Study & Research America 1960-1969: Lifestyles and Social Trends

1903-
Child-care Expert, Peace Activist

Voice of Conscience.

By the 1960s Dr. Benjamin Spock was known not only for his Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care, which had served as a guide to the parents of baby boomers since its first edition was published in 1946 — for the next two years only the Bible was a bigger seller — he was also one of the nation's most prominent voices of conscience, participating in protests against nuclear weapons and the war in Vietnam. In 1960 Spock had campaigned for John F. Kennedy, appearing on television with Jacqueline Kennedy to help court the "mother's vote." President Kennedy's announcement of further arms testing in 1962, however, convinced Spock of the grave danger posed by the cold war arms race. "After that," he said, "I was hooked for the peace movement."

SANE.

That year he became a member of SANE, an antinuclear...
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