Sixties Essay, Research Paper
The Sixties were an extremely exciting and revolutionary time of great social
and
technological change. The changes throughout this era included:
assassination, unforgettable
fashions in clothing, new music styles, civil rights, gay and women?s
liberation, a controversial
war in Vietnam, the first man landing on the moon, peace marches, World
Fairs, flower power,
great TV and film and sexual freedom. Throughout the sixties you will find
many great
memories including: the Kennedy?s, the Space Program, Woodstock, Martin
Luther King?s
movements, and artists such as, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Peter,
Paul, and Mary,
The Doors, Led Zeppelin, The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, and the Stones.
The 35th president to the United States of America, was the youngest ever to
be elected.
John F. Kennedy held office between the years of 1961 and 1963. He was
assassinated before he
completed his third year as president, and the nation went into great morning
for the one of the
most popular presidents of all time. His achievements, in both foreign and
domestic affairs, were
therefore limited. Nevertheless, his influence was worldwide, his handling
during the Cuban
Missile Crisis may have very well prevented war. The youth of America admired
him, and
perhaps no other president was ever so well liked by the majority of the
population. Kennedy
brought with him to the presidency an awareness of cultural and historical
traditions of the U.S.
Because Kennedy?s time in office eloquently represented the values of the
20th century America,
his presidency had an importance beyond its legislative and political
achievements Hours after
Kennedy?s assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into office as the new
president of the
United States. Johnson served from 1963 to 1969. He was one of the most
masterful politicians
in the history of the Congress of the United States. He was not an innovator
of programs or
ideas, however he excelled in getting things done. In foreign affairs,
Johnson pursued the basic
postwar policy of containing Communism. Johnson also reflected many great
values of the era,
and was considered a well liked president.
The sixties was a time of enormous change in civil rights in the U. S. In the
early 1950’s,
racial segregation in public schools was the norm across America. Although
all schools in a
given district were suppose to be equal, most black schools were far inferior
to the white
counterparts. During 1951 and 1952, the Brown vs. Board of Education trial
took place. This
movement was for segregation in schools to be demolished. The Supreme Court?s
Brown vs.
Board of Education decision did not abolish segregation in other public
areas. It did however,
declare permissive and mandatory segregation that existed in 21 states
unconstitutional. It was a
giant step towards desegregation of public schools. Even partial
desegregation of these schools,
however, was still very far away, as would soon become apparent In 1955,
Montgomery had a
municipal law which required all black citizens to ride in the back of city
buses. On December
1st of that year, Rosa Parks, a forty-two year old seamstress, refused to
give her seat up for a
white passenger, and was therefore arrested for this act. Montgomery?s
black community saw
this incident as an opportunity to stage a protest against the city?s
segregation laws. Led by
Martin Luther King Jr, the ?father? of the civil rights movements, the
boycott of using city buses
lasted until 1956. In November of 1956, the Supreme Court declared
segregation on city buses
the civil rights
movement that spanned the 1960’s. The boycott was important because it caught
the attention of
the whole nation, and set the tone for the whole civil rights movement.
Martin Luther King Jr,
was given leadership within the national movement, and it also showed that
the nonviolent
method of protest was effective.
All throughout history, very few people can recall a period of time when the
United
States of America has not been at war or in conflict with another country.
One of the longest
spanning wars, was the Cold War, which consisted of political and economical
disagreements
after WWII between the United States and the former Soviet Union (USSR).
Before this time,
they had been allies and a direct military conflict had not occur between the
two superpowers.
However, many intense economic and diplomatic struggles did erupt. The
development of the
Cold War can be traced through several events in world history, the Berlin
Blockade, the
Marshall Plan, and also the Cuban Missile Crisis. The seeds for tensions
between these two
countries were planted before World War II, so an exact cause of the war is
difficult to pin point.
The Marshall plan was to help Europe rebuild itself, while the U. S. also
profited greatly. The
Soviet Union, however, wanted to give aid to Europe by instilling the
influence of communism.
Therefore the Soviet Union opposed the Marshall Plan. Thus the cold war
began. One of the
events that nearly ended the Cold War and began a nuclear war was the Cuban
Missile Crisis.
On October 16, 1962, President Kennedy was informed that missiles had been
found on Cuba.
This crisis, now gave the USSR the upper hand in negotiations and warfare.
The United States
then put a quarantine in action. At the time, the U.S. had nuclear missiles
sites in Turkey. The
United States and the Soviet Union agreed that Turkey and Cuba were to be
ridden of any
nuclear weapons, leading the Cold War one step further towards an end. The
Cold War was
probably one of the most important events in American History. This period of
time, helped
control and put a limitation on the nuclear power used by countries.
It started on the 8 August 1965 when American Troops stormed ashore at Da
Nang,
South of Vietnam, ready to fight the bloodiest war known to man.. The reason
was simple: there
was a communist threat and their [The US] job was to resist it. Both
presidents, Kennedy and
Johnson, took an active part in preparing and sending U. S. troops to
Vietnam. There were over
900,000 casualties in all. In many American?s eyes, the Vietnam war was
lost in many ways. Not
only did we fail in confining communism by the end of the war in 1975, but
also there were a
enormous amount of casualties. Vietnamese women, children, and whole cities
were demolished
without a thought during this war, and much of the disasters go un accounted
for.
The sixties were an era filled with peace, love and happiness for many
people. It was a
time of seeking new rights for many, and freedom for all of man kind.
Protesting became a
traditional hobby of the hippies of the 1960’s. Anti-war protests were also
common all
throughout this time period. Music also took a drastic change in the sixties,
and artists of this
time would never be forgotten in mind or spirit. All the changes that came
about due to the
sixties, shaped the world we live in today. Even the youth of the 90’s seems
to be nostalgic to the
sixties era, in clothing, music styles, freedom movements, and the push for
independence.