SixtiesRL_Alm_TP 9/28/04 12:21 PM Page 1 The Sixties in America Almanac SixtiesRL_Alm_TP 9/28/04 12:21 PM Page 3 The Sixties in America Almanac Tom Pendergast and Sara Pendergast Allison McNeill, Project Editor 60s Almanac FM 10/12/04 5:40 PM Page iv The Sixties in America: Almanac Tom Pendergast and Sara Pendergast Project Editor Imaging and Multimedia Composition Allison McNeill Denay Wilding, Lezlie Light, Mike Evi Seoud Logusz Editorial Manufacturing Kathleen J. Edgar Product Design Rita Wimberley Kate Scheible and Pamela Galbreath Rights Acquisition and Management Mari Masalin-Cooper ©2005 Thomson Gale, a part of The storage retrieval systems—without the Music Festival); The Kobal Collection Thomson Corporation. written permission of the publisher. 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E841.P38 2004 973.923—dc22 2004016601 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 60s Almanac FM 10/12/04 5:40 PM Page v Contents Reader’s Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Timeline of Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii Words to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxix Research and Activity Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxv Chapter 1: Grand Dreams for a Better Society: Conflicting Visions of the 1960s . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Chapter 2: The Innocent 1960s: Politics in the Kennedy Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Chapter 3: The Triumph and Collapse of the Johnson Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Chapter 4: Another Dream for America: The Conservative Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Chapter 5: The Agony of Vietnam . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Chapter 6: The Antiwar Movement. . . . . . . . . . . 84 v 60s Almanac FM 10/12/04 5:40 PM Page vi Chapter 7: The American Economy: Leading the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Chapter 8: Civil Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Chapter 9: Feminism and the Sexual Revolution . . . . 133 Chapter 10: Sixties Counterculture: The Hippies and Beyond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Chapter 11: Decline or Revival? Changing Currents in the American Religious Experience . . . . . . . . . 172 Chapter 12: Sports and the Changing Tides of American Culture in the 1960s . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 Chapter 13: The Arts in 1960s America . . . . . . . . 196 Chapter 14: Popular Entertainment: Escape and Engagement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Chapter 15: The Enduring Legacy of the 1960s. . . . . 223 Where to Learn More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xli Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xlv vi The Sixties in America: Almanac 60s Almanac FM 10/12/04 5:40 PM Page vii Reader’s Guide Many Americans realized by the middle of the 1960s that their nation was going through a period of intense change and disruption. The decade had begun in relative peace, with the election of a vibrant, young president, John F. Kennedy, a Democrat. Yet Kennedy faced several key issues that would come to define the decade. First, he clashed with the Soviet Union over the spread of communist influence in Europe and in Cuba. Then, he faced domestic tensions as the civil rights movement in the South grew increasingly intense and even violent. When Kennedy was assassinated in Novem- ber of 1963, the nation was shocked and saddened, for many Americans had invested great hopes in Kennedy. Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, struggled with the existing tensions and new pressures as well. He had an ambitious agenda for domestic policies that he called the Great Society, which included passing civil rights legislation, using federal funds to wage a “war on poverty,” and creating programs to support public education, housing, and jobs. He succeeded in passing many of his programs. But Johnson’s political career was undone by American involvement in the vii 60s Almanac FM 10/12/04 5:40 PM Page viii expanding war in Vietnam, which American combat troops entered in 1965. A powerful grassroots movement rose up against the war, and its dramatic demonstrations helped turn public sentiment against the war. Johnson did not seek reelec- tion in 1968. Republican Richard M. Nixon won a hard- fought election by promising to return law and order to what he depicted as an unruly nation. Domestic and international politics were not the only source of high drama in the 1960s. The colorful hippie sub- culture emerged as a growing youth movement, bringing changes in music, education, fashion, art, and other areas of culture. Thanks to television, American sports became more commercial and more dramatic, and American sports figures like Muhammad Ali, Vince Lombardi, and Joe Namath be- came important cultural figures. Riots in major cities and the assassinations of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Robert Kennedy caused many Americans to worry about rising violence in their society. An increase in sexual content in books and movies, as well as a new openness about homosexuality at the end of the decade, raised worries about declining morality. There was, of course, much, much more, as changes in one area of American society encouraged or clashed with other movements and trends. The dramatic, stirring, and sometimes violent events of the 1960s make it an important decade for students to study in their quest to understand American society as it ex- ists today. Many aspects of American culture in the 2000s can be traced back to that era. In some ways, the 1960s are still close at hand. Classic rock radio stations continue to play music from the decade. In fact, the Beatles remain one of the top-selling bands, just as they were in the 1960s. Fashion trends introduced in the 1960s—bell-bottoms and paisley fabric, for example—make periodic comebacks. Politicians continue to refer to the legacy of President John F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. to inspire audiences. Political leaders and activists also point to the lessons of the Vietnam War to help Americans under- stand foreign policy. Many Americans who experienced the 1960s firsthand are in positions of power in American soci- ety in the 2000s, and their experiences of that decade in- form their actions. viii The Sixties in America: Almanac 60s Almanac FM 10/12/04 5:40 PM Page ix In some ways, however, the 1960s can seem quite distant. For example, during that era, television was still a relatively new phenomenon. Nightly coverage of war on television was something new to Americans. In addition, the Cold War (1945–91) between the United States and the Sovi- et Union—and the threat of nuclear war—informed every decision about foreign policy. And, sexuality, especially ho- mosexuality, was never discussed in polite company, much less on television. One of the features that make this decade so fascinating is the fact that the 1960s are so close, yet so far away. The Sixties in America: Almanac presents, in fifteen chapters, a comprehensive overview of the events that oc- curred within the United States during the 1960s. The vol- ume concentrates on the political, social, and cultural im- pact of the decade. The introduction asks readers to consider the themes that make the decade worthy of study. This includes: the unfolding dramas of the civil rights movement; the Vietnam War, and antiwar movement; the expansion of the federal government under Democratic presidents; the birth of a counterculture and its impact on American entertainment; and a variety of other cultural de- velopments. These issues and others are considered closely in the thematic chapters that follow. Finally, the conclusion asks readers to consider the extent to which the experiences and events of the 1960s shaped American society in the years that followed. Features The Sixties in America: Almanac contains numerous sidebar boxes that highlight people and events of special in- terest, and each chapter offers a list of additional sources that students can go to for more information. More than seventy black-and-white photographs illustrate the material. The vol- ume begins with a timeline of important events in the histo- ry of the 1960s, a “Words to Know” section that introduces students to difficult or unfamiliar terms, and a “Research and Activity Ideas” section. The volume concludes with a general bibliography and a subject index so students can easily find the people, places, and events discussed throughout The Six- ties in America: Almanac. Reader’s Guide ix 60s Almanac FM 10/12/04 5:40 PM Page x The Sixties in America Reference Library The Sixties in America: Almanacis only one component of the three-part U•X•L Sixties in America Reference Library. The other two titles in this set are: • The Sixties in America: Biographies (one volume) pre- sents the life stories of twenty-six men and women who played crucial roles in the social, cultural, and political developments of the 1960s. Readers will find coverage of the most notable figures of the decade, including John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X. Essays are also provided on a number of lesser-known though no less interesting figures, includ- ing labor activist Dolores Huerta, atheist activist Madalyn Murray O’Hair, scientist Frances Oldham Kelsey, feminist author and activist Betty Friedan, and Native American activist Richard Oakes. • The Sixties in America: Primary Sources (one volume) tells the story of the 1960s in the words of the people who lived and shaped the decade. The volume gives readers firsthand contact with some of the key documents of the era, including material pertaining to the civil rights move- ment, the formation of U.S. policy in Vietnam, the growth of the antiwar movement, the rise of feminism and the women’s movement, and the emergence of television as a cultural force in the United States. Also included are ex- pressions of political radicalism from such diverse groups and individuals as the Students for a Democratic Society, Young Americans for Freedom, Barry Goldwater, and the Yippies. Some of these primary sources use specialized or complex language, so efforts have been made to place these documents in context as well as define terms that may be otherwise inaccessible to young readers. • A cumulative index of all three titles in the U•X•L Sixties in America Reference Library is also available. Special Thanks The authors wish to thank U•X•L’s Allison McNeill for being the ideal editor for this set, pointing out pitfalls to avoid while ably steering us toward creating books that would best serve an audience of young readers. x The Sixties in America: Almanac