The Counterculture

Of the 1960s
 Thesis
During the 1960s, as a result of the Vietnam War,
rising tensions of the Cold War, and an increase in
educational awareness, a counterculture emerged in
the United States, influencing society and creating a
new social atmosphere.
What Was it?
Counterculture is a culture
with values and mores that run
counter to those of established
society . (Merriam-Webster
Dictionary)
The counterculture of the
1960s rejected the
conventional social norms of
the 1950s.
Counterculture youth rejected
the cultural standards of their
elders, especially racial
segregation and the Vietnam
War.
 Who Was it?
Called Hippies
Mostly white,
middle-class youth
Had the time to turn
their attention to
social issues.
 Main Events of the 1960sRelating to
the Counterculture
1960- Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) founded.
1960- Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) founded.
1960- Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1960.
1960- Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (advocates of psychedelic drug research) begin experimenting with
psychedelic drugs.
1961-United States Starts underground nuclear testing.
1962- SDS issues and adopts the Port Huron Statement.
1962- Timothy Leary founds International Foundation for Internal Freedom (IFIF) to promote LSD research as well
as publish The Psychedelic Review.
1963- The Battle of Ap Bac in South Vietnam .
1963- President Kennedy proposes the Civil Rights Bill
1963- The March for Jobs and Freedom or more commonly known as the March on Washington attracts over
200,000 people to Washington, D.C. With the people concentrated around the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther
King Jr. gives his I Have a Dream speech.
1963- Timothy Leary, Richard Alpert, and other Harvard alumni LSD researchers move to the Hitchcock's estate in
Millbrook, New York to continue their research into psychedelics.
1963- President Kennedy is assassinated.
1963- President Johnson escalates American's military involvement in the Vietnam War.
1963- The Beatles release "I Want to Hold Your Hand," which becomes a huge hit and a success in America.
 Main Events (Continued)
1964- Congress passes the landmark Civil Rights Act.
1964- President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making segregation in public facilities and
discrimination in employment illegal.
1964- Free Speech Movement at the University of California in Berkley.
1964- Beatles first tour of the United States helps make them the most popular musical group in the English
speaking world.
1965- U.S. starts bombing North Vietnam.
1965- Owsley starts LSD factory, making large quantities of acid available for the first time.
1965- First American soldier officially sets foot on Vietnam battlefields, First U.S. combat troops begin fighting in
South Vietnam.
1965- Blacks begin a march to Montgomery in support of voting rights but are stopped at the Pettus Bridge by a
police blockade.
1965- 25,000 U.S. troops stationed in Vietnam.
1965- Congress passes the Voting Rights Act of 1965, making it easier for Southern blacks to register to vote.
Literacy tests and other such requirements that tended to restrict black voting become illegal.
1965- Burning draft cards becomes an illegal and punishable act. Burning draft cards had become a popular
protest method against the war.
1965- San Francisco writer Michael Fallon applies the term "hippie" to the San Francisco counterculture in an
article about the Blue Unicorn coffeehouse where LEMAR (Legalize Marijuana) & the Sexual Freedom League
meet, and hippie houses.
 Main Events (Continued)
1965- 100,000 anti-war protesters nationwide in 80 cities.
1965- Timothy Leary arrested for Marijuana at the Mexican border.
1966- Anti-Vietnam war protests in NY bring out 25,000 on 5th Ave. Other protests in 7 US cities and 7
foreign cities.
1966- FBI releases file on LSD, the drug gets bad press.
1966- Sandoz stops supplying LSD to the researchers.
1966- There is an Antiwar demonstration in Washington D.C. with 10,000 protesters attending.
1966- The Walk for Love and Peace and Freedom in New York City takes place with 10,000 participants.
1967- US, USSR, UK sign treaty banning nuclear weapons in space.
1967- A Scientist reports LSD causes chromosome damage however, it is never proven.
1967- Grayline starts tours of the hippie neighborhood of Haight/Ashbury.
1967- Martin Luther King Jr. begins to speak out against the war in Vietnam.
1967- Flower Power Day in NYC 1967.
1967- The number of US troops in Vietnam reaches 448,400.
1967- "Summer of Love" in San Francisco.
1967- The number of US troops in Vietnam reaches 486,000. 15,000 soldiers have been killed in the war
thus far, the majority, 60% died in 1967.
 Main Events (Continued)
1967- "Stop the Draft" movement organized by 40 antiwar groups, nationwide protests ensue.
1968- Viet Cong launch Tet Offensive. The Tet Offensive throughout South Vietnam turns most Americans
against Johnson's policy for war in Vietnam.
1968- Massacre of 200 - 500 Vietnamese civilians at My Lai.
1968- Robert F. Kennedy announces candidacy for President.
1968- Bombing halt in Vietnam.
1968- Martin Luther King shot and killed in Memphis at the age 39.
1968- The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs established (DEA) in response to growing drug culture
in the U.S.
1968- President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental,
and financing of housing.
1968- There is a major call-up of military reserves for duty in Vietnam.
1968- Start of Spring Mobilization against the Vietnam war.
1968- Robert Kennedy assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan moments after winning the California primary.
1968- There are 541,000 U.S. Troops in Vietnam.
1968- Richard Nixon elected President.
1969- There is a peak amount of 543,000 US troops in Vietnam.
 Main Events (Continued)
1969- U.S. B-52s launch the biggest attack yet on North Vietnam. As a result there are protests around the
country.
1969- Hippies in People's Park in Berkeley attacked by police and National Guard.
1969- The Unites States' Apollo 11 lands on the moon, and Neil Armstrong walks on the Moon.
1969- WOODSTOCK Festival 500,000 people gathered for three days of music and peace that changed the
world.
1969- FBI reports 98% increase in marijuana arrests from 1966 1968.
1969- Ho Chi Min, leader of North Vietnam, dies.
1969- Declared Peace Day there are 500,000 protesters nationwide is the First Vietnam Moratorium.
1969- The Supreme Court orders desegregation nationwide
1969- The death and injury toll of US troops in Vietnam reaches over 100,000 US troops dead or injured in
Vietnam.
1969- First draft lottery since W.W.II held in NYC.
1969- Many student protests occurred during this time.

(All information taken from http://www.ronaldreaganweb.com/thesixties/timeline.htm)

 Philosophies
Reflected American
ideals of free speech,
equality, and pursuit of
happiness.
Supported the Civil
Rights Movement.
Supporters of womens
rights.
Peace, Love, Freedom.
Exploring Spirituality.
NO WAR!
Against the Vietnam
War
 Primary Source 1
Port Huron Statement
We regard men as infinitely precious and possessed of
unfulfilled capacities for reason, freedom, and love. In
affirming these principles we are aware of countering
perhaps the dominant conceptions of man in the
twentieth century: that he is a thing to be manipulated,
and that he is inherently incapable of directing his own
affairs. We oppose the depersonalization that reduces
human being to the status of thingswe see little reason
why men cannot meet with increasing the skill the
complexities and responsibilities of their situation, if
society is organized not for minority, but for majority,
participation in decision-making
 Analyzing the Primary Source
This document was written by people of the
counterculture in the 1960s.
This lays out some of the values the hippies had.
Reason, Freedom, Love
We regard men as infinitely precious and possessed of unfulfilled
capacities for reason, freedom, and love
Oppose the idea that man needs to be controlled
he is a thing to be manipulated, and that he is inherently
incapable of directing his own affairs. We oppose the
depersonalization that reduces human being to the status of
things
Supported Democracy
if society is organized not for minority, but for majority,
participation in decision-making
 Primary Source 2
Free Speech Movement: Do Not Fold, Bend, Mutilate
or Spindle (Anonymous statement from the FSM
Newsletter)
The source of our strength is, very simply, the fact that we are human
beings and so cannot forever be treated as raw materials--to be
processedClark Kerr has declared, in his writings and by his conduct,
that a university must be like any other factory--a place where workers
who handle raw material are themselves handled like raw material by
the administrators above themBy our action, we have proved Kerr
wrong in his claim that human beings can be handled like raw material
without provoking revolt.
 Analyzing the Primary Source
This source was written by the people of the 1960s.
This shows the values and philosophies they had.
Human beings should not be controlled.
The source of our strength is, very simply, the fact that we are
human beings and so cannot forever be treated as raw materials--
to be processed
This also shows that they protested against what they
believed was wrong, as was customary of the
counterculture.
They protested (or in this document, planned to protest)
against being controlled.
themBy our action, we have proved Kerr wrong in his claim that
human beings can be handled like raw material without provoking
revolt.
 Primary Source 3
GIs Against the War in Vietnam: Statement of Aims
For the past decade our country has been involved in a long, drawn-out,
costly and tragic war in Vietnam. Most Americans do not support this war-
-increasing numbers are demonstrating their opposition, including active
duty GIs. It is the most unpopular war in our history. Yet the government's
policy threatens to continue this tragedy for many years to comeBut it is
our right to be human. No one can take that from us--no one has the right
to rob us of our dignity, like the Army tries to do every day. It is our right to
think, and to speak out against an unjust war, to demonstrate our
opposition if that is necessary. We are citizens of America even if the Army
would like to forget it, and these rights are guaranteed to us by the
Constitution of the United StatesIf you are against the war in
Vietnam, for the rights of black people, and for free speech for GIs,
you are a "GI United" so act like one and contact us! OUR VOICE IS
OUR WEAPON. UNITED WE WILL WIN.
 Analyzing the Primary Source
This source was written by Americans in the 1960s.
This source speaks about many of the countercultures values and beliefs.
But it is our right to be human. No one can take that from us--no one has the
right to rob us of our dignity
Beliefs
If you are against the war in Vietnam, for the rights of black people, and for free
speech...
Belief in the rights given to people through the Constitution
We are citizens of America even if the Army would like to forget it, and these rights are
guaranteed to us by the Constitution of the United States
Freedom of Speech
It is our right to think, and to speak out against an unjust war, to demonstrate our
opposition if that is necessary.
The many Americans, especially the counterculture, were against the war
in Vietnam.
Most Americans do not support this war--increasing numbers are
demonstrating their opposition
It is the most unpopular war in our history.
 Art
Pop-art
Art in which commonplace
objects (as road signs,
hamburgers, comic strips, or
soup cans) are used as
subject matter and are often
physically incorporated in the
work (Merriam-Webster
Dictionary)
Well-Known pop-artist of
the time: Andy Warhol
 Andy Warhol
Born in 1928 in Pittsburgh.
Son of Slovak immigrants.
Original name was Andrew Warhola.
Painted daily objects of mass production like Campbell
Soup cans and Coke bottles.
Made silkscreen prints of famous personalities like
Marilyn Monroe or Elizabeth Taylor.
 Music
Psychedelic Rock
Pop
Famous Musicians/Bands:
The Beatles, The Kinks, The
Rolling Stones, The Temptations,
Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The
Doors, Steppenwolf, Simon &
Garfunkel, Mamas and the
Pappas, Bob Dylan, The Who, The
Animals, The Grateful Dead,
Creedence Clearwater Revival
 Jimi Hendrix
Born: November 27, 1942.
Seattle, Washington.
Died: September 18, 1970.
London.
2 brothers: Leon and Joseph.
2 sisters: Kathy and Pamela.
Served in the army.
Created the band, The Jimi Hendrix
Experience.
Played at Woodstock.
American guitarist, singer, and songwriter.
Known as the Greatest Guitarist in rock
history.
Woodstock Festival of 1969
Music and art festival.
August 15, 1969 to August 18,
1969.
Bethel, NY
Nearly million people
attended.
32 of the best-known musicians
of the day appeared.
Rock and folk, including blues-
rock, folk rock, jazz fusion, Hard
rock, Latin rock, and psychedelic
rock styles.
 Experimental Drugs
Acid/LSD
Marijuana
Psilocybin mushrooms ("Psychedelic mushrooms)
Used by many musicians and artists, as well as many others, of the
counterculture.
Timothy Leary (advocate of psychedelic drug research).
Timothy Learys mantra: "turn on, tune in, drop out"
Used to free the mind.

Timothy Leary
 Appearance
Long hair, parted in the middle
Wire-rim color glasses
T-Shirt (with a band or tie dyed)
Small beads (Love Beads)
Headband
Worn-out jeans with patches sewn on them
Sandals or barefoot
Macram
Suede belts/purses
Fringe
Flower (in your hair)
Peace symbol
Bell-bottoms
Poncho
Halter tops (girls)
Very colorful
 Resources
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009.
Merriam-Webster Online. 13 May 2009
<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/counterculture>
Eric Donald Hirsch. The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-
395-65597-8. (1993) p 419.
Mary Works Covington, "Rockin' At the Red Dog: The Dawn of Psychedelic Rock,"
2005.
http://www.ronaldreaganweb.com/thesixties/timeline.htm