1960’s

At the start of the 1960s, things seemed pretty much like the 1950s: prosperous, calm, and predictable. But by 1963, the civil rights movement was making headlines and the young and vibrant President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, one of the most stunning events of the 20th century. The nation mourned, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson suddenly became president on that day in November. He signed legislation that included the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but he also became the target of protesters’ wrath for the quagmire in Vietnam, which expanded in the late ’60s. In 1968, the U.S. mourned two more inspirational leaders who were assassinated: the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in April and Robert F. Kennedy in June. NASA claims to put man on the moon in July 1969. Evolution got a green light to be taught in public schools, basically replacing creationism, and Bibles and prayer were banned from schools as a result of landmark legal cases in the Supreme Court. For those living through this decade, it was one not to be forgotten.

Police used tear gas and billy clubs to break up protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Furious antiwar protestors took over Columbia University in New York as well as the Sorbonne in Paris and the Free University in Berlin. And the urban riots that had erupted across the country every summer since 1964 continued and intensified. The unconstitutional national health care programs, Medicare and Medicaid, were passed by Congress and became law. The progressive feminist movement and the gay rights movements, while birthed in the 50s with Kinsey’s propaganda false publications on sexuality, were ignited in the 60s and became a Marxist threat on the American culture.₂

The 1960s saw a change in social movements that challenged the norms of society. There was a greater acceptance for intercourse outside of marriages. The FDA approval of the pill in 1960 falsely liberated women. The pill excused women to delay marriage and motherhood while remaining sexually active. It was no surprise that there was a great increase in women’s professional education that coincided with the pill becoming legally available to college-aged women. Intrauterine devices were also manufactured and marketed in the United States for the first time during the 1960s which gave women even more options for birth control. Divorce rates leaped from about 23% to over 35%.

• Top Songs of the 1960s
• 60’s Fashion
• 60s Daily Life and Pop Culture
• The 60s: The Years That Changed America
• Top Movies of the 60s
• Best TV Shows of the 60s