13. Post-World War II Culture and Society
Mass culture became
increasingly homogeneous in the postwar years, inspiring challenges to
conformity by artists, intellectuals, and rebellious youth. (8.3-IIA) Feminists
and young people who participated in the counterculture of the 1960s
rejected many of the social, economic, and political values of their parents’
generation, introduced greater informality into U.S. culture, and advocated
changes in sexual norms. (8.3-IIB)
a. baby boom (CUL) Sudden increase in the birth rate that occurred in the
United States after World War II and lasted roughly until 1964. Prosperity
allowed the growth of families and the exodus from the cities to new
suburbs.
b.Beats American (CUL) writers, poets, and artists in the 1950s who
rejected traditional middle-class values and championed
nonconformity and sexual experimentation. c. rock and roll (CUL)
Type of popular music that emerged in the mid1950s from an early type of music known as rhythm and blues.
Elvis Presley is an example. Parents worried rock & roll was a bad
influence on the youth.
d.counterculture (hippies) (CUL) Youth “movement” of the 1960s that
rejected the competitiveness and materialism of American society,
searching instead for peace, love, and freedom. e.Woodstock, 1969 (CUL) Free rock concert in New York that attracted
400,000, becoming an expression of the counterculture. 14. Attacks on 1960s Liberalism and the Rise of Conservatism
Some
groups on the left rejected liberal policies, arguing that political leaders did
too little to transform the racial and economic status quo at home and
pursued immoral policies abroad. (8.2-IIID) Conservatives also challenged
liberal laws and court decisions and perceived moral and cultural decline,
seeking to limit the role of the federal government and enact more
assertive foreign policies. (8.2-IIIC) The 1970s saw growing clashes
between conservatives and liberals over social and cultural issues, the
power of the federal government, race, and movements for greater
individual rights. (8.2- IIIF) The rapid and substantial growth of evangelical
Christian churches and organizations was accompanied by greater political
and social activism on the part of religious conservatives. (8.3-IIC)
a.Students for a Democratic Society (CUL) Nationwide student
organization on the left that was pro-civil rights and anti-war, wanting
to transform the U.S. into a participatory democracy. b.Berkeley Free Speech Movement, 1964-1965 (CUL) Coalition of leftwing (liberal) student groups that insisted on their right to political
activity on campus. c. New Right Conservative Movement (CUL) with the Republican Party
that opposed the liberal political and social reforms of the 1960s.
The New Right demanded less government intervention in the
economy and a return to traditional values. d.southern strategy (POL) Richard Nixon’s plan to bring southerners into
the Republican Party by appointing white southerners to the
Supreme Court and resisting the policy of busing to achieve
integration. e.Watergate, 1972 (POL) Scandal in the Nixon administration that began
with break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at
the Watergate Office Building in Washington, D.C. President Nixon’s
role in the cover-up of justice led to his resignation in 1974. f. Roe v. Wade, 1973
(POL) (CUL) Supreme Court ruling that women
have an unrestricted right to choose, an abortion during the first
three months of pregnancy. The court said it was a privacy issue.
The ruling caused a conservative reaction against what was
perceived as “activist” judges. g.Right-to-Life Movement (CUL) (POL) Anti-abortion movement that
favored a constitutional amendment to prohibit abortion. h.Proposition 13 (POL) (CUL), 1978 Referendum in California that
slashed local property taxes. Marked the beginning of a conservative
movement to cut taxes throughout the nation. i. Bakke v. University of California, 1978
(POL) (CUL) Supreme Court
decision that said medical school students could not be admitted by
racial quotas, although race could be considered for admission. The
decision represented a partial victory for what conservatives thought
was reverse discrimination against whites. j. Phyllis Schlafly (CUL) A New Right activist who protested against the
women's rights movement, saying it undermined tradition and the
natural gender division of labor. Schlafly was representative of the
conservative backlash against the changes of the 1960s. k. Focus on the Family (CUL), 1977 Religious organization that promoted
socially conservative views on public policy. l. Moral Majority (CUL) (POL), 1979 Conservative religious organization
led by televangelist Jerry Falwell that fought against abortion and the
Equal Rights Amendment. 15. The Malaise of the Late 1970s
Public confidence and trust in
government’s ability to solve social and economic problems declined in the
1970s in the wake of economic challenges, political scandals, and foreign
policy crises. (8.2-IIIE)
a.energy crisis (WXT) Decreasing oil supplies, wasteful energy
consumption and embargoes by OPEC threatened the American
economy, gas rationing/gas lines and shortages in the later 70s.
Challenged the U.S. standing as a superpower.
b.stagflation (POL) Combination of a stagnant economy (high
unemployment) with high inflation in the 1970s that created a
dilemma for economic policy. Actions designed to lower inflation can
exacerbate unemployment, and vice versa. c. Carter’s “Malaise” speech, 1979 (POL) National address by President
Jimmy Carter in which he criticized American materialism and urged a
communal spirit in the face of economic hardships. Although Carter
intended the speech to improve both public morale and his standings as a
leader, it had the opposite effect and was widely perceived as a political
disaster.
d. Iranian hostage crisis, 1979 (WOR) (POL) After the Shah of Iran was
allowed into the US for cancer treatment the U.S. embassy was seized by
Iranian militants and college students who claimed to be disciples of the
Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of religious nationalists who had led
rebellion against the Shah.