Cultural and Social Change in the 1960s

1. Cultural and Social Change in the 1960s

2. Protesters of the 1960s • Ordinary people • Agents of change • Optimism of youth based on post-WWII boom in contrast to Depression Era of their parents • Baby boomers; largest generation ever • Believed could direct the development of society in flux

3. Motivators • JFK’s words: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” • “Freedom Now” of SNCC • “Let the People Decide” of SDS • “Turn on, Tune in, Drop out” of Timothy Leary

4. Roots of Protests • Moral, Intellectual, and cultural • Moral: Found largely in the actions and purposes of the Civil Rights Movement • Cultural: • Hipster world of jazz and blues • Casual acceptance of marijuana as a recreational drug dates back to 1920s • World of the Beats • Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Howl” • Jack Kerouac’s novel On the Road • Aldous Huxley’s Doors of Perception introduced hallucinogenic drugs to boomers

5. Roots of Protest: Intellectual • C. Wright Mills in The Power Elite said US a class society controlled by “monied” men. • William Appleman Williams in Contours of American History: US had always been undemocratic and imperialist • Paul Goodman in Growing Up Absurd and Erich Fromm in The Sane Society and The Art of Loving • OK for boomers to express natural feelings against our capitalist society • These authors encouraged free expression, advocated work to build community cohesion and provide opportunities for all to grow.

6. Political Organizations • Students for a Democratic Society • Port Huron Statement (1962) was the founding document • Called for educative…creative work to help realize man’s potential for self-direction and self-understanding • “let the people decide” applied to both economics and politics • Referred to as “The New Left” to distinguish between SDS and communists/socialists • Mobilized on campuses

7. Political Organizations, 2 • SDS, cont. • Splinter group: The Weathermen = violence • Name from Bob Dylan song “you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows” • Subterranean Homesick Blues • Only lasted until June 1969

8. The New Left • Underground Press, SDS, women’s groups like the Red Stockings • Interested in social change • Uninterested in debates over whether to support Soviet as a communist country • Rejected the “old left” of Stalinism • Not explicitly socialist • Many tried to distance themselves from totalitarianism

9. Free Speech Movement • Started at UC-Berkeley in 1964 • Direct result of Civil Rights Movement • 100s of students took over main classroom building after students arrested for distributing pro-demonstration flyers • Students wanted respect as well as to express themselves politically • Chancellor Clark Kerr called university a “huge machine” • Mario Savio was the student leader

10. Free Speech Movement, 2 • Inspired students all over the US • Grew into the anti-war organization called the Vietnam Day Committee • Originally staged 35-hour teach-in at Berkeley • Set Oct 15 & 16 1965 as international days of protest against the war • Included Jerry Rubin (student and future YIPPIE) and Dr. Benjamin Spock

11. YIPPIES • Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin • Group of anarchists against the war in Vietnam • Youth International Party • Series of disruptive but non-violent demonstrations • Hoffman wrote Steal This Book

12. Black Panthers • Started in Oakland, California • Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Eldridge Cleaver • Carried unconcealed weapons • Demanded a socialist America to protect its citizens from violence and poverty • Provided free breakfasts for poor African-American children • Long speeches and some violence

13. United Farm Workers • Cesar Chavez • 1966 • Called for boycotts of grapes and lettuce • Protested against unfair treatment of migrant agricultural workers

14. American Indian Movement • Dennis Banks (Chippewa) and Russell Means (Sioux) • 1968 founded • To obtain equal rights for Native Americans • 1973 Protest at historic site of Wounded Knee Massacre of 1889

15. Conflict Historiography • History is now discussed in terms of change caused by conflict and the actions of ordinary people • Fitting description for the 1960s • Everything doesn’t really always “turn out for the best” • 1950s reflected “consensus historians” who emphasized compromise as key characteristic of change in American history

16. Music • Motown (Barry Gordy) • Protest/Folk Revival • Joan Baez • Bob Dylan • Pete Seeger • Peter, Paul, and Mary • Rock • Beatles and the whole “British invasion” • Rolling Stones

17. Music, 2 • Eastern influences • Ravi Shankar • John Coltrane (jazz) greatly influenced by this • Psychedelic Rock • Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (Beatles) • Purple Haze (Hendrix) • Grateful Dead • Monterey and Woodstock Festivals

18. Hippies • Followers of Timothy Leary • Read Eastern philosophies • “Turn on, Tune in, Drop out” • Dropped out of competitive cultures • Wore bright colors and “tie dye” • Thought could change the world by NOT participating • Communes • Be-ins • Haight-Ashbury and the Summer of Love (1967)