The Nineteen Sixties
The sixties
was a crazy decade for the US. The United States and just pulled out of the Korean
War and tensions were high with the USSR. The Cold War really reached its peak
in the sixties and the US ended up dragging itself into another war. In the
U.S. people were angry with the Government and the country would soon change
forever. In the sixties the U.S. experienced radical presidential election, civil
right, and war.
In the Nineteen
sixties people really began to change their views on Presidential elections. Presidential
debates started being air on TV and had a huge impact on votes. Voters were not
only voting for which president they thought would help the country most but
they would also vote for the one who appeared more attractive on television.
The first presidential debate was between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy.
People believed what helped J.F.K. campaign was that he was attractive to the
American voters. J.F.K. was president during the Cuban missile crisis and kept
the U.S. away from a possible nuclear war with the U.S.S.R. Shortly before Kennedy’s assassination equal
rights for African Americans boomed.
Civil Rights
had a major role during the Sixties. One of the Major Leaders for African
American Rights was Martin Luther King Jr. M.L.K influenced many African
American citizens to join in on the protest. A large majority of whites were
highly against the Civil Rights Movement and would attack the African Americans
during their protest. Police man would assault
the protesters so often that the federal Government had to step in and stop the
violence. After years of hard work the American Government finally forced
racial integration and gave blacks equal rights.
The Cold War
was a major issue in America during the nineteen sixties. The U.S. was
extremely close to having a nuclear war with the U.S.S.R. The Cuban missile
crisis was not only the closest the world has gotten to a nuclear war but it
was the spark that started it. Shortly after cam the Vietnam war. The Vietnam War
started as an act of containment. The northern Vietnamese communist were
invading the south which was not a communist country. The U.S. stepped in the
war to support the south and stop the spread of communism. The U.S. was losing
the war which forced the start of the draft. Many people were upset with the
draft because they believed it was unfair to them. The Vietnam war started the
hippy movement. The hippies were unsanitary and they promoted drugs. To many
people the U.S. lost the war, but the rest claim it was a tie. The Vietnam War
had a very large death count. The way officials decided who won a battle was by
deaths, not territory gained. The war in Vietnam is also called the Living Room
War because the public could watch what was happening there on their
television.
America
learned a lot because of the 1960’s. The 60’s improved rights for the people in
the United States. By the end of the decade, the United States experienced
radical presidential elections, the civil rights movement, and war. The only
way the U.S. could improve is by looking back at its past mistakes. The more we
fail the greater chance we’ll have at success.
