Chapter 20

THE POLITICS OF PROTEST

I. Culture and Counterculture

Counterculture – a movement made up mostly of white middle-class college youths who had grown disillusioned with the war in Vietnam and injustices in America during the 1960’s.

They turned their backs on Traditional American society.

The Counterculture

  1. “Tune in, Turn on, Drop Out”
  • Members of the counterculture were known as hippies.
  • Did not like the materialism, technology and war of American society.
  • What did many youths attempt to create?
  1. Hippie Culture
  • Marked by rock-n-roll music, outrageous clothing, sexual freedom, and illegal drugs. Who promoted LSD?
  • Also rejected conventional home life and joined communes
  • Where was the so-called hippie “capital”?
  1. Decline in the Movement
  • After only a few years, the counterculture’s peace and harmony gave way to violence and disillusionment. LIST examples

A Changing Culture

Although short-lived, some aspects of the counterculture left a more lasting imprint on the world.

  1. Art
  • The 1960’s saw a rise in pop art (popular art)
  • IDENTIFY Andy Warhol
  1. Rock Music
  • The band that, perhaps more than any other, helped propel rock music into the mainstream was the Beatles
  • One example of rock’s popularity occurred in August 1969 on a farm in upstate New York – it was called “Woodstock”
  1. Changing Attitudes
  • While the counterculture movement faded, its casual “do your own thing” philosophy left its mark.
  • The prime example of this was the sexual revolution

The Conservative Response

In the late 1960’s, many believed that the country was losing its sense of right and wrong.

  1. Conservatives Attack the Counterculture
  • What were some of the arguments of Conservatives?
  • The angry response of mainstream Americans caused a profound change in the political landscape of the United States – a growing conservative movement was taking hold.

II. Women Fight for Equality

Betty Friedan wrote a book, the Feminine Mystique, that talked about how many women were not satisfied with their place in society.

New Women’s Movement Arises

Feminism = the belief that women should have economic, political, and social equality with men.

  1. Women in the Workplace
  • The jobs available to women – mostly clerical work, domestic service, retail sales, social work, teaching, and nursing – paid poorly.
  • Were also not paid the same or promoted as frequent.
  1. Women and Activism
  • Ironically, where were women discriminated in the 60’s?
  • These experiences led women to organize themselves.
  1. The Women’s Movement Emerges
  • The Feminine Mystique became a best seller and helped to galvanize women across the country – by the late 1960’s women were working together for change

The Movement Experiences Gains and Losses

  1. The Creation of NOW
  • Betty Friedan created the National Organization for Women in 1966 to pursue women’s goals
  • IDENTIFY some of these goals.
  1. A Diverse Movement
  • 175,000 women joined NOW in the first 3 years.
  • One group, New York Radical Women, demonstrated at the Miss America pageant – dressed a sheep up and declared it Miss America.
  • Gloria Steinem founded a liberal group that encouraged women to seek political office
  1. Legal and Social Gains
  • Excluding girls from male sports was questioned, gender discrimination in education programs was banned, etc.
  1. Roe v. Wade - 1973
  • NOW supported a woman’s choice to have an abortion.
  • The Supreme Court agreed and made abortion legal in 1973.
  1. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
  • Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972
  • What did this amendment propose?
  • Who was Phyllis Schlafly?
  1. The New Right Emerges
  • In order to combat the ERA and pro-abortion supporters, conservatives built what they called a new “pro-family” movement.
  • They were able to block the ERA from passing.

The Movement’s Legacy

Despite ERA’s defeat, the women’s movement altered society in countless ways, such as transforming women’s conventional roles and their attitudes towards career and family.

The movement also succeeded in expanding career opportunities for women

III. Latinos and Native Americans Seek Equality

The Latino Presence Grows

During the 1960’s, the Latino population in the US grew from 3 to 9 million.

  1. Latinos of Varied Origins
  • Mexican = largest group; southwest and California
  • Puerto Ricans = began migrating in 1898; east coast cities (New York)
  • Cubans = New York City, New Jersey, Miami; fled Communist rule

Encountered racism; most lived in segregated barrios or neighborhoods.

Latinos Fight for Change

As the presence of Latinos in the US grew, so too did their demand for greater representation and better treatment.

  1. The Farm Worker Movement
  • Key organizer was Caesar Chavez; believed in non-violence and used a nationwide boycott against California grapes to get their union accepted.
  • United Farm Workers Organizing Committee.
  1. Cultural Pride
  • “Brown power” movements were started all over the country; demanded bilingual education and money for heritage programs
  1. Political Power
  • During the 60’s 8 Hispanic Americans served in the House
  • What was La Raza Unida?