The Long 1960s and the Crisis of the 1970s: Cultural, Radical, and Political Shifts

The Cultural and Sexual Revolution: Annus Mirabilis and Beyond

• Philip Larkin and 1963: The lecture begins with a reading of Philip Larkin's poem "Annus Mirabilis" (The Miracle Year). The poem famously claims that "Sexual intercourse began in 1963," occurring between the end of the "Chatterley ban" (the obscenity trial of Lady Chatterley's Lover) and the Beatles' first LP.

• Historical Reality vs. Cultural Perception: While sexual behavior obviously predates 1963, the year symbolizes a radical shift in social mores. This is contrasted with a 1990s-era congressional hearing where a Representative mocked academic studies of sexuality in the Middle Ages, stating that if people didn't have intercourse then, "we wouldn't be here."

• The "Toilet Story": Separation and Cultural Divergence:   - A story reported by The New York Times following the fall of the Eastern Block focused on a brother and sister separated in $1947$.   - The sister escaped to America and became a hardworking cattle/dairy farmer in Nebraska or Iowa, developing an individualistic, anti-government handout work ethic.   - The brother remained in the East German police garrison state, developing a timid, conformist personality.   - Upon visiting America, the brother was terrified to use the toilet because the water levels in American toilets at the time reached the rim, and he feared being overwhelmed or soaked, a symbol of his general timidity.

The Era of Misquotation and "Too Soon to Tell"

• Famous Misquotes: The speaker notes several historical figures who are often misquoted:   - Marie Antoinette: Never actually said "Let them eat cake."   - Czar Nicholas I: Did not call the Ottoman Empire the "sick man of Europe"; he said, "We have a sick man on our hands."   - Ingrid Bergman (Casablanca): Never said "Play it again, Sam"; she said "Play it, Sam" or "Play as time goes by."

• Chu Enlai and the French Revolution: During the $1972$ Beijing summit, Henry Kissinger supposedly asked Chinese Premier Chu Enlai his thoughts on the French Revolution of $1789$. Chu Enlai famously replied, "It's too soon to tell."   - It was later revealed they were actually discussing the student protests of $1968$, not the $1789$ revolution. The press allowed the "fake quote" to stand because it reinforced the image of Chinese elites as possessing ancient, cryptic wisdom.

Generational Rebellion and the Demographic Shift

• Youth Radicalism: The mid-1960s saw a rise in generational defiance.   - Jack Weinberg (1964): During the Berkeley Free Speech Movement, he famously stated, "Don't trust anyone over 30."   - The "Birth Dearth" of 1974: The birth rate dropped significantly from the baby boom era (nearly $4.0$ children per woman) to below the replacement rate of $2.1$ children per woman by $1974$.   - Academic Job Market: Between $1960$ and $1985$, PhD graduates often had multiple job offers. Today, a single job posting might attract $300$ to $700$ applicants.

• Eminent Victorians: Lytton Strachey’s book Eminent Victorians (critiquing figures like Florence Nightingale, General Gordon, and Matthew Arnold) is cited as an earlier example of a generation (post-WWI) rejecting the "stern self-denying bourgeois virtues" of their predecessors.

Student Protests and the Nanterre Rebellion

• The Soixante-Huitards (1968 Generation):   - Daniel Combendi (Cohn-Bendit): A lead figure at Nanterre who described the university as a "sausage machine" turning out conformist workers for industrialized society.   - Sexual Motivation: Much of the frustration at Nanterre was actually about access to female dormitories.   - The Swimming Pool Incident: French Education Minister Francois Misouf visited Nanterre and touted a new swimming pool for fitness. Combendi argued that the "bottling up of sexual energy" was repressive. When Misouf suggested he cool off in the pool, Combendi replied that such a comment was "something Hitler would say," linking the cult of sport to Hitlerian methods.

• Global Unrest: Similar paralysis occurred in the University of Rome ($1967$-$1968$) and Tokyo. In Japan, $80\%$ of higher learning institutions were paralyzed by protests, and $75$ university presidents resigned out of shame.

• De Gaulle's Response: President Charles de Gaulle, in office since $1958$, viewed the students as children needing a "slap." He dissolved parliament, called a snap election, and mobilized $500,000$ supporters on the Champs-Elysees to win a decisive victory, though his generation eventually ceded cultural power.

The Vietnam War: Statistics and the Draft

• Escalation: Direct US involvement ramped up after the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in August. In $1965$, deployment began in earnest alongside "Great Society" programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

• Manpower Data ($1965$-$1973$):   - $27,000,000$ American males came of draft age.   - $11,000,000$ served in the military.   - $1,600,000$ were sent to Vietnam.   - The ratio of those who fought was approximately $1:18$.

• Draft Inequities: Exemptions were often class-inflected, favoring college and graduate students. This left the burden of the war on the poor (both black and white). A lottery system was introduced in $1969$ to address the surplus of eligible men.

• Total US Fatalities: Approximately $58,000$ dead. Annual growth of deaths:   - $1965$: nearly $2,000$   - $1966$: $6,350$   - $1967$: $11,363$   - Tet Offensive (early 1968): This campaign cost $2,600$ American lives and turned public opinion decisively against the war.

The Nixon Era and Watergate

• The 1972 Election: Richard Nixon won by $18,000,000$ votes, securing $62\%$ of the electorate. This was seen as a "cultural reaction" against hippies and student radicals.

• The Pentagon Papers (1971): These documents, leaked by Daniel Ellsberg and serialized in The New York Times, detailed political decisions from the Kennedy and Johnson years, including the Diem (Jem) assassination in $1963$. Although they didn't implicate Nixon, he created "the Plumbers" (a covert unit) to stop future leaks.

• Watergate Secrets: Six of the seven men arrested at the Watergate were CIA-linked or former covert ops.

• Deep Throat: Bob Woodward's source was revealed in $2005$ to be Mark Felt, Deputy Director of the FBI. Felt was the head of the Cointelpro program, indicating the FBI was actively working to undermine Nixon.

The Collapse of 1974-1975

• War Powers Resolution (1973): Congress limited the President's power to deploy troops to a maximum of $60$ days without approval.

• Economic and Military Defeat:   - Following the Yom Kippur War, oil prices quadrupled.   - Congress cut aid to South Vietnam from $2,100,000,000$ in $1973$ to $700,000,000$ in $1975$.   - When President Ford requested and emergency infusion of $300,000,000$ for South Vietnam and $220,000,000$ for Cambodia, Congress refused.   - The final US personnel were evacuated from Phnom Penh and Saigon in April $1975$, often compared to the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Social Disintegration and Domestic Radicalism

• The Sexual Revolution's Toll:   - The divorce rate skyrocketed; California pioneered "no-fault divorce."   - Marital annulments in the US rose by a factor of $27$ between $1967$ and $1980$.   - The rise of "latchkey kids" and "children of divorce."

• Crime and Vigilantism: Crime was unchecked in cities, exemplified by the "Summer of Sam" ($1977$) in New York. Film reflected this through movies like Death Wish ($1974$) and The Godfather.

• Domestic Terrorism:   - Days of Rage: A period of domestic bombings by groups like the Weather Underground (led by Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dorn).   - In $1972$ alone, there were $2,500$ domestic bombings in the United States, often described as "exploding press releases."   - A bombing campaign was launched at the same time as the Woodstock festival.

• The Iran Hostage Crisis (1979): 52 hostages were held for $444$ days. A rescue attempt involving 8 helicopters (Operation Desert One) failed due to mechanical failures and mid-air collisions, cementing the image of US impotence.

• Soviet Dominance: By the late 1970s, the USSR seemed unstoppable, with influence growing in Angola, Mozambique, and Ethiopia, and victories in the $1972$ Olympics basketball and hockey programs.