ABSTRACT
Knocked on their heels by the 1960s insurgencies, ruling groups fought back. Because of the strength in society and in the streets of the insurgent groups, those who resisted the insurgents' demands and vision could not launch a frontal assault. Crime as a national political issue dates from this period as conservative elites attempted to quash domestic insurgencies. The battle over crime and the battle of the social insurgencies against the right-wing counterattack gave fundamental shape to the 1960s. The 1960s saw great social and political turmoil worldwide. The civil rights, antiwar, black power, and women's liberation movements rocked the United States from top to bottom. Goldwater is commonly credited with being to characterize the widespread and growing social protest of the 1960s as no better than street crime. The 1960s insurgencies prevented the crime issue from becoming the number one domestic problem. The conflation of protest and crime never even came close to a widespread sentiment.
