Social Movements of the 1960s Social Movements and the Political System • Political Action in America is basically conservative
Rhetoric focuses action toward: o individuals, o institutions, or o broader cultures and social orders
American politics normally focuses action on individuals so there is no institutional change
Even in times of more dramatic political activity, the focus is on institutions
More dramatic forms of social change, therefore, must rely on non-governmental and non-institutional sources
Social movements are such a strategy
• American social change has been intensively linked with public voice
The founding discourse of the United States stresses the voice of people
In addition, the United States is a nation of new groups, most notably the immigrants but also nat