1. Women’s Movement Counterculture Watergate

2. The Revival of Feminism
A. Origins of the Women’s Movement
In the 1800s the women’s rights movement paralleled the antislavery movement – equal rights for men and women
Betty Friedan, author of the Feminine Mystique, 1963; the book put down the ideas that women were only wives and mothers; many women looked for alternatives to marriage, childbearing, and homemaking; some women rejected her ideas;
The Revival of Feminism

3. Friedman helped establish National Organization for Women (NOW) The organization dedicated itself to winning :true equality for all women” and to attaining a “full and equal partnership of the sexes”
Minority women faced two challenges: sexual and racial discrimination; most put off the fight for gender equality and first focused on equality for their ethnic groups
Civil rights movement

4. Equal Pay Act 1963 – required pay to be the same for the same work
 B. Women’s Issues in the 60s
Economic rights
On average, for every $1 a man earned on a job, a woman with the same job earned 59 cents.
Equal Pay Act 1963 – required pay to be the same for the same work
Needed equal education and training to get equal job opportunities
Political rights
Women gained the right to vote in 1920, but had little representation in political offices

5. Reproductive rights
Birth control pills introduced in 1960 by the FDA
Abortion was illegal, but women were getting them; there was a push for reform of abortion laws
social and gender relationships
women’s social relationships changed
some men were accepting of the change in women’s ideals, others rejected them

7. The Counterculture A. Profile of a Generation
In the 1960’s the baby boomers were becoming adults. They grew up during the Cold War and there was threat of nuclear war or being sent to a jungle to fight. Many of them blamed their elders, basically anyone over 30.
Although counterculture groups had different goals, most rejected mainstream values and the attitudes or beliefs of the American society. The “Establishment referred to government, media, and corporations that represented power, authority, and the status quo.
The Counterculture

8. They had a philosophy of use what you need, share what you have, and don’t want what you do not have.
Members of the counterculture were called hippies. They rejected more conservative morals against the older generations. There was an increase in sexual disease and drug use.
In their rejection of materialism, many members of the counterculture embraced more free life style and joined religious groups centered around Eastern religious leaders.

9. Living Arrangements
Thousands of young people flocked to the cities, where they organized into groups in certain districts and shared living quarters without regard to ownership status.
Something was always happening in the street, a free concert or an unplanned festival.
Cities got crowded so some counterculture groups left and moved to communes - areas, and established shared-property by many people.

10. Counterculture and the Mainstream
Aspects of the counterculture were adopted into mainstream society as counterculture members turned to more laid back lifestyles.
The counterculture’s interest in diet and food production led to a rapid growth of health stores and vegetarian restaurants.
Counterculture fashion choices spawned new trends of ethnic dress and long hairstyles.

11. The music of counterculture, known as rock and roll, incorporated African American and popular white music.
Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, The Grateful Dead,, and Jefferson Airplane were some popular musicians at the time.
In England, the group the Beatles exploded on the scene and in 1964 “Beatlemania” swept the country.
Woodstock, a rock and roll festival held in 1969, brought thousands of people together to celebrate the new music.
During the 1960’s, Pop artists poked fun at established cultural art. Pop art got its subject matter from photos, comics, ads, and brand-name products. Andy Warhol was a well known pop artist of this time period.

12. The Counterculture Appraised
Counterculture youth forced the country to question the moral values of individuals and society.
The war in Vietnam was an issue that drew the different elements of the counterculture together and it became the dominant issue in the U.S.

14. President Nixon – elected in 1968 and re-elected in 1972 (Republican)
CREEP – Committee to Re-Elect the President:
*Members of CREEP did things to sabotage the Democratic candidates campaign before
the election of 1972 – Nixon was trying to make sure he would win the election.
The Watergate Scandal

15. 5 men broke into the Watergate Office Building to spy on the Democratic National
Committee Chairman’s Office – June 1, 1972
Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein – reporters from the Washington Post
*They investigated the Watergate break-in.
*”Deep Throat” was Woodward’s informant who helped him uncover the scandal; His
identity was kept secret until two years ago – Mark Felt – Assistant Director of the FBI

16. *They found out that President Nixon knew about CREEP’s activities, assisted with the
cover-up, and used his president powers to try and stop the investigation.
A Senate committee began investigating the White House’s involvement in the break-in
and cover-up.
The Oval Office had a recording system and all of the President’s conversations were on tape.

17. • President Nixon refused to turn over the recordings to the Senate committee, but the Supreme Court of the U.S. said he had to.
• The U.S. House of Representatives began the process to impeach (bring charges against) President Nixon.
• Nixon knew he would be impeached and the Senate would find him guilty, so he resigned from office. (the only President ever to do so)
• Vice President Gerald Ford became President and later pardoned Nixon for any crimes he may have committed.