The 1960S Essay Research Paper The 1960

The 1960S Essay, Research Paper

The 1960’s

I picked this historical period of time because many crazy and wild things happened. This decade contained many political social musical and business aspects.

The hippies were a main part of the social aspect of this decade. If you were a freethinking individual who did many mind-altering drugs then you might have been considered a Hippie. Hippies also made up the biggest social protest of this decade. They rejected traditional society The Hippies movement was closely tied to the anti-war movement. Hippies wanted to express their individuality and they did so by refusing the use of modern machines, as they preferred to do various things by hand. They made things such as necklaces, bracelets, hats, socks, and many other articles of clothing. With Hippies being freethinking, they thought their parents generation was self centered, and didn’t care about the welfare of the many coming generations. With Hippies being closely related with drugs and alcohol. Many of them smoked marijuana. And many of them took psychedelic drugs, which expanded the mind. These types of dugs helped create a special type of music called “Acid Rock”. I can’t begin to even to tell you how many aspects of life drugs change. Things are totally different than what they really seem, things like this are difficult to explain unless you experience them first hand! Drugs also influenced art and fashion. The Hippies movement was also associated with “Light” shows, now days called a “Rave”. In Raves, colorful lights and music are common. As all the drug use increased things intensified, as it brought on the “Summer of Love”, the Hippie movement peaked in 1967. The summer of love was a unique experience, but faded quickly by the end of the decade. Some drugs had after effects, sometimes unknown to the user. These after effects include: Paranoia, flashbacks, and some lost touch with reality for the remainder of their lives:) The Hippies movement has since faded out, but in my own opinion is on a comeback.

The fashion business was expanded as well as the minds of people. Men’s fashion was being influenced by the British invasion; men had a new hairstyle, as their hair grew longer. And as the men’s hair got longer the women’s skirts got shorter, they rose a whole six inches above the knee. These fashions were mostly due to the individuality of the young population. The British band the Beatles who had long hair influenced most of these hair styles on young men.

The political aspect of the 60’s was very wild. The Americans were involved in the Vietnam War as many young men were being forced into the war through the draft. Many of these young men burned their draft slips and some fled to Canada. Those who fled to were unable to return to the U.S. After the assassination of John F. Kennedy, President Lyndon Johnson assumed power quickly. In 1965 President Johnson shifted the U.S. role in Vietnam from an advisory role to a combat one. This was widely accepted, but questioned by some. In 1966 these doubts became more widespread to civil rights leaders and even the general public. Despite all the pressure, the Americans still lacked a solution to the conflict at hand. In 1964, President Johnson urged for a way out. As we failed to set up peace talks the Americans got slaughtered more and more, Almost 31,000 Americans were killed. From the beginning the Russians wanted the United States to cease bombing of North Vietnam because we were at the aide of South Vietnam only then they began to talk. Finally on May 13th, 1968 the Paris Peace Conference opened!

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963 by the accused sniper Lee Harvey Oswald. Jack Ruby killed Oswald. On March 14, 1964 Ruby was then sentenced to death for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald. His conviction was reversed on Oct. 4, 1966. Ruby died on Jan. 3, 1967 before his second trial.

During this time the American government was also involved in the space race against the Russians as the Americans were hyped about the fast changing world around them. Russian Maj. Yuri Gagarin was the first man to orbit the Earth. On May 5, 1961 Alan B. Shepard made a sub orbital flight in the Freedom 7and became the first American in space. On May 15-16, 1963 L. Gordon Cooper Jr. performed the last Mercury mission performing 22 orbits around the Earth to see what the effects of one day in space would be. President Kennedy urged for a manned expedition to the moon by the end of the decade. This started the Apollo missions. There were seven original Apollo flights. Tragedy struck the Apollo I launch pad on January 27, 1967 when three men lost their lives in a preflight test. Lt. Col. Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Lt. Col. Edward H. White, and Lt, Cdr. Roger Chafee Died when a fire swept through the Command module. This program’s first success was sending John Glenn into orbit around the earth on Feb. 20, 1962. Then in July of 1969, The Apollo 11 successfully made it to the moon allowing Neil Armstrong to be the first man on the moon.

Russian relations worsened when U.S spy planes discovered Missiles in Cuba. The Soviets had set up missile sites in Cuba that were able to strike targets in U.S. with nuclear warheads. As the political climate grew more tense between the two super powers SAC moved to DEFCON III and had two B52s on airborne alert. SAC later moved to DEFCON II and