Chapter 30 - The Tumultuous Sixties

Introduction

  • Each administration from 1961 to 1974 promised reforms, but violence also marked the terms of Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon.

Civil Rights and the New Frontier

  • “The Best and the Brightest”: Kennedy surrounded himself with intellectuals with fresh ideas.
  • The New Frontier: Kennedy’s program promised more than the president could deliver, especially since Congress was dominated by conservatives.
  • March on Washington:
    • Student volunteers formed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and encouraged African Americans to resist segregation and register to vote.
    • Kennedy gradually began to commit himself to first-class citizenship for blacks.
    • In August 1963, thousands gathered at the Lincoln Memorial for a March on Washington.
    • At this event Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered one of the most memorable speeches in American history.
  • The Kennedy Assassination: Kennedy died in Dallas Texas, and crushed the hope that many held for the future. Many Americans still wonder if Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy.
  • Kennedy in Retrospect: Critics fault Kennedy as president, but he seemed to grow in the office and his untimely death enhanced his reputation.

The Great Society and the Triumph of Liberalism

  • Civil Rights Act of 1964: At the urging of President Johnson, Congress outlawed discrimination in public accommodations and employment.
  • Election of 1964: Johnson and the Democrats won a tremendous victory in 1964, paving the way for numerous domestic programs.
  • Voting Rights Act of 1965: The federal government became involved in voter registration.
  • War on Poverty: Johnson’s ambitious effort to destroy poverty through education and job training enjoyed mixed success.
  • Successes in Reducing Poverty: Federal programs and economic expansion alleviated a number of problems the poor faced.
  • The Warren Court: Under Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Supreme Court supported judicial activism and handed down a series of landmark decisions.
  • Civil Rights Rulings: The Court protected freedom of speech, of privacy, of the rights of accused criminals, and upheld the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Civil Rights Disillusionment, Race Riots, and Black Power

  • Explosion of Black Anger: Many black leaders advocated nonviolence, but in 1964 frustration erupted into riots in several northern cities.
  • Race Riots: A bloody riot occurred in Los Angeles in 1965. In this case blacks, not whites, initiated the violence. Riots continued from 1966 to 1968. A federal committee found that white racism had led to the disturbances.
  • Malcolm X: Malcolm X, a symbol of African American pride, was killed in 1965 for moderating his hard‐line positions.
  • Black Power: In 1966, Stokely Carmichael encouraged African Americans to express their identity through Black Power.

The New Left and the Counterculture

  • Free Speech Movement: At the University of California at Berkeley, the Free Speech Movement indicated a new white activism.
  • Students for a Democratic Society and the New Left: Students for a Democratic Society, meeting at Port Huron, Michigan, condemned racism, poverty, and the Cold War. The heterogeneous protest movement referred to itself as the New Left.
  • Countercultural Revolution: Cynicism, drug use, and a contempt for many traditional values shaped the emergence of a counterculture.
  • Rock ‘n’ Roll: The counterculture often found expression for their feelings in rock music.
  • Sexuality: Oral contraceptives led young people to adopt more casual sexual mores.
  • Gay Rights Movement: Many homosexuals became more open, and a 1969 riot in Greenwich Village marked the genesis of “Gay Power.”
  • Antiwar Protests: The counterculture and the New Left both opposed the Vietnam War.

1968: A Year of Protest, Violence, and Loss

  • Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr: In April 1968, James Earl Ray assassinated Martin Luther King, Jr., touching off widespread violence.
  • Assassination of Robert Kennedy: In June 1968, an Arab nationalist assassinated Robert Kennedy, increasing a sense of despair in Americans.
  • Violence at the Democratic Convention: In August 1968, a riot between demonstrators at the Democratic convention and the police shocked the nation.
  • Election of 1968: In November 1968, Americans narrowly elected Richard Nixon over Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace.
  • Unraveling of the New Deal Coalition: The Vietnam War and the Democratic Party’s support for civil rights and welfare for the poor shook apart the Democrat’s New Deal coalition.

Rebirth of Feminism

  • National Organization for Women: The need for action in advancing women’s issues led to the 1966 founding of NOW.
  • “Personal Politics”: Radical feminists preferred confrontational, direct action.
  • Working Women’s Burdens: For working women, the most pressing issue was sex discrimination in employment.
  • Women’s Educational and Professional Gains: By 1973, female participation in professional schools rose. Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment failed.
  • Roe v. Wade: In 1973, citing a woman’s constitutional right to privacy, the Supreme Court legalized abortions.

Nixon and the Divided Nation

  • Kent State and Jackson State: The United States invaded Cambodia in 1970, leading to huge protests and the killing of four demonstrators at Kent State University and two students at Jackson State.
  • Politics of Divisiveness: The Republicans sought to discredit the Democrats as radical at best and treasonous at worst. Still the Democrats made gains in the 1970 elections.
  • Stagflation: In 1971 the United States suffered relatively high inflation and unemployment, or “stagflation.” Nixon took pragmatic, liberal steps to restore the economy.
  • Environmental Issues: Over Nixon’s opposition, environmentalists made gains during his first term.

Nixon’s Reelection and Resignation

  • Liberal Legislative Victories: Democrats still controlled the Congress after 1968, and they continued to enact liberal programs.
  • Nixon’s “Southern Strategy”: Nixon’s “southern strategy” appealed to voters from the Sunbelt and helped Nixon defeat George McGovern.
  • Nixon and the Supreme Court: Nixon managed to appoint four conservative justices to the Supreme Court.
  • Election of 1972: Nixon faced very few serious challengers. In 1972 he took elaborately staged trips to China and the Soviet Union. He was also aided by the rumor planted by his aids that the Vietnam War was near its end. Nixon won a smashing victory in 1972, but the Democrats retained control of Congress.
  • Watergate Break-in: During the election, Nixon henchmen burglarized the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate office complex.
  • White House Cover-up
  • Watergate Hearings and Investigations: Judicial and Congressional investigations uncovered misconduct high in the Nixon administration.
  • Saturday Night Massacre: When pressured for Watergate tape recordings, Nixon fired the Attorney General and a Special Prosecutor.
  • Agnew’s Resignation: Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned because of income tax evasion and corruption. Gerald Ford replaced him.
  • Nixon’s Resignation: Facing the prospect of impeachment on three counts, Nixon resigned as president on August 9, 1974.
  • Post-Watergate Restrictions on Executive Power: The excesses of Nixon’s term led Congress to pass laws restraining presidents in foreign affairs, preventing the impounding of federal appropriations, limiting campaign funding, and ensuring access to government documents.