The 1960s and Beyond
Johnson Presidency (1963-1969)
LBJ pushed through more domestic legislation than any 20th century president except FDR
Declared a war on poverty and creation of a Great Society
Medicare and Medicaid programs VISTA (Volunteers in Service to
America)--domestic Peace Corps (now AmeriCorps)
New cabinet offices created in Transportation and Housing and Urban Development
Head Start programs to aid underprivileged children
Food Stamp aid to help poor families
Civil Rights Legislation Voting Rights Act of 1965
LBJ No literacy tests Provided federal registration of
African-American voters in areas that had less than fifty percent of eligible voters registered
Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968
March on Washington helped to get passed
Federal government would withdraw support from any state that discriminated
Established Equal Employment Commission
Urban unrest Watts Riots (1965) resulted in 34 deaths
and $35 million damage and demonstrated frustration of urban blacks with unemployment and police practices
Riots followed in black neighborhoods in Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Newark, and Jacksonville from 1965-1967.
King's assassination in April 1968 further antagonized racial tensions. National Commission concluded "Our nation is moving towards two societies, black and white, separate and unequal."
LBJ’s Foreign problems Vietnam
Because of criticism, LBJ announced on March 31, 1968 he would not seek second full term as president in 1968 election.
Countercultural Movements Port Huron Statement (1962)--group of young intellectuals formed
the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) and set out an agenda for societal reform, that included student rights, economic justice, and anti-nuclear war views
Free Speech Movement (1964) begun at UC Berkeley by Mario Savio in protest of university policies spread to other universities as general student unease focused on anti-establishment sentiments.
Radicalization of American students led to challenge to Establishment norms and laws
Youth culture openly scornful of middle class values
Increased and public use of hallucinogenic drugs
Rise of hippies led to development of communes and other counterculture movements
Rock and folk music reflected iconoclastic views of the counter culture
Rock groups such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Doors expressed mystical approach that embraced drugs and Eastern religions as well as themes of anger, frustration, and rebelliousness
Folk singers (Joan Baez, Bob Dylan) expressed explicit radicalism and challenged traditional mores.
Militancy and Protest New militancy among ethnic
groups (Native Americans and Hispanics) and feminists also challenged values and laws through affirmative action and university programs that focused on correcting past abuses and stridency in pushing for equal treatment and legal protection.
From Civil Rights to Black Power
King and Selma march Watts (1965) "Black Power" Nation of Islam
Malcolm X Elijah Muhammad
Stokely Carmichael leader of SNCC and later the Black Panthers Integrationist and later a separatist
Civil Rights Act of 1968 expanded on previous acts and prohibited
discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, and national origin
as of 1974, sex as of 1988, the act protects the
handicapped and families with children The Act is commonly known as the Fair
Housing Act (of 1968).
Environmentalism
Preservationist legislation Environmentalism
Rachel Carson Silent Spring (1962) Earth Day (1970)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Air Act of 1970 Endangered Species Act of 1972
Controversies over Rights Warren Court and Miranda v.
Arizona (1966) Burger Court and Dandridge v.
Williams (1970) Each state has the right to determine
guidelines for welfare programs Ralph Nader
Unsafe at Any Speed (1965) Occupational Safety Act (1973) National Organization for Women
(NOW) Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Phyllis Schlafly’s “Stop ERA” Roe v. Wade (1973)
Détente (Nixon) Easing of tensions
with Soviets and Communist Chinese
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I)
People's Republic of China
Vietnamization "Nixon Doctrine“
U.S.’s allies were to take care of their own protection.
Cambodia (1970) Jackson State College Kent State University
My Lai Vietnam Veterans Against the
War "how do you ask a man to be the
last man to die for a mistake” John Kerry April 1971
Paris Peace Accords (1973) Collapse of Saigon (1975)
The Aftermath of War 1960-1973: 3.5 million men and women
served in Vietnam 58,000 died 150,000 wounded 2,000 missing
Politicians and citizens alike struggled with the conditions and outcome of the war
“No more Vietnams”
The Nixon Doctrine Kissinger: the U.S. would not dispatch
troops to oppose revolutionary insurgencies but would give assistance to anticommunist regimes or factions
Early 1970s, America supported staunch anticommunist powers with dictatorial governments Iran, South Africa, Brazil Covert CIA operations: Chile, 1970
The Election of 1972 CREEP (Committee to Re-
Elect the President) “Dirty tricksters" George McGovern,
Democratic candidate Twenty-sixth Amendment,
1971 Lowered legal voting age to
18 years
A Changing People Demographics of the United States
Population was becoming: Older More urban More ethnically and racially diverse
Center of Power shifted away from the Northeast, towards the West and South
An Aging Population Growth rate almost halved
between 1970 and 2000 Age of marriage delayed Median age of population
28 was the average age in 1970 34 was the average age in 2000
The “graying of America”
New Immigration Between 1960 and 2000 5 times as many immigrants
came from Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Latin America than Europe
Mexicans were the largest group Immigration Act (1965)
Abolished national origins quotas Refugee Act (1980)
Admits refugees on a humanitarian basis Immigration Reform and Control Act (1986)
Makes it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit illegal immigrants Immigration Act of 1990
Increased numbers of immigrants allowed into the U.S.
Urbanization and Suburbanization Metropolitan areas continued to expand “Urban corridors” connected city centers
and adjacent suburbs “Edge cities” City centers transformed
Financial, administrative and entertainment Upper and middle income residents leave More lower income residents moves in
Major challenges in: urban sprawl, traffic, affordable housing
Community Reinvestment Act
Postindustrial Restructuring
Downsizing and mergers
Increase in service sector jobs
Decrease in union jobs Cesar Chavez
United Farm Workers (UFW)
Microsoft Bill Gates
The New Mass Culture Debate FCC regulations Self-censorship Mass Cultural studies:
No longer made distinctions between lowbrow and highbrow
Analyzed the cultural icons and the way consumer integrated products of mass culture into their everyday lives
“Multiculturalism”
Social Activism 1960s style activism
embeds itself in American life
"Million Man March“ (1995) "Promise Keepers“ (1999)
International Christian organization for men
Promote abstinence “Take back the night” Media coverage slips as
protest activity increased
Women’s Issues The pill
Greater control over reproduction
Affected sexual behavior Struggles over gender issues “Feminization of poverty” “Glass ceilings” Sexual harassment ruling,
1986 Thomas-Hill hearings (1991) Political gender gap "Tailhook" (1991)
African American Activism "Afrocentrism” Henry Lewis Gates, Jr.
Greater recognition of black literature and accomplishments
Toni Morrison 1st black woman to win the
Nobel Peace Prize for Literature (1993)
O.J. Simpson trial (1995) “Racial profiling” Confederate flag issue Congressional Black Caucus
American Indian Activism American Indian Movement (AIM) Civil Rights Act (1968)
“Indian Bill of Rights” Tribally Controlled College Assistance
Act Native American Rights Fund (NARF) Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (1988) Powwows
Dilemmas of Antidiscrimination Efforts “Affirmative action“ Quotas and the issue of reverse discrimination Title IX (1972): "No person in the United
States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
Proposition 209 (1996) Public institutions may not consider race, sex or
ethnicity Opposed by affirmative action activists
The New Right Mid-1970s: diverse coalition called
“New Right” Anti-communist and anti-domestic
spending programs “New Right” members came from:
Older activists Phyllis Schlafly William F. Buckley’s Firing Line
The New Religious Right The “New Right” attracted grassroots
support from Protestants in fundamentalist and evangelical churches
Effect of Roe v. Wade mobilized fundamentalist and evangelical leaders Conservative Catholics
Jerry Falwell Constitutional dilemma: strict separation
of church and state perceived as infringing on the “free exercise of religion
The New Right’s Agenda National Conservative Political Action
Committee (1975) Conservative Caucus Moral Majority Family values “Politically correct” Pat Robertson
700 Club Pat Buchanan
Conclusion Sweeping changes in U.S. in last quarter of
20th century: Demographics Economics Culture Society
Mass Culture: the video screen Suburbs and urban sprawl Social activism centered around sexual, ethnic
and racial identities New Right movement