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THE NEW LEFT AND THE COUNTERCULTURE

THE NEW LEFT AND THE COUNTERCULTURE. The New Left. 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. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

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THE NEW LEFT AND THE COUNTERCULTURE

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  1. THE NEW LEFT AND THE COUNTERCULTURE

  2. The New Left 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

  3. Students for a Democratic Society (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, 1962. Dedicated to “Participatory Democracy” • Major protest years: 1967-68 "We would replace power rooted in possession, privilege, or circumstance, with power rooted in love, reflectiveness, reason, and creativity." -SDS, "Port Huron Statement“

  4. Opposition to Vietnam • 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

  5. 1968: Year of Rage • 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

  6. 1968: Year of Rage • CBS News Anchorman Walter Cronkite goes to Vietnam – Reports that the war is unwinnable; “Honorable Peace” • Known as the “most trusted man in America.”

  7. 1968Assassinations: King & Kennedy Shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968,  Robert Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan James Earl Ray shot King on April 4th, 1968

  8. The Nation Divides Who is fighting? • 80% from lower economic levels - DRAFT Hawks & Doves • Hawks: more force to win the war – stop Com • Doves: US should withdraw

  9. Kent State Massacre • 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.

  10. Other Movements: Feminism • 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”

  11. Feminism & Sexual Revolution • An important aspect of Feminism for women was control of their sexuality and reproduction. • The Birth Control Pill -1960 • Revolutionary change for women’s sexuality • Women could own their sexuality because they could control reproduction for the first time • Griswold v. Connecticut – 1965- 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.

  12. Gay Rights/Liberation Movement • 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, 1969. • The riots that resulted @ Stonewall provided a rallying point for the movement

  13. Significance of The New Left • 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

  14. Counterculture • Counterculture • A. Pursuit of altered states of consciousness and unconventional lifestyles

  15. “Turn on, Tune in, Drop out” • The Hippie Movement, most commonly associated with the counter culture was less politically engaged and less activist than the New Left.

  16. Counterculture • 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”

  17. Summer of Love 1967 • 100,000 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

  18. Woodstock and Altamont • Woodstock: August 1969. • 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.

  19. Altamont • Altamont: December 1969 • 300,000 people attended • “Woodstock West." • marred by considerable violence, including one homicide and three accidental deaths

  20. Legacy? 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

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