Chapter 26

Counter CultureCounter Culture Rap

Did You Know? Tom Hayden and Al Haber founded Students for a Democratic Society in 1959. Hayden later became a California state legislator.

Section 1

During the 1960s, a youth movement developed that challenged American politics, its social system, and the values of the time.

The beginning of the 1960s youth movement began in the 1950s. During the 1950s, the nation had a boom in its economy that not all Americans enjoyed. Some Americans, especially writers and artists of the "beat" movement, openly criticized American society.

The Growth of the Youth Movement

The youth movement also reflected the huge number of baby boomers. By 1970, 58.4 percent of the American population was 34 years old or younger.

The economic boom of the 1950s led to a dramatic increase in college enrollment. College gave young people the opportunity to share their feelings and fears about the future with others.

Students concerned about injustices in political and social issues formed the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Their views were written in the 1962 declaration known as the Port Huron Statement. Written by Tom Hayden, editor of the University of Michigan's student newspaper, the statement called for an end to apathy and urged citizens to stop accepting a country run by corporations and big government.A group of activists at the University of California at Berkeley, led by Mario Savio, began the Free Speech Movement. The group, disgruntled by several practices at the university, staged a sit-in at the administration building. After some 700 protesters were arrested, a campus-wide strike stopped classes for two days. The administration gave in to the student's demands, and the Supreme Court validated the student's rights to freedom of speech and assembly on campus. The Berkeley revolt became the model for college demonstrations around the country. What types of issues did the SDS groups focus on? (The Students for a Democratic Society protested the Vietnam War as well as issues of poverty, campus regulations, nuclear power, and racism.)

Some young Americans did not challenge the system. Instead, they sought to create their own society. The counterculture, or hippies, were mostly white youths from middle- and upper-class backgrounds. They lived a life that promoted flamboyant dress, rock music, drug use, and free and independent living.The CountercultureAt the core of the counterculture was a utopian ideal of living, or the ideal of a society that was free, closer to nature, and full of love, empathy, tolerance, and cooperation. As the movement grew, newcomers did not always understand these roots and focused on the outward signs of the movement. Long hair, Native American headbands, shabby jeans, and drugs were common.Communes or group living arrangements in which members shared everything and worked together, were formed as hippies dropped out of society.

One of the most popular hippie destinations was the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco.As counterculture members rejected materialism, many embraced spirituality. A broad range of beliefsincluding astrology, magic, Eastern religions, and new forms of Christianitywere popular. Two new religious groups of this time were the Unification Church and the Hare Krishna movement.The counterculture declined, as some hippie communities became a place where criminal activity was common. Drug use declined as the excitement faded and as more young people became addicted or died from overdoses. Why did a counterculture emerge? (The counterculture was a rebellion against the dominant culture in the United States. It was a reaction to the 1950s stereotype of the man in a grey flannel suit who led a repressed and colorless life. A number of young Americans wanted to build their own society different from their middle- and upper-class existence.)

The counterculture had an impact on American life as mainstream America adopted some of their ideas.

The international fashion world looked to the counterculture to create new fashions with more color and comfort. Military, worn-out, and ethnic clothing was popular. As the initial shock of the counterculture waned, what was once clothing of defiance became mainstream. Impact of the CountercultureDuring the 1960s, the distinction between traditional art and popular art, or pop art, ended. Pop art took its subject matter from popular culture, using photographs, comics, advertisements, and brand-name products.

The new generation of music added to the rift between parents and youth. Musicians like the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Janis Joplin used lyrics to describe the fears and hopes of the new generation. The master of the electrically amplified guitar, Jimi Hendrix, gained stardom after returning to the United States from Great Britain. How did the counterculture affect American culture? (Mainstream America adopted some of their ideas. The fashion world looked to the counterculture to create new fashions with more color and comfort. As the initial shock of the counterculture waned, what was once clothing of defiance became mainstream. During the 1960s, the distinction between traditional art and popular art, or pop art, ended. Pop art took its subject matter from popular culture, using photographs, comics, advertisements, and brand-name products. Long hair caused many schools to debate over the acceptable length. Eventually, longer hair became generally accepted. The new generation of music added to the rift between parents and youth. Rock musicians used lyrics to describe the fears and hopes of the new generation. Rock 'n' roll music was eventually absorbed into the mainstream. A new style of dancing emerged from rock 'n' roll, in which people danced without partners to stress their individuality.)

Objectives: 1. Describe the workplace concerns that fueled the growth of the women's movement. 2. Identify major achievements of the women's movement.

section 2 The Feminist Movement, Did You Know? By the early 1970s, many women refused to adopt their husbands' last names when they married. Many women used the term "Ms." in place of "Mrs." or "Miss" to show that a woman's marital status was irrelevant.

A new feminist movement began in the 1960s. Feminism, the belief that men and women should be equal politically, economically, and socially, began as early as the 1920s.With the onset of World War II, women joined the nation's workforce as many men went off to fight the war. When the soldiers returned after the war, many women lost their jobs.

A Weakened Women's MovementWomen gradually returned to the labor market, and by 1960 made up almost 40 percent of the nation's workforce.What were the two groups of the women's movement? (The League of Women Voters promoted laws to protect women and children. The National Woman's Party opposed protective laws because they thought the laws reinforced workplace discrimination.)

By the early 1960s, women became increasingly resentful of old stereotypes. As more women entered the workforce, the protest for equality increased.

The Women's Movement Reawakens

The women's movement was brought back to life by a mass protest of women and a government initiative called the President's Commission on the Status of Women. The group, headed by Eleanor Roosevelt, urged President Kennedy to study the status of women.

In 1963 the Equal Pay Act was passed. It outlawed paying men more than women for the same job.

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act outlawed job discrimination. It became the legal basis for advances by the women's movement.

`The federal agency charged with administering the new law was the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In 1963 Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique stirred up women all across the country. For the book, Friedan traveled around the country interviewing women who had graduated with her from Smith College in 1942. Friedan found that while women reported that they had everything they could want, they still felt unfulfilled. The book became a bestseller.

In June 1966, Betty Friedan felt it was time for a national women's organization to promote women into mainstream America. The group was named the National Organization for Women (NOW). It responded to many issues facing women. It demanded greater educational opportunities for women and denounced the exclusion of women from certain professions and political positions. What did the President's Commission on the Status of Women find? (The commission's report highlighted problems of women in the workplace and helped to create feminist networks who lobbied Congress on behalf of women.)

The women's movement experienced many successes and failures as it fought for women's rights.

An important success was greater equality for women in the educational system. Lawmakers enacted federal legislation banning sex discrimination in education. In 1972 Congress passed the Educational Amendments. One of the sections, Title IX, prohibited federally funded schools from discriminating against girls in nearly all aspects of their operations, from admissions to athletics.

Successes and FailuresImplementation of Title IX was slow at many schools and women still had to struggle for equality.

By the late 1960s, some states began adopting liberal abortion laws regarding a woman's mental health or in the case of rape or incest. The biggest change came with the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court ruled that state governments could no longer regulate abortion during the first three months of pregnancy, a time within a woman's constitutional right to privacy. This gave rise to the right-to-life movement, whose members considered abortion morally wrong.

In 1972 Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which protected against discrimination based on gender. In order for it to become part of the Constitution, 38 states had to ratify it.

Opposition to the ERA amendment began to grow as many saw the act as a threat to traditional rights, such as the right to alimony. Phyllis Schlafly, one of the most vocal critics of the amendment, organized a national Stop-ERA campaign. The amendment failed to be ratified by 38 states and finally died in 1982.

What were some successes and failures of the women's movement?(In 1972 Congress passed the Educational Amendments. One of the sections, Title IX, prohibited federally funded schools from discriminating against girls in nearly all aspects of their operations, from admissions to athletics. Implementation of Title IX was slow at many schools and women still had to struggle for equality.By the late 1960s, some states began adopting liberal abortion laws regarding a woman's mental health or in the case of rape or incest. In 1973 the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade ruled that state governments could no longer regulate abortion during the first three months of pregnancy. This gave rise to the right-to-life movement, whose members considered abortion morally wrong. In 1972 Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment, which protected against discrimination based on gender. Opposition to the ERA amendment grew as many saw the act as a threat to traditional rights. Phyllis Schlafly organized a national Stop- ERA campaign. The amendment failed to be ratified by 38 states and finally died in 1982.)

Objectives: 1. Describe the goal of affirmative action policies. 2. Analyze the rise of Hispanic and Native American protests.New Approaches to Civil RightsDid You Know? When Hispanic civil rights worker, Csar Chvez was a teenager, he went to see a movie, but found out that the theater was segregated. Whites sat on one side of the aisle, while Mexicans had to sit on the other side. Chvez sat down in the whites-only section where he was later arrested by the local police.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, and African Americans organized to improve their position within society.

Fighting for Greater OpportunityAfrican American leaders looked to affirmative action to gain good jobs and adequate housing. This initiative, enforced through executive orders and federal policies, called for companies and institutions doing business with the federal government to actively recruit African American employees to help improve their social and economic status. It was later expanded to include other minority groups and women.

Critics of affirmative action described it as reverse discrimination. In 1974 Allan Bakke, a white applicant, was turned down a second time for admission to the University of California Medical School. He learned there had been slots set aside for minorities.

Bakke sued the school, arguing that by admitting minority students, some of whom had scored lower than Bakke, the school had discriminated against him. In 1978, in University of California Regents v. Bakke, the Supreme Court ruled that the university had violated Bakke's rights. It also ruled that schools could use racial criteria as part of their admissions process, but not fixed quotas.

In the early 1970s, there was a push for educational improvements for African American students. Inequality was apparent as schools in white neighborhoods had better supplies, facilities, and teachers. To desegregate schools, local governments implemented a policy known as busing, where children were transported to schools outside their neighborhoods to gain racial balance. In Boston, some 20,000 white students left the public school system for parochial and private schools. This "white flight" occurred in other cities as well.

Jesse Jackson, an activist during the civil rights movement, continued to work to strengthen the economic and political power of African Americans. In 1971 Jackson founded the People United to Save Humanity, or PUSH, to register voters, develop African American businesses, and increase educational opportunities.

The Congressional Black Caucus formed to represent specific legislative concerns of African Americans, especially in the areas of health care, economic development, and crime and safety.

What did Maynard Jackson, the mayor of Atlanta, do to help African Americans? (Jackson used the expansion of the city's airport to address the imbalance in his city regarding African American jobs. He opened the bidding process more widely to include minority firms. Up to 25 percent of all construction work was given to minority firms.)

After the Immigration Act of 1965 passed, the number of Hispanic Americans living in the United States increased rapidly. They came to flee political oppression or find jobs and better lives. Many Hispanics arrived illegally and often were exploited by border crossing guides and employers.

Hispanic Americans Organize

In the early 1960s, Csar Chvez and Dolores Huerta organized two groups that fought for the rights of farmworkers. In 1966, after employers would not respond to worker demands, the groups organized a boycott of table grapes and combined into one group, the United Farm Workers. The boycott ended in 1970, when grape growers finally agreed to raise wages and improve working conditions.

In 1969 Jos Angel Gutirrez organized a new political party in Texas called La Raza Unida, or "the United People." The group mobilized Mexican American voters to push for job-training programs and greater access to financial institutions.

An issue promoted by Hispanic students and political leaders was bilingualism, the practice of teaching immigrant students in their own language while they also learned English. How did Hispanic Americans work for greater rights? (In the early 1960s, Csar Chvez and Dolores Huerta organized two groups that fought for the rights of farm workers. In 1966, after employers would not respond to worker demands, the groups organized a boycott of table grapes. In 1969 Jos Angel Gutirrez organized a new political party in Texas called La Raza Unida, or "the United People." The group mobilized Mexican American voters to push for job-training programs and greater access to financial institutions. An issue promoted by Hispanic students and political leaders was bilingualism.)

Native Americans began to organize in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a result of grievances that included low income, high unemployment, discrimination, limited education, and short life expectancy.

In 1961 Native Americans issued the Declaration of Indian Purpose, calling for policies to create greater economic opportunities on reservations.

Native Americans Raise Their VoicesAs other groups wanted assimilation into mainstream society, Native Americans wanted independence from it. Native Americans formed militant groups such as the American Indian Movement (AIM). In 1969 AIM made a symbolic protest by occupying the abandoned federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay for 19 months, claiming ownership "by right of discovery."

A violent protest occurred in 1973, when AIM members occupied the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota. A clash between the occupiers and the FBI killed two Native Americans.

The Native American movement won some notable victories, including the 1975 passage of the Indian Self-Determination and Educational Assistance Act, which increased funds for Native American education and enlarged tribal roles in administering federal programs. More Native Americans moved into policy-making positions. Native Americans won a number of land and water rights in court.

What did Native Americans gain in the protest movement during the 1960s and 1970s? (The Native American movement won some notable victories including the 1975 passage of the Indian Self-Determination and Educational Assistance Act, which increased funds for Native American education and enlarged tribal roles in administering federal programs. More Native Americans moved into policy-making positions. Native Americans won a number of land and water rights.) Objectives: 1. Explain the origins of the environment movement. 2. Identify the significant measures taken to combat environmental problems.

Saving the Earth, Did You Know? Ralph Nader's efforts in automobile safety caused General Motors to make air bags standard equipment on many 1990 models of cars.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Americans began to focus on environmental issues.

Americans argued that the use of pesticides had damaged wildlife and that pollution had fouled air and water.

Marine biologist Rachel Carson wrote of the increase of pesticides in her book Silent Spring. She argued that the pesticides that killed insects were also killing birds and fish.

The Beginnings of EnvironmentalismMarine biologist Rachel Carson wrote of the increase of pesticides in her book Silent Spring. She argued that the pesticides that killed insects were also killing birds and fish.

How did people react to Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring? (Rachel Carson's book made people focus on environmental concerns. The chemical industry began an intense campaign to discredit Carson and her arguments.)

The environmental issues of the 1960s concerned all regions of the United States. Environmental problems included the cutting down of trees in the Northwest; smog from factories, power plants, and cars in the cities; an oil spill off Santa Barbara, California; and pollution and garbage in Lake Erie.

The Environnemental MovementIn April 1970, the nation held its first Earth Day to focus on the country's environmental concerns. Afterward, citizens formed local environmental groups and organizations like the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, and the Wilderness Society gained prominence.

In 1970 Richard Nixon signed the Environmental Protection Policy Act, creating the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It took on the job of setting and enforcing pollution standards, promoting research, and coordinating anti-pollution activities with state and local governments.

The Clean Air Act of 1970 established emission standards for factories and automobiles.

The Clean Water Act of 1972 restricted the discharge of pollutants into the nation's lakes and rivers.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 established measures for saving threatened animal species.

Residents at a local housing development near Niagara Falls, New York, known as Love Canal, began noticing a high incidence of health problems within their community. It was discovered that the community was on a toxic waste dump. Through dramatic community activism, the state permanently relocated 200 families. President Jimmy Carter later relocated the remaining 600 families.

Issues regarding nuclear energy were debated. Supporters of nuclear energy claimed it was cleaner and less expensive than fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, or natural gas, which have a limited supply. Opponents warned of risks, including consequences of an accidental radiation release.

On March 28, 1979, one of the reactors at the Three Mile Island nuclear facility overheated, causing low levels of radiation to escape. Although the plant was eventually declared safe, the incident left the public in doubt about the safety of nuclear energy.

Why was the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created? (The EPA took on the job of setting and enforcing pollution standards, promoting research, and coordinating anti-pollution activities with state and local governments. The agency monitors other federal agencies with respect to their impact on the environment.)

During the 1960s and 1970s, many Americans demanded product safety, accurate information, and a voice in the government formulation of consumer policy.

The leader in the consumer protection movement, Ralph Nader, noticed an alarming number of fatalities from automobile accidents. After a study, Nader accused car designers and manufacturers of putting style, cost, and speed ahead of safety. After successfully suing the car industry, Nader funded several consumer organizations.

The Consumer MovementNader's efforts resulted in the passage of the National Traffic and Motor Safety Act in 1966.

Nader led people to call for closer examination of consumer goods, including dangerous toys, flammable fabrics, and the safety of meat and poultry.

How did the auto industry end up boosting Ralph Nader's popularity? (The car company hired private detectives to follow Nader to discredit him. Detectives found nothing, and when people found out about it, the publicity pushed Nader's book up the bestseller list.)