Mackenzie, Calvin and Weisbrot, Robert. The Liberal Hour: Washington and the Politics of Change in the 1960’s. New York: Penguin Press, 2008. 432 pp
In The Liberal Hour, Calvin Mackenzie and Robert Weisbrot portray the 1960s as a decade of Liberal change. In the first part of Liberal Hour, Mackenzie and Weisbrot provide an analysis of the changes which took place within the political and social constructs of the United States. Firstly, Mackenzie and Weisbrot stray from the popular view that this transformation was conducted entirely on the shoulders of Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. They argue that in addition to presidential support by both men, the reform movements of the 1960s were bolstered by a shift in congressional structure. …show more content…
Earl Warren was another individual that impacted the shaping of America policies. The Warren Court altered the balance of power in America; it gave opportunities to blacks, women, the poor, atheists, and others who had previously been excluded from meaningful participation in American society. The Warren Court was so liberal; it opened up tremendous criticism from the right, and allowed the right to move into opposition against the liberalism of the decade. In addition, the ire of foreign nations who began to expose “the land of the free” as little more than hypocrisy. Furthermore, Americans began looking to the national government to solve problems which they previously believed were local and state concerns such as race, the poor, the elderly, poverty, pollution, and …show more content…
For the authors, the 1960s were a period of rapid social change enabled by legal change. The authors argue that the Liberal Hour like other liberal periods are unable to continue indefinitely and are enabled by the events leading up to the period. As part of their argument, they contend that the origin or prenatal stages of the Liberal Hour was in the 1950s, thus enabling the 1960s to be the Liberal Hour. The authors’ also highlight the vast changes and programs that took place. Some of the programs proved successful while others proved to be poorly thought out and financially wasteful. Ultimately, the authors argue that the fiscal costs of the both the Liberal Hour’s social efforts and the Vietnam War began to weigh too heavily on a new middle class who resisted the financial costs for programs where they received little to no benefit. While short lived the authors contend that the Liberal Hour had a lasting impact on the United States. As an example, they sight how “big government” is now the norm. “Government transformed American life in the 1960s and politicians led the change. Great struggles took place between the agents of change and forces of