Social Revolutions and Cultural Movements (1960s) In the early and mid-1960s, various liberal groups began to identify with blacks’ struggle against oppressive controls and laws. The first such group to rebel against established authority were college and university students.

Main Ideas The New Left Student Movements of Protest The Counter Culture Movement The Sexual Revolution of the 1960s The Women’s Movement Campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

The New Left In 1962, at a meeting of the newly founded Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in Port Huron, Michigan, a group of radical students led by Tom Hayden issued the following: (1)A declaration called the Part Huron Statement (2)Called for university decisions to be made through participatory democracy (students must have a voice) Activists and intellectuals who supported Hayden’s ideas became known as the New Left Tom Hayden outside the 2004 Democratic National Convention

Student Movements The first major student protest took place in 1964 on the Berkeley campus of the University of California Berkeley students called for a Free Speech Movement that demanded an end to university restrictions on student political activities By the mid-sixties, students across the nation were protesting a variety of university rules (drinking, dorm visits by opposite sex) Students also demanded a greater voice in the government of the university Student demonstrations grew with the escalation of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War (campuses were closed down by antiwar protests) The most radical fringe of the SDS, know as the Weathermen, embraced violence and vandalism on American institutions (discredited the early New Left)

Counter Culture The political protests of the New Left went hand in hand with a new counterculture that was expressed by young people in rebellious styles of dress, music, drug use, and communal living The dress code of the “hippies” and “flower children” of the sixties included long hair, beards, beads, and jeans The Folk music of Joan Baez and Bob Dylan gave voice to the younger generation’s protesters, while rock and roll music of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin (beats of the counterculture) Drugs were big, and LSD provided young people with new ways to expand their minds! In 1969, the Woodstock Festival reflected the zenith of the counterculture movement Hendrix is widely considered one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of pop music and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century

In Retrospect: The Counterculture The generation of baby boomers that came of age in the 1960s believed fervently in the ideals of a democratic society They hoped to change unresponsive authority, poverty, racism, and war Unfortunately, many became impatient in their idealistic quest and turned to radical solutions and self-destructive behavior Their methods tarnished their own democratic values and discredited their cause in the eyes of older Americans Tahquitz Canyon, Palm Springs, California, 1969, Hippies sharing a joint

Sexual Revolution One aspect of the counterculture that continued beyond the 1960s was a change in many Americans’ attitudes toward sexual expression Traditional beliefs about sexual conduct were originally challenged in the late 1940s and 50s by Alfred Kinsey His research indicated that premarital sex, marital infidelity, and homosexuality were more common than anyone suspected Medicine (antibiotics) and technology (the birth control pill) also played a role in tempting people to engage in promiscuous behavior Moreover, overtly sexual themes in advertising, popular magazines, and movies made sex appear as a consumer product Kinsey interviewing a woman

Sexual Revolution continued… Sexual practices also changed and were fueled by new publications that told Americans that “sex was good” Playboy was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. During the 1960s, Playboy was very popular among young and married men Restrictions on premarital sex, contraception, abortion, and homosexuality were challenged and weakened during the 1960s The first issue of Playboy December 1953

The Women’s Movement Increased education and employment of women in the 1950s, the civil rights movement, and the sexual revolution all contributed to a renewal of the women’s movement in the 1960s Betty Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique (1963) gave the movement a new direction by encouraging middle- class women to seek fulfillment in professional careers rather than confining themselves to the role of wife, mother, and homemaker Friedan in 1960

The Women’s Movement continued… In 1966, Friedan helped to found the National Organization for Women (NOW) to secure equal treatment of women In the early 1960s, Congress passed two antidiscriminatory laws: (1) The Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibited discrimination in employment and compensation on the basis of gender National Organization for Women (NOW) founder and president Betty Naomi Goldstein Friedan (1921–2006); NOW co- chair and Washington, D.C., lobbyist Barbara Ireton (1932–1998); and feminist attorney Marguerite Rawalt (1895–1989).

Campaign for the ERA Feminists’ greatest legislative victory was achieved in 1972 when Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) This constitutional amendment proposed: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex” Although NOW and other groups campaigned hard for the ratification of the ERA, it failed because it did not gain the acceptance of the required 38 states It was defeated in part by the growing conservative reaction to radical feminists in the 1970s Representative Martha Griffiths stands outside the United States Capitol after ERA passes the House for the first time in It would be rejected by the Senate in 1971 and passed in the House again later that same year, that time to be approved by the Senate in 1972, sending it to the states for ratification

Achievements of the Women’s Movement Even without the ERA, the women’s movement accomplished fundamental changes in employment and hiring practices In increasing numbers, women entered professions previously dominated by men such as business, law, medicine, and politics Although women still experience the “glass ceiling” in the corporate world, significant changes during the 1960s led to new opportunities and better pay in the 21 st century Red states indicate pro-ERA

Key Names, Events, and Terms Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) New Left Counterculture Sexual revolution Women’s movement Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique National Organization for Women (NOW) Equal Pay Act of 1963 Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

Question Betty Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique (a)advocated no-fault divorce and open marriages (b)argued that many women would not have fulfilling lives if limited to a traditional role in the home (c)proposed federal protection of the special needs of wives and mothers (d)resulted in the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (e)supported premarital sex, abortion, and gay rights

Answer B: argued that many women would not have fulfilling lives if limited to a traditional role in the home