Sixties Counterculture: the Hippies and Beyond | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

One group, called the New Left, consisted of people who were convinced that the American government did not consider the needs of common people and who urged widespread political action by young people, African Americans, and poor people to force the government to address their concerns. The New Left was active in the formation of such groups as the Students for a Democratic Society and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Later in the 1960s, members of the New Left dedicated themselves almost solely to the anti-Vietnam War movement. (See Chapter 6 for a complete discussion of the New Left.) Another broad group called for the extension of equal rights and the end to discrimination based on race, ethnicity, and gender. The most visible expression of this group's dissent was the civil rights movement (covered at length in Chapter 8), which called for federal legislation to define and enforce improved conditions for African Americans. There were also significant pressures for full civil rights from Hispanic and Native American groups, and later in the decade a women's rights movement gained strength. Both of these broad groups of dissenters used political means—protests, calls for legislation, and other forms of direct action—to express their dissatisfaction with American culture.

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