Youth Protests and Emergence of a Counter-Culture 1964-1974 Origins of Movement • Counter-culture: beliefs opposed to social norms (esp. norms of 1950s) • "Generation Gap” (divide in views between old and young – students!) • Social issues of 1960’s fueled goals for the movement: – Denial of civil rights (especially racial segregation and disenfranchisement) – Vietnam (especially use of chemical weapons & the draft) – Opposition to nuclear weapons – Poverty & lack of government aide to lower classes/rural communities – Lack of access to birth control (coincides with Sexual Revolution) – Censorship (media and Hollywood) – Environmentalism (Increased knowledge of pollutants) Characteristics of Movement • Protests • Civil Disobedience • Draft Avoidance • Music/Art • Experimentation with drugs • Popularity of communes • Rise of the hippie and other alternative lifestyles What is a hippie? • Slang for “hipster” – hippies were activists in the counter-culture movement. • Hippies originated from the two hotspots of the counter-culture movement; NYC and San Francisco • Eventually, the term was used to describe anyone participating in the movement • Watch hippie culture in action and describe them on the worksheet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJgwGxY3 7OE Hog Farm Commune Watch this clip to learn about commune living from the founder of Hog Farm, “Wavy Gravy” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zis-b_i19IM Important Activists: Mario Savio • Angered by 1960’s government censorship; fought for free speech and freedom of assembly • 1964: Worked to promote African American voter registration in Mississippi inspired him! • Helped found/lead the Free Speech Movement (FSM) at Berkeley University • Organized Sit-Ins and demonstrations • Showed importance of students and college campuses within the movement • Protests spread to college campuses across the U.S. Savio was arrested after he staged a 32- hour sit-in on the top of a police car! Mario Savio’s “Bodies Upon the Gears” Speech; 1964 • “We were told the following: If (Berkeley) President Kerr actually tried to get something more liberal out of the regents in his telephone conversation, why didn't he make some public statement to that effect? And the answer we received was the following: He said, 'Would you ever imagine the manager of a firm making a statement publicly in opposition to his board of directors?' That's the answer! • Well, I ask you to consider: If this is a firm, and if the board of regents are the board of directors; and if President Kerr in fact is the manager; then I'll tell you something. The faculty are a bunch of employees, and we're the raw material! But we're a bunch of raw materials that don't mean to be—have any process upon us. Don't mean to be made into any product. Don't mean ... Don't mean to end up being bought by some clients of the University, be they the government, be they industry, be they organized labor, be they anyone! We're human beings! • There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part! You can't even passively take part! And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels ... upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!” Underground Press Syndicate • The Free Speech Movement & government censorship gave rise to the UPS in 1966. • Created an organized network (mostly from college campuses) of “underground papers” that were distributed across the U.S. • During the peak of UPS, more than 100 underground newspapers were in circulation across the country! • Brought attention to the counter-culture movement and social issues without censorship Summer of Love • Social gatherings/protests throughout summer of 1967 in San Francisco • More than 100,000 people traveled to the West Coast to participate • Encompassed the hippie music, drug, anti- war and free-love scene • Big emphasis on sharing and community – worked together to establish free stores and free medical treatment • To learn more about the Summer of Love, watch this video and answer the questions on the worksheet • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2ZE xRNT0GU Alternative Music & Art Festivals Hippies dancing at a 'Love-In' at the Festival of the Flower Children in the summer of 1967. Woodstock Music Festival (1969) • No where was this new, alternative style more apparent than the Woodstock Music Festival • Showed emerging counter-culture and impact of new art and music forms. • Watch this video clip and describe Woodstock and its impact on the movement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwyrRnGmbGQ The counter-culture movement reached it’s height during America’s escalation of the Vietnam War, and subsided as the conflict drew to a close. (Historian Sarah Pruitt explaining how the movements were intertwined) The 1971 May Day protests against the war in Vietnam. Vietnam Protest Slogans • Hey, Hey LBJ, how many kids will you kill today? • One, two they’ll kill you; three, four stop the war; five, six piss on Nix • Make love, not war • I don’t give a damn for Uncle Sam, I ain’t going to Vietnam • Eighteen today, dead tomorrow, don’t make us live this constant sorrow • Stop the war, feed the poor • Give peace a chance! The biggest counter-culture, anti-war protest happened at the Washington Monument in 1969 (I hope you’ve all seen this famous scene from Forest Gump! Draft Resistance • In 1965, Johnson quadrupled the number of men drafted into the armed forces. • People avoided the draft by refusing to register, applying for exemptions or fleeing to Canada First Draft Lottery; September 14th was chosen War Opposition & Johnson’s Unpopularity • After the Tet Offensive, polls showed that the majority of Americans disagreed with the war. • Walter Cronkite (CBS newscaster) reported in Saigon after the Tet Offensive: – “What the hell is going on? I thought we were winning the war! It seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience in Vietnam is to end in a stale-mate. The only rational way out, will be to negotiate” • Johnson responded: – “If I’ve lost Walter, then it’s over. I’ve lost Mr. Average Citizen.” – LBJ’s approval rating dropped to 36% The end of Johnson’s Presidency • “I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.” President Nixon takes over President Nixon takes over • In 1970, Nixon authorized the invasion of Cambodia in order to clear out Communist camps. Kent State Protest: May 1970 • At Kent State University in Ohio, students reacted angrily to Nixon’s expansion of conflict in Cambodia. • Student demonstrations began peacefully, but things would eventually changed….. • Watch this clip and describe the causes/impact of the Kent State protests on your worksheet • https://www.youtube.com/w atch?v=9Pwro3vCUdU Kent State Protest Kent State Protest • This attack horrified Americans and fueled more activist movements. • Made Nixon re-consider Vietnam strategy. Achievements of Youth Protest • Supreme Court rules motion pictures are entitled to First Amendment (leads to decline in censorship) • Withdrawal from Vietnam • 26th Amendment (1971): voting age reduced to 18 • Declining global commitments • Transformed the role of youth & media in society • Influenced other movements (feminism & gay liberation) which would challenge women’s rights, access to healthcare & sexual norms. Video Clip Review • Watch this for review and answer the analysis question on the worksheet • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ucpG1R G56Y Extra Info: Protest Music • I hope you found this lesson “GROOVY” – if you can’t get enough hippie culture, listen to the following songs….. • I challenge you to interpret their meaning and how they relate to the counter-culture • Plus – they’re pretty awesome songs that every person should know Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR): “Fortunate Son” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec0XKhAHR5I Bob Dylan: “The Times are a Changin” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90WD_ats6eE The Beatles: “Revolution” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= BGLGzRXY5Bw Buffalo Springfield: “For what its Worth” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bl-vbBnJ3I Edwin Starr: “War” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQHUAJTZqF0.