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B2 1960s De Zwaan

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 Jessica Seledotis, Mariam Raheem, Nisreen Salka, Osama Tariq 

 

 

MYP Unit Question: How did culture, events, and leadership shape and reflect post-WWII America?

 

Th1960s

 


 

                      

 

Business & the Economy

 

     The economy brought prosperity and hope to everyone in the 1960s. Only 15 years after World War II the nation was already on its feet, leading the world in business. Once small companies were now enormous, growing beyond the boundaries of the United States into other nations across Europe and South America. The expansion of companies such as Coca Cola and General Motors led to a new prosperous age where jobs were plentiful, wages were high, and labor unions were acknowledged.

 


 

     Opportunity was everywhere- number of jobs available were high, wages were even higher. Along with the increase in wealth for the majority, the credit card redefined the limits of a consumer to buy goods. People were able to pay for greatly priced items on credit occasionally before, but now a revolution of credit became the method of paying more commonplace. Bank of America was one of the many banks who offered a universal credit card, such as Visa and Mastercard, which could be used almost anywhere. By the time 1970 rolled around, 16% of Americans owned at least one credit card.

 


 

     Despite the new times of economic nourishment, the Great Depression of the 1930’s only a distant memory, some found their financial situations inadequate. The coal mining industry was suffering a severe turn for the worse, and those affected found themselves slowly sinking into the cycle of depression. Many found the situation even more frustrating because of the wealth upper class. Though tension between the two classes were not at an all-time high, the resentment was still there. 

 

     President Lyndon B. Johnson sought to destroy these gaps and rise the poor out of their cycle of poverty. In 1964, he expressed his thought on a “Great Society” to Congress, attempting to bring attention to what he called the invisible poor. Those with larger amounts of wealth often ignored or dismissed those less fortunate than they, claiming that they were either too lazy to work or they had no skills to bring to the diverse workforce. Johnson didn’t believe in such claims, and created welfare programs to help them before he was distracted by the escalation of the Vietnam War. His methods must have worked, for the poverty rate lowered by 8% during the course of the 1960s. 

 


 

     The overall financial situation for the nation was comfortable, though it did lack the glitz and glamour of the 1920s. Most Americans were employed, 67% owned a television, 59% owned a car, and large companies were spread out all over the U.S. Even the few considered poor because they were slightly below the poverty level led better lives than those in other, less fortunate countries.  

 

Education

 

     By this time, everyone wanted to achieve a higher education, receive their high school diploma, and attend the university. However, this was easier said than done. Many problems remained with the structure of the public school system due to lack of funding and education as a diminishing priority. Many books were written on the subject, including Community of Scholars by Paul Goodman, which provided new viewpoints and solutions to a problem increasing in magnitude with each passing year, especially as the Vietnam War became a larger and larger issue in American society.

 

     Schools also grew in importance as its students sought to make a larger impact upon the world around them. African American students were involved in protests and sit-ins to support integration, hippies would express their culture unashamedly, those against the Vietnam war would form protests and petitions... The voice of this new generation grew higher and higher, towering above their parents and teachers. Because of this dramatic change in student behavior, teachers had to react differently, creating a new era of higher education.  

 

Fashion

 

     The 1960s was a very unique decade for fashion. One aspect of clothing that was worn very often in the 1960's were bellbottoms. Bellbottoms were originally designed for sailors and were a part of many naval uniforms. These were convenient because the wide legs would make it easy to take the pants off over wet boots. During the 1960's, many young nonconformist Americans would reject commercial fashions and shopped cheap and army surplus stores and found denim bellbottoms. They embellished the bollbottoms with embroidery and patterns and these pants soon became a symbol of the non-conformists called hippies. These pants which were at first a military uniform soon became a symbol of those who opposed the war.

 

             

 

Doc Martens

     Another popular fashion in the 1960's were Doc Martens. After a ski accident, physician Doc Maerten created these shoes with an air cushion sole in 1945. These were originally made from old tires. In the late 1960's these boots became popular among young radical protesters. When they were arrested, the police then became fond of these shoes because of their comfort. Soon after, Doc Martens became an icon of the punk sub culture.

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Mary Kay Cosmetics

     Mary Kay Cosmetics was something that was developed in the 1960's by Mary Kay Ash who had learned to take care of herself as a young child. She had a job selling household products door-to-door and she realized that she had a gift for sales man ship. After realizing that she had not been being treated fairly by her employers because of her gender, Mary Kay decided to open own business. This business in which she knew women would not be oppressed by mail bosses. In 1964, Mary Kay cosmetics started to provide cosmetic needs to women all over the country by doing door-to-door sales. Since then all kinds of women have been selling Mary Kay cosmetics as well as using them.

 

                    

 

Mini Skirts

     During the 1960's the sexual revolution was underway in which people were more sexually open. One representation of this revolution was the mini skirt which was classified as such if it revealed four or more inches of ones thigh. They first appeared on french runways from designer André Courrègesin the 1960's and quickly came to the United States. Mini skirts are usually identified with the 1960's though they did resurface again in the 1980's and 1990's. The picture below shows a model wearing a miniskirt on American runways in 1966.

 

A model wears a wool jacket over a miniskirt at a fashion show in 1966. AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission. 

 

 

Film and Theater

 

     Some claim that, “No single TV show, film, or song captured the spirit of the whole decade [1960’s]”. A large variety of film productions were created in order to please a diverse audience of hippies, members of the New Left, and others. They inspired the social movements of the time, depicting Martin Luther King as he lad a nation towards civil rights and equality, while maintaining the anti-war view in respect to the Vietnam War. However, film was also used to demonstrate the happiness and comfort of home found in the previous decade, the 1950’s in contrast to their audience’s lives now. Comedies and game shows also provided a new dimension to hilarity and laughter. 

 


 

     The most commonly used medium for film and theater was the television: TV shows followed a certain schedule for ease of watching, and commercials served as the most successful form of advertisement at the time. Some of the most common types of television shows included westerns, comedies, and game shows. However, by far the most popular was Bewitched, a show about a witch (Elizabeth Montgomery) trying to live a domesticated life with her husband (Dick York). Also popular were shows about family, such as I Love Lucy, which concentrated on the lighthearted pleasures not found at the time. These shows provided the chance to forget the responsibilities of daily life and live in an idealized world- if only for a moment.

 

 

                 

 

     Broadcasting also grew in popularity, for the news programs had a lot to cover in terms of politics, government, and everyday stories. In the 1960’s alone, some of the nation’s most important broadcasts occurred, including the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the consistent protests of the Modern Civil Rights Movement, and updates on the atrocities of the Vietnam War. The power of the media was present as never before, as the reality of our world outside of the suburbs were brought to our doorsteps. Suddenly, the Vietnam War was not a liberation, but an unjust movement to establish American dominance. All at once, the death of several African Americans were no longer a tragedy, but a common event to disregard. 

 

      Movies became less popular with the arrival of the television set, for people could find the same pleasure on their screens at home rather than at a cinema. In order to attract more of their audience to the movie theater, large companies produced movies unlike any found on consistently broadcast television. Films such as Cleopatra and Lawrence of Arabia were expensive to create, but they formed a much more advanced plot and more elaborate sets than television shows could ever provide. Some controversial movies were also created by private sectors, The Carpetbaggers being the first Hollywood movie to express nudity. The response to such movies were equal in both number and ferocity: Half cried out in outrage while others simply enjoyed the images on the screen. 

 

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Food &  Drink

     The 1960’s provided an era of a variety of styles of food, this era had complicated foods that imitated the French style of foods. Also more “American” foods such as barbeques were popular amongst suburban families. Vegetarian cuisines were famous amongst people because a lot of people were tying vegetarian foods. However there was also a cultural spin of foods as more and more ethnic restaurants began uprising in America, an example of these cultural restaurant was soul food and Japanese cuisines. Also as America is much like right now, this era was the booming of fast food restaurants and many people enjoyed the fast food scene.

This era included many grand opening for restaurants that we are aware of to this day. In 1960 the first dominos pizza was open in Michigan. In 1962 the first taco bell had its grand opening in California. 1968 marked the grand opening of red lobster in Florida and 1969 marked the first opening of Wendy’s in Ohio.

 

 

Print Culture

 

Cosmopolitan

     Cosmopolitan was originally founded in 1883 as a general periodical but it revamped in 1965 as a magazine that was mainly for the interests of young girls in the 1960's. It had a very large impact on the sexual revolution as it depicted women as glamorous, confident, and independent. This magazine has been critiques as depicting the modern and stereotypically shallow. In 1962 the editor of Cosmopolitan released a controversial best seller called Sex and the Single Girl. This talked about how the female should be able to remain single but still be sexually active. This article in particular had a very large impact on the sexual revolution that occurred in the 1960's.

  

             

 

The Advocate

     The Advocate was the first magazine written for the homosexual community. The first issue was published in 1967 as the Los Angeles Advocate and had billed itself as the "national gay and lesbian magazine." The first issue was published secretly in the basement of ABC television studios. It was only twelve pages long and was sold in gay bars. This magazine had a very large impact on the gay liberation and the Stonewall riots that occurred in 1969.

 

  

Rolling Stone

     Rolling Stonemagazine was founded in 1967 and became a very important symbol for the counterculture revolution. It included aspects of Rock and Roll music that made drug and sexual aspects very casual and acceptable. The founder of Rolling Stone wrote in the first issues editorial that "Rolling Stone is not just about music but also about the things and attitudes that the music embraces." The Rolling Stonemagazine continued to represent teh hippie culture coming out of the 1960s and into the 1970s. To this day Rolling Stone magazine continues to provide news on music, movies, politics and culture. Below is a picture of the first two Rolling Stone covers containing pictures of John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

 

 

 

Sports &  Games

 

     The 60’s era gave sports and games a popular face. Basketball, football, baseball, and hockey were played and watched through out the year because they were sports in different seasons. As sports came in to daily lives Americans, sports broadcasting stations increased dramatically because a lot more people tuned in to listen to the games.

     

     In the Major League Baseball (MLB) no one team could gain popularity as the best team. As seven different teams won the World Series over the decade no team could be named the best in baseball. This was also the record setting era as baseball players like Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, Maury Wills, Sandy Koufax, Frank Robinson, and Carl Yastrzemski set records that drew more and more people to be interested in baseball.

 

      Football however had become more prosperous and famous then baseball and for some men even replaced Sunday as the holy day for Sunday the day to enjoy football. However football separated in to two different organizations that caused men to have to make the hard choice of picking amongst them, there was the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). NFL however is the football league that still stands today. In the 1960’s the First super bowl was played amongst the Green Bay Packers who represented the NFL and the Oakland Raiders who represented the AFL. The outcome of this game was not surprising to everyone; the Green Bay Packers easily defeated the Oakland Raiders. However 3 years later the AFL’s New York Jets would defeat the NFL’s Baltimore colts and finally put an end to everyone calling AFL pansies. 

     

      The National Basketball association was a weak league in the beginning of the decade and had merely 8 teams. However at the near end of the decade it grew to an astonishing 17 teams and drew over five million fans.

 

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     Parties in this era were still famous, and when party guests would be bored the hosts would break out the twister bored. Twister became a famous game during this era, because it would relax the company. In this game players would spin a spinner and have to move at the place the spinner told them to move. The mat they would use was labeled with colors and numbers that corresponded to the spinners. The main point of this game was to see who could be the last one to loose their balance; however when someone did fall it provided laughs for everyone watching. This game was purchased by nearly 3 million people, also many different types of this were created.

 

 

 

Music

 

 

Rock Music

     The time period was focused a lot on peace and freedom. Because of this, much of the music reflects the peace movement and allowing people to be free to do what they please. Many of the rock performers of the time were British, and their popularity in America was called “The British Invasion.” Some of the popular British performers that American’s enjoyed were The Beatles ("Here Comes the Sun" below), The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, and Cream. American rock performers include The Beach Boys, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix ("Voodoo Child" below), The Grateful Dead, and Fleetwood Mac. Because of the rebellious nature of the 1960s and the wish to live a free life and enjoy it amongst the younger people, drug use was quite common throughout this time and into the 1970s and 1980s. Drug use often influenced musicians in the creation of their music and was unfortunately the cause of deaths amongst many participants, whether they were musicians or not.

 

                 

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     In 1969, Woodstock, one of the most remembered events in rock history, took place. In Bethel, New York on a 600 acre farm, 500,000 young people during this time attended the music festival that lasted from August 15th-18th of 1969. The event was held in order to listen to the rock and folk music of such performers as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Grateful Dead, Santana, Ten Years After, and many others. Also, it was to demonstrate the peacefulness of the movement, seeing as no fights, violent protests, or riots broke out.

 

     

 

     

     Motown

 

     By the 1960s, Berry Gordy had created the Motown Label that consisted of many famous artists, most of which were African American. During this time, the Civil Rights Movement was taking place and the artists on the label and some of the music helped to support the movement for equal rights for African Americans. Some of the popular recording artists on the label during the 1960s and later on include The Temptations (“My Girl” below), The Supremes (Pictured below), Stevie Wonder, The Jackson Five, and Martha and the Vandellas.

 

 

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Folk

     

     Another popular type of music during the 1960s was folk music. Folk music was similar to soft rock music promoted peace and was often performed on the acoustic guitar, making it have a calm sound. Folk music from the 1960s is most often associated with hippies and the movement for peace and free living. A lot of the folk music during this time that was promoting peace was reflective of the lack of support for the Vietnam War and riots and violent protest throughout the nation. Some folk performers of the 1960s include Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, The Mamas and The Papas, and Peter, Paul, and Mary.

 

  

 

 

"The Way We Lived"

 

     Social tension gradually increased throughout the 1960s, mostly as a result from student activists, the antiwar movements, and the fight for rights among African Americans, women, and several ethnic groups. Student activists, called the New left, fought for what they considered their rights- they challenged the way American democracy was structured, insisting that they should be given the freedom to make their own political decisions without politicians to represent their ideas. 

 

     The Antiwar Movement was also growing larger and larger with each passing day, inspiring bold acts of civil disobedience. Those who received draft letters would burn them, ignore them, or leave the country so as to not be required to fight in Vietnam. As a result, those who were wealthier had a higher chance from escaping the drafts and fighting the Antiwar Movement at home rather than on Vietnamese terrain. Those who could not afford to refute the government’s insistence upon them fighting in the army were forced to fight in a war they did not believe in. 

 

     Amid the social tensions of the New Left and the Antiwar Movement, African Americans were clamoring for the rights that have been denied them for years. They still faced discrimination, despite the new laws put in place to ensure their equality. They suffered from snide comments, violent fights, injustice in the legal system, and financial troubles in the workforce due to lower wages and minimal promotions. They also felt the effects of inadequate housing, health concerns, and less advanced schooling, with 43% of African Americans with an annual income of less than $3, 000. Overwhelmed by these numbers, Marin Luther King launched the Modern Civil Rights Movement, a war in its own right against white segregationists. Unlike the Vietnam War, it was a civil war fought on American soil, leading to boycotts and marches in the quest for peace and equality. 

 

     These movements are all represented in the slideshow below:

 

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     However, others were suffering as well. President Lyndon B. Johnson wished to create what became known as The Great Society, which would support those living in poverty in 1964. He realized that the poor were often ‘invisible’ because they pass by unnoticed by those living in more affluent neighborhoods, and he proposed numerous welfare programs to help those in need. Some such programs inspired young teenagers to attend college, while others provided medicare and other Public Health services.

 

     All the social factors listed above contributed to create what became known as the counterculture: An exotic pool of new ideas and customs. Among those involved in the counterculture was the student activists known as the New Left, the infamous hippies, and others. It was a time when everyone rang the bell for change- change in their lives, change in their thoughts, and change in their beliefs. 

 

Government & Politics

 

     During the 1960s, many new political situations were occurring, some good and some bad. The president in the beginning of the 1960s, John F. Kennedy was focused a lot on the beginnings of the Cold War and American-Soviet relations and the tensions between them. He also was the president during the Cuban Missile Crisis in which the United States government was shown pictures of the Soviet Union's creations of nuclear weapons in Cuba. The United States faced a difficult decision on whether or not to attack. Kennedy decided to have the U.S. Navy inspect all ships landing in Cuba. Later on Khrushchev, one of the Soviet leaders, and Kennedy met came to an agreement about the crisis, even though the Cold War was still continuing.

 

     Another large part of the 1960s foreign policy was the Vietnam War. The United States had entered the war in the 1950s in order to stop the spread of communism and protect the freedom of the South Vietnamese. During Kennedy's presidency there was a great increase in the number of troops. Kennedy believed that the spread and takeover of Communism must be stopped, but mostly focused on the Soviet Union. In 1963, Kennedy was assassinated, leaving his job to Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. Forces in Vietnam increased even more and Johnson ordered the air forces to bomb Vietnam, which happened many times. The people of America began to question the true purpose behind the Vietnam War. America became involved at first to ensure freedom for the people of South Vietnam. However, into Johnson's presidency, it seemed that the government's objective was to uphold America's commitment with the Cold War in order to keep credibility. The people handling the war were making decisions that did not necessarily reflect the original goal of the Vietnam War and these decisions were harmful to many innocent people and caused the destruction of much of Vietnam. The war continued throughout the 1960s and ended in the 1970s with President Nixon's plan.

 

 

 

     Another important part of politics during the 1960s was the civil rights movement. Although the movement began in the 1950s, the official end of segregation ended and much work was put forward to eliminate discrimination against African Americans. The most famous of the protesting occurred in the south and Martin Luther King Jr. was responsible for leading most of the violent protests. Through boycotts, sit-ins, public speeches, and overall pushing the government to pass laws against discrimination, protestors finally reached one of their main goals in 1964. Kennedy and Johnson both supported the Civil Rights Bill at the time of their presidencies and the bill was finally enacted in July of 1964. The bill stated that racial discrimination in business, education, and public places is not allowed. This was a great step towards equal rights for all people, including other minorities. Later bills include the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that guaranteed African Americans the right to vote and the Civil Rights Act of 1968, making all violations to the previous civil rights bills a federal offense. President Johnson's dream was to better America and, even though he was often criticized for his foreign policy, he made achievements in the equality of America.

 

Leadership

 

Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a very influential leader in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a leader of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and did much of the organization in the Bus Boycott that took place in 1955. He continued to assist in many casses that were discriminating against African American people and lead peaceful protests against oppressors of African American people. He continued this into the 1960s and in 1963 he led "the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation." The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom consisted of people all arounded the country both black and white, traveling to the nations capitol to peacefully protest racial injuctises and oppression. At this protest, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his very famous I Have A Dream speech. This speech was very influential as it portrayed the hardships that African American people went through as well as presented a vision for the future of the nation.  

 

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Even after their victory of the gain of civil rights laws, Martin Luther King Jr. continued to preach freedom and equality. On April 4, 1968, while he was in Memphis Tennessee, he was assassinated on his Motels second floor balcony. Martin Luther King Jr. played an important role in the civil rights movement that occured in the 1960s.

 

John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1961 and in his inaugural address he said the now famous words, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." He also asked for unity in all nations of the world so that they could fight against the common enemies of poverty, diseases, and war. During his presidency in the early 1960's he created a foreign policy that was centered around American Soviet realtion as the world was fresh out of the Cold War. It also focused on African nations as well as Latin American Nations and communism. John F. Kennedy also had and impact in Vietnam. He was strongly against the spread of Cummunism and supported the South Vietnamese against Ho Chi Minh. John F Kennedy sent over 16,000 troops into Vietnam during his presidency. President Keneddy was assasinated on November 22, 1963 while he was in Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald was suspected of shooting the President but before he could go to trial, Oswald was also shot.

 

File:JohnFKennedy.png

 

Lyndon B. Johnson 

Lyndont B. Johnson was first the Vice President of John F. Kennedy but was sworn in as president 2 hours after Kennedy was assassinated on air force one. In 1964 he was reelected president by the American people. In 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson tackled the civil rights issure, as he signed the civil rights act which outllawed most forms of racial segregation. In 1965, he signed the Voting Rights Act which allowed millions of black voters to vote. /johnson spoke strongly against the Klu Klux Klan and ordered arrests on many of its members. Below is a picture of Lyndon B. Johnson meeting with Martin Luther King Jr.

 

File:Martin Luther King, Jr. and Lyndon Johnson 2.jpg

 

Lyndon B. Johnson had a huge impact in the Vietnam war. Advised by his Secretary of Defense, Robert Macnamara, Johnsons began Americas direct involvement in Vietnam by sending a total of 500,000 millitary personel to Vietnam. Because of the high demand of soldiers and not a sufficient supply a draft was created to force young people to join the military and fight in Vietnam. Towards the end of the war, 1,000 soldiers were dying in one month. The Vietnam war met much protests from young college students opposing the draft as well as many peace activists.

 

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Law &  Justice

     The 60’s was a time pressure was building up for equal rights. Before, the 1964’s segregation that led to injustice was totally normal, and practiced in almost every state. However with the help of a famous preacher named Martin Luther King Jr. and his famous boycotts, equality was granted to minority groups in the 1964’s civil rights act.


     

     Many major events occurred during the 60’s that put extra pressure on the President Lyndon B. Johnson and caused him to sign the civil rights act.
During the early 60’s boycotts against segregated restaurants become in fashion for the African Americans who followed MLK. They would go in to or stand out side of the restaurant and simply protest against the restaurant, but of course it was done non-violently. In 1961, blacks and whites united to go on a freedom ride to the south from Washington DC and challenged segregation publicly.

     Two significant details to the freedom of blacks is when riots broke out because a black man enrolled himself in the University of Mississippi, while in the same year the supreme court stated that segregation on the bus would be illegal. In the 1964 a famous speech that will be remembered for centuries to come was delivered by MLK. This speech is named the “I have a dream speech” and inspired a nation to keep fighting for their civil rights.

     After all of this pressure Lyndon B. Johnson finally gave up and signed the civil rights acts in 1964. The civil rights act prohibited the act of segregation.
The 1965, gave birth to both grief and happiness. The grief of loosing a powerful civil rights leader named Malcolm X, however this year also granted the blacks in American the right to vote which led to rejoice and happiness from the Blacks.

     Another year that would also cause mixed emotions from Blacks was in 1968, when the leader of the non-violent protest was assassinated, however even with the death of MLK Blacks were in enjoyment due to the law that prohibited the act of segregation in housing opportunities.

 

Religion

 

     During the 1960s, religion was still present and still played a role in many political aspects however, by the end of the decade, religious involvement had decreased greatly. Churches of different denominations banded together to help support the civil rights movement and get rid of segregation in schools, restaurants, and other public buildings. This cooperation in the Christian community, the religion that had the most members at that time in America,  also supported anti-war efforts and protested against the Vietnam War. Although protesting for what one believes is often good, many people did not agree that the churches should be so involved in politics at this time, as some members' views on politics were not those of the churches, causing a loss in membership at times. The free-spirit outlook in the 1960s also caused some loss of membership, seeing as drug abuse and lack of traditional morals increased during this time.

 

 

 

Positive Political Cartoon

 

The above cartoon reflects the general image of President John F. Kennedy.

He wants to make the most of what he has, only accepting when he gets "his

money's worth".

 

 

Negative Political Cartoon

 

 

The above cartoon reflects the public's increased agitation against the 

Vietnam War. On all sides, everyone is asking for an impossible answer:

When will the troops finally come home?

 

 

MYP Unit Question: How did culture, events and leadership shape and reflect post-WWII America?

 

     The 1960’s were a time of searching for identity, taking risks, voicing opinions, and becoming an integrated part of American society. Business boomed among the middle and upper classes, and most enjoyed the comforts of home denied them in the past due to lack of a satisfactory income. Education became a rising issue as people discovered new ways to teach students the material based on their ability to learn and their learning environment. Several people rose to power, including the much celebrated Martin Luther King Jr, truly leading the nation into a new era of prosperity. Social tensions increased as student activists, the New Left, anti-war protests, and the Modern Civil Rights Movement grew in prominence. They expanded across the nation, creating one, single movement: the quest for change. 

 

     People began to express their views, creating an entirely new culture, quite in contrast to the conservative 50‘s. Especially among the younger generation, there was a new interest in the world around them. Protests became a daily event, and whether against the Vietnam War or on the extent of the power of American government, they brought forward the message of a new time. Many begged for peace and equality: both abroad and at home. The bellbottoms of antiwar demonstrators was easily recognizable due to the vivacity of color, and they soon became not only a fashion statement, but a plea of the American government to send our troops back home. African Americans continued to struggle for the integration of the public school system and less discrimination in society. Though some riots broke out as tensions were raised to the breaking point, peaceful protests were the most common form of demonstrating opinions. 

 

     Not only did the people of the 1960’s fight for change, they created it. The mini-skirt was the first introduction of a more sexually open world, and the Cosmopolitan encouraged this frame of mind. It was the beginning of a revolution, encouraged by young teenagers attempting to make their imprint on a rapidly moving society. The media carried such ideas throughout the nation until they became set and stone among the new leaders of the world: the younger generation. 

 

     As such, the Vietnam War created a new revolution on the home front, one quite opposed to the soldiers across the seas. The more prosperous wealth of many led to years of liberation, where minds were focused on the morrow, rather than on today’s contributions. Leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. led thousands of people onward, towards a bigger and brighter future. A new culture encouraging one’s right to protest, one’s right to fight for freedom, and one’s right to believe in whatever religion they so choose emerged among the younger generation as their opinions were reflected in their bright clothing and loud music. The time of following the crowd was over. A new bell was ringing, signaling the beginning of non-conformity and change.  

 

 

 

Works Cited

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     117. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 June 2010.

 

"The American Economy: Leading the World." The Sixties in America Reference Library. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 1:

 

     Almanac. Detroit: UXL, 2005. 105-114. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 June 2010

 

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