394 ChaPter^8
culture of men in grey flannel suits and obedience to authority got shattered
by various countercultures, a time when women, Chicanos, gays, and environ-
mentalists, among others, stood up for their rights and made America a more
inclusive society. It was, in short, one of the most crucial and transforming
times in U.S. history, and we need to look at it as such rather than just as a
myth or a caricature or a T.V. commercial, or as a time when the absurd char-
acter Forrest Gump saved American society from chaos and immorality.
The “Sixties” is such a huge topic that we cannot cover it with justice or
with much detail in just a chapter or two. But there are a few issues and
themes that stand out and must be discussed, especially the Great Society and
War on Poverty, the Social Movements–especially the Civil Rights Movement-of
the era, Vietnam, and the so- called Counterculture. So we will begin by talk-
ing about some of the major themes of this period–anti-authoritarianism,
participatory democracy, cultural and social challenges-and then discuss some
of the major issues. In this chapter we will discuss the ideological origins of
1960s politics and the Great Society and Civil Rights and other social move-
ments, and in the next chapter we will look at the Vietnam War and the
counterculture.Questioning Authority
As discussed, the generation before the Sixties was marked by conformity,
with people deferring to their leaders, political McCarthyism, and The Man in
the Grey Flannel Suit and Pleasantville culture prevailing. But there was, lurking
beneath that surface already, a “counterculture,” and the Beatniks, Rock &
Roll, and some movies demonstrated that rejection of the traditional and
dominant political and social order. In the 1960s, that rejection burst out, and
the attack on authority and questioning of American values became wide-
spread. Again, the development of this new political and cultural ideology is
deep and complex, so we will only discuss the key elements in it, some of the
background, a few of the major people and groups motivating it, and some of
the key ideas.
As we have seen, individuals like Ginsberg, Presley, Dean, Brando and oth-
ers challenged the dominant culture in the 1950s and set the stage for the
next decade’s unrest. There were others who just as importantly provided a
strong criticism of American politics and life and gave lessons for a future