America: Political Ideas 2- Liberalism And Counter Culture Flashcards
What generation was at the forefront of changing political ideas and why ?
- Those born during WW2 who were young adults in the 1960s
- They hadn’t experience a major economic depression or war, so as they grew up there was a shift in culture/ new influences e.g. liberalism and counter culture
What changed about colleges between 1945-1970?
Enrolment quadrupled
What did the increase in college enrolments mean for politics?
-more people educated and aware
- more uneasiness surrounding politics-more people with political opinions
- there was the second red scare and increasing violence against civil rights campaigners at the time that people had an opinion on
Under which president did Liberalism emerge?
Kennedy
What about Kennedy meant liberalism emerged during his presidency?
He was forward thinking, flexible, concerned with people’s welfare, and less suspicious about foreign matters
He described what it meant to be liberal
What were the main beliefs/principles of liberalism?
-inspired those who believed in American dream
-support for equality, civil rights & social welfare
-liberals prepared to accept more government intervention to achieve better quality of life
-believed in positive discrimination
When did liberal views cause trouble?
During the red scares- deemed as communist ideas and support
What was ‘positive discrimination’ that was supported by liberals?
Preferential treatment for those defined as part of the 5 minorities to readdress equality
What changes and improvements happened in the states as a result of a liberal minded congress/culture?
-Civil rights act, Voting rights act, Johnson’s great society welfare reforms were all passed by a liberal minded congress
What increased in the 1960s?
Legalised abortions, civil rights and equal opportunities
Who tended to believe / adopt liberalism?
Middle class
What did young people want to change in comparison to liberals?
-they wanted to change society by changing the culture of the USA
-liberals focused on changing it by government legislation and politics
What happened as a result of different opinions about changing the US society?
There were ideological splits that meant groups split and reformed new ones
What were the 2 major counter-culture movements?
Hippies
Radical Student groups
What was the purpose of the hippy movement?
They sought to establish communal living and utopian settlements
They were disillusioned from organised politics
What were the stereotypes surrounding hippies?
Long hair, tie-dye shirts, rock music, drugs
What was one of the biggest events of the hippy movement?
Woodstock 1969
- huge rock concert near New York
-500,000 ‘flower children’ for 3 days listening to music, had sexual freedom and cheap marijuana
-everything about it was what the opposition feared
Why did the carefree lifestyle of hippies end quickly/ what event dented the appeal of hippy counter-culture?
-promoters tried to replicate Woodstock 1969 at a Rolling Stones concert 4 months later
- a member of Hell’s Angels Motorcycle gang stabbed and beat a man to death infront of the stage
What were the radical student groups involved in the counterculture movements?
- most political side of student revolts in the 1960s
E.g the SDS: students for a democratic society were the most high profile radical student group
Who issued the Port Huron Statement ?
The SDS: students for a democratic society
When was the Port Huron Statement?
1962
What was the Port Huron Statement?
It condemned conventional politics & highlighted the absence of individual freedom in modern life
What did the radical student groups like the SDS organise?
-the first mass rally against the Vietnam War in 1965
-“sit-ins” protests at universities
-they were mostly peaceful at first but an increasing number resorted to violence
What happened at the 1968 Democratic National Convention?
Student protests were met with fierce authority reaction- officers clubbed and gassed demonstrators
What famous attack on student protestors happened in May 1970?
The National Guard shot 4 dead at Kent State
What led to student opposition and radicalism dying down?
Radicalism continued to increase and led to more splits in the movement
- led to the very extreme “weathermen” who bombed university and government buildings
-the government arrested most of the “weathermen” and it lead to opposition dying down
What was the conservative reaction to counter culture?
-it bewildered older Americans
-it challenged traditional values, rejected Christian values, rejected value of hardworking
- most believed students were ungrateful for the opportunities they had
-they feared the liberal government wasn’t working and wanted a restoration of law and order/ traditional values
Who exploited the fears of counter culture?
Richard Nixon
How did Nixon exploit the fears of counter-culture?
- he was the voice of “middle America”
- he selected advisors who would restore Christian values
What did many religious groups do in response to counterculture?
-held campaigns to spread traditional values
-wanted to move away from liberal policies like abortion & contraception
-wanted to keep laws that banned homosexuality
