The New Left
The New Left have been associated with Marxists, Communists, and Socialists because of their radical views that emphasized "power to the the people". Tying together elements from Jacksonian Democracy, Communism, and Socialism, the New Left became the new radical Democratic Party.
The early 1960s saw a rising tide of criticism of American society, mainly by college students. They criticized repression, corruption and racism as basic flaws in the entire structure of American government and society.
Most "new left" groups were committed to living a counter-cultural life as well as changing society. One of the most visible was SNCC (the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee), a civil rights activist group that had emerged from the black student sit-ins in North Carolina in 1960. Another group that was at the very core of the New Left Movement was SDS (Students for a Democratic Society), mostly composed of white, wealthy college students looking to make a change. SDS began in 1962. Throughout the first years of its existence, SDS focused on domestic concerns. The students, as with other groups of the Old and New Left, actively supported Lyndon Johnson in his 1964 campaign against Barry Goldwater. Following Johnson's victory, they refrained from antiwar rhetoric to avoid alienating the president and possibly endangering the social programs of the Great Society. The SDS actively participated in the Civil Rights struggle and proved an important link between the two defining causes of the decade. The SDS was better known for it's fierce participation in the anti-war movement, and it's strong alliance with the hippie counterculture.
The early 1960s saw a rising tide of criticism of American society, mainly by college students. They criticized repression, corruption and racism as basic flaws in the entire structure of American government and society.
Most "new left" groups were committed to living a counter-cultural life as well as changing society. One of the most visible was SNCC (the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee), a civil rights activist group that had emerged from the black student sit-ins in North Carolina in 1960. Another group that was at the very core of the New Left Movement was SDS (Students for a Democratic Society), mostly composed of white, wealthy college students looking to make a change. SDS began in 1962. Throughout the first years of its existence, SDS focused on domestic concerns. The students, as with other groups of the Old and New Left, actively supported Lyndon Johnson in his 1964 campaign against Barry Goldwater. Following Johnson's victory, they refrained from antiwar rhetoric to avoid alienating the president and possibly endangering the social programs of the Great Society. The SDS actively participated in the Civil Rights struggle and proved an important link between the two defining causes of the decade. The SDS was better known for it's fierce participation in the anti-war movement, and it's strong alliance with the hippie counterculture.
The Hippie Counterculture
Hippie Mantra
Do your own thing, wherever you have to do it and whenever you want.
Drop out. Leave society as you have known it. Leave it utterly.
Blow the mind of every straight person that you can reach.
Turn them on if not to drugs, then to beauty, love, honesty, and fun.
Drop out. Leave society as you have known it. Leave it utterly.
Blow the mind of every straight person that you can reach.
Turn them on if not to drugs, then to beauty, love, honesty, and fun.
Rock and roll: The voices of rebellion
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The hippies, members of the New Left, and the youth of America were all entranced by the mesmerizing, wise lyrics that several of the most popular bands or singers were performing. Rock and roll was ignited with Elvis Presley with his raunchy and sexual movements and intimate lyrics. Rock and roll escalated and was popularized with the emergence of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix. Rock and roll helped define the counter culture. Although it began as the music of teenagers--expressing their passion, raging hormones, delight in excess, and abhorrence for authority, it morphed into a completely different being as the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. The next year, another British rock group, The Rolling Stones--tougher, harder driving, and more sexual than the Beatles--made their first American appearance. For the rest of the decade, rock n' roll dominated the music scene. It had an enticing effect on the youth and the young adults of America, sparking streaks of rebellion which was a huge and defining reason why many teens and college students could be seen participating in anti-war rallies and protests in major American cities and college campuses. Rock and roll suggested to teens and adults that it was O.K. to experiment with drugs and sex in order to "expand one's mind", and also encouraged questioning authority, which heightened the heightening skepticism of the government.
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