoughBlack nationalism incorporates resistance to the accommodation of European cultural and social waysEssentially, extreme pride in African-American heritageNation of IslamW.D. Fard created the new black nationalist version of the Nation of IslamBlack people were the very first humans and that whites had emerged out of scientific experiments of mad scientists The mad scientists were attempting to use these experiments to dilute the strength of the original African peopleBasically, whites are the mutant devils of this experimentElijah Poole gets converted by W.D. Fard and takes over the movement; takes the name Elijah MohammedPoole is the individual who converts Malcom X Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcom X

Black nationalismNation of Islam / Black Nationalism combinedMovement picks up in the latter half of the 1960sThe massive decolonization of African countries in the 1940s and 1950s greatly enhances the idea that Africa is worthy of activists attention, pride, and respectThis generates the idea that African-Americans controlling their political destiny should be a significant pillar of the Civil Rights movementBlack PowerWas not a program, but is a representative mood of disillusionment and alienation from a white-dominated AmericaJune 1966 James Meredith wants to prove that conditions are different in MississippiPlanned to march through Mississippi in an attempt to convince blacks that they can voteMeredith gets attacked when he crosses the Mississippi state line; gets severely injuredMLK and Stogley Carmichael decided to continue Merediths marchRun into hostile whites throughout their journeyKing attempts to stay non-violentCarmichael calls for black power

Black nationalismBlack Power (continued)African-Americans should have independent action in politicsThey should control their political destinyPolitical power in Southern, rural areas must be controlled by African-AmericansEmphasizedSelf-helpRacial solidarityRetaliatory violenceMLKs assassinationApril 4, 1968Black power becomes synonymous with the Civil Rights movementLed to a nationwide wave of riots in over 100 cities

Watt Riots, Los Angeles, CA (1965)

Civil Rights LegislationCivil Rights Act of 1964Outlawed racial segregation in schools, public places, and employmentIncluded women and mentions whitesIntroduced by Kennedy in his civil rights speech on 11 June 1963Voting Rights Act of 1965Outlawed discriminatory practices against minorities at the pollsEchoed the 15th amendmentSpecifically aimed at literacy tests and poll taxes that were common in the SouthImmigration and Nationality Act of 1965Abolished the nation-origin quotas that had been a staple since 1924Civil Rights Act of 1968Prohibited racial discrimination in housing (sale, rental, or financing)Equal opportunity based on race, religion, and national originPassed during Johnsons administrationJohn F. Kennedy

John f. kennedyKennedys AgendaCold War mentality; new initiatives aimed at countering communist influence throughout the worldSpace programPeace CorpsAttempts to oust Castro from Cuba (Bay of Pigs Incident)Did little for Civil RightsToo worried about reelectionThe Cuban Missile CrisisOctober 1962 American spy planes discover that the Soviet Union was installing missiles in Cuba that were capable of reaching the United States (fear of nuclear warfare)Ends with an agreement with the Soviet UnionSoviets take missiles out of CubaAmericans take missiles out of TurkeyKennedy spins this to appear that he confronted Castro and made him back down

Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon b. JohnsonKennedys assassination22 November 1963 Kennedy is shot down in DallasJohnson takes the oath of office on Air Force One 2 hours and 8 minutes after Kennedy was shotThe Great SocietyThe most sweeping proposal for government action to promote welfare since the New DealUnlike the New Deal, the Great Society was a response to prosperity, not depressionItems:Federal funding for educationWar on PovertyMedicare and MedicaidThe Vietnam War was greatly responsible for the Great Societys demiseJohnson ended up spending all his time and funding on the war Richard nixon

Richard nixonCampaign of 1968Ran on a platform of law and order, appealing to the Silent MajorityBacklash to the anti-war movement, Civil Rights movement, and the counterculture (and all the riots associated with all of the above)The Imperial PresidencyActed much less like a president and more like an emperorOver time, Americans have become accustomed to a president with great power over many issuesImperial presidents decided their job was not just carry out laws, but to decide which laws should be carried outRichard Nixon typifies thisForeign PolicyConservatives saw Nixons policies as dangerously soft towards communismNixon and Henry Kissinger were a strong foreign policy team that continued the policies of their predecessors, attempting to undermine governments deemed dangerous to democracyRichard Nixon and Henry Kissinger

The Vietnam war

Vietnam war overviewNorth VietnamCommunist, ruled by Ho Chi MinhAttempting to take over South VietnamOften used conventional warfare, also used guerilla tacticsSouth VietnamAnti-communist; supported by the United StatesAttempting to resist communist take-over by North VietnamRelied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to counter North Vietnams large number of troopsWhy does the United States get involved?Communist containmentU.S. involvement escalates in 1960Number of committed U.S. troops triple in 1961 and triple again in 1962

Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War in the Kennedy AdministrationFunctioning under the Cold War mentalityFears the Domino effectIf South Vietnam falls to communism, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand would fall to communismThis would effectively ruin anti-communist efforts in East AsiaRationalization for the warThe United States wanted to protect national interests and its securityUsed the idealistic and moralistic approachHelping the good of humanity through the spread of democracyKennedy was hesitant to act on Vietnam as he was worried about reelectionThis occurred throughout his entire administration

Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War in the Johnson AdministrationJohnson escalates the war occurring in four stepsJohnsons hands-on approach we will win the warBombing of North VietnamGround TroopsFull Commitment Johnson had a machismo mentality toward the Vietnam WarStill very committed to the Cold War mentalityHe over estimated the appeal of democratic principles in the face of communismAlso afraid of the Domino EffectGulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964) assist any country against communist aggressionHe did not want to be the first president to lose a warBoth he and Kennedy ignored the Vietnamese culture and their resistance to imperial powersKennedy and Johnson waged the war as a limited warNot keen on adopting the guerilla tactics of the VietnameseThe real victim of the Vietnam War under the Johnson administration was his Great Society legislationHis funding and attention was focused squarely on the war (Tet Offensive)

Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War in the Nixon AdministrationThe Vietnam War was at the center of the nations political life at the time of Nixons electionDuring his campaign, Nixon claimed he had a secret plan to end the war if he was electedDidnt have one; just a campaign ployNixon expands the war less than two months after he was electedApproved a bombing campaign in CambodiaNixon either destroyed or falsified most of the records on this campaignAfter the New York Times reported on this campaign, Nixon becomes paranoid of leaks in his administrationBegins wire-tapping Nov. 3, 1969 Nixon announces that American defeat in Vietnam would lead to a communist massacre and a collapse of confidence in American leadership (becomes a justification to escalate the war)Anti-War protest was at an all-time highNixon attempts to quell this by pulling troops out of VietnamSubsequently, he sends in troops to CambodiaThe counterculture

The Counter CultureAmerican culture prior to the 1960sWorld War II / Cold War mentalityTelevision and mass media are becoming common (creating a national culture)Emergence of a consumer culture (shift from the 1920s)NationalismProsperity and affluenceSocial mobilityBaby boomers (more people = more consumption)The national culture is linked with consumptionTelevision is the medium for this progressionAffluence: most items are within price ranges that people can affordThe Counterculture emerges as an alternative to the typical American culture

The Counter CultureSociety was not a comfortable place for those in the countercultureThey felt disaffected and alienatedMost participants were white, middle-class Americans and products of the baby boomPrimarily reared in the 1950s with the traditional focus on conformity and social valuesThey came of age when there was great pressure for change politicallyThey identified with Kennedy because of his youthAfter his assassination, they felt separated from the governmentIf the Kennedy and Johnson administrations could not bring about change, they had to do it themselvesEducationThey thought the structure of the universities were too rigidThe Counter CultureThe Technocracy and/or THE MAN and/or The EstablishmentFairly interchangeable termsEverything is controlled by a team of experts (sprung up out of the Cold War mentality where everything is intellectually and technologically superior)In the technocracy, the individual should defer to the experts who know betterStudents started to seek some control over their university livesDemocracy and the TechnocracyStudents attempting to reconcile democratic ideals within the context that they should be taking orders and not thinking for themselvesTrinity of the CountercultureSexDrugsRock n RollThe Counter CultureDivisions in the CounterculturePolitical RebelsSocial/Cultural RebelsPolitical RebelsThose who became involved with anti-war movement and the Civil Rights movementThose who primarily conduct the protests in the late 1960sSocial/Cultural RebelsBasic hippiesThe goal of happiness is a goal in itselfHaight-Ashbury hippies attempt to create their own culture in San Francisco (large-scale hippie commune)Return to Nature hippies that would drop out of society all togetherSort of a throwback to Transcendentalism

The Counter CultureThe Counterculture was not a majority of the American populationHowever, it got a lot of media attentionFamilies, especially children and mothers suffered from the free love mentalityAnti-War MovementTakes a while for full-scale protests to emergeStarts in 1967-68Protesters were tired of the Vietnam WarKent State ShootingsProtesting after Nixon finally announced he was expanding the war into CambodiaThousands of protesters (residents of the town and students)SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) came in to help protestNational Guard was called in to break up the riotsRioters marched to Blanket Hill; National Guard opens fire13 students shot, 4 fatally woundedKent State Shootings at Blanket Hill (1970)

The Counter CultureFree Speech MovementGrew out of protests at U.C. Berkeley1964 administration decided that students could no longer set up tables on campus to support off-campus causesCivil rightsCapital punishmentNuclear disarmament21 September 1964 nearly all the campus organizations decided to unite and violate the table ban (under the argument of freedom of speech)One of the leaders was confronted and told to come to the officeOver 500 stage a sit-in at the administration buildingUniversity president suspends 8 studentsThis only increases the ill will between students and administrationCauses more protestsThe Counter CultureFree Speech MovementJack Wineberg organizes students to set up tables over civil rights and political agendasRefuses to leave when ordered to do so; gets arrestedOver 100 other students show up in a free speech rally; demand to be arrestedCrowd around the police cruiser; stage a sit-in around the car which grows to 3000 peopleLasted for 30 hours; ended when the Berkeley president decides to meet with studentsIt was the first massive campus demonstration in the 1960sMost people thought that U.C. Berkeley had fallen into chaosMBabersnull187073.3eng - iTunPGAP0eng - iTunNORM 000001CF 00000000 00001E13 00000000 00028EE5 00000000 00008044 00000000 00028EE5 00000000eng - iTunSMPB 00000000 00000210 000008C4 00000000007DD5AC 00000000 0016CF30 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000