Overview of the 1960's
Overview of the 1960’s The 1960’s were a time of change. An estimated seventy million children from the post-war baby boom became teenagers. They all demanded new ways of life and changes. They wanted to move away from the conservative fifties. The changes affected everything from entertainment to laws. There were many important events that happened in this decade that affects our lives today. In 1960 the first televised presidential debate was aired. It was between John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Richard Nixon. Kennedy was inaugurated on January 20, 1961. That is when he made his famous speech “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country“. He was the 35th president of the United States. He was also the youngest president ever elected into office. With Kennedy in office people stepped out and said how they felt. Kennedy was one of the most remembered presidents. He did many things within his short time of presidency. He created the Peace Corps in 1961. He stopped the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. He strengthened Civil rights all throughout his time of presidency. Sadly though, in 1963 Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. Lyndon B. Johnson took over the presidency. Not many people liked Johnson as a president during the war. They thought he was to blame for the war and the racial unrest in the country. One of the biggest issues of the 60’s was the Vietnam War. America decided it should fight for South Vietnam since the North Vietnam, or DRV, was trying to take over the South. In 1961, President Kennedy sent people to report the conditions. A reporter known as the “December 1961 White Paper” argued for more economic and military aid. The war was highly secret up until 1965 when massive troops were built up to end it. They started the draft and many men fled to Canada to avoid it. In 1968 the Americans were war weary. In late January the DRV and the NFL (National Liberation Front) began to attack some major cities in South Vietnam. President Johnson went to the bargaining table to end the war and announced that he would not run for presidency again. Robert Kennedy, John Kennedy’s brother, ran for presidency and he too was assassinated. Another important character of the 60’s decade was Martin Luther King, Jr. He is one of the worlds best known advocates of non-violent social change strategies. He made people believe that they could make a difference. He joined sit-ins with African American students fighting to gain more freedom. He wrote the famous speech “I Have a Dream” and addressed it to 250, 000 protestors. He was Time magazines Man of the Year in 1964. He also won the Nobel Peace Prize in December of 1964. Despite many hardships such as his disputes with Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael, King was always committed to the use of non-violent techniques.