4 Reactions to the counter culture, 1968-1972 Flashcards
the rise of the ‘silent majority
how did the term ‘silent majority’ come about?
- Nixon popularised the term in his speech in November 1969
- ‘silent majority of my fellow americans’ vs ‘vocal minority’
- showed exasperation of riots and protests durig 1968
the rise of the silent majority
tet and the impact of events in Vietnam
by the end of 1967 there were over 500,000 American troops in Vietnam.
- johnson launched a public relations offensive claiming America was winning the war
- during tet holiday in Janbuary 1968 the vietnamese communists launched their great tet offensive on south vietnam
- american images of communists overruning the south vietnamese capital suggested a ‘credibility gap’ between johnsons public relations offensive and waht was happening
- the silent majority hoped for ‘peace with honour’ that nixon promised
the rise of the silent majority
Assassinations: King and (robert) kennedy
- -mlk: provoked 100 riots with $45m property damage
- silent majority tired of rioting
- few weeks later kennedy asssassinated :(
- events at the dnc
the rise of the silent majority
the democratic national convention, chicago
August 1968
- 30,000 members of the new left spread rumours they were going to put LSD in the citys water supply
- chicago Mayor Daley mobilised 12,000 police and banned marches
- yippies produced their ‘pigasus’ (live pig) candidate
- polls recorded 56% approval of police actions against the protestors, one congressman accused the kids of wanting ‘pot instead of patriotism’
the appeal of richard nixon
woodstock and the counterculture
how did middle america view it?
- anarchy
- they worried about role models such as jim morrison and jimi hendrix who both died of overdoses over a 10 month period in 1970-1971
the appeal of richard nixon
student radicalism and violence
- 1969-1970: 2000+ bombings, 56% by students, 19% by black extremists
- radical students blew up university of colarado buildings because scholarship funds for black students were frozen
- pro black panthers demonstration set yale law school library books on fire
the appeal of richard nixon
impact of events in vietnam
- nixon increased bombing as he withdrew troops to ensure a strong negotiation in the peace talks
- 1969, tens of thousands of protestors of all ages joined the largest ever anti war protest, the moratorium
- polls showed 84% of protestors treated ‘too leniently’
the appeal of richard nixon
kent state
- rioted an firebombed the ROTC building
- some held a peaceful protest rally which panicked guardsmen who fired and killed 4, wounding 11.
- days later, 2 more were killed and 12 wounded at jackson state, mississippi.
- americans felt the gov was deliberately murdering
- over half though, blamed the students.
the appeal of richard nixon
the end of the protests
q
- nixon deprived radical students of federal scholarships and loans
- adjusted the draft
- court actions kept them busy and broke.
- eg. 10,000 arrested in Washington in Spring 1970
the appeal of richard nixon
the dnc, 1972
- George McGoverns election ensured by the long-haired young delegates.
- he wanted to legalise marijuana and abortion
- give $1000 to every american to decrease poverty
the appeal of richard nixon
nixons appeal in 1972
- more so than in 1968
- republicans called McGovern the 3As candidate ‘acid, abortion, amnesty’
- Nixon/Agnew focused on pot, permissiveness, protest, pornography, and patriotism
- nixon won by a landslide, 60.7% of the popular vote
Nixons attack on the great society
welfare and antipoverty programmes
- ‘welfare mess’ that wasted taxpayers money (84% agreed in 1968)
- shrank the OEO, closed 59 job corps and cut federal housing programmes
- new family assistance plan: welfare recipients would only recieve $1600 per year. congress rejected it
- nixon vetoed the 1971 Child evelopment Act which would have provided free childcare to enable poor mothers to work, calling it too expensive.
the appeal of richard nixon
school desegregation and affirmative action
1971 + 1973
- americans opposed bussing students from one neighbourhood to another for school intergration by 8-1 in the supreme court
- nixon called affirmative action reverse discrimination, but in fact he:
- put pressure on federal contractors to employ more minority workers
- promotion of affirmative action helped ensure its entrenchment in federal government agencies and contractors for many years to come.
the appeal of richard nixon
the environment
- spontaneous combustion of Ohio’s polluted Cuyahoga river contributed to concern
- clean air act 1970
- coasts act 1972
- established Environmental Protection Agency 1970
- created 642 parks
the role of the media in influencing attitudes
films, television, and challenge
- films promoted conservative values, eg. John Wayne’s The Green Berets 1968 (did v well in the box office)
- however, the black comedy MASH 1970 was clearly critical of the vietnam war and was very unpopular
- family freidnly movies such as the sound of music 1970 were incredibly popular.
