Sixties: Years Of Hope Days Of Rage By Todd Gitlin

The sixties was a decade unlike any other. Baby boomers came of age and entered colleges in huge numbers. The Civil Rights movement was gaining speed and many became involved in political activism. By the mid 1960s, some of American youth took a turn in a “far out” direction. It would be the most influential youth movement of any decade - a decade striking a dramatic gap between the youth and the generation before them. The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage, written by Todd Gitlin, explains the rebellious youth movement, highlighting activist group, “Students for a Democratic Society,” the Vietnam War, and the Civil Rights Movement. While some of the youth became politically active, others escaped into the counterculture – disbanding their faith in government and the ideals

2 It is essential to go back to the fifties to be able to understand the sixties historically and sociologically. The fifties brought relief since the Depression and war were over, and now “science was mobilized by industry, and capital was channeled by government as never before.” 3 This new affluence gave the United States the ability to create suburbia and conform to moving in. This affected the sixties because conformity resulted in people rebelling. Songs like “Sweet Little Sixteen” and “School Days” by Chuck Berry exemplified the rebellious attitude of the sixties. The lyrics were about girls going against the dress code and how school was a drag. Young people wanted to rebel simply because they could. An outstanding example of the youth culture was the beat movement. Beatniks were a group of artistic social activists who stressed to young people that they should practice spiritual action and reject materialism. They believed people could go beyond the normal human experience through sex and