Counterculture Movement

As the beginning of the new decade approached, a spark for change was brewing. However, unbeknownst to American society, this flicker would emerge into an immense flame that ignited passion, controversy, and most of all, change. These three words could be described as the ultimate mantra for the decade of the nineteen sixties. From nineteen sixty to the end of the decade, America witnessed tremendous economic, social, and political development. The conflicts in this turbulent stage included ones between races, sexes, social classes, and generations. Six decades later, the United States still feels the shock waves from the nineteen sixties. We see legacies of the sixties play out in the struggle for civil rights, the Vietnam war, and the counterculture …show more content…
Due to this success, other protests were inspired. One major social movement it encouraged was the Counterculture movement. The lifestyle created by this movement also greatly influenced our society today. The Countercultural movement wanted to break away from mainstream society norms and create a more free and loving country. They pushed for gay rights, new marriage, free love, new social norms, and anti-war. With the struggles of the Vietnam war, many rallied to protest it, and encourage anti-war and free love. In California 1970, a public anti-war demonstration occurred where votes were taken demonstrating how 69 percent of those interviewed opted for the withdrawal of U.S troops from the war. Some even burned their draft cards in protest of a war they deemed immoral. The Countercultural movement also tackled the issue of gay rights. Many gays would be mistreated and often beaten on due to the fact that others did not socially accept them and they were religiously against it. Discrimination is clearly evident in 1969 New York at the Stonewall Inn Rebellion. Here, off-duty police officers raided the gay bar in Greenwich Village. These customers were finished being subjected to this inappropriate oppression. Consequently, they fought back for five days and riots crowded the streets with protests. Considering these raids were not unusual, there is justification …show more content…
It gave political expression to the Countercultural movement, and it had become the most unpopular and controversial military engagements in the nation's history. A multitude of antagonists grew towards the war due to the government's failure to explain what was supposed to be at stake. Approximately 100,000 Americans were wounded or killed during the war. Various citizens questioned why the government thought any victory in this war would be worth the price of American blood. However many of these aspects seem like they tore apart the fabric of the country's society, it is reasonable to conclude that the Vietnam War was not a deconstructive part of United States history. At the closing of the decade as Nixon stepped into office, he applied himself to putting America’s foreign-policy house in order. Nixon went right to action and issued the Nixon Doctrine. As described by historian David Kennedy, “It proclaimed that the United States would honor its existing defense commitments but that in the future, Asians and other would have to fight their own wars without the support of large bodies of American ground troops” (966). This was an extremely successful decision because it allowed for others to get help from America, but it also ceased the spilling of more American blood. However, some antiwar activists still urged for a full stop to the war. Nevertheless, that would be unwise for America