Chapter 20 Section 1

Beat Generation During the 1950s, artist and writers who criticized American society were known as beats or beat writers. One of the more important Beat writers was Jack Kerouac who wrote On the Road in 1957.

Baby Boomers The 1960s saw the rise of a youth movement that challenged American politics and society. Because of the baby boom, the number of young people attending college in the early 1960s increased. College life enabled them to bond and share feelings about society. This led to the youth protest movement, which began on college campuses across the country.

New Left Young people concerned about the injustices they saw in the nation’s political and social systems formed the “New Left.” One famous group of activists was the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

SDS’s View SDS urged citizens to stop accepting a country run by big corporations and big government. SDS also focused on protesting the Vietnam War as well as issues such as poverty and racism.

UC Berkeley Other activists formed the Free Speech Movement at the University of California at Berkeley in 1964. Berkeley students were upset that the university restricted students' rights to distribute literature and to recruit volunteers for political causes on campus. Arrests of 700 protesters led to even larger protests. The administration finally gave in. The Supreme Court upheld the students’ rights to freedom of speech and assembly.

Protest Tactics The Berkeley revolt became a model for other student protests because protesters used tactics of abandoning classes and occupying buildings. These tactics had proven to be effective, and were adopted by other demonstrators as well.

Hippies Many young people in the 1960s tried to create an alternative lifestyle based on flamboyant clothing, rock music, drug use, and communal living. They became known as the counterculture and were commonly called “hippies.”

Peace & Love The hippies rejected many traditional middle-class values. They wanted to create a utopian society that was free, close to nature, and based on love, empathy, tolerance, and cooperation. In part, their views were a reaction to the 1950s stereotype of the dull, colorless lives of white collar workers.

What did Hippies stand for? As the counterculture movement grew, however, newcomers did not understand its original ideas. For them, what mattered most were the outward signs such as long hair, shabby jeans, and the use of drugs.

Communes Some hippies left home and lived together with other young people in communes. These were group living arrangements in which members shared everything and worked together. Some hippies set up communes in rural areas, while others lived together in parks or in crowded apartments in cities.

San Francisco Thousands flocked to the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco, one of the most famous hippie destinations.

Counterculture begins to fade After a few years, the counterculture movement began to decline. Some hippie communities in cities became dangerous places in which to live. Drug use lost its appeal as some young people became addicted or died from overdoses. Others grew older and moved on from this lifestyle.

How they changed American culture The counterculture did change aspects of American culture. Members often expressed themselves through clothes. By wearing recycled or patched clothing, they showed their rejection of consumerism and social classes.

Clothing and Dress Ethnic clothing also became popular. Beads imitated Native American costumes. Tie-dyed shirts borrowed techniques from India and Africa. Hair became a powerful symbol of protest. Long hair, beards, and mustaches on young men represented defiance against conformity and the military. In time, longer hair on men and more individual clothes for both men and women became part of the mainstream.

Music and Woodstock Counterculture musicians expressed their views and feelings through folk music and rock and roll. In August of 1969, thousands celebrated the new protest music at the rock festivals in Woodstock in New York.

Musicians Folk singers such as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Pete Seeger became important voices of the movement. Major rock musicians included Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and The Who. They used electrically amplified instruments that changed the sound of rock music. These changes continue to influence musicians today.