If you had to choose a characterization of the social rebellion and
struggles for civil rights in the sixties and seventies in the US, one
option would be "peaceful," since although there were indeed some
violent protests, most of them were remarkably non-violent--as those
pursued by people like Martin Luther King Jr.
<span>Civil rights activism was the catalyst for a heightened interest in social causes during the sixties, especially among the young. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) launched the New Left. Other prominent causes of the era included the anti-war movement, the women's liberation movement, Native American rights. Hispanic rights, and gay rights. By 1970 a counterculture had emerged, featuring young people who used mind-altering drugs, lived on rural communes, and in other ways "dropped out" of the conventional world, which they viewed as corrupt.</span>
