The Activist 1960s: Striving for Political and Social Empowerment in America

Throughout the Long Sixties, which spanned much of the conservative 1950s and continued into the 1970s, progressive activists sought to change American policy both foreign and domestic. Beginning with a civil rights crusade that later expanded to a campaign against the Vietnam War, the movement eventually splintered into a series of focuses: racial, ethnic, demographic, political, cultural, gender-based and environmental. This work details activists' determined efforts to ensure basic rights through fostering widespread civic engagement. Chapters demonstrate how the various campaigns within the movement were all successful to some extent, but none brought about the total revolution that many activists desired. Nonetheless, they contributed to a more open, egalitarian, participatory and emancipated nation that is still being shaped today.