Notes on Political and Cultural Shifts in the 1960s and 1970s

The Shifting Sands of the 1960s

• By 1968, American society was undergoing transformative changes:

  • The civil rights movement evolved, shifting its focus and tactics.
  • The Vietnam War, particularly after the Tet Offensive, profoundly impacted American politics.
  • 1968 became a pivotal year, marked by possibilities, ambiguities, fears, and paranoia.

• Two fundamental perspectives emerged regarding this era:

  • Some believed the 1950s and early 1960s were a golden age ruined by the events of 1968.
  • Others viewed the pre-1968 period as repressive, with 1968 ushering in liberation and progress.

Musical Reflections of Change

• Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" (1964):

  • Represented the civil rights movement's optimism and determination amidst struggle.

• The impact of the Tet Offensive, reports of massacres, and the use of napalm:

  • Fueled anti-war sentiment and disillusionment.

• Civil unrest, including riots in Detroit, Watts, and Chicago:

  • Signaled growing social tensions.

• The assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy:

  • Deepened the sense of crisis and uncertainty.

• George Wallace's success in Democratic primaries in Northern states:

  • Underscored the resistance to civil rights and the changing political landscape.

• Marvin Gaye's music in the early 1970s:

  • Reflected a blend of optimism and awareness of the realities of the time.

• Kent State University shooting in May 1970:

  • Anti-war protesters confronted the Ohio National Guard, resulting in the death of four students.

• Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young's "Ohio":

  • Addressed the tragedy at Kent State and the sense of disillusionment with the government.
  • Expressed the sentiment of feeling targeted by the authorities.

The Fragmentation of Culture

• In the 1960s, a dichotomy existed between popular culture (consensus culture) and counterculture:

  • Popular culture represented the conformity of 1950s suburban television.
  • Counterculture encompassed rebellion against mainstream values.

• By the 1970s, popular culture became more complex and fragmented:

  • Counter counterculture emerged as a critique of the counterculture itself.

• Southern rock exemplified this counter counterculture:

  • Embraced rebellion and outlaw imagery but rejected aspects of the broader counterculture.
  • Often incorporated Confederate symbolism and imagery of the Southern working class.

• Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama":

  • Responded to Neil Young's critiques of the South, particularly in "Southern Man."
  • Embraced the Muscle Shoals sound and its interracial character.
  • Defended Southern culture, including Governor Wallace and Alabama politics, and expressed indifference to Watergate.
  • The song can be interpreted as an "anti-protest song", rejecting the obviousness of the counterculture protest songs.

The Shifting Political Coalitions

• The Roosevelt Coalition (circa 1948):

  • A broad Democratic coalition encompassing political radicals, reformers, farmers, labor, urban populations, Northern African Americans, Southern White populists, Southern White poor, and Southern White elites.
  • The Republican Party primarily consisted of old wealth, banks, finance industries, and moderate Republicans.

• The breakup of the Roosevelt Coalition:

  • Radicals formed the Progressive Party but were marginalized during the Cold War.
  • The Dixiecrats, representing Southern resistance to civil rights, also attempted to break away.
  • Southern elites remained within the Democratic Party despite their discontent.

• The Eisenhower and Kennedy Eras:

  • Policies were largely similar between Eisenhower and Kennedy.

• The Democratic Party maintained its core constituencies:

  • Reformers, labor, urban populations, African Americans, and the South.

• The Republican Party expanded its base:

  • Attracted old wealth, moderates, and suburban voters.
  • Positioned itself as anti-communist and pro-business.

• The Political Landscape by 1968:

  • Radicals: Fervently anti-communist, exemplified by Barry Goldwater.
  • Anti-radicals: Represented by Ronald Reagan, who campaigned against hippies, Chicanos, and Black Panthers.
  • Southern Strategy: The Republican Party intentionally used race as a wedge issue to attract Southern White voters, leading to a shift in the South from Democratic to Republican.

• AFL-CIO unions:

  • Tied to the Democratic Party, while the Teamsters were less so.
  • Many union members voted Republican, driven by concerns about civil rights, urban crime, and riots.

The Rise of Nixon

• The Republican Party in 1968 was a diverse and contradictory coalition:

  • Comprising moderates, radicals, Southerners, Westerners, suburbanites, and urban voters.
  • These groups often distrusted each other and disagreed on many issues.

• Richard Nixon emerged as a unifying figure despite being disliked by many within the party:

  • He was seen as the only candidate capable of holding the coalition together.

• Nixon's political evolution:

  • Between 1948 and 1952, he gained prominence as a communist hunter.
  • From 1952 to 1960, he served as Eisenhower's vice president, adopting moderate Republican policies.

• Eisenhower's ambivalence toward Nixon:

  • Eisenhower relied on Nixon to appease the anti-communist wing of the party but did not fully trust or support him.

• Nixon's defeat in the 1960 presidential election against John Kennedy:

  • His loss in the 1962 California gubernatorial election.
  • He blamed the press for unfair coverage and declared his departure from politics.

• The Changing Political Climate in the Mid-1960s:

  • The Democratic Party fractured due to internal divisions.
  • The Republican Party saw the rise of radical figures like Barry Goldwater.
  • Ronald Reagan's success in California demonstrated a new path to power through anti-radicalism.

• Nixon's Return and Strategy:

  • Nixon identified an opportunity to re-enter politics by appealing to a "silent majority" that desired order and stability.
  • He promised to end the Vietnam War and restore law and order in the United States.

Nixon's Policies and Actions

• Nixon's foreign policy operated on two levels:

  • Publicly, he pursued normalization of relations with China and peaceful coexistence with the Soviet Union.
  • Privately, he authorized the CIA to engage in covert operations, military coups, and the establishment of military dictatorships, particularly in Latin America.

• His strategy to end the Vietnam War involved:

  • Normalizing relations with China.
  • Ramping up the war through increased bombing campaigns and spreading the conflict into Cambodia and Laos.

• Domestic policies:

  • The FBI was used to infiltrate and disrupt organizations, including civil rights groups and the Black Panthers, through the counterintelligence program (COINTELPRO).

• Watergate Scandal:

  • To prevent leaks Nixon created a secret group called "the plumbers."
  • The plumbers broke into Watergate and were caught which spiraled into the Watergate Scandal.
  • Nixon's efforts to cover up the break-in led to further investigations and revelations.

• Nixon resigned, and Ford pardoned him immediately.

• By the mid-1970s, congressional investigations revealed:

  • The American people were now aware of the covert actions and abuses of power that had taken place.