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A Decade of Social Change
The inauguration of John F. Kennedy as President in 1960 ushered in an
era of idealism. This period, known as Camelot faded away with the
assassination of Kennedy in November, 1963. His successor, Lyndon
Johnson called his continuation of the social welfare movement "The
Great Society".
Under the hand of the President's brother, Robert, as Attorney
General, the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum. In 1964, school
segregation was abolished. Aggressive civil rights activist MalcolmX
was assassinated in 1965. Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968,
as was Robert Kennedy, during his own campaign for the U.S.
presidency.
The fear of nuclear conflict and tension of the Cold War peaked with
the Cuban Missile Crisis in October, 1962.
The Women's Movement began with the publication of the Feminine
Mystique, by Betty Friedan.
The British Invasion of 1964 was characterized by the The Beatles, The
Rolling Stones, and the miniskirt.
Growing opposition to the war in Vietnam sparked student protests at
the University of Michigan in 1965. The sentiment spread quickly to
campuses across the country, becoming a full-fledged anti-war movement
supported by students, celebrities, and eventually, the majority of a
disillusioned American public.
Flower power became the motto of the Hippie Movement, which spawned a
drug counterculture headlined by Timothy Leary. Use of the birth
control pill soared, launching the Sexual Revolution. These three
elements came together in the 1969 celebration of Woodstock.
Technology on the Move
Americans took to their cars. Before environmental activism and aided
by cheap gasoline, the American love affair with the automobile
blossomed into near-worship of size, speed and horsepower. Craig
Breedlove topped 600 miles per hour driving The Spirit of America in
1965.
Americans took to space. From Alan B. Shepard, Jr., and Virgil
Grissom's first flights, the space race progressed from the Gemini
program to the Apollo program. Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon on
July 20th, 1969.
The space program gave birth to new inventions and technologies: TV
Satellite dishes, medical imaging, bar coding, smoke detectors,
cordless tools, mylar and other advanced plastics, thermal gloves,
space pens, shock absorbing sports helmets, ski boots, and joystick
controllers.
Computers evolved from vaccuum tubes to solid state (transistors) and
beyond. Second generation computers contained all the components we
associate with the modern day computer: printers, tape storage, disk
storage, memory, operating systems, and stored programs. With the
invention of the integrated circuit, third generation computers using
silicon chips to replace transistors overcame the heat problem of
earlier models, and paved the way for further miniaturization of
components.
The plain paper copier was introduced by Xerox Corporation in 1960.
Heart transplantation was studied and perfected by Texas surgeons
Michael DeBakey and Denton Cooley.
Economically Speaking
The black poor of south Los Angeles spoke in economic protest in the
Watts riots of 1965. Blacks in Detroit followed in 1967.
During the late 1960's, America spent $25 billion dollars annually on
the Vietnam War.
Ceasar Chavez formed the United Farm Workers union in a bid for living
wage and better living conditions for migrant workers.
Wages and inflation rose steadily throughout the decade.
State sponsored colleges and universities provided the best bargain in
higher public education costs of any decade in the second half of the
twentieth century.
As the decade closed, a McDonald's hamburger was priced at $0.25.
Resources
Questia - 1960's America
Economic Issues of 1960's America
http://www.questia.com/
NASA
Space Spinoffs
http://spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov/spinoffs2.htm
Infoplease - 1960's
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005251.html
The History Channel Timeline
http://www.historychannel.com/cgi-bin/frameit.cgi?p=http%3A//www.historychannel.com/perl/timeline.pl%3Fyear%3D1950
Should you have any questions about the information and links
provided, please, feel free to ask.
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