THE CLIMAX AND DEMISE OF THE
60’S
Lucy Beam Hoffman
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The demise of the 60’s
◦ The years 1970-1973 saw the climax and
demise of the 1960s counterculture
movement.
◦ The decade had begun with a sense of
optimism and hope, as young people
came together to challenge the status quo
and fight for social change.
◦ However, by the early 1970s, many of the
movement's goals had not been achieved,
and the country was facing a number of
crises, including the Vietnam War, the
Watergate scandal, and the energy crisis.
◦ As a result, many young people became
disillusioned with the movement and
turned away from it.
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The Pendulum of History

The Legalization
of Abortion
◦ Despite its demise, the 1960s
counterculture movement had a
lasting impact on American society.
◦ It helped to bring about
important changes, such as the
legalization of abortion and the
passage of the Civil Rights Act of
1964.
◦ It also helped to create a more
tolerant and open society, and it
inspired a new generation of
activists to continue fighting for
social justice.
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•1970: The Kent
State shootings,
in which four
unarmed students
were killed by
National
Guardsmen, led
to a wave of
protests and riots
across the
country.
Here are some of the key events
that took place during this period:

The pentagon
papers
◦ 1971: The publication of the Pentagon
Papers, which revealed that the
government had lied about the Vietnam
War, further eroded public trust in the
establishment.
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The Pentagon Papers were a highly classified study of the U.S. political and
military involvement in Vietnam from the end of World War II until 1967. The
study was commissioned by U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and
prepared by a team of analysts working for the Department of Defense.
• The study was labeled "Top Secret" and drew on classified material from the
archives of the Department of Defense, State Department, and the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA)1.
• The papers revealed that the Johnson Administration had "systematically lied,
not only to the public but also to Congress" about the Vietnam War23. The
papers were leaked to the press by Daniel Ellsberg, a senior research
associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for
International Studies235. Ellsberg was initially charged with conspiracy,
espionage, and theft of government property, but the charges were later

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Watergate
◦ 1972: The
Watergate break-
in, in which
burglars broke
into the
Democratic
National
Committee
headquarters, led
to the resignation
of President
Richard Nixon.
8
President Richard Nixon - Address Announcing
Resignation - YouTube

Oil embargo of 1973
◦ Arab oil embargo, temporary cessation of
oil shipments from the Middle East to the
United States, the Netherlands, Portugal,
Rhodesia, and South Africa, imposed by oil-
producing Arab countries in October 1973 in
retaliation for support of Israel during the
Yom Kippur War;
◦ the embargo on the United States was
lifted in March 1974, though the embargo
on the other countries remained in place for
some time afterward.
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Yom Kippur War
◦ Yom Kippur War, also called the October War,
the Ramadan War, the Arab-Israeli war of
October 1973, or the Fourth Arab-Israeli War,
fourth of the Arab-Israeli wars, which was
initiated by Egypt and Syria on October 6, 1973,
on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur.
◦ It also occurred during Ramadan, the sacred
month of fasting in Islam, and it lasted until
October 26, 1973.
◦ The war, which eventually drew both the United
States and the Soviet Union into
indirect confrontation in defense of their
respective allies, was launched with the
diplomatic aim of persuading a chastened—if
still undefeated—Israel to negotiate on terms
more favorable to the Arab countries.
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Pendulum
swing of the
70’s
◦ These events, along with the
ongoing Vietnam War, led many
young people to lose faith in
the American Dream and the
institutions of government.
◦ As a result, the counterculture
movement began to decline in
the early 1970s.
◦ However, its legacy continues
to live on, and it continues to
inspire people to fight for
social change.
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MOVEMENTS AND TRENDS IN THE 70’S
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Despite the Boomers spending power, the 1970s was a time of economic
decline for the United States.
• By the end of the decade, three recessions and skyrocketing inflation
resulted in mass unemployment.
• The manufacturing sector, once America’s “sure thing” for employment,
was no longer secure.
• Oil embargoes further contributed to what President Jimmy Carter called
the “malaise” of the nation.
• Mortgages rose to a crippling twenty percent, leading to a housing crisis.
• Credit card interest rates became untenable for the average American as
well. These economic realities caused many former liberals to abandon
their ideals. Conservatives took advantage of this backlash with a strong
push towards “traditional values.” Churches also saw a return of
participants; many found the “born again” philosophy appealing.

◦ Presidential rhetoric shows the
seismic shift in perception of the
nation.
◦ In 1961, the young, energetic,
civil rights-minded John F.
Kennedy argued that Americans
would “pay any price, bear any
burden, meet any hardship,
support any friend, oppose any foe
to assure the survival and the
success of liberty."
◦ But in 1971, the stern-faced
President Richard Nixon declared
that "Americans cannot—and will
not—conceive all the plans, design
all the programs, execute all the
decisions, and undertake all the
defenses of the free nations of the
world."
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WOMEN’S LIB
CONTINUES The rise of the women's liberation
movement, which fought for equal rights
for women in all aspects of society.
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The environmental
movement
◦ The growth of the environmental
movement, which sought to protect
the natural world from pollution and
destruction.
◦ In the 1960s and 1970s, the
environmental movement focused its
attention on pollution and
successfully pressured Congress to
pass measures to promote cleaner
air and water.
◦ In the late 1970s, the movement
increasingly addressed
environmental threats created by the
disposal of toxic waste.
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Los Angeles in the 70’s vs the 2020’s
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World Earth Day
◦ The Canopy Day
Home to about 80% of the
world’s biodiversity,
forests are collectively
the second biggest
storehouse of carbon after
oceans, absorbing
significant amounts of
greenhouse gasses.
They also enhance
biodiversity, while
protecting waterways,
enhancing soil nutrition,
and providing buffers from
natural disasters.
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GAY RIGHTS GROW, BUT NOT WITHOUT A BACKLASH
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1974 – Kathy Kozachenko becomes the first openly gay American elected to
public office when she wins a seat on the Ann Arbor, Michigan city council;
• In New York City Dr. Fritz Klein founds the Bisexual Forum, the first support
group for the Bisexual Community;
• Ohio repeals sodomy laws.
• Robert Grant founds American Christian Cause to oppose the "gay agenda",
the beginning of modern Christian politics in the United States.
• In London, the first openly LGBT telephone help line opens, followed one year
later by the Brighton Gay and Lesbian Switchboard;
• the Brunswick Four are arrested on January 5, 1974, in Toronto, Ontario.
• This incident of Lesbophobia galvanizes the Toronto Lesbian and Gay
community;[31] the National Socialist League (The Gay Nazi Party) is founded
in Los Angeles, California.[32]

GAY
BACKLASH
#HearOurStory - The Brunswick Four - YouTube
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The Brunswick Four refers to four lesbian women — Adrienne Rosen
(formerly Adrienne Potts), Pat Murphy, Sue Wells and Lamar Van Dyke
(formerly Heather Elizabeth Nelson) — who were thrown out of a Toronto bar
on 5 January 1974. Their expulsion and eventual detention led to charges and
significant public outcry at their treatment by the bar staff and the police. The
Brunswick Four case raised awareness about homophobia and harassment in
Canada, and fueled Toronto’s growing LGBTQ2S+ rights movement.

• As the 1970s continued, a new
political movement known as the
“New Right” emerged.
This movement, rooted in the
rapidly growing suburban Sun
Belt, celebrated the free market
and lamented the decline of
“traditional” social values and
roles.
New Right conservatives resented
and resisted what they saw as
government meddling.
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JONESTOWN
MASSACRE
The repudiation of so-called alternative lifestyles and religions found
renewed purpose after the Jonestown Massacre of 1978, when over
900 followers of preacher Jim Jones and his Peoples Temple—
based in San Francisco—committed mass suicide.
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The “Jonestown Massacre” occurred on November 18, 1978, when more than 900 members of an American cult
called the Peoples Temple died in a mass suicide-murder under the direction of their leader Jim Jones (1931-78).
• It took place at the so-called Jonestown settlement in the South American nation of Guyana.
• Jones had founded what became the Peoples Temple in Indiana in the 1950s, then relocated his congregation to
California in the 1960s.
• In the 1970s, following negative media attention, the powerful, controlling preacher moved with some 1,000 of his
followers to the Guyanese jungle, where he promised they would establish a utopian community.
• On November 18, 1978, U.S. Representative Leo Ryan, who had gone to Jonestown to investigate claims of
abuse, was murdered along with four members of his delegation. That same day, Jones ordered his followers to
ingest poison-laced punch while armed guards stood by.

Jonestown
Massacre
◦ Cyanide Laced Flavor Aid Took Out Most Of The
People's Temple
◦ After growing up in Indiana with an alcoholic and
racist father, Jones lit out on his own and started
preaching at the Cadle Tabernacle in Indianapolis,
in 1956. Jones broke away from the group and
started his own racially integrated congregation, but
his coffers weren’t overflowing from the onset, and
he had to work a series of odd jobs in order to make
money.
◦ The oddest job was door-to-door monkey
salesman. There aren’t a lot of reports about how
many monkeys Jones sold, but he was charismatic
so it’s likely that he was able to move a few units.
◦ By the 1960s, he’d given up the monkey game and
moved his congregation to Northern California, first
settling in Ukiah before bringing the group to San
Francisco.
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The rise of disco
◦ In addition to these
movements, there were also a
number of popular culture
trends that emerged in the
1970s that can be seen as a
reaction to the counterculture
of the1960s.
https://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=upIstttL9ew
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Leisure suits
◦ The popularity of "leisure
suits," which were seen as a
more conservative and
traditional alternative to the
hippie fashion of the 1960s.
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“Me” movement
◦ The growth of the "Me
Decade," which was
characterized by a focus on
individual self-expression
and fulfillment.
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TIME MAGAZINE COVERS OF THE 60’S
AND 70’S
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Tom Wolfe names the
70’s “The Me Movement”
◦ When journalist Tom Wolfe (1931–) surveyed
the changes that had swept America in the
past few years, he gave the decade a label
that has stuck: "The Me Decade."
◦ Wolfe and others noticed that the dominant
concerns of most people had shifted from
issues of social and political justice that were
so important in the 1960s to a more selfish
focus on individual well-being.
◦ What was behind this sudden change in the
American mood?
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Space race –
highlights of the 60’s
◦ On May 5, 1961, Alan B. Shepard
became the first American in space
during a suborbital flight aboard his
Mercury capsule named Freedom 7.
◦ Three weeks later, based on the success
of Shepard’s brief flight, President John F.
Kennedy committed the United States to
achieving a lunar landing before the end
of the decade.
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MLK, Jr.
◦ 1963: Martin Luther King Jr., "The Man Who Made
History“
◦ Worked tirelessly during the Montgomery
Bus Boycott
◦ Helped set up the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference
(SCLC)
◦ “I Have a Dream” Speech
◦ Played an active role during the
Black Sanitation Workers’ Strike
◦ Martin Luther King Jr.’s nonviolent
protests earned him the Nobel Peace
Prize
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WORDS OF MLK,
JR.
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I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling
block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens Councilor or the Ku Klux
Klanner but the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice; who
prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is
the presence of justice.

THE
BEATLES
1964: The Beatles, "The Sound of the Sixties“
Six ways the Beatles changed the music scene.
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1. THEY REVOLUTIONISED THE USE OF RECORDING TECHNOLOGY
2. THEY REVOLUTIONISED THE ALBUM
3. THEY BROUGHT ALBUM COVERS TO THE NEXT LEVEL
4. THEY HELPED KICKSTART YOUTH CULTURE
5. THEY WERE PIVOTAL IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSIC VIDEOS
6. THEY MADE DAMN GOOD MUSIC
https://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=NZZpdFtsuWw

MALCOLM X – THE
ANGRY MAN
1965: Malcolm X, "The Angry Man"
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“Usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They just cry over their
condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change.”
In April 1957, Malcolm X began writing his “God’s Angry Men” column in the New York Amsterdam
News, immediately after the brutal police beating of Hinton Johnson.
• The paragraphs of his June 1st column end with the refrain “White Man’s Heaven Is Black Man’s Hell”—the title
of a song Louis X, later Farrakhan, recorded on vinyl in 1960.
• Farrakhan studied, worked, and served under Malcolm, “enough time for him to incorporate Malcolm’s oratorical
style into his own,” writes Manning Marable.
• Both sampled Elijah Muhammad’s teachings in a call and response that played out in music and print.
•
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxUoRiW7lCI

The Vietnam
war
◦ 1966: The Vietnam War, "The
Grim Reaper"
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The summer
of love
◦ 1967: The
Summer of
Love, "The
Hippie"
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ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2ZExRNT0GU
Chapter 1 | Summer of
Love | American
Experience | PBS -
YouTube

Violence in
america
◦ 1970: The
Kent State
Shootings,
"The Tragedy
of Kent State"
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vietnam
◦ 1971: The
Vietnam War,
"The War
That Won't
Go Away"
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END OF VIETNAM
WAR
1975: The Fall of Saigon, "The End of an
Era"
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Background
The Fall of Saigon was a series of events that took place across the last few
days of April of 1975 as Saigon (the capital city of South Vietnam) was
captured by North Vietnamese communist forces.
• It marked the very last events of the Vietnamese War which had been
dragging on for close to twenty years.
• In early March of that year, North Vietnamese forces attacked the highlands
just north of the city of Saigon.
• As the Northern forces started bombarding the city's international airport on
April 28th, U.S. President Gerald Ford ordered Operation Frequent Wind,
the largest helicopter airlift of all time, to rescue American civilians and
military personnel, as well as South Vietnamese civilians by the thousands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHLKFSWzImk

GETTING OUT OF
VIETNAM
1973 - Operation Frequent Wind
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U.S . combat troops left the Republic of Vietnam in 1973 according to the terms of a peace agreement
• The fighting had ended for American forces, but the North Vietnam Communist government re-
equipped its army and escalated the ground war in Vietnam.
• Meantime, the U.S. government continued aid to South Vietnam at a greatly reduced level.
• Consequently, several thousand U.S . citizens remained, many employees at the Defense Attaché Office
(DAO) complex at Tan Son Nhut Airport, at the U.S. Embassy compound in downtown Saigon, or at four
consulates at Da Nang,
• Each of these sites retained a handful of U.S . Marine guards.
29th April 1975: Operation Frequent Wind evacuates 7,000 US and Vietnamese civilians from Saigon -
YouTube

Jimmy Carter
◦ 1976: Jimmy Carter, "The New
President“
◦ Some of Mr. Carter's most
interesting promises
involve what could be
called Presidential “style.”
◦ Because the restoration of
trust and confidence in
government is by no means
a petty concern, such
promises have
considerable importance.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pHMv7grxY
E

A COLD WAR MYSTERY: WHY DID JIMMY CARTER SAVE THE
SPACE SHUTTLE?
1977: The Space Shuttle Enterprise, "The Space Shuttle"
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When Frosch went to the White House to meet with the president and said
NASA didn’t have the money to finish the space shuttle, the
administrator got a response he did not expect: “How much do you need?”
In doing so, Jimmy Carter saved the space shuttle, Kraft believes.
• Without supplementals for fiscal year 1979 and 1980, the shuttle would
never have flown, at least not as the iconic vehicle that would eventually
fly 135 missions and 355 individual fliers into space.
• It took some flights as high as 400 miles above the planet before retiring
five years ago this week. “That was the first supplemental NASA had
ever asked for,” Kraft said. “And we got that money from Jimmy Carter.”

Space race
continues
◦ On NASA’s own 50th
anniversary website,
space historian John
Logsdon described the
Carter presidency in
less than flattering
terms. “Jimmy Carter
was perhaps the least
supportive of US
human space efforts of
any president in the
last half-century,”
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Thank YOU for attending the “Decade of the 60’s” class.
I’ve so enjoyed each of you.
Your input made the class much richer and more educational.
HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!