A 21st-century reader of Mary Jane might have trouble understanding the extreme reaction of the Dillard parents to their daughter’s involvement with the Cones and their house guests. To appreciate the controversy, an exploration of American counterculture may be helpful. The counterculture movement began in the mid-1960s and continued through the early 1970s. Today, its ideology is so interwoven with mainstream American thought that we fail to recognize the radical revolution that the counterculture represented during the years when it first emerged.

After World War II ended, American soldiers married and fled to the suburbs to raise their families. The attempt to reestablish normality resulted in an overwhelming emphasis on upholding the status quo. The children of these soldiers, baby boomers, were coming of age during the 1960s when several different influences converged to make them question the values of their parents.

The mid and late 1960s represented a period of turmoil during which the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum, as did the call for women’s liberation. At the same time, the country had become involved in an unpopular war in Vietnam that sparked national protests. Simultaneously, students on college campuses became more politically active in liberal causes than previous generations and insisted on their right to free speech.