Category Archives: Week 10: Youth and Anti-War Movement

During the Vietnam War there was a class divide in America. Historian Penny Lewis argues that the split over Vietnam during the late 1960s and early 1970s between “elite doves” which were liberal elites and “reactionary hardhats” who were working class republicans who described themselves as ordinary people, mainly family men and veterans, who hadContinue reading “Week 10 Post”

The creation and “divide” of the reactionary hardhats and elite doves during the 60s and 70s was more of a misunderstanding and exaggeration of what it actually was. The elite doves were the groups of people opposed to war and pro-peace, most of whom were college educated and non-veterans. The hardhats were mainly white, working-classContinue reading “week 10”

During the 1960s and 1970s, there was a divide in the country amongst the differing classes that America had. These two divisions were mainly the republicans and democrats and their stances on war. This divide was so polarizing that hundreds of thousands people protested. One of the most famous protests being the one conducted atContinue reading “Divide in America”

In “Hardhats Versus Elites Doves,” Lewis describes the popular stereotypes of working-class “hardhats” and elite “doves” during the 1970s. Major American institutions such as political parties, the media, labor unions, and social movements played into these stereotypes that divided the American public into two camps. The “hardhats” were characterized as working-class individuals who were reactionary,Continue reading “War at Home: Hardhats v. Doves”

Historian Penny Lewis argues that the split over Vietnam during the late 1960s and early 1970s between “elite doves” and “reactionary hardhats” was more a stereotype than a reality. In other words, the idea that the anti-war movement was dominated by wealthy, privileged elites, and opposed by the working-class was not entirely accurate. Despite this,Continue reading “Week 10”

George Wallace and Richard Nixon tapped into the stereotype of Vietnam for political advantage by establishing an “us vs. them” mentality to solidify the Republican party and gain their own political support. During the late 60s and 70s the split between “elite doves’ ‘ and “reactionary hardhats’ ‘seemed to grow immensely as it was popularizedContinue reading “Anti-War Effect”

As Historian Penny Lewis argues, the class war that occurred due to the polarized opinions of the Vietnam War was really based on stereotypes, not reality. These stereotypes were created in large part by the media and the “blue collar backlash” was actually a quite selective interpretation of the opinions of the working class atContinue reading “Who are the “hardhats” really?”

Before we can discuss the stereotype vs reality of “elite doves” and “reactionary hardhats”, we must know the difference between the two. Elite Doves were those who were against the war and made their opinion publically known. They are opposed to military use to diffuse a dispute. Most commonly, these elite doves were college-age studentsContinue reading “Political Side of Vietnam”

In her book “Hardhats, Hippies, and Hawks,” Historian Penny Lewis argues that the split over the Vietnam War between “elite doves” and “reactionary hardhats” was more of a stereotype than a reality. She supports this argument by pointing out that the anti-war movement was diverse and included a wide range of individuals from different backgrounds,Continue reading “The “elite doves” VS the “reactionary hardhats””

“Hardhats vs Elite Doves” is a book written by Penny Lewis that analyzes the dynamics of the labor movement in New York City during the 1960s and 1970s. The book focuses on two major factions within the labor movement: the hardhats and the elite doves. The Hardhats consisted of working class white men that wereContinue reading “The war at home”