Ch. 28: Liberal Crisis, Conservative Rebirth 1961-72
Big Picture Questions:
What reforms did liberals
achieve in the 1960s?
What led to a resurgence
of conservatism?
1. Liberalism at High Tide
A. John F. Kennedy’s Promise
B. Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society
C. Rebirth of the Women’s Movement
2. The Vietnam War Begins
A. Escalation Under Johnson
B. Public Opinion and the War
C. Rise of the Student Movement
3. Days of Rage, 1968-1972
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
War Abroad, Tragedy at Home
The Antiwar Movement and the 1968 Election
The Nationalist Turn
Women’s Liberation
Stonewall and Gay Liberation
4. Richard Nixon and the Silent Majority
A. Nixon and Vietnam
B. The Silent Majority Speaks Out
C. The 1972 Election
Part 1: Liberalism at High Tide
Section 1A: John F. Kennedy’s Promise
• Glamorous, eloquent JFK ushered inspired idealism in nation’s youth
• Senate blocked Kennedy’s proposals
• Kennedy’s youthful image, traumatic
assassination, and the later tumult of
the 1960s created a powerful mystique
JFK meets Peace Corps volunteers
Part 1: Liberalism at High Tide
Section 1B: Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society
• Political skill, JFK legacy and 1964 election propelled Great Society
• Johnson won a landslide victory in 1964 vs. conservative Goldwater
• Great Society launched a “war on poverty” building on the New Deal
with Medicare, immigration, air/water quality, school funding, tax cuts
• Great Society had mixed results and was undone by Vietnam War
1964 election
“Daisy Girl” commercial, 1964
Part 1: Liberalism at High Tide
Section 1C: Rebirth of the Women’s Movement
• Causes: civil rights, increased education, more women working, legal
gender discrimination, birth control, Feminine Mystique and NOW
• Gains: Equal Pay Act, 1964 Civil Rights Act, liberalized divorce laws
Part 2: The Vietnam War Begins
Section 2A: Escalation Under Johnson
• Cold War fears and Diem coup drew US closer into Vietnam conflict
• LBJ inherited Vietnam in shambles despite 16K US military advisors
• Tonkin Gulf Resolution helped LBJ win reelection and was used as a
“blank check” to massively escalate US involvement in Vietnam
• US strategy consisted of ground troops (536K) and massive bombing
(Operation Rolling Thunder) in an effort to win a war of attrition
Part 2: The Vietnam War Begins
Section 2B: Public Opinion and the War
• The public initially supported Johnson’s escalation but by 1967 a
majority turned against it in part due to critical TV news coverage
• Escalation brought inflation and rise of a diverse antiwar movement
Eleanor Roosevelt at the
Tuskegee Institute
Part 2: The Vietnam War Begins
Section 2C: Rise of the Student Movement
• “New Left,” fueled by civil rights and end of student deferments,
rejected consumerism, income inequality, and Vietnam War
• Many colleges were rocked by the 1960s Free Speech Movement
• Counterculture rejected authority and middle class values resulting
in hippies, drug use, protest music and generational divisions
Draft Card Burning
Part 3: Days of Rage, 1968-1972
Section 3A: War Abroad, Tragedy at Home
• By 1968, hundreds of Americans were dying weekly in Vietnam War
• Tet Offensive (military failure, psychological win) demonstrated
dishonesty of US military and politicians that the war was almost won
• LBJ dropped out of reelection when challenged by RFK, McGovern
• MLK, RFK assassinations deprived liberals of most effective leaders
Part 3: Days of Rage, 1968-1972
Section 3B: Antiwar Movement and the 1968 Election
• Tet, assassinations, hatred of
LBJ radicalized antiwar left
• Antiwar protestors, beaten in
a “police riot,” disrupted the
1968 Democratic convention
while Humphrey chosen
• Wallace, a segregationist,
lost a 3rd party bid but
defined future conservative
issues: liberal elitism, welfare
policies, and law and order
• Nixon used a “southern
strategy” and appeals to the
“silent majority” to win a
close election
Part 3: Days of Rage, 1968-1972
Section 3C: The Nationalist Turn
• Black Power (Black Panthers) and Chicano (La Raza) movements
joined the New Left against the War and racism in society
Part 3: Days of Rage, 1968-1972
Section 3D: Women’s Liberation
• White feminists marginalized in other movements rallied for “women’s
liberation” temporarily breaking with older feminists and NOW
• Blacks and Latinas often rejected the militancy of white feminism
• Title IX banned sex discrimination in colleges and their sports
Women's Liberation March in Washington, D.C., 1970
Part 3: Days of Rage, 1968-1972
Section 3E: Stonewall and Gay Liberation
• After years of harassment, gay patrons at Stonewall rioted for 2 days
to protest police abuse marking a watershed for gay rights
• Gays faced a longer road to equality than blacks and other groups
Part 4: Nixon and the Silent Majority
4A: Nixon in Vietnam
•
•
•
•
•
Nixon continued in Vietnam with a goal of “peace with honor”
Vietnamization, secret bombing, and incursions failed to win the war
My Lai and Kent State massacres fueled growing anti-war protests
Nixon “opened” China, sought Détente with USSR, negotiated an exit
US withdrew from Vietnam in 1973 and South Vietnam fell in 1975
Kent State Shootings
Evacuation of US Embassy in Saigon
Part 4: Nixon and the Silent Majority
4B: The Silent Majority Speak Out
• Warren Court expanded civil rights and personal liberty with rulings
on desegregation, criminal rights, obscenity and church vs. state
• Courts ordered forced busing to accelerate school desegregation but
it proved highly unpopular and difficult to implement in the North
Protests in Boston
against forced busing
Part 4: Nixon and the Silent Majority
4C: The 1972 Election
• Democratic Party rules favoring women, blacks, and youth allowed
for nomination of antiwar McGovern who lost in a landslide to Nixon
• 1972 election marked a political realignment as the New Deal
coalition of urban machines, labor unions and ethnic whites fractured