THE NEW LEFT AND THE COUNTERCULTURE

T HE N EW L EFT The 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

S TUDENTS FOR A D EMOCRATIC S OCIETY (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, Dedicated to “Participatory Democracy” Major protest years: "We would replace power rooted in possession, privilege, or circumstance, with power rooted in love, reflectiveness, reason, and creativity." -SDS, "Port Huron Statement“

O PPOSITION TO V IETNAM 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: Y EAR OF R AGE 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: Y EAR OF R AGE CBS News Anchorman Walter Cronkite goes to Vietnam – Reports that the war is unwinnable; “Honorable Peace” Known as the “most trusted man in America.”

1968 A SSASSINATIONS : K ING & K ENNEDY Shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, Robert Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan James Earl Ray shot King on April 4 th, 1968

T HE N ATION D IVIDES Who is fighting? 80% from lower economic levels - DRAFT Hawks & Doves Hawks: more force to win the war – stop Com Doves: US should withdraw

K ENT S TATE M ASSACRE 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.

O THER M OVEMENTS : F EMINISM 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”

F EMINISM & S EXUAL R EVOLUTION An important aspect of Feminism for women was control of their sexuality and reproduction. The Birth Control Pill Revolutionary change for women’s sexuality Women could own their sexuality because they could control reproduction for the first time Griswold v. Connecticut – 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.

G AY R IGHTS /L IBERATION M OVEMENT 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, The riots that Stonewall provided a rallying point for the movement

S IGNIFICANCE OF T HE N EW L EFT 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

C OUNTERCULTURE Counterculture A. Pursuit of altered states of consciousness and unconventional lifestyles

“T URN ON, T UNE IN, D ROP OUT ” The Hippie Movement, most commonly associated with the counter culture was less politically engaged and less activist than the New Left.

C OUNTERCULTURE 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”

S UMMER OF L OVE ,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

W OODSTOCK AND A LTAMONT Woodstock: August 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.

A LTAMONT Altamont: December ,000 people attended “Woodstock West." marred by considerable violence, including one homicide and three accidental deaths

L EGACY ? 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