Summer of '69
"We'd live the life we choose, we'd fight and never lose
'Cause we were young, and sure to have our way!"
Those Were the Days
It was the last summer of the Sixties, and although nothing seemed quite right, everything seemed possible. Some aspects of American life were ending, others were at their peak and about to turn downward, and some were just beginning.
Nineteen Sixty Nine was the End of:
The Kennedy Era: The Sixties began with John F Kennedy running for President, and ended with his brother Edward driving off a bridge at Chappaquiddick Island. In between, John Kennedy became President and got killed, and Robert Kennedy became Attorney General of the US, then was elected US Senator from New York, ran for President, and also got killed. After 1968 the magic was gone; when Edward sought the Democratic nomination for President in 1980 he got nowhere.
Assassinations: Besides the two Kennedys, Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers, George Lincoln Rockwell and Malcolm X were shot to death during the Sixties. Subsequent attempts to kill Gerald Ford (two in 1975), Ronald Reagan (1981) and George Wallace (1972) all failed.
Urban Riots: Black mobs looted and burned major parts of Los Angeles, Chicago, Newark, Detroit, Cleveland, Washington, DC and other cities during that violent decade. After 1969 there was not another major riot in America until the Rodney King rampage in LA in 1993.
SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) broke up at the June, 1969, national convention in Chicago. (1) The most violent members regrouped as the Weathermen, which turned to bombing public buildings. Without SDS to keep the pot boiling, campus demonstrations and disruptions petered out. (2) Within the next year the Save the Earth Movement replaced the Peace Movement in the hearts of college activists.
Some things peaked in 1969, then declined:
Vietnam War: Both the number of American soldiers in Vietnam (January) and the number of people protesting the War (November) peaked in 1969.
The Hippie Fad, characterized by indulgence in sex, drugs and rock music maxed-out at the Woodstock Music Festival near Bethel, New York in mid August. The audience of nearly 500,000 was the largest for any live performance in the history of the world up to that time.
After 1969, hard-core drug enthusiasts turned from marijuana and LSD to cocaine, heroin and amphetamines, and the consequences of the drug-culture are still with us today. There were more big outdoor concerts after Woodstock, but the youthful spontaneity gave way to commercialism.
Men in Space: The walk on the moon in the Summer of 1969 was a watershed moment in human history. The sense that anything is possible in America was captured in the phrase "If we can land men on the moon, then why can't we (cure cancer, prevent crime, get along, learn calculus, etc., etc.?)"
Nineteen Sixty Nine was the start of:
The Nixon Administration. After seeking the presidency (off and on ) for almost ten years, Richard Nixon was sworn into the office on January 20, 1969. Although he won on a promise to restore "law and order" in America, far more officials of his Administration (including the Vice President and Attorney General) were convicted of crimes than in all previous presidencies combined.
Personal Notes: On April 4, 1969, I garnered over 47 percent of the citywide vote in a bid to unseat Milwaukee School Director Russell Darrow. (3) On October 15, our first son (4) Meir Naftali was born.
I consider that year among the best of my life; when it comes to reliving the past, '69 me anytime.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) I was there, but in the visitor's gallery.
(2) The killings of four students at Kent State University in May, 1970, by the Ohio National Guard, and the bombing death of a graduate student at UW-Madison on August 24 of that year were other factors in the decline in radical activities on campus after 1969.
(3) My opponent's son, car dealer Russ Darrow, Jr, lost a bid for the Republican nomination for US Senator from Wisconsin in 2004.
(4) We had two daughters at that time, and another son was born to us in 1973.
'Cause we were young, and sure to have our way!"
Those Were the Days
It was the last summer of the Sixties, and although nothing seemed quite right, everything seemed possible. Some aspects of American life were ending, others were at their peak and about to turn downward, and some were just beginning.
Nineteen Sixty Nine was the End of:
The Kennedy Era: The Sixties began with John F Kennedy running for President, and ended with his brother Edward driving off a bridge at Chappaquiddick Island. In between, John Kennedy became President and got killed, and Robert Kennedy became Attorney General of the US, then was elected US Senator from New York, ran for President, and also got killed. After 1968 the magic was gone; when Edward sought the Democratic nomination for President in 1980 he got nowhere.
Assassinations: Besides the two Kennedys, Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers, George Lincoln Rockwell and Malcolm X were shot to death during the Sixties. Subsequent attempts to kill Gerald Ford (two in 1975), Ronald Reagan (1981) and George Wallace (1972) all failed.
Urban Riots: Black mobs looted and burned major parts of Los Angeles, Chicago, Newark, Detroit, Cleveland, Washington, DC and other cities during that violent decade. After 1969 there was not another major riot in America until the Rodney King rampage in LA in 1993.
SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) broke up at the June, 1969, national convention in Chicago. (1) The most violent members regrouped as the Weathermen, which turned to bombing public buildings. Without SDS to keep the pot boiling, campus demonstrations and disruptions petered out. (2) Within the next year the Save the Earth Movement replaced the Peace Movement in the hearts of college activists.
Some things peaked in 1969, then declined:
Vietnam War: Both the number of American soldiers in Vietnam (January) and the number of people protesting the War (November) peaked in 1969.
The Hippie Fad, characterized by indulgence in sex, drugs and rock music maxed-out at the Woodstock Music Festival near Bethel, New York in mid August. The audience of nearly 500,000 was the largest for any live performance in the history of the world up to that time.
After 1969, hard-core drug enthusiasts turned from marijuana and LSD to cocaine, heroin and amphetamines, and the consequences of the drug-culture are still with us today. There were more big outdoor concerts after Woodstock, but the youthful spontaneity gave way to commercialism.
Men in Space: The walk on the moon in the Summer of 1969 was a watershed moment in human history. The sense that anything is possible in America was captured in the phrase "If we can land men on the moon, then why can't we (cure cancer, prevent crime, get along, learn calculus, etc., etc.?)"
Nineteen Sixty Nine was the start of:
The Nixon Administration. After seeking the presidency (off and on ) for almost ten years, Richard Nixon was sworn into the office on January 20, 1969. Although he won on a promise to restore "law and order" in America, far more officials of his Administration (including the Vice President and Attorney General) were convicted of crimes than in all previous presidencies combined.
Personal Notes: On April 4, 1969, I garnered over 47 percent of the citywide vote in a bid to unseat Milwaukee School Director Russell Darrow. (3) On October 15, our first son (4) Meir Naftali was born.
I consider that year among the best of my life; when it comes to reliving the past, '69 me anytime.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) I was there, but in the visitor's gallery.
(2) The killings of four students at Kent State University in May, 1970, by the Ohio National Guard, and the bombing death of a graduate student at UW-Madison on August 24 of that year were other factors in the decline in radical activities on campus after 1969.
(3) My opponent's son, car dealer Russ Darrow, Jr, lost a bid for the Republican nomination for US Senator from Wisconsin in 2004.
(4) We had two daughters at that time, and another son was born to us in 1973.
Labels: "1969"
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 10:31 AM
1 Comments:
Correction:
Re: "The Hippie Fad, characterized by indulgence in sex, drugs and rock music maxed-out at the Woodstock Music Festival near Bethpage, New York in July. The audience of more than 200,000 was the largest for any live performance in the history of the world. That record stands today."
Woodstock was attended by an estimated 500,000. That was a record but not only does it not stand today, it only lasted for four years. In 1973, an estimated
600,000 (including your humble commentor) attended the Watkins Glen Summer Jam. I was also part of the estimated 800,000 who broke that record in 1981, at the Simon and Garfunkel concert in Central Park.
I'm fairly confident that there have been larger audiences since, though I do not remember the details.
Post a Comment
<< Home