The 1960s
The 1960’s
The 1960’s were a time of radical change. It was a decade where people began to question authority, and time of confrontation. The decade's radicalism began with the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November of 1963. This event changed the country's idealistic views, and started an upheaval of civil rights movements. Baby boomers started a new perception, and formalized the act of resistance to war. There were also many of whom, turned violent and rebellious; in their effort to fight "the system." Pop culture flourished and Rock and Roll became the dominating genre of music. Music was what drove fashion, movies, art and television. In 1965, a protest song called "Eve of Destruction," sung by Barry McGuire, reached the top of the singles charts. Later on in 1966, a song by Army Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler called "The Ballad of the Green Berets," which celebrated military and patriotism, also reached the charts. This reflected the nation's division.
Towards the end of the decade, more and more Americans believed their political leaders and military had falsely convinced them that the Vietnam War was worth fighting and winnable. On January 31st the Vietnamese launched the Tet offensive. A series of surprise attacks on scores of cities and towns in Vietnam. The offensive implied that if victory was reachable, we were thousands of lives away. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4th while standing in the balcony of his motel room, right before he was to lead a protest march for garbage workers. Following his assassination, outraged by the murder, many blacks went out to the streets in riots. In 1969, in the midst of a growing rebellion, Richard Nixon was inaugurated as president. Yes, there was a rebellion, but looking at the other side of the divisions. Almost half a million Americans gathered for the Woodstock festival. A three day concert that they hoped promoted a new way of living through the
The 1960’s were a time of radical change. It was a decade where people began to question authority, and time of confrontation. The decade's radicalism began with the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November of 1963. This event changed the country's idealistic views, and started an upheaval of civil rights movements. Baby boomers started a new perception, and formalized the act of resistance to war. There were also many of whom, turned violent and rebellious; in their effort to fight "the system." Pop culture flourished and Rock and Roll became the dominating genre of music. Music was what drove fashion, movies, art and television. In 1965, a protest song called "Eve of Destruction," sung by Barry McGuire, reached the top of the singles charts. Later on in 1966, a song by Army Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler called "The Ballad of the Green Berets," which celebrated military and patriotism, also reached the charts. This reflected the nation's division.
Towards the end of the decade, more and more Americans believed their political leaders and military had falsely convinced them that the Vietnam War was worth fighting and winnable. On January 31st the Vietnamese launched the Tet offensive. A series of surprise attacks on scores of cities and towns in Vietnam. The offensive implied that if victory was reachable, we were thousands of lives away. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4th while standing in the balcony of his motel room, right before he was to lead a protest march for garbage workers. Following his assassination, outraged by the murder, many blacks went out to the streets in riots. In 1969, in the midst of a growing rebellion, Richard Nixon was inaugurated as president. Yes, there was a rebellion, but looking at the other side of the divisions. Almost half a million Americans gathered for the Woodstock festival. A three day concert that they hoped promoted a new way of living through the