The Sixties
8 dimensions of the Sixties
• The Anti-Vietnam War Movement
• The Civil Rights Movement
• The Free Speech Movement
• The Counter Culture Movement
• The Beat Movement (actually in the fifties)
• The Black Arts Movement
• The Women’s Movement
• The Environmental Movement
→ movements interfere each other
1. The central event: the Vietnam War
• Difficulty: when did it begin, how did it begin?
• 1962: Operation Chopper
o = first military combat mission of the US in Vietnam
o John F. Kennedy was President at that time
o Fear was that Vietnam and all of Asia would fall into communism
• Involvement of America
o End of 1965: more than 200 000 troops in Vietnam
o End of 1966: 385 000
o End of 1967: 486 000
→ the mid-sixties are really the years of the escalating war in Vietnam and of
the ever-growing involvement of America
→ it was not just the matter of troops, but equipment also
→ South vs. North meant West vs. East
1
, The Sixties
• The beginning of operation “Rolling Thunder”
o All of this was made possible by Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964
▪ Refers to 2 military incidents that had supposedly taken place in the
summer of 1964 in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin between American
and Nord-Vietnamese torpedo vessels in August 1964
▪ These 2 incidents were reported to the American Congress and the
American Parliament decided that Lyndon Johnson (= vice-President of
Kennedy) was authorized “to take all necessary measures to repel any
armed attacks against the forces of the US and to prevent further
aggression”
• Students in America
o Were the first ones to question the war
o Teach-In = protest movements of students on college campuses where they
rallied against the war
o April 1965: students organized the first march on Washington
▪ Organized by the SDS (students for Democratic Society)
▪ +- 15 000 – 25 000 people showed up
• January 1968: The Tet Offensive
o = massive attack by the Vietcong (= troops of North-Vietnam = enemies) on
South-Vietnamese cities and villages
o 85 000 North-Vietnamese troops
o Started this attack within the war on January 31 → why: beginning of the new
Lunar Year
o Meaning of “Tet Offensive” = offensive that started at the beginning of the
new Lunar Year
o The North lost closed to 60 000 troops in 3 months time
o definitely a turning point: people were thinking if it all was worth (polarized
public opinion)
2
8 dimensions of the Sixties
• The Anti-Vietnam War Movement
• The Civil Rights Movement
• The Free Speech Movement
• The Counter Culture Movement
• The Beat Movement (actually in the fifties)
• The Black Arts Movement
• The Women’s Movement
• The Environmental Movement
→ movements interfere each other
1. The central event: the Vietnam War
• Difficulty: when did it begin, how did it begin?
• 1962: Operation Chopper
o = first military combat mission of the US in Vietnam
o John F. Kennedy was President at that time
o Fear was that Vietnam and all of Asia would fall into communism
• Involvement of America
o End of 1965: more than 200 000 troops in Vietnam
o End of 1966: 385 000
o End of 1967: 486 000
→ the mid-sixties are really the years of the escalating war in Vietnam and of
the ever-growing involvement of America
→ it was not just the matter of troops, but equipment also
→ South vs. North meant West vs. East
1
, The Sixties
• The beginning of operation “Rolling Thunder”
o All of this was made possible by Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964
▪ Refers to 2 military incidents that had supposedly taken place in the
summer of 1964 in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin between American
and Nord-Vietnamese torpedo vessels in August 1964
▪ These 2 incidents were reported to the American Congress and the
American Parliament decided that Lyndon Johnson (= vice-President of
Kennedy) was authorized “to take all necessary measures to repel any
armed attacks against the forces of the US and to prevent further
aggression”
• Students in America
o Were the first ones to question the war
o Teach-In = protest movements of students on college campuses where they
rallied against the war
o April 1965: students organized the first march on Washington
▪ Organized by the SDS (students for Democratic Society)
▪ +- 15 000 – 25 000 people showed up
• January 1968: The Tet Offensive
o = massive attack by the Vietcong (= troops of North-Vietnam = enemies) on
South-Vietnamese cities and villages
o 85 000 North-Vietnamese troops
o Started this attack within the war on January 31 → why: beginning of the new
Lunar Year
o Meaning of “Tet Offensive” = offensive that started at the beginning of the
new Lunar Year
o The North lost closed to 60 000 troops in 3 months time
o definitely a turning point: people were thinking if it all was worth (polarized
public opinion)
2
