Unit 9 Lecture 4: Chapter 16

1960s Counterculture

& the Anti-War Movement

Lecture Review Questions1) How did people start to form a movement to protest against the Vietnam

war?

2) What was the counterculture?

3) What factors influenced the rise of counterculture?

4) What characteristics define the counterculture?

5) What impact did the counterculture have on the USA?

6) Why did the Counter Culture fall apart?

7) Who led the Antiwar movement?

8) What were some reasons why people were against the War in Vietnam?

9) What piece of Technology had a major impact on American’s attitude towards the Vietnam War?

10) How did the Draft affect minorities and the poor?

11)Where did the movement turn bloody & why?

The Anti-War MovementWhen the war in Vietnam began, many Americans believed that defending South Vietnam from communist aggression was in the national interest. Communism was threatening free governments across the globe. Any sign of non-intervention from the United States might encourage revolutions elsewhere.

As the war dragged on, more and more Americans grew weary of mounting casualties and escalating costs. The small antiwar movement grew into an unstoppable force, pressuring American leaders to reconsider its commitment

The Cold War turned hot in Vietnam, and it along with a conservative U.S. government represented something that America’s youth was ready to let go of. Combined with the changing counterculture America’s values were shifting into something new.

What was the Counterculture

The 1960s were a period when long‐held values and norms of behavior seemed to break down, particularly among the young. Many college‐age men and women became political activists and were the driving force behind the civil rights and antiwar movements. Other young people simply “dropped out” and separated themselves from mainstream culture through their appearance and lifestyle. Attitudes toward sexuality appeared to loosen, and women began to openly protest the traditional roles of housewife and mother that society had assigned to them.

How did it start? The post WWII Baby Boomers filled College Campuses and questioned the

traditional ideas about American culture from fashion to politics to relationships.

Inspired by the beat movement emphasizing freedom from materialism, the Civil Rights Movement pushed idea of social & political protest, & the Vietnam Anti-War movement united a generation of young Americans

Who were the hippies and what did they want?

The term “hippy” comes from being hip You were either hip and broke traditional ways of living in American or you were a “square” =conservative American, or a “pig”=police.

A generation of Americans who rejected established institutions, criticized middle class values, opposed nuclear weapons and the Vietnam War, embraced aspects of Eastern philosophy, championed sexual liberation, were often vegetarian and eco-friendly, promoted the use of psychedelic drugs which they believed expanded one's mind.

Hippies wanted to distance themselves from mainstream Hippies wanted to distance themselves from mainstream ways of life. ways of life.

They discarded possessions and often lived in parks or campsites in the woods. Living like this made them feel free

Nudity was another form of freedom

What did people experience if they were apart of the counterculture?

Communes

Shared responsibility

Rural living

Free Love +Birth Control Pill

No STDs

What were the negative or dangerous aspects of C.C.?

Drugs like marijuana and LSD were a big part of the hippy/counterculture movement.

Using drugs made hippies feel like the were rebelling from mainstream society.

People thought drugs were a way to expand the potential of the human mind to see the world in a new way.

Americans did not know that drugs were physically damaging, literally frying their brains.

What were the negative or dangerous aspects of C.C.?

LSD “Acid” was created by a Swiss scientist, to be used as a blood stimulant, it was found to produce intense hallucinations. Psychiatrists thought the drug could be used to treat people with anxiety or depression.

Timothy Leary (a Harvard professor of psychology) was an advocate of LSD. turn on to our way of living, tune in to what we’re

saying and drop out of what society says you should be doing.

The CIA also experimented with the drug to test its use as a weapon before it became illegal.

The Place to be & the Thing to do

San Francisco was the birthplace of the counterculture/hippy movement.

By 1965 hippies had taken over the Haight Ashbury district.

Haight Ashbury district contains Golden Gate Park home of the Trips Festival and “be-ins.”

Hippies distanced themselves from mainstream culture by their dress.

Colorful, flowing clothing, beads, headbands bellbottoms, and tie-dye were popular.

Men wore their hair and beards long or in afros.

Hippies were often called “longhairs”

Hippie Music The most popular music of the time was psychedelic rock

Bands like Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the Grateful Dead played free concerts at Golden Gate Park.

Concerts and be-ins were places for hippies to protest, socialize, dance, or take drugs.

At Woodstock over 250,000 hippies showed up to hear artists like Janis Joplin, The Who, Canned Heat, The Allman Brothers, and County Joe and the Fish.

Woodstock was not just a music concert. “For

thousands who couldn’t even hear the music” it was a

“profound religious experience.”

Meager resources were shared with everyone.

Many people at Woodstock used illegal drugs

How did the counterculture become political?

• Youth International Party= Yippies– encouraged young people to get involved and

influence politics, not just complain about it.

– Founded by Abbie Hoffman & Jerry Rubin

– A Yippie flag was designed and was frequently seen at anti-war demonstrations

– Not taken seriously– Most ignored the Yippies for their street theater

press conferences and politically themes pranks designed solely to gather publicity.

Legacy of the counterculture

How did the counter culture impact Americans in the 1960s?

It was a failed cultural experiment, which left an entire generation proud of the social changes they accomplish & scarred by effects of drugs & war.

Why did the Counter Culture fall apart?

The self destructive excesses of the counter culture and its lack of focus on a common vision led to its disintegration

Who led the Anti-War Movement?

Peace Movement mainly attracted middle‐class college students.

However, people were against the war for a variety of reasons.

Chemicals used in Saturation bombing was harmful to the Environment

Some believe the U.S. was being hypocritical not letting a Communist leader Ho Chi Minh be elected by the people of Vietnam.

Some disagreed with the government spending money to support a War instead of further Great Society programs that could have helped Americans.

PEACE MOVEMENT leaders opposed the war on moral and economic grounds. The North Vietnamese, they argued, were fighting a patriotic war to rid themselves of foreign aggressors. Innocent Vietnamese peasants were being killed in the crossfire. American planes wrought environmental damage by dropping their defoliating chemicals.

How did the War become such a bitter issue that divided the nation?

The Draft another major source of resentment among college students. The age of the average American soldier serving in Vietnam was 19, seven years younger than its World War II counterpart. Students observed that young Americans were legally old enough to fight and die, but were not permitted to vote or drink alcohol. Such criticism led to the 26TH AMENDMENT, which granted suffrage to 18-year-olds.

Because DRAFT DEFERMENTS were granted to college students, meaning you would not be drafted if you could afford to go to college.

About 80 percent of American ground troops in Vietnam came from the lower classes. Latino and African American males were assigned to combat more regularly than drafted white Americans.

Protest for PeaceAntiwar demonstrations were few at first,

As the Johnson Administration escalated the commitment, the peace movement grew.

Television changed many minds. Millions of Americans watched body bags leave the Asian rice paddies every night in their living rooms.The late 1960s became increasingly radical as the activists felt their demands were ignored. Peaceful demonstrations turned violent. When the police arrived to arrest protesters, the crowds often retaliated. Students occupied buildings across college campuses forcing many schools to cancel classes. Roads were blocked and ROTC buildings were burned.

Give Peace a ChanceAt KENT STATE UNIVERSITY, students rioted in protest. The burned down the ROTC building located on campus, and destroyed local property. The governor of Ohio sent the National Guard to maintain order. A state of high tension and confusion hung between the Guard and the students. Several soldiers fired their rifles, leading to deaths of four students and the wounding of several others. This became known as the Kent State massacre.

Despite the growing antiwar movement, a silent majority of Americans still supported the Vietnam effort. Many admitted that involvement was a mistake, but military defeat was unthinkable.