Debating the 1960s: Liberal, Conservative, and Radical PerspectivesRowman & Littlefield, 2008 - 213 pages The conventional interpretation of the 1960s emphasizes how liberal, even radical, the decade was. It was, after all, the age of mass protests against the Vietnam War and social movements on behalf of civil rights and women's rights. It was also an era when the counterculture challenged many of the values and beliefs held by morally traditional Americans. But a newer interpretation stresses how truly polarized the 1960s were. It portrays how radicals, liberals, and conservatives repeatedly clashed in ideological combat for the hearts and minds of Americans. Millions in the center and on the right contested the counterculture, defended the Vietnam War, and opposed civil rights. Debating the 1960s explores the decade through the arguments and controversies between radicals, liberals, and conservatives. The focus is on four main areas of contention: social welfare, civil rights, foreign relations, and social order. The book also examines the emergence of the New Left and the modern conservative movement. Finally, it assesses the enduring importance of the 1960s on contemporary American politics and society. Combining analytical essays and historical documents, the book highlights the polarization of the decade by focusing on the political, social, and cultural debates that divided the nation then and now. |
Contents
The LiberalRadical Debates of the 1960s | 3 |
Documents | 73 |
Excerpts from The Port Huron Statement Students for a Democratic Society1962 | 75 |
John F Kennedys Radio and Television Report to the American People on Civil Rights June 111963 | 78 |
Lyndon Baines Johnson Remarks on Signing the Economic Opportunity Act August 201964 | 83 |
Carl Wittman and Tom Hayden An Interracial Movement of the Poor? 1963 | 85 |
Lyndon Baines Johnson Peace Without Conquest April 7 1965 | 87 |
Paul Potter Name the System April 17 1965 | 92 |
The Sharon Statement September 11 1960 | 169 |
Principles of the John Birch Society 1962 | 171 |
Excerpts from John F Kennedys Commencement June 10 1963 | 176 |
Excerpts from Lyndon B Johnsons Commencement Address University of Michigan MAY 22 1964 | 183 |
Excerpts from Barry Goldwaters Acceptance Speech Republican National Convention July 16 1964 | 187 |
Excerpts from Ronald Regan A Time for ChoosingOctober 27 1964 | 193 |
Excerpts from Richard Nixonss Acceptance SpeechAugust 8 1968 | 198 |
Selected Readings | 203 |
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action activists administration African-American American antiwar argued began believe black power Buckley bureaucratic cause Chicago cities civil rights movement Cold Cold War communism Communist Congress conservatism conservatives crime cultural defend Democratic economic equal eral establishment liberals federal forces freedom Goldwater Hayden hope issue John Johnson Kennedy Kennedy's King law and order leaders Left libertarians lives Lyndon Lyndon Johnson ment million moral National Review Negro Nixon nonviolent North nuclear opportunity organization party peace police political poor Port Huron Statement poverty president problems programs protests race racial radical Republican revolution Rights Act riots Schlesinger segregation Senator sexual Sharon Statement Sixties SNCC social society South Vietnam Soviet Union street threat tion tional Todd Gitlin Tom Hayden traditionalists United University Press urban victory Vietnam War Vietnamese violence vote War on Poverty welfare White House women York young