Consciousness Revolution

The Consciousness Revolution was a period of American history according to Strauss and Howe in their books Generations and Fourth Turning. They put the years of the Consciousness Revolution as 1964 to 1984. Under Strauss & Howe's system, the era before the Consciousness Revolution was the American High; the era that follows it is the Culture Wars era. The term revolution here is a misnomer as what was actually happening was not a crisis (in which a real revolution is more likely to occur), but a spiritual awakening.

The Consciousness Revolution began with urban riots and campus fury and swelled alongside Vietnam War protests and a rebellious counterculture. It gave rise to feminist, environmental, and black power movements and to a steep rise in violent crime and family breakup. After the fury peaked with Watergate in 1974, passions turned inward toward New Age lifestyles and spiritual rebirth. The mood expired during Ronald Reagan's Presidential re-election campaign in 1984 as one-time hippies reached their yuppie chrysalis.

Age Location in History:

• The G.I. Generation was entering elderhood. As institution-founders and the "status quo", and they found themselves on the defensive side of the generation gap.
• The Silent Generation was entering midlife. They were thirtysomething when the slogan "Don't trust anyone over thirty" was popular.
• The Baby boomers were entering young adulthood. They were the hippie masses that made Woodstock so idyllic.
• Generation X was being born. Already, they were looking at the adult world as a source of mass confusion and were starting to be criticized as "bad". The criticism has moved up the age ladder with them.