Youth Culture and Anti-Vietnam War Riots (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
Youth Culture and Anti-Vietnam War Riots
Youth culture in the 1960s
The emergence of a distinct youth culture in the 1960s resulted from several converging factors. Rising living standards, expanding educational opportunities, and increased leisure time produced a younger generation more willing to challenge established norms and assert their autonomy. This generation clashed with their parents over fashion choices, musical preferences, and moral values, whilst questioning traditional attitudes towards sex and drugs.
The extent of teenage rebellion
Although concerns about teenage behaviour intensified during this period, the scale of teenage promiscuity and drug-taking remained proportionate. A 1969 survey revealed that young people spent more time listening to music in their bedrooms than attending youth clubs or rock festivals. Alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine remained more popular than illegal substances.
Despite widespread fears about teenage rebellion, the reality was more moderate than commonly perceived. Most young people engaged in relatively mild forms of rebellion through fashion and music rather than extreme behaviour.
Teenage boys demonstrated their rebellious tendencies by growing their hair long (avoiding the short back and sides of National Service-era military cuts), whilst girls horrified their mothers by wearing miniskirts.
Fashion and music as identity markers
Fashion and music became the primary markers of youth identity during the 1960s. London emerged as a global centre for fashion, where traditional dress codes collapsed. The same outfit became acceptable for both work and evening wear. Women began wearing trousers, men adopted velvet and brightly coloured fabrics, and as the decade advanced, these trends became increasingly extreme. These changing fashions helped override, or at least mask, longstanding social divisions between genders and classes.
Young people accessed popular music through pirate radio stations or, from 1967, through BBC Radio One. Television responded to demand with programmes such as Ready Steady Go! (ITV, 1963) and Top of the Pops (BBC, 1964), which disseminated the latest trends in music, dance, jargon, attitude, and dress. New technology, particularly cheap plastic record players and affordable records, democratised music consumption.
The Role of Media in Youth Culture
The spread of youth culture was heavily dependent on new media technologies. Pirate radio stations broke the BBC's monopoly on broadcasting, whilst television programmes like Top of the Pops created a visual culture around music that had never existed before. This media revolution meant that fashion and music trends could spread across the country almost instantly.
Youth subcultures
Distinct youth subcultures emerged by the late 1960s:
Skinheads evolved from the mod movement. They were characterised by shaven heads, braces, and Dr Marten boots. Meanwhile, hippies rejected social convention and Establishment attitudes. They embraced 'flower power', which originated in America, and favoured alternative lifestyles emphasising environmentalism, free love, and peace.
Anti-Vietnam War riots
Youth culture merged with political activism in opposition to the controversial Vietnam War during the late 1960s. US involvement had expanded substantially after 1964 as America attempted to prevent communist control of the non-communist south. Graphic imagery and film footage increased opposition domestically and internationally.
Teach-ins and the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign
In summer 1965, teach-ins on Vietnam took place at Oxford University and the London School of Economics (LSE). The Vietnam Solidarity Campaign (VSC) was established in 1966, gaining considerable support among university students.
The Power of University Activism
The teach-ins and formation of the VSC demonstrated how universities became centres of political activism. These institutions provided spaces where students could organise, debate, and mobilise opposition to government policy, marking a significant shift in the role of higher education in British politics.
Major demonstrations in 1968
On 17 March 1968, violent scenes erupted at an anti-Vietnam War demonstration in London, near the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square. On 28 March, an even more violent protest, known as the Battle of Grosvenor Square, resulted in over 200 arrests. The final demonstration in October 1968, which attracted 30,000 participants, proved relatively peaceful.
The Battle of Grosvenor Square (28 March 1968)
This demonstration represented the peak of anti-Vietnam War violence in Britain:
- Thousands of protesters marched to the American Embassy
- Violent clashes erupted between protesters and police
- Over 200 arrests were made
- The event shocked the British public and government
- Despite the violence, it demonstrated the strength of anti-war feeling among young people
The contrast between this violent protest and the peaceful October demonstration (with 30,000 participants) showed how the movement evolved towards more organised, non-violent protest.
Wider student protests
1968 witnessed numerous other anti-war protests, often combined with demands for greater student power across various universities:
- At Sussex, a speaker on the Vietnam War was covered in red paint
- At Essex, two Conservative MPs were physically attacked
- The Labour Secretary of State for Education and Science was shouted down in Manchester
- Denis Healey, the Labour Defence Secretary, nearly had his car overturned by Cambridge students
The variety of protest tactics employed by students in 1968 showed both the breadth and intensity of political activism. Universities across Britain became sites of confrontation, with students targeting politicians from both major parties who supported government policy on Vietnam or resisted calls for educational reform.
Key Points to Remember:
- Rising living standards, education, and leisure time created a questioning youth generation in the 1960s, though the extent of rebellion (particularly regarding drugs and promiscuity) remained proportionate.
- Fashion and music became the primary identity markers for young people, with London emerging as a global fashion centre and new media (pirate radio, BBC Radio One, TV programmes) spreading youth culture.
- Distinct subcultures emerged, including skinheads (who evolved from mods) and hippies (who embraced 'flower power', environmentalism, and peace).
- Political activism merged with youth culture in opposition to the Vietnam War, beginning with teach-ins at Oxford and LSE in 1965 and the formation of the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign in 1966.
- 1968 saw major anti-war demonstrations at Grosvenor Square in March (including the Battle of Grosvenor Square with 200 arrests) and October (30,000 participants), alongside protests at multiple universities targeting politicians and demanding student power.