1960s essay introduction

The s was a decade of events. Just like any other decade, it had its bright side and the dark side. It was referred to as the cultural decade. It was a decade marked by many changes especially in the social and the political arenas. The cultural decade does not however talk about the ten years of the s as it did extend a bit to the year Ti is during this decade that there were significant changes and reforms in the social aspects.

1960's Essay

The s was a decade of hope, change, dissatisfaction, and war, that witnessed many important shifts in American culture. The s was a decade of hope, change, and war that witnessed an important shift in American culture.

Citizens from all walks of life sought to expand the meaning of the American promise. Their efforts helped unravel the national consensus, and laid bare a far more fragmented society. As a result, people from a wide range of ethnic groups attempted to reform American society to make it more equitable.

While Congress played a role by passing the Civil Rights Act of , the Voting Rights Act of , and the Civil Rights Act of , the actions of civil rights groups were instrumental in forging new paths, pioneering new techniques and strategies, and achieving breakthrough successes. Civil rights activists engaged in sit-ins, freedom rides, and protest marches, and registered African American voters. Many African Americans in the mid- to late s adopted the ideology of Black Power, which promoted their work within their own communities to redress problems without the aid of whites.

Although the African American Civil Rights Movement was the most prominent of the crusades for racial justice, other ethnic minorities also worked to seize their piece of the American dream during the promising years of the s.

Many were influenced by the African American cause and often used similar tactics. By the s, a generation of white Americans raised in prosperity, and steeped in the culture of conformity of the s, had come of age. However, many of these baby boomers those born between and rejected the conformity and luxuries that their parents had provided. These young, middle-class Americans, especially those fortunate enough to attend college when many of their working-class and African American contemporaries were being sent to Vietnam, began to organize to fight for their own rights and end the war that was claiming the lives of so many.

As groups like the Students for a Democratic Society SDS and the National Organization of Women NOW asserted their rights and strove for equality for themselves and others, they upended many accepted norms and set groundbreaking social and legal changes in motion. Many of their successes continue to be felt today, while other goals remain unfulfilled.

American Indians, LGBTQ people, and women organized to change discriminatory laws and pursue government support for their rights; others, disenchanted with the status quo, distanced themselves from white, middle-class America by forming their own countercultures centered on a desire for peace, the rejection of material goods and traditional morality, concern for the environment, and drug use in pursuit of spiritual revelations.

These groups, whose aims and tactics posed a challenge to the existing state of affairs, often met with hostility from individuals, local officials, and the U. Still, they persisted, determined to further their goals and secure for themselves the rights and privileges to which they were entitled as American citizens.

The United States became more embroiled in international politics in the s, striving to prevent the spread of communism and maintain its position as a world superpower. Its increasing support for the Vietnam War also led to a steady rise in dissatisfaction and active protest at home, especially from student-led groups around the country.

His social programs, investments in education, support for the arts, and commitment to civil rights changed the lives of countless people and transformed society in many ways. Kennedy, made it dramatically clear that not all Americans shared this vision of a more inclusive democracy. Privacy Policy. Skip to main content. The Sixties: — Search for:. Conclusion: Change in the s.

Conclusion: Change in the s The s was a decade of hope, change, dissatisfaction, and war, that witnessed many important shifts in American culture. Learning Objectives Summarize the major initiatives and movements of the s.

Key Takeaways Key Points The s saw the unraveling of the dominant national consensus and laid bare a far more fragmented society, as various groups resisted the status quo and fought for a more equitable society. The African American Civil Rights Movement made significant progress in the s, and the actions of grassroots activist groups were instrumental in pushing for change and new legislation.

As the U. Despite social justice progress on many fronts, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Johnson in , with the primary goal of eliminating poverty and racial injustice. Licenses and Attributions. CC licensed content, Shared previously.

Free Essay: Life During the 's The s was crammed full of many impacting events and important figures. From Hitchcock releasing one of the greatest. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and John and Robert Kennedy in the Modern Civil Rights Movement were the targets of assassin s bullets and taken from this.

The 's in the United States To some people the s were the best of times, to others it was a period where many things went wrong in society. Why do people have such different ideas about the s? This view however, has been challenged. Some think that the 60s have a misguided.

The 's were a time of great change in American society characterized by ethnic consciousness and civil rights, women's rights and female liberalism, anti-war demonstrations, student protests, and the genesis of the counterculture.

Music went through an immense evolution in. As the times change, so do the people. In the 's, people acted differently then compared to the people in the 's.

1960s essay intro

A few of these include movements centered around race, feminism, anti-war ideas, and counter culture. The most notable of these movements was the counter culture movement because it involves all the other topics within itself. The counter culture movement of the s contains the concerns of race, feminism, gay rights, and war all at once. This movement changed the identity of Americans through protests and the yearn for reform. Political protests during the counter culture movement caused the American ideal of politics to become refocused around equality and freedom, and nonviolence. The fear of communism was also immense in the political perspective.

The ‘50s and ‘60s: Decades of Prosperity and Protest (DBQ)

Historians tend to portray the s as a decade of prosperity, conformity, and consensus, and the s as a decade of turbulence, protest, and disillusionment. These stereotypes are largely true, though, as with everything in life, there are exceptions to this perspective. The s were characterized as a prosperous and conformist decade for many reasons. The first and most widespread of these reasons was the development of the suburbs. As masses of Southern blacks migrated northward to the big cities, more rich and middle-class families left to live in the suburbs to escape the crime, redlining, and blockbusting of the cities. By the end of , ninety percent of Americans owned a television, and nearly all owned a radio. Television and radio acted as tools for marketers to dictate the values of American society in order help sell their products. Notably, suburban shopping malls began to replace downtown shops during the s. Middle class white Americans became more sheltered in their sheltered suburban neighborhoods and did not see the poor blacks living in the cities.

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The s was a decade of hope, change, dissatisfaction, and war, that witnessed many important shifts in American culture. The s was a decade of hope, change, and war that witnessed an important shift in American culture. Citizens from all walks of life sought to expand the meaning of the American promise. Their efforts helped unravel the national consensus, and laid bare a far more fragmented society. As a result, people from a wide range of ethnic groups attempted to reform American society to make it more equitable. While Congress played a role by passing the Civil Rights Act of , the Voting Rights Act of , and the Civil Rights Act of , the actions of civil rights groups were instrumental in forging new paths, pioneering new techniques and strategies, and achieving breakthrough successes. Civil rights activists engaged in sit-ins, freedom rides, and protest marches, and registered African American voters. Many African Americans in the mid- to late s adopted the ideology of Black Power, which promoted their work within their own communities to redress problems without the aid of whites. Although the African American Civil Rights Movement was the most prominent of the crusades for racial justice, other ethnic minorities also worked to seize their piece of the American dream during the promising years of the s. Many were influenced by the African American cause and often used similar tactics.