1968 and the Counterculture

Agenda 1. Bell Ringer: SOL Review Kahoot 2. Notes: The Counterculture and 1968 3. Video Clip, 1968 and violence 4. Primary Analysis of 1968 Protests 5. Pro-War or Anti War Song Analysis 6. Kent State and the end of the idyllic Counterculture 7. SOL Review Day 4

The Youth Movement There is an increase in college protests as baby boomers begin attending college. Mario Savio founded the Berkeley Free Speech Movement Students had more sit-ins to reform the school system including necessary ROTC programs, dress codes, parietal codes, and the grading system. The Vietnam War and the draft pushed the movement towards a more massive movement including a march on Washington

Hippies and the Counterculture The student activists of the 60s led to another rebellion on the American culture. This culture rejected middle-class societies and preferred to make what they need, share with others, and not give into consumerism. “a culture so radically disaffiliated from the mainstream assumptions of our society that it scarcely looks to many as a culture at all, but takes on the alarming appearance of a barbarian intrusion.”  Songs who protested the Vietnam War and racism were very popular during the second half of the 1960s and paralleled the antiwar and civil rights movements in youth society

Turmoil in 1968 March 1968, Lyndon Johnson decides not to run for reelection, throwing the Democratic Party into disarray. April 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated His death leads to riots in major cities, including Washington DC. (Many cities take years to recover from the damage) June 1968, Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel by Sirhan Sirhan August 1968, the Democratic National Convention is marred by riots and protests outside of the Convention.

Kent State and a resurgence of Conservatism Nixon would win the election as a Republican in 1968. His Law and Order Platform worked with the “Silent Majority” After an attempt at “Vietnamizing” fighting in Vietnam and getting troops out, Nixon invaded Cambodia, the staging area for North Vietnamese troops, and enraged antiwar protesters. In a radical attempt against the war, Governor of Ohio James Rhodes, in response, sent in the National Guard and chaos ensued. After telling the crowd to disperse, Untrained and unprepared for crowd control, the National Guard fired into the crowd. The aftermath included 4 dead with 2 innocent bystanders on their way to lunch

The Divisions of the 1960s Hawks vs. Doves White vs. Minority Silent Majority vs Counterculture Nonviolent Protests vs Militant Protests