1968: Counterculture Movement and protests

Freedom of Speech

After some 700 protestors were arrested, a campus-wide strike stopped classes for two days. The administration gave in to the student's demands, and the university, staged a sit-in at the administration building

June 1968

American pop artist Andy Warhol is shot June 1968 Senator Robert Kennedy is shot James Earl Ray suspected MLK assassin is arrested Earl Warren Resigns

Doves vs Hawks

- By 1968 the nation seemed divided into two camps-the doves and the hawks. -The doves wanted the United Sates to withdraw from the war -hawks felt the United States should stay and fight.

Hippie Commune

- Communes or group living arrangements in which members shared everything and worked together, were formed as hippies dropped out of society.

Hippies

-A society that was free, closer to nature -full of love, empathy, tolerance, and cooperation. -rejected materialism, many embraced spirituality -long hair, Native American headbands, shabby jeans, and drugs were common.

Drug use

-Drugs like marijuana and LSD were a big part of the hippie/counterculture movement -using drugs made hippies feel like they were rebelling from mainstream society.

Vietnam Veterans against the war

-Many of the Vietnam Veterans Against the war, were in wheelchairs and on crutches and often participated in anti-war cause.

1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago

-The Democratic National Convention opens in chicago -In the days that follow, thousands of demonstrators take to the streets to protest the vietnam war. -Violent clashes occur between protesters and police.

Counterculture

-The counterculture, or hippies, were mostly white youths from middle-and upper-class backgrounds.. -Lived a life that promoted flamboyant dress, rock music, drug use, and free and independent living. -wanted to create their own society.

Vietnam War-Tet offensive is launched

-The year 1968 began with a surprise attack by the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese army on numerous cities. - Vietcong launched major attacks on over 100 cities and 12 US air bases that lasted 1 month -Militarily it was a defeat for the Vietcong by psychologically it was a defeat for the US The credibility gap increases as the US continued to lose. The American public was stunned

Credibility gap

-When American troops first entered the Vietnam War, many American supported the military effort -As the war drag on, public support decreased. -Americans began to question the government and believed a credibility gap had developed, making it difficult to believe what the Johnson administration said about the war

The draft

-Young protesters focused their attention on what they felt was an unfair draft system. -Voting age was 21 but draft age was 18 -While college students could delay military service until graduation, those with low income and limited education were called to serve -As a result, minorities, especially African Americans, were called to war. Many draftees refused to serve. Others moved to Canada and other nations.

Draft by the Numbers

1.85 million men were drafted for the Vietnam conflict

UC Berkeley

A group of activists at the University of California at Berkeley began the Free Speech Movement. The group, Disgrunted by several practices at the university, staged a sit-in at the administration building

King Assassinated

April 4th Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis Tennessee -Shock and distress over the news of king's death sparked rioting in more than 100 cities around the country, including burning and looting. -on April 11, Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, also known as the Fair Housing Act

Year-end death toll in Vietnam

By the year's end, the number of U.s. Troops in Vietnam has reached the all-time peak of 549,000. The U.S. death toll for 1968 is the highest yearly total in the war's history --nearly 17,000 soldiers killed in action.

Tim Leary

Dr. Timothy Leary was an early advocate of LSD experimentation. He taught psychology at Harvard university, and by 1960 was experimenting with LSD and other hallucinogens. He coined the phrase "Turn On , Tune In, and Drop Out," and formed the "league of Spiritual Discovery," an LSD advocacy group. In the mid sixties, he began attending numerous musical events and public forums that promoted the use of LSD.

26th Amendment

In 1971 the 26th amendment to will be ratified which will lower the national voting age to 18 years old.

Haight-Ashbury

One of the most popular hippie destinations was the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco.

Feminists protest Miss America pageant

Outside the Miss America pageant on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, Feminist protesters crown a live sheep "Miss America" and toss "instruments of female torture, " such as bras, girdles, false eyelashes, and hair curlers, into a "freedom Trash Can"

Nixon Nominated

Richard M. Nixon is nominated for president on the first ballot of the first ballot of the Republican National Convention, beating out California governor Ronald Reagan and New York governor Nelson Rockefeller. Later that day, Nixon chooses Maryland Governor Nelson Rockefeller Nixon will also win the presidency during the 1968 November election.

Johnson announced he will not run for re-election

The antiwar movement gained momentum in 1965, when president Lyndon B. Johnson ordered massive U.S. military intervention and the sustained bombing of North Vietnam.

Hippie Decline

The counterculture will eventually declined, as some hippie communities became a place where criminal activity was common. -Drug use declined as the excitement faded and as more young people became addicted or died from overdoses.

Origins of The Student Movement

The economic boom of the 1950s led to a dramatic increase in college enrollment . College gave young people the opportunity to share feelings and fears about the future with others.

black power olympic games

Tommie "jet" Smith and John Carlos, Medalists in the 200-meter sprint at the olympic Games in Mexico City, Lower their heads and raise black-gloved fists during the playing of the national anthem, in protest of racism in the united states. The gesture leads to them being stripped of their medals.

The youth Movement of the 1960s

Young activists began to challenged the American political and social system and conventional middle class values. -1. peace and prosperity -2. Fear of Nuclear War -3. Civil Rights Movement -4. Baby Boom -5. College Enrollment

Berkeley has a history of being a campus of Protest

in the spring of 1965, "teach-ins" against the war were held on many college campuses. Students for a Democratic Society organized the first national antiwar demonstration in Washington; 20,000 people, mainly students, attended.