The Long Sixties

The Long Sixties is a concise and engaging treatment of the major political, social, and cultural developments of this tumultuous period.

• A comprehensive yet concise overview that offers coverage of a variety of topics, from the beginnings of the Cold War shortly after World War II, through the civil rights, women's, and Chicano civil rights movements, to Watergate, an event that transpired in 1974 but capped the "Long Sixties."
• A detached and unprejudiced look at this turbulent decade, that is both lively and revelatory
• Timelines are included to help students understand how particular episodes transpired in quick succession, and how topics intertwined and overlapped
• Nicely complemented by Brian Ward's The 1960s: A Documentary Reader (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), The Long Sixties book matches the documentary reader chapter-by-chapter in theme and periodization

Preface: The Long Sixties vi

Acknowledgments xi

1 The Fifties: Tranquility in Turmoil 1

2 From New Frontier to Great Society 18

3 The Cold War 30

4 The Civil Rights Movement 45

5 The Student Rebellion 63

6 The Vietnam Quagmire 77

7 Sex, Gender, and the New Feminism 93

8 Revolutions Left and Right 109

9 Small Steps, Giant Leaps, New Concerns 131

10 Minority Empowerment: From Margin to Mainstream 146

11 Sucking in the Seventies (or, That 70s Chapter) 162

12 Legacies 177

Index 199

Christopher Strain is Professor of History & American Studies at the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University. He is the author of Pure Fire: Self-Defense as Activism in the Civil Rights Era (2005), Burning Faith: Church Arson in the American South (2008), and Reload: Rethinking Violence in American Life (2010).

The 1960s, a turbulent time of great change and confusion, one marked by a profound shift in values and punctuated by a profane and often ugly war, was more than just the period defined by the decade. For some it was a time of great liberation and freedom; for others it was the time during which the United States lost its way. Attempting to explain that paradox, The Long Sixties: America, 1954-1973 is a narrative history providing a concise overview of this momentous time. The text encourages readers to reconsider what they think they know about the 1960s en route to developing a deeper understanding of the many, in some cases fundamental, changes that took place in American life.

The Long Sixties provides an accessible and engaging treatment of the major political, social, and cultural developments of the period. The text includes timelines to help students understand how particular episodes transpired in quick succession, and how topics intertwined and overlapped. Ideal as a stand-alone text, it also complements The 1960s: A Documentary Reader (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), providing narrative context and support for the primary documents provided in the sourcebook.