Turbulent Times

Essential Question:
What were the effects of the growth in counter-culture in America in the 1960s & 1970s?
Warm-Up Question:
Why did the U.S. fail to win the Vietnam War?

America in the 1960s
By the 1960s, the United States had experienced major changes:
Economic prosperity, a rapid growth of suburbs, a baby boom, & increased college enrollment
Nuclear threats in the Cold War
& a controversial war in Vietnam
Assassinations of political leaders, a growing poverty gap, & tensions over civil rights for black Americans

The Youth Revolt in the 1960s
One of the most visible changes was protest among the nation’s youth
The generation gap between kids & their parents was the widest of any previous era in history
Kids in the 1960s…missed the Great Depression & patriotism of World War II
…were the most educated generation;
75% graduated high school & 40% graduated college
…rejected their parents’ expectations & looked to find personal fulfillment

The New Left
One impact of the 1960s youth movement was the rise of the “New Left”
Promoted participatory democracy—direct involvement by the youth in political issues

The New Left
One impact of the 1960s youth movement was the rise of the New Left
Demanded more freedom on college campuses
The student movement was strongest at the
Univ of CA at Berkeley
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) fought to end racism & poverty

The New Left
One impact of the 1960s youth movement was the rise of the New Left
College students participated in the
civil rights movement
Students helped with voter registration in the 1964 Freedom Summer
Students played a role in SNCC sit-ins

The New Left
Ending the Vietnam War was the most important issue of the “New Left”
One impact of the 1960s youth movement was the rise of the New Left

Counter Culture
Another impact of the 1960s youth movement was the emergence of a social counter-culture
While the “New Left” tried to improve
America through protest, “hippies” tried to
create their own society based on love & peace
Flower power & hippie fashion

Counter Culture
Hippie culture embraced casual sexual behavior
(the “sexual revolution”)
Drugs were acceptable
in the counter culture; Especially marijuana & “mind-expanding” hallucinogens like LSD
Counter culture
in the 1960s was represented by:
Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘n’ roll
Harvard professor Timothy Leary endorsed LSD as a way of “unlocking the universe”
Deaths due to
drug overdose included:
Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Keith Moon

Counter Culture
Counter culture
in the 1960s was represented by:
Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘n’ roll
Music in the
1960s & 70s included:
Folk music
R&B
Electric rock
Acid rock

Woodstock: August 15 to August 18, 1969
Woodstock reflected the ideology of the hippies in the 1960s in its excessive use of drugs, its protest of the current American government and culture, and, most importantly, social unity and harmony.

Woodstock
Woodstock was a music and art festival between August 15-18, 1969
There were about 500,000 attendees
Tents were put up for food, water, drugs, a place to sleep, and to cool down and recover.
There were three deaths and three births

Protesting
Woodstock reflected the hippie ideology if its protests of the Vietnam War, and equal rights for all during the 1960s.
Hippies protested American culture by forming their utopian communities.
Woodstock was a peaceful protest of the Vietnam War, its three days of peace and love greately contrasting with the war.
"Festival organizers pointed out that anyone buying a ticket was contributing to a united front against the war.” (History They Didn't Teach in School)
"If you want to stop the war, you'll have to sing louder than that." - Country Joe (History They Didn't Teach in School)

Counter Culture
1960s counter culture was represented by:
“Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘n’ roll”
Counter culture music was best represented by the Woodstock concert in 1969

Counter Culture
For many in the counter culture, living in “normal” society was unacceptable
The Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco was the epicenter of counter culture
Many hippies created self-sustaining communes where all property shared

Counter Culture
For many in the counter culture, living in “normal” society was unacceptable
Some hippies created
self-sustaining communes where property was shared
Drop City, Colorado
(later moved to New Mexico)
Members of
Hog Farm commune in California

Conclusions: America in the 1960s
Both the New Left protest & hippie culture were visible in the 1960s, but neither represented the majority of Americans
Conservative citizens
were a “silent majority” that believed the youth movement was destroying traditional American values
Conservatives changed
U.S. politics by voting for Richard Nixon in 1968

America in the 1960s
Both the New Left protest & hippie culture were visible in the 1960s, but neither represented the majority of Americans
But, the success of the
civil rights movement & anti-Vietnam protest by the New Left inspired other groups to demand change
Black Power
Red Power
Brown Power
Pink Power
Green Power
Yellow Power
Rainbow Power

Death of Innocence
Summer of Love (SF, 1967)
- highest peak of flower power
BUT – too many drugs won’t do you good
Rolling Stones’ Altamont concert 1969
Meredith Hunter and Hell’s Angels
Woodstock vs Summer of love
- too hectic, too much un-controlled situation
- Violence started on 3rd day and led to an end of festival
Death of Jim Hendrix and Janis Joplin (1970), Jim Morrison (1971)