Stewart Forrest

Edward K. Spann, Democracy’s Children

INTRODUCTION- Common misconceptions about the baby boomers: 1) The generation that spawned the “youth revolution” of the 1960s did not begin after World War II, it began in 1940. 2) There were actually two distinct waves of the baby boom, not one. 3) The ideals of the 1960s youth were not original; they were learned from their parents. 4) The 1950s helped, rather than hindered, the development of democracy’s children in positive ways.

CH 1- Genesis The 1960s are known as an era of youth rebellion. These youth were a product of the World War II zeitgeist, a time of democratic idealism different from the materialistic 1950s which shaped later baby boomers. Education in democratic idealism gave this “forties generation” its special character. After the war, ordinary Americans sought to make their own families little worlds of love and security in which they expected to find most of life’s satisfactions. By 1951 the percentage of unmarried women in America had fallen from 28% in 1940 to 9%—a record low. Antifeminism was fashionable (“women may have many careers, but only one vocation—motherhood”). “Togetherness” was the family ideal. The norm in middle class families was to raise children democratically with affection; working class children were taught to obey.

CH 2-Schooling in Changing Times The seven million births predicted for 1941-46 turned out to be 17 million. Sixty percent of classrooms were overcrowded. The percentage of GNP share for education increased from 1.4% in 1946 to 3.1% in 1960. Progressive educators sought to use education for social reconstruction. The launching of Sputnik inspired a “brain race,” and led to an emphasis on academic excellence and competition. Critics countered that education should include physical and emotional development of the child. Some students argued that they should be encouraged to form their own conclusions. Paul Goodman’s Growing Up Absurd (1960) argued the “System” was using education to control the minds of the young.

CH 3-Restless Youth The Children’s Decade of the 1950s could boast of better education, housing, food, play, and transport than there had been ten years before. On the other hand, family “togetherness” was coming apart as cute kids turned into sullen teenagers. Adolescent dependency lengthened as youth were expected to go to college. Teenagers became a major part of the consumer market, buying, for example, 43% of the records in America. Peer groups became very important to teens. Sex, teenage crime, drugs, VD, and illegitimate births were of concern to parents. Many youth were idealistic and wanted to help others. The idea of the Peace Corp was born in 1959.

CH 4-Scaling the Ivied Walls Between 1940 and 1957 the proportion of Americans who graduated from college increased 60%. Competition for admission at selective universities was intense. Therefore, suburban high schools raised their academic standards. College students became disillusioned with large classes and indifferent teaching. Democratically raised youth resented the in loco parentis rules regulating their lives. Standards of morality loosened as many students came to believe “anything was morally acceptable if it did not hurt others.” Two out of three students who changed their politics in college became more liberal.

CH 5-In Diversity, Separation By 1950 America had become a class society of rich people and poor people. Nonwhites had gained two years of education from 1940 to 1950, but still lagged three years on average compared to whites. In 1950 only 10% of all Americans came from a broken family whereas this figure was 40% for blacks. Blacks suffered racial discrimination. Two ways out of poverty: education and good jobs. Unfortunately, discrimination prevented many from improving their situation, therefore youth held authority in contempt. Two subcultures developed: gangs and the “cool” or “hip” crowd (oriented toward sex, drugs, and small time hustles). In 1954 the Supreme Court banned segregation in schools. CORE an SNCC led sit-ins at Woolworths and other peaceful civil rights protests.

CH 6-New Radicals, New Hopes Sociologist C. Wright Mills, author of The Power Elite (1956) argued that affluence was turning Americans into “cheerful robots.” Tom Hayden organized the radical Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), its Port Huron Statement acted as an “American Communist Manifesto.” The Free Speech Movement (FSM) protested censorship at UC Berkley, leading a strike that shut down that school for a time. The underground press flourished in major cities. The folk singer Joan Baez identified with radicalism and performed at numerous protests. LBJ’s escalating the war in Vietnam radicalized youth.

CH 7-Young America at War Of 53 million US youth turning 19 between 1964 and 1973, more than 8 million served in the military, more than 2 million in Vietnam. The conflict deepened differences among US young people. Antiwar sentiment was based on: 1) the unfairness of the Selective Service and 2) the horror of the war. “Burn draft cards, not children!” the SDS cried. As the war went on, The Movement became more radical, burning down ROTC buildings, for example. SNCC and the new Black Panthers became increasingly militant as well. Eldridge Cleaver started the “Black is Beautiful” movement, while others demanded Black Studies programs in colleges.

CH 8-Counterculture Rock music, beatnik anti-conventionalism, drug culture (championed by “tune on, tune in, and drop out” advocate Timothy Leary) comprised the key elements of 1960s counterculture. Hippies lived near the campuses called “hippie ghettos.” San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district was the ground zero for the hippie movement, which touted “doing your own thing” and “making love not war” along with anti-intellectualism and occultism. The East Village in New York City was the East Coast center of counterculture with emphasis on the Arts. Abbie Hoffman led a provocateur street theatre. Diggers preached voluntary cooperation. Some hippies fled to rural communes. In 1969 Woodstock was huge, drawing over 400,000 concert goers.

CH 9-Politics By 1972 40 million youth could vote (thanks in part to the ratification of the 26^th Amendment in 1971). Nixon, running on a “law-and-order” and “peace with honor” platform won the Presidency in 1968 over Humphrey. In 1969 SDS split into the Marxist Progressive Labor (PL) faction and “Third World” faction (AKA “the Weathermen”). Charles Manson gave hippies a bad name. The invasion of Cambodia in 1970 re-ignited the anti-war movement. National Guardsmen shot protesters at Kent State. High school kids preferred Nixon over McGovern 2:1. Nixon won big in 1972.

CH 10-Change and Its Limits The failure of radical politics led to the “Dionysian” ideology of peace, social welfare, environmentalism, and redistribution of wealth. The first “Earth Day” in April, 1970 was the brain-child of Denis Hayes. Other social movements included: the self-actualization, sexual liberation, de-criminalization of pot, women’s rights, radical feminism, Gay Power, acceptance for transgender individuals. These new values gained wide acceptance among the college-educated, and also, more slowly, among the rest of the non-college majority of youth population.

CH 11-Coming Home Most boomers returned to mainstream society. Some started their own small businesses in niche markets of the “Whole Earth Catalogue” sort. The reformers would gravitate toward social work or advocacy type jobs. The radicals went into academia and invented “political-correctness.” In 1980 the nation swung to the right, electing Ronald Reagan president and became more conservative. Democracy’s children had triumphed in winning civil rights, ending the war in Vietnam, and questioning authority (or so they claimed). Their shibboleth “Bullshit!” summarized their critique of the status quo.

Epilogue: Baby Bust and Beyond-In the 1970s the birthrate declined dramatically, in part because of The Pill. Women, especially those who were college-educated, wanted fewer children. The baby-bust precipitated cut backs in education and concern about who would support aging boomers in their retirement. The economic boom of the 1990s and immigration might mitigate some of these problems.