There are but a few eras in the history of the United States that can rival the 1960s in terms of political turbulence and social unrest. This period was marked by widespread anxiety regarding race, gender, social class, and generational divide, not to mention the political chasm between the government and the more youthful sectors of society regarding the issue of the war in Vietnam. As a result, a number of movements – both political and social – emerged out of the cacophony of voices advocating for change. African Americans began their struggle for civil rights, while the “new” left began to question the role of government in the progress of American society. Women also started to become more aware of their place in the wider populace, forming the foundations of the feminist movement. Finally, the Sexual Revolution arose out of a fresh awareness of individuals regarding their own bodies, as well as out of a desire to counter the conservative American culture of the previous decade. Significant events, such as the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King and the Watergate Scandal played significant roles in the shaping of the 60s zeitgeist. These various elements coalesced into a cacophonous and riotous period in the history of the United States – a period which will go down in history as one of the most controversial, but not necessarily unhealthy, eras of contemporary American society.
If one is to trace the evolution of the 1960s as a wider sociopolitical movement, one must first examine the aftermath of the Second World War and what it implied for a victorious America. At the heart of this discussion is the singular identity of John F. Kennedy, leader of the United States during the troubled era of the Cold War. Prosperity marked this period, but it was not without its fair share of controversies, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs Invasion. His assassination in 1963, as well as the subsequent American participation in the already-turbulent war in Vietnam signaled the end of this prosperous period, and also began American society’s rapid descent to disillusionment (Isserman and Kazin 67).
Kennedy’s liberal policies, moreover, gave African Americans the power to voice their long-held sentiments against racism through nonviolent protests and dramatic confrontations in every part of the nation. In the early 1960s, black Americans began to demand their rights as citizens under the United States Constitution, shaped also by the victory of World War II (Farber and Bailey, 13). By and large, the Civil Rights Movement was a success. With the help of Kennedy and his successor Lyndon B. Johnson, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act in 1964, directly attacking not only racial discrimination, but also the disenfranchisement of women (Farber and Bailey, 20). A year later, the comprehensive Voting Rights Act finally allowed blacks to vote, and opened up the nation’s democratic political system to a class of people previously thought to be inferior. The 1960s also saw the rise of the New Left, a movement that pointed toward a traditional American belief in democracy, and inspired by writers such as Jack Kerouac and artists such as Marlon Brando and James Dean. Members of this youthful movement were typified by the spirit of resistance and protest, rejecting the American Dream offered by the previous decade, and inspired by the civil rights movement. The women’s liberation movement also arose during this time, and feminists began to organize in order to address the disenfranchisement of women and their relegation as second class citizens. Finally, the Sexual Revolution arose out of a general awareness of the youth with regards to their biology and sexual activity. Films such as Bonnie and Clyde and The Graduate, as well as Allen Ginsberg’s poem Howl echoed these sentiments, and further fueled the fire for sexual liberation (Brownell, 10). The Sexual Revolution also paved the way for the continuing struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, and queer (LGBTQ) rights, as evidenced by the Stonewall riots. These movements coalesced into a general youthful disregard for established authority, such as the federal government and financial institutions. Manifested as such, a general unease permeated the culture of the 1960s and allowed the burgeoning youth population to express themselves in opposition to established authority figures such as their parents, and, in the wider scheme of things, the federal government.
Cultural artifacts played an important part in the various social revolutions of the 1960s. In particular, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones made waves with their music and their anti-war music, while Jimi Hendrix’s innovations with the guitar largely fueled the public’s taste for illegal drugs and substances. Films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and Psycho revolutionized their respective genres and broke taboos that dominated Hollywood in the 1950s. Overall, the culture of the 1960s promoted and exasperated the sentiment of revolution and change among the public, and allowed for a greater expression of ideas. Moreover, films, music, theater, and other media asked important questions not only of the government at large, but also of the individual himself – questions that ponder the very essence of humaneness, politics, and our relationships with other human beings.
Events such as the assassinations of MLK and JFK further frustrated the disillusionment of the American youth to the establishment of big corporations and the federal government. Whereas the 50s was a time of social coalescence in the face of external threat in the form of Soviet Russia, the 60s proved to be something new altogether. The political tension that permeated the decade before exploded into a release that necessitated abrupt social change. Moreover, the burgeoning youth culture that rivalled the authoritative slant of its past generation generated a flurry of changes and an overwhelming clamor for governmental and socio-political reform. This ultimately led to the general unrest and social turbulence that marked the majority of the 1960s.
Compared to modern issues and debates, the 1960s was an era where citizens mobilized under unitary banners of egalitarianism and equality. Today, perhaps due to the internet and the increasing globalization, the principal issues that should motivate American society necessitate more effort from organizers to accomplish. Although the internet has indeed made communication between individuals easier and faster, it takes much more commitment from people to be convinced to a particular cause. This has already been evidenced by the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011-2012. However, as with all technology, the Internet and other technology are two pronged swords. They may also lead to a greater awareness for issues that need immediate response and general social change.
Works Cited
Isserman, Maurice, and Kazin, Michael. America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Print.
Farber, David; and Bailey, Beth. The Columbia Guide to America in the 1960s. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001. Print.
Brownell, Richard. American Counterculture of the 1960s. New York: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.
