Deadheads and Reagan's America in the 1980s

Who are the Deadheads and how did their lifestyle contrast with the conservative values promoted by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s?

Know (knowledge):

• The Deadhead community and their subculture of fandom for the Grateful Dead
• President Ronald Reagan’s historic election victory in 1980
• The similarities and differences between the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia and President Ronald Reagan
• President Ronald Reagan’s particular set of promoted “family values” and whether those values can also be practiced by alternative communities like the Deadheads

Mastery Objective:

• Students will be able to compare the Deadhead lifestyle and culture with concurrent conservative American values promoted by President Ronald Reagan by examining footage from the film Long Strange Trip, maps, and historical artifacts.

During their thirty year career releasing recordings and performing concerts around the world, the Grateful Dead established a legion of fans. Within this fanbase are the Deadheads, a unique group defined by their demonstrative passion for and connection to the band’s recorded music and live performances - a devotion surpassing that of the casual Grateful Dead listener and concertgoer. For example, Deadheads often took to the road, indulging in a nomadic pilgrimage that found them following the band on tour and attending numerous shows per year. Over time, Deadheads became fixtures of the Grateful Dead concert experience, spawning a dynamic community that became omnipresent at each tour stop.

Beyond their role in the Grateful Dead rolling roadshow, the wandering Deadhead community is often associated with ideals and traditions developed in the 1950s and 1960s counterculture movement - a whimsical outlook on life often defined by a rejection of established American social norms. Even in the 1980s, an era defined by the conservatism of President Ronald Reagan, the Grateful Dead saw a surge in popularity as a new generation of fans began to attend the band’s shows and model the nomadic Deadhead journey. This uptick in the band’s popularity provided a unique contrast between these two American cultural experiences.

Ronald Reagan’s landslide election victory in the 1980 United States presidential campaign represented a shift in American politics and society. A former governor of California, Reagan and his conservative allies celebrated the post-war conservatism of 1950s America and emphasized a return to traditionalism, presenting a nostalgic view of America before the tumult of the 1960s and 1970s. As Grateful Dead publicist Dennis McNally states in Long Strange Trip, “Ronald Reagan is president in the 80s and the great reaction had begun - the reaction against the 60s.”

President Reagan’s successful campaign was designed to appeal to discouraged voters around the country and part of his methodology was denigrating 1960s counterculture, and its associated communities. As McNally states in Long Strange Trip, “Ronald Reagan ran as governor and president against the 1960s. And it worked.” Reagan promoted a particular American lifestyle, and he juxtaposed and praised his version over that of alternative lifestyles like those practiced by the Deadheads.

In this lesson, students will examine how the Deadhead lifestyle contrasts with the conservative version promoted by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s by analyzing clips from Long Strange Trip as well as historical documents, images, and videos.