Essay

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.