America Divided The Civil War of the 1960s

by Isserman, Maurice; Kazin, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780195091915
• ISBN10: 0195091914
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-03-30
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The definitive interpretive survey of the political, social, and culturalhistory of 1960s america, Like A Civil War is written by two of the top expertson the era-- Maurice Isserman, a scholar of the Left, and Michael Kazom, aspecialist in Right-wing politics and culture. Arguing that the period markedthe end of the country's two-century-long ascent toward widespread affluence,domestic consensus, and international hegemony, the authors take readers on atour of the turbulent decade, exploring what did and did not change in the1960s, and why American culture and politics have never been the same since.Considering the factors which led up to the sixties, and issues such as thechanging mind and condition of black America, the heyday and limitations ofliberalism, youth culture, Vietnam, the New Left, the conservative revivial,Nixon, and the search for spirituality, Like a Civil War, explains what made the1960s a decade in which people felt they could 'make history' and why, in thefollowing decades, the history that was made has been so troubling to Americans.Also shedding some much-needed light on the era's often overlooked rise of theNew Right and its far-reaching implications, Like A Civil War is an exciting andeducational narrative for students of American history and general readersalike.

Author Biography

Maurice Isserman is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of History at Hamilton College.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction	1	(6)
Gathering of the Forces	7	(16)
Black Ordeal, Black Freedom	23	(24)
The New Frontier of American Liberalism	47	(20)
Why Did the United States Fight in Vietnam?	67	(16)
1963	83	(20)
The Rise of the Great Society	103	(24)
1965	127	(20)
The Making of a Youth Culture	147	(18)
The New Left	165	(22)
The Fall of the Great Society	187	(18)
The Conservative Revival	205	(16)
1968	221	(20)
Many Faiths: The '60s Reformation	241	(20)
No Cease-Fire: 1969--1974	261	(32)
Conclusion: Winners and Losers	293	(8)
Critical Events During the Long 1960s	301	(8)
Bibliographical Essay	309	(6)
Notes	315	(30)
Index	345