policy - The Black Vault

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use that opportunity to build a new political majority of subgroups of the
population which were unsympa.hetic to the antiwar movement. Particularly
important to the Republican coalition were the blue-collar workers. It was
hoped that the South and the traditional Republican followings among the
middle and upper classes and the farmers would constitute, the new majority.
Thus, the blue-collar workers together with the blacks, youth, and
intellectuals became the center of political and social interest during the
Vietnam War years. This chapter examines the activities of the vocal
extremists of these groups and the social movements they represented.
purpose is to examine the relationship, if one exists, between the Vietnam
War and those movements,
Wrand to study the influenc to the e movements
execution of the Vietnam-related policies.
to examine the impact of the war on the movements,
The
had on the development and
B. SOCIAL CHANGE IN POST-WORLD WAR II AMERICA
The social and political turmoil of the i9GO's was in sharp contrast
to the relatively stable conditions of the 195C',
In the 1960's, the growing incidence of violencer and crime, thr.-
increase in racial tensions, the massive antiwar demonstrations, and
explosive development of ý youth counterculture,
ameng other things, led
many older Americans to question whether the nation was going to survive.
Post World War II American foreign and domestic policies were founded
in a consensus that had developed during the Great Depression and had
become fixed during the war years. Elements of that consensus were:
(1) belief that the federal government should take an active role in
balancing economic forces and (2) an acceptance that the United States had
to be active in world affairs to frustrate Soviet attempts at world domination.
These dual visions of the federal government at home and abroad
dictated a vast expansion of the powers and capabilities of the federal
government.
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