This lesson explores how prosperity and the culture of conformity shaped young Americans’ experiences, and how some students responded by joining the New Left. It focuses on Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), its goals, and its community work.
By the 1960s, many Americans lived in suburbs and enjoyed rising incomes and expanding access to consumer goods. Televisions, cars, refrigerators, family vacations, movies, and sports became familiar parts of everyday life. Baby boomers—people born between 1946 and 1964—came of age in this prosperous setting.
All flashcards
Who were the baby boomers?
People born between 1946 and 1964 who came of age during postwar prosperity.
What was the New Left?
A 1960s activist current that challenged established liberal politics and pursued social and political reforms.
What did the Port Huron Statement advocate?
Greater participation in democratic decisions by ordinary people, along with challenges to inequality and discrimination.
What was JOIN?
An SDS community-organizing project in Chicago; its name meant “Jobs or Income Now.”
What did Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibit?
Employment discrimination based on sex, race, color, national origin, or religion.
Quiz questions
What campus rules helped prompt the Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeley?Answer: Restrictions on political advocacy and on soliciting funds for political causes.
What was the purpose of the teach-in held by University of Michigan faculty in 1965?Answer: To use extended discussion and education to examine the Vietnam War.
What did blue jeans come to symbolize for many young Americans in the 1960s?Answer: Rebellion against traditional expectations and middle-class conformity.
What protection did Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 establish?Answer: It prohibited employment discrimination based on sex and several other protected characteristics.
What did New York Radical Women challenge in their 1968 Miss America Pageant protest?Answer: Stereotypical ideals of femininity and the treatment of women as objects.
Based on U.S. History by P. Scott Corbett, Volker Janssen, John M. Lund, Todd Pfannestiel, Sylvie Waskiewicz, Paul Vickery (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.