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Connections Between the Counterculture and the New Left, 1967-1969

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Connections Between the Counterculture and the New Left, 1967-1969 "LET'S GET TOGETHER": CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE COUNTERCULTURE AND THE NEW LEFT, 1967-1969 James Dobbie B.A., University of Lethbridge, 1989 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of His tory O James Dobbie 1994 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY August 1994 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. 1 wauutat LIUI a1y OIUIWI ~queriattonam of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Direction des acquisitions et Bibliographic Services Branch des services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, ~e Wellington Ottawa. Ontario Ottawa (Ontario) KIA ON4 KIA ON4 THEAUTHORHASGRANTEDAN L'AUTEUR A ACCORDE UIdE LICENCE IRREVOCABLE NON-EXCLUSIVE IRREVOCABLE ET NON EXCLUSIVE LICENCE ALLOWING THE NATIONAL PERMETTANT A LA EIBLIOTHEQUE LIBRARY OF CANADA TO NATIONALE DU CANADA DE REPRODUCE, LOAN, DISTRIBUTE OR REPRODW, PRETER, DISTRIBUER SELL COPIES OF MSfHER THESIS BY OU VENDRE DES COPIES DE SA ANY MEANS AND IN ANY FORM OR THESE DIE QUELQUE MANIERE ET FORMAT, MAKING THIS THESIS SOUS QUELQUE FORME QUE CE SOIT AVAILABLE TO INTERESTED POUR METTRE DES EXEMPLAIRES DE PERSONS. CETTE THESE A LA DISPOSITION DES PERSONNE INTERESSEES. THE AUTHOR RETAINS OWNERSHIP LtAUTEUR CONSERVE LA PROPRLETE OF THE COPYRIGHT IN HIS/HER DU DROIT D'AUTEUR QUI PROTEGE THESIS. NEITHER THE THESIS NOR SA THESE. NI LA THESE NI DES SUBSTANTIAL EXTRACTS FROM IT EXTRAITS SUBSTANTIELS DE CELLE- MAY BE PRINTED OR OTHERWISE CI NE DOIVENT ETRE IMPRIMES OU REPRODUCED WITHOUT HISMER AUTREMENT REPRODUITS SANS SON PERMISSION. AUTORISATION. ISBN 0-612-00979-3 APPROVAL NAME James Dobbie DEGREE TITLE "Let's Get Together": Connections between the Counterculture and the New Left, 1967-1969 EXAMINING COMMITTEE: Chair Derryl MacLean , , Michael Fellman, Professor Andrea Tone, Assistant Professor Michael Kenny, Professor Department of Sociology and Anthropology Simon Fraser University Examiner Date: 5 August 1994 PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis, project or extended essay (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of Thesis/Project/Extended Essay "Let's Get Together": Connections between the Counterculture and the New Left, 1967-1969 Author: (pgnature) - - (name) 5 August 1994 (da t e) ABSTRACT The 1960s marked an era of unprecedented unrest among American youth. Historians have usually considered this youthful movement of protest to have had two distinct wings: the political, known as the New Left; and the cultural, given the term Counterculture. Youth rebellion is usually examined as having been either one or the other. Yowever, while examinations of the New Left or the Counterculture are useful, it is important not to ignore or downplay the connections between the two social tendencies. The political and cultural youth movements were linked in the 1960s in what one could call experiential politics. Both the political and the cultural elements of the youth movement had aspects of the other inherent within them from their outset, but these links were especially apparent in the last three years of the decade. Not only were countercultural influences central to ostensibly political movements, but counterculture can best be defined as an inherently political movement when politics are discussed broadly rather than through more old fashioned definitions of politics as something pertaining only to politicians. The central link between the two tendencies was the importance of experience as an end in itself. Although often cited as an important element of the Counterculture, the experiential qualities of politics among youth in the Sixties, which was what gave it the particular power and self-destructiveness it contained, is of ten overlooked. Taken together these political and cultural activities can be seen as intertwined elements of an overall youth movement in the 1960s in America, a movement which sought fundamental changes in all facets of American society. DEDICATION For Debi, Thank You. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dr. Michael Fellrnan never ceased to surprise me with his unflagging encouragement, insights, and criticism. His contextual and editorial suggestions were always valuable. Without his support and friendship, this thesis would not have been completed. Pressed into service in the eleventh hour, Dr. Andrea Tone offered insightful criticism that was crucial to the completion of this thesis. Her enthusiastic support was certainly welcome. Dr. Don Kirschner offered useful suggestions and criticism during the early stages of my Master's work. Thanks to my colleagues at the Centre for Distance Education, SFU, especially Debbie Sentance, Jeff Ketchen and Alexandra Vandenbrink for their good humour and support in the hectic final days before my completion. Many thanks to my family and friends for their enduring support, especially to my wife, Debi, who truly embodies the patience of Job. My most scrutinous critic, her timely suggestions and wisdom have left me infinitely grateful. TABLE OF CONTENTS .. Approval .................................................................................................................. 11 ... Abstract ..........................................................................................................................m Dedication .......................................................................................................................v Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................... vi Intmduc tion ...................................................................................................................1 Chapter One ....................................................................................................................7 Chapter Two ................................................................................................................ 40 Chapter Three ............................................................................................................67 A Census and Conclusion .......................................................................................93 Selected Bibliography ...........................................................................................103 vii INTRODUCTION The late 1960s were characterized by the largest wave of youth activism ever to sweep the American nation. It is the purpose of this thesis to show that the New Left and the Counterculture were essentially part of the same activist sentiment that was driving American youth. Such an approach challenges the current school of thought which argues that the political and cultural movements of dissent had, in the words of former underground newspaper editor Abe Peck an "approach-avoidance relationship" throughout the turbulent era2 Most surveys of twentieth century American history, examine the New Left and the Counterculture in distinct sections which, of course, enhance the perception of separation.2 Timothy Miller supports this approach in his engaging study of the Counterculture and its reactions to and impact on American values. Miller contends that while there was a relationship between the two groups, on the whole "the hippie counterculture and the New Left pitched thektents The term "approach-avoidance" comes from Abe Peck, . and Times of the UnwundPress (New York: Pantheon Books, 1985), p. xv. 2 Some examples of this practice can be found in Robert Divine, et al. Americe mdPresent Vol. II: From 1865 (Glenview, Ill.: Scott, Foresrnan and Co., 1984); David A. Horowitz, Peter N. Carroll and David Lee, on The Me: A wary of WicaSuu;e Wrld War U (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1989); James T. Patterson, erica tn The Twent eth Cent~ly,3rd Edition (San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989); George Brown Tindall, -a: A Nar~tive&&xy Vol. U, 2nd Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 1988); and John A. Garraty and Robert A. McCaughey, UU; American Nation: A History of The United St-, 6th Edition (New York: Harper & Row, 1987). Occaionally these texts will allude to connections between the New Left and the Counterculture, usually with reference to how some student radicals were influenced by the cultural movement. in distinct but adjacent campsites"3 Miller maintains that the political and cultural would always be connected by a distaste for the perceived evils in American society; specifically racism, the draft, and Vietnam. Still, he emphasizes the distinctions between the two. While mutual rejection may have characterized extremists in either camp, the vast majority of the youths caught up in the turmoil perceived the movements essentially as a whole. Any analysis of the upheaval of the 1960s which splits cultural from political dissent follows the path of least analytic resistance. This thesis will point toward a synthesis between the two groups which is only alluded to, downplayed or dismissed by most historians. A synthetic
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