"Who and What Constituted America Was Up for Grabs in the 1960s"

"The New Left was the most significant force in terms of reshaping American culture. This 'loose configuration' of the antiwar, Black Power, feminist, and gay liberation movements may not have achieved their 'utopian political dreams' but they did manage to change hearts and minds, fostering skepticism about the government, drawing attention to deeply entrenched racism, and challenging conventional ideas about gender and sexuality. For many on the Right, this cultural shift was an 'abomination,' a loud and public denunciation of their most cherished values and beliefs. Hartman’s overarching argument is that the culture wars should be seen as a right-wing backlash against the '60s 'cultural revolution.'"


Jeffrey Aaron Snyder in The New Republic reviews Andrew Hartman's A War for the Soul of America: A History of the Culture Wars.


And Jacobin provides an excerpt.