1950s Counterculture PDF
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This document provides an overview of the 1950s counterculture in the United States, focusing on figures like Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem while also detailing events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the civil rights movement.
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950’s CounterCulture 1 Many teens and young adults grew disaffected by societal pressures to conform to the new American ideals of a nuclear family life in the suburbs, which focused on materialism and consumption. These counter-culture youngsters were known as Beatniks....
950’s CounterCulture 1 Many teens and young adults grew disaffected by societal pressures to conform to the new American ideals of a nuclear family life in the suburbs, which focused on materialism and consumption. These counter-culture youngsters were known as Beatniks. They engaged in risky behavior, preferring jeans and leather to suits and dresses, and listened to rock and spoken-word poetry. he Feminine Mystique T -Betty Friedan,1963 Introduces “the problem that has no name”-the widespread unhappiness of women in the 1950s and early 1960s The book is credited with sparking the beginning of second-wave feminism in the U.S. in the 1950s loria Steinman G Ms. Magazine 1971 -Targeted women who had been hidden from and leftout of mainstream media. -highlighted women who had experienced abortions promoted the removal of sexist language. -Focussed on helping women realize they could stand up for themselves against social norms. The Post Civil-War Great Migration F rom 1910 to 1940, the black population in NYC rose from 60,000 to 450,000 -Cities like Detroit experienced a similar growth in population. Pull factors in cities like NY, Philadelphia, and Detroit included: -Job opportunities- Blue and White collar jobs -Lack of Jim Crow laws/ legalized segregation. iots and Riots 1943 R In Detroit, angry white residents began to take action against their resentment over the increase in the black population. W – hite mobs attacked Black citizens. – Of the 25 African Americans, 17 had been killed by white policemen. – The K.K.K. established a force in Detroit and throughout the North. A Philip Randolph In 1941, A. Philip Randolph began to organize a march to Washington to protest against discrimination in the defense industries. Randolph called for a “Negro March on Washington for jobs and Equal Participation in National Defense.” Montogomery Bus boycotts 1955 T he MIA and WPC were civil rights organizations based in Montgomery, Alabama. They organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The Plan called for African Americans to refuse to use the bus system until the bus company desegregated itself. Rosa Parks, a member of the NAACP for 12 years prior, as planned, sat in the white section and was arrested. In 1956, the Supreme Court ruled in Browder v. Gayle that state Bus segregation laws were unconstitutional. Brown vs. the board of education Thurgood Marshall argued and won the case banning school segregation Brown v. Board 1- 1952 - The separate but equal clause established under Plessy v. Ferguson was found to be unequal in public education. -The unanimous opinion outlawed segregation in public schools. Brown v. Board 2-1954 - Local governments were implored to implement the principles of the Brown decision “ with all deliberate speed.” AACP N The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded in 1909 by a multi-racial group in the wake of a race riot in Springfield, Illinois. One of the group’s primary goals was overturning Plessy v. Ferguson (which allowed separate but equal facilities, a.k.a segregation). Thurgood Marshall gained prominence as the group's leading lawyer. he Little Rock 9 T By 1957, public schools in the south still had not integrated (or desegregated) themselves. A rkansas’ Governor stationed state troops to turn nine black students away on the 1st day of school. Three weeks later, President Eisenhower sent national guardsmen to integrate it forcibly. he Southern Christian Leadership Conference T Or SCLC was a group of Southern Christian Preachers who advocated non-violence and support of civil rights. MLK Jr. was the group's leader. Thoreau and Gandhi were prototypes for their peaceful resistance movement. tudent Nonviolent Coordinating Committee S Or SNCC: was a group of interracial students, organized by faculty and members of the SCLC to promote non-violent resistance. Organized sit-ins in Nashville, and participated in the Freedom Rides throughout the south. alcolm x (‘65) JFK (‘63) and MLK Jr. and RFK(‘68) assassinated M Race Riots/violence intensify lack Nationalism B By the mid-1960’s the divide in the Civil Rights Movement had become more pronounced Marcu garvey promote Black Nationalism and opposed integration. -”... for the black man in America, the only solution is complete separation from the white man.”-Malcolm X -How might the rift between non-violent and black nationalists affect the civil rights movement. he Black Panther Party T -1966-Huey Newton and Bobby Seale (Chicago “8”) -Used armed patrols to ‘observe’ police interaction with blacks. -Different from NOI(only “White capitalists’ were bad. -Sought to arm all African Americans he Nation of Islam and Malcom X T -The Nation os islam (NOI) is an Islamic and Black Nationalist movement founded in 1930. - Members of the NOI study the Quran, worship Allah, nd believe Elijah Muhammad is a prophet, and believe in Black Nationalism. -Malcolm X- Spokesman for the NOI and follower of Elijah Muhammad until they split in 1963 over negative comments about the assassination of JFK -Assassinated in 1965 by members of the NOI. -How might the rift between the NOI and X further affect the movement Selma March In early 1965, MLK Jr.’s SCLC sought to march from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery for black voting rights in Alabama. -Marchers were attacked and stopped by state and local authorities Media and the National Guard descended on Selma and assisted marchers in finally reaching Montgomery. This led to the Voting Rights Act of 19655 .S. Cuban Relations U The U.S. gained Cuba as a territory from Spain after the Spanish-American War of 1898. After that, the U.S. granted Cuba independence and sought control and commercial interests there. In 1959, Fidel Castro, a Marxist revolutionary, and his backers overthrew the Cuban Dictator Batista. -He began distancing Cubam relations with the U.S He confiscated private and U.S. business-owned land Plan to Overthrow Castro A When JFK took office in 1961, he learned of a secret CIA plot to invade and oust Fidel Castro. The plan had been set in motion by President Eisenhower, and JFK approved it. ay of Pigs invasion/failure B Planned US airstrikes failed to take out Cuba’s air force. The U.S. had planned on assisting Cuban rebels, providing them with air, sea, and military support. The U.S. hoped the Cuban people would assist the effort; they did not. What reaction to this failed invasion might JFk have had? ay of Pigs invasion/failure B Many questioned JFK’s leadership ability. They felt this failure showed he was incapable of dealing with the Soviets and would be bested by them. yndon Johnson’s War L JFK and the U.S. lost faith in Diem and encourages his overthrow and eventually, Diem is assassinated 3 weeks later, JFK himself was assassinated in 1963- Johnson took office The Viet Cong ( a guerrilla communist insurgency in the South) organizes amongst the power vacuum there. Viet Cong receives support from communists in the North Johnson campaigned for his ‘first term’ as a proponent of peace and against escalation/ However. He took advantage of the alleged Gulf of Tonkin incident to increase troops 1965: US troops 25,000 1967: US troops 543,000 he Tet Offensive, Mai Lai, and the media T Tet Offensive Early in 1968, The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong coordinated a massive attack on site in the south. Thousands died in the fighting. Mai Lai Massacre March 1968, Lt. William Calley Jr., in response to word that Mai Lai, a small village, was harboring Viet Cong. After not finding any opposition, American troops rounded up and killed more than 100 old men, women, and children Media Images from the offensive and news stories about the Massacre increased opposition to the war at home rotests at Home P Taking a cue from the Civil Rights movement, students formed groups like the Students for a Democratic Society (sDs) to ensure free speech and to oppose the war Selective Service Draft: December 1st, 1969 all-male not pursuing a degree from 18-26 years of age were made eligible for service 1968 Democratic National Convention each-ins T Begun at the University of Michigan, teachers who wanted to strike in opposition to the war threatened their jobs opted to teach in seminars after hours to air student concerns about the war ent State May 1970: K An escalating campus protest that included the burning of an on-campus ROTC was met with gunfire from National Guardsmen, killing 4 and injuring 9 others arch on Washington 1970: M Millions of protesters descended on Washington to protest the Kent State shootings, the invasion of Cambodia, and the continued war in Vietnam R epublican Richard Nixon was inaugurated in 1969, beating Hubert Humphrey after Johnson decided not to run. RFK is assassinated. Nixon ran on a platform of peace, promising to end the Vietnam War. In 1971, The Pentagon Papers were leaked. They questioned US Involvement in Vietnam. From 169 to 1972, U.S. troops were withdrawn only after the increase in troop presence in Cambodia. (See Kent State) Nixon supported the Vietnamization of Vietnam, An ironically named policy that sought the arming of the South Vietnamese and the withdrawal of U.S troops. N ixon won a second term in office in 1973 as all U.S. troops were withdrawn and a ceasefire was signed. -U.S. loses for the first time Fall of Saigon 1975 -Fall of Kabul, Afghanistan 2021 Although wo years later as Civil War raged The North Vietnamese overtake the South 58,000 Americans dead- 300,000 wounded 1.5 million Vietnamese dead Vietnam remains communist today buy Bill Clinton normalized U.S Vietnamese relations in 1995 Detente N ixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and an easing of tensions between the US and the USSR- and lifting of economic sanctions on China S.A.L.T.I Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty 1969-President Nixon and USSR Premier Brezhnev agree to limit the production of Nuclear weapons and ICBMs. -1991 Start (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) signed-2010 New Start signed -2023-Rissoa Exits START ative American Struggles N 1960s: The Native American rights movement sought to have the U.S. government honor treaty obligations it made with sovereign Native American nations Focused on unemployment, slum housing, and racism. The American Indian Movement (AIM), founded in 1968, helped to increase government aid to Native Americans in cities and on reservations. Aim to use both violent and nonviolent protests to effect change. Native people misconceptions. he Women’s Movement T Feminists worked from the late 1800’s to earn equal rights. In the 1960s, women copied the methods of the Civil Rights movement to achieve equal rights. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 initially didn’t include a ban on sexual discrimination Ironically, it may have been added the language to doom the bill to fail( aka a “poison pill”) The bill passed away ational Organization for Women/(NOW) N Founded in 1966, it sought equal pay for equal jobs and enforcement of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (the banning of discrimination based on gender) NOW worked to eliminate gender-specific job postings, etc. NOW worked to secure title IX of the Education Amendments of Act of 1972, which guarantees equal access to all federally funded activities… including athletics. Fought for the Equal Rights Amendment ERA and Roe vs. Wade Roe was overturned by the Supreme Ct. in 2022 in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s health.
