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The End of American InnocenceReflections on the 1960sKristin Keckler-Alexander

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David Farbers The Age of Great DreamsThesis

1) Identify and critique Farber thesis about the 1960s in The Age of Great Dreams:2

David Farbers thesis in The Age of Great Dreams was first, that the 1960s need to be interpreted in context. Their place in the American Century is important to the events which occurred during the decade. Second that the events of the 1960s were results of the emerging marketplace of new ideas, values, and choices. Just as the economic marketplace expanded so did the human marketplaceAmericans trying to make sense of their place both in America and the World.

Questioning things etc. As for the critique: I think that while David Farbers thesis is interesting and certainly offers a more comprehensive way to see this difficult to understand decade, that his theory has a few issues.Farber says the main achievements of these years were:-more personal freedom: yes and no, while many gained more choice, especially the middle class, minorities and women were still left out to a certain extent.-the breakdown of racial and gender hierarchies perhaps the start of this breakdown but by no means did the 60s break the barriers down these issues are still being struggled with today. -a proliferation of political actors both big and small, although this would create fissures between the populace and the government that would never heal. Absolutely. The modern world, political involvement, vocal political opinions, student movements being involved etc., this is defiantly a sixties product.To Farber the 1960s were the originating point of the modern nation/world we live in.I can agree with this point.3

Per Farbers book, the 1960s had specific reasons for its turbulenceconflict between the values of prior decades and the new value systems. The emergence of mass mediaAllowing for each event to impact the nation not just local areas.

-strong work ethic and character, delayed gratification and personal discipline vs self expression, personal license changing lifestyles and immediate gratification4

Companion Works and ReviewsIf a book isnt at least somewhat polarizing, it didnt say anything of value.Ilona Andrews

1) List and discuss: Three academic journal articles, e-books, or books (full citations) that you feel compliment Farbers work or are in contrast to it. From skimming the articles or reading the introductions of the books or academic reviews, discuss very briefly their arguments and how they compare or contrast to Farbers argument. Be sure you can maintain access to these articles and books for later reference5

The Sixties and the End of the Modern Era by David StiegerwaldThe Movement and the Sixties: Protest in America from Greensboro to Wounded Knee, by Terry H. Anderson Debating the 1960s: Liberal, Conservative, and Radical PerspectivesBy Michael W. Flamm, David SteigerwaldAll Eyes are Upon Us: Race and Politics from Boston to Brooklyn by Jason Sokol This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible by Charles E. Cobb Jr

1. pessimistic view of the 60s. Nothing worked and the era ended with the loss of good jobs, fractured and narrow political agendas and the erosion of cultural values not tied to marketability. The sixties ended the modern era and ushered in post-modernism. his best when interpreting social policy, Steigerwald understands the sixties as the beginning of postmodernism, which he sees as a combination of deindustrialization, the loss of decent blue-collar jobs, the flight of the middle class to the suburbs (abetted by racial and class bigotry, the private market, and federal policy, leaving the deteriorating city to an emerging underclass), and the decline of authority and critical standards in a culture manipulated by consumer capitalism. Steigerwald is not particularly interested in leadership or legislation, civil rights laws or Great Society programs. Influenced by William Julius Wilson and Allen Matusow, he believes that the civil rights movement achieved much but that the basic problem was economic. As for the War on Poverty, the need was decent jobs and affordable housing, and the "community action" approach based on "culture of poverty" thinking only made things worse. Economics and class are the core of his analysis, but the difference between the "coalition" strategy he advocates and the "interest-group liberalism" he decries needs further explanation. In separate places, he offers both the Vietnam War and the cultural civil war as the defining influence of the sixties. More influential than civil rights, Vietnam fueled cynicism about government, coarsened public life, and ushered in a domestic political and cultural stalemate. The intense idealism of SNCC and SDS burnt out. The Left imploded, with confusion of means and ends in a world where individual liberation came from individual acts of rebellion. With the modernist high culture having already challenged all conventions, there was little left to revolt against. Led by Susan Sontag, however, postmodernism found it in the rejection of all critical standards. In a world in which the authority of government, community, church, school, and family were weakening, the institutions and values of American society were in crisis.2. focused on the protest movements as the main impetus of the decade. s. Texas A&M professor Terry H. Anderson has written a sympathetic, broadly descriptive "movement" history.3. 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 1960sexplores 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.The book does not present the 1960s as radical or liberal, as many others have. Instead, it introduces the conservative perspective and highlights the polarization of the decade by focusing on the political, cultural, and social debates that divided the nation then and now. No other book on the market directly addresses the debates of the era - as opposed to the events - which continue to influence contemporary controversies.4. This is a newer book which takes a fresh look at the civil rights movement and expands the view beyond the south. Sokol explores the not widely know history of racism in the north. Review: Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard UniversityJason Sokols account of the struggle for racial equality in the Northeast following World War II reveals a region that has, paradoxically, served the nation as a model of idealism, yet clashed fitfully, sometimes violently, over whether and how to translate those ideals into action. What makes Sokols study so fascinatingand importantis the way it challenges the mystique of Northeast progressivism while also charting that mystiques shaping impact on a region committed to closing the gap between democracy and discrimination. All eyes should be upon Sokols illuminating new history.5. Visiting Martin Luther King Jr. at the peak of the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott, journalist William Worthy almost sat on a loaded pistol. Just for self defense, King assured him. It was not the only weapon King kept for such a purpose; one of his advisors remembered the reverends Montgomery, Alabama home as an arsenal.

Like King, many ostensibly nonviolent civil rights activists embraced their constitutional right to self-protectionyet this crucial dimension of the Afro-American freedom struggle has been long ignored by history. InThis Nonviolent Stuffll Get You Killed, civil rights scholar Charles E. Cobb Jr. describes the vital role that armed self-defense played in the survival and liberation of black communities in America during the Southern Freedom Movement of the 1960s. In the Deep South, blacks often safeguarded themselves and their loved ones from white supremacist violence by bearingand, when necessary, usingfirearms. In much the same way, Cobb shows, nonviolent civil rights workers received critical support from black gun owners in the regions where they worked. Whether patrolling their neighborhoods, garrisoning their homes, or firing back at attackers, these courageous men and women and the weapons they carried were crucial to the movements success.

Giving voice to the World War II veterans, rural activists, volunteer security guards, and self-defense groups who took up arms to defend their lives and liberties,This Nonviolent Stuffll Get You Killedlays bare the paradoxical relationship between the nonviolent civil rights struggle and the Second Amendment. Drawing on his firsthand experiences in the civil rights movement and interviews with fellow participants, Cobb provides a controversial examination of the crucial place of firearms in the fight for American freedom.6

Themes of the 1960sThe thing the sixties did was to show us the possibilities and the responsibility that we all had. It wasn't the answer. It just gave us a glimpse of the possibility.John Lennon

1) Discuss what you believe to be the most important major themes of the 1960s:Rather than just listing these themes discuss each one briefly and why you believe it to be important. These can be themes discussed by Farber and/or themes that you have picked up on in other classes. If you mention themes that Farber left out, discuss why you think he didnt include them.7

Change and ChoiceSelf-expressionSelf-determinationAsk Questions, question everything!Responsibility

What is my opinion on the events of the1960s?For historical currents do not irresistibly propel themselves and everyone in their path. No matter what their broader structural or ideological roots, they both carry along and are carried along by people, who are not merely passengers of history, but pilots as well.Doug McAdam,Freedom Summer

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My own theory about the events of this pivotal decade is: the 1960s was a perfect storm, a pressure switch simply waiting to burst. The events of the second half of the decade were a result of multiple factors which amplified one another. Simmering social and class issues, having multiple groups within the population in turmoil at the same time, combined with the assassination of a symbolic president and the psychological effects of mass televised national news coverage left the nation unbalanced and questioning their reality. This lead to cultural and societal instability across socio-economic groups which would explode into chaos in the latter half of the decade.

Factors and major eventsLong standing racial and social issues.The freedom ridersJames MeredithMedgar Evers murderTension between the values and culture of older America versus the emerging newer culture.John F Kennedy is assassinated.Three civil rights workers are murdered (two whit one black) in Mississippi. Bodies found six weeks later. The escalation of Vietnam.Economic prosperityAnd perhaps the biggest and most influential factor

Racial issues, minorities not getting a shot at the American dream no suburbia for them, returning black vets sought equal rights-May 4, 1961 Over the spring and summer, student volunteers begin taking bus trips through the South to test out new laws that prohibit segregation in interstate travel facilities, which includes bus and railway stations. Several of the groups of "freedom riders," as they are called, are attacked by angry mobs along the way.Oct 1962 James Meredith becomes the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi, riots result in federal troops. May 1963 During civil rights protests in Birmingham, Ala., Commissioner of Public Safety Eugene "Bull" Connor uses fire hoses and police dogs on black demonstrators. These images of brutality, which are televised and published widely, are instrumental in gaining sympathy for the civil rights movement around the world.Mississippi's NAACP field secretary, 37-year-old Medgar Evers, is murdered outside his home. Shot.Tension like farber described, delayed gratification vs instant. Work hard vs seek self fulfilment, etc.Kennedy died nov 22 1963 dallas tx.The bodies of three civil-rights workerstwo white, one blackare found in an earthen dam, six weeks into a federal investigation backed by President Johnson. James E. Chaney, 21; Andrew Goodman, 21; and Michael Schwerner, 24, had been working to register black voters in Mississippi, and, on June 21, had gone to investigate the burning of a black church. They were arrested by the police on speeding charges, incarcerated for several hours, and then released after dark into the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, who murdered them.1965: Operation Rolling Thunder started; first US combat troops were sent to Vietnam in March; by the end of the year there were 200,000 US troops there; first major conventional clash between USA and NVA at Ia Drang1966: 400,000 US troops were in Vietnam1967: 490,000 US troops in Vietnam;more students were going to college than before World War II, creating a concentration of concerned and educated activists on the grounds of universities and colleges. many Americans were better off financially than they had ever been. Economic security also allowed Americans to question why some groups remained mired in poverty and to focus more attentionand spend more moneyon remedying injustices and social problems. Not everyone shared in the new national prosperity, and those who did not began to look for the reasons why.Bythe1960s,manyAmericans had come to believe that the federal government had the power and responsibility to protect them from unfair and unjust social forces. People began to pressure all branches of the federal governmentthe courts, Congress, and the presidentto provide remedies to the injustices that plagued the nation. Theselatermovements included a student movement dedicated to greater student power; a movement to protest American involvement in the Vietnam War (1959-1975); the womens movement, which fought to bring full equality to American women; the gay rights movement, which tried to end traditional biases and laws against homosexuals; and the environmental movement, which fought to change the conditions of man-made pollution, unchecked population growth, and the exploitation of natural resources. In the 1960s, many Americans participated in more than one protest movement. Although their specific goals differed, all of the movements were built on the ideal of citizen-activism and a belief that social justice could be won through political change.

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Television and Mass MediaThe explosion of broadcast journalism in the 60s"This is when America became a TV nation."-Patty Rhule speaking about the assassination of John F Kennedy and the aftermath.

The rise of TV news and its effectsTelevision in its infancy was primitive due to technology. News in the 1930s-1940s was difficult to view and most relied upon radio and newspapers. The radio remained the preferred news source for many Americans until the 1950s.11947: Full-scale commercial television broadcasting starts 1949: Americans could watch a few entertainment programs or one of two 15 minute news programs.1 The number of television sets in use rose from 6-7,000 in 1946 to approximately 12 million by 1951. by 1955 its estimated that over 60% of all U.S. homes had at least one television. By 1963 that number rose to 91% of American homes had a television.2JFK Nixon debate clearly showed how powerful TV could be in the political arena.The murder of President John F. Kennedy was the first national tragedy the television medium had to relay to the public.

Stephens, "History of Television." "Television Facts and Statistics - 1939 to 2000."

Full scale broadcasting wasnt allowed to develop until after WWIIThe election of a young and vital president in 1960, John F. Kennedy, seemed to provide evidence of how profoundly television would change politics. Commentators pointed to the first televised debate that fall between Kennedy, the Democratic candidate for president, and Vice-President Richard M. Nixon, the Republican's nominee. A survey of those who listened to the debate on radio indicated that Nixon had won; however, those who watched on television, and were able to contrast Nixon's poor posture and poorly shaven face with Kennedy's poise and grace, were more likely to think Kennedy had won the debate.

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Television news connects the nation, early globalizationIts not that tragic events were not occurring worldwide, nor that Americans were intentionally oblivious, simply that until the Kennedy assassination caused everyone to pay attention, people werent watching.Once Americans were tuned in the media brought everything, good and bad, into American living rooms.This allowed for Americans to be aware of event occurring across the nation and around the world that they might not have known otherwise.

For example: Prior to mass media broadcasting the average American was aware of local events, possibly regional news ie a murder in Kansas would be known to Kansans, maybe Nebraskans, Missourians etc. It wouldnt be on the news radio/newspaper in New York.

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The psychological effects Prior to 1963, most Americans had a false sense of security, most suburbanites had little to fear as murder/attacks/riots werent issues in their immediate communities. After the JFK assassination and the ensuing media barrage, Americans were left shaken psychologically. How could this happen here?

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Studies over the past three decades have proven that the medias coverage of political instability, criminal violence and serious traumatic event have undeniable and profound impacts on populations. 3Feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety are all common effects. 4As a result the American populace was left shaken by the death of the president. Theoretically we could have regained equilibrium had his death not been followed by several subsequent events, i.e. several murders of civil rights workers, Selma, riots, Vietnam, etc.The national news created a domino effect in which the public was exposed to trauma after trauma. This prevented a return to equilibrium or normalcy and psychologically wore on the populace.3. Slone, "Responses to Media Coverage of Terrorism.4. Slone, "Responses to Media Coverage of Terrorism.

Herman and Chomsky 1988 Manufacturing consent: The political economy of the mass media.; Lee 1990 Unreliable sources: A guide to detecting bias in mass media- both argue the mass media as a powerful propaganda tool capable of molding the attitudes of a susceptible public.Curran, Gurevitch, and Woollacott 1982 The study of the media: Theoretical approaches claims media has little influence on public.In the subdomain of mass media reporting of violence, a clearer picture has begun to emerge. In general, findings have demonstrated that media documentation of violence and brutality engenders feelings of fear even among individuals who have not been directly exposed to such violence and for whom it poses no immediate personal threat (Bandura 1986).It has long been recognized that political circumstances exert an impact on the emotional status of individuals. The deleterious psychological effects of political instability and accompanying violence have been clearly demonstrated in such diverse theaters of conflict as Northern Ireland (Cairns and Wilson 1989), South Africa (Dawes 1994), Lebanon (Macksoud and Aber 1996), and Guatemala (Miller 1996). Congruently, Israeli and Palestinian studies have echoed international findings (Baker 1990; Klingman, Sagi, and Raviv 1993; Punamaki 1988; Slone, Adiri, and Arian 1998). A Israli study of 237 students was conducted in 2000 in an effort to access the impact of terrorist/violent news reports on individual anxiety.This study found a significant difference in anxiety-level changes between participants in the experimental group The finding that media portrayals of terrorism, political violence, and threats to national security provoke anxiety in individual viewers questions the veracity of those studies that claim that the influence of the mass media is negligible and benignConsonantly, this finding provides support for existing research that documents the powerful and potentially damaging impact of mass media on the psychological well-being of the viewing public (Bandura 1986). The present finding of significant state anxiety increase as a result of media exposure suggests extension of the perimeters of this research domain to encompass media elicitation of emotional responses in the political sphere. This is particularly pertinent in the case of television, which so vividly and immediately portrays occurrences that may not be part of the direct experiential repertoire of the individual. The visual medium provides a dramatic concretization of images and scenes that draw the viewer into the events. This could invoke a powerful emotional response even in individuals removed in time and space from direct personal threat. These results buttress the notion of the power of television over the viewing public (Lee 1990).

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so what does this have to do with the 60s?It is my opinion that the 60s were a point in history in which several factors slammed into one another, amplifying one another, until everything boiled over and lead to the turbulent second half if the 1960s.Wait.So would the 60s have still happened if JFK had lived?Yes, in my opinion they would have. JFKs death was tragic but had it not been his death there would have been something else. No matter what, the storm was coming. The turbulence of the 60s was not a question of IF but WHEN.

Works Cited and Referenced

Flamm, Michael W., and David Steigerwald. Debating the 1960s: Liberal, Conservative, and Radical Perspectives. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008.Mcgowan, Barbara, David Farber, Terry H. Anderson, and David Steigerwald. "Review: The 3. Age of Great Dreams: America in the 1960's." The History Teacher 30, no. 2 (1997): 231. Accessed August 29, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/494583.Slone, Michelle. "Responses to Media Coverage of Terrorism." Journal of Conflict Resolution 44, no. 4 (2000): 508-22. Accessed August 28, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/174639.Stephens, Mitchell. "History of Television." Accessed August 28, 2015."Television Facts and Statistics - 1939 to 2000." Television History - The First 75 Years. Accessed August 28, 2015.Chalmers, David, Terry H. Anderson, and David Steigerwald. "The Movement and the Sixties: Protest in America from Greensboro to Wounded Knee." The Journal of American History 82, no. 3 (1995): 1288-290. Accessed August 28, 2015. doi:10.2307/2945266."Protests in the 1960s." Protests in the 1960s. Accessed August 30, 2015.Cobb, Charles E. This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible. Basic Books, 2014.Sokol, Jason. All Eyes Are upon Us: Race and Politics from Boston to Brooklyn. Basic Books, 2014.

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heres a brief montage of important and iconic photos of the 1960s. The song American Pie by Don McLean was not written until the 70s, however he wrote the song about his feelings as he experienced the years 1959-1971. (click to start slideshow on next slide)

American PieDon McLeanAmerican Pie (Greatest Hits), track 012000Rock512695.28eng - MusicMatch_BioDon McLean (born October 2, 1945 in New Rochelle, New York) is an American singer-songwriter. He is most famous for his 1971 songs American Pie and Vincent.

Don McLean was profoundly affected by the deaths of both Buddy Holly and John F. Kennedy. In his personal life, he endured the death of his father in 1961. McLean graduated from Iona Preparatory School in 1963 but dropped out of Villanova University before getting a degree. He later attended night school at Iona College and received a Bachelors degree in Business Administration in 1968.

He was a popular folk singer at campus events. With the help of a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, he began reaching a wider public, with visits to towns up and down the Hudson River. He learned the art of performing from his friend and mentor Pete Seeger. McLean accompanied Seeger on his Clearwater boat up the Hudson River in 1969 to protest environmental pollution in the river. The Clearwater campaign was widely credited for improving water quality in the Hudson River.eng - MusicMatch_TempoNoneeng - MusicMatch_PreferenceVery Goodeng - Genre: Rock & PopRelease Date: 03/04/2000Label / Distributor: Liberty / EMIStudio / Live: Studio