A Day In The Life of the 1960's
The 1960's in North America was a decade of extremes and bizarre contrasts. Rebellion and backlash, idealism and alienation, flower children and assassins. There were deep cultural changes happening for minorities, women and young people in general. Hopes were destroyed when President Kennedy was assassinated, but President Johnson was able to push through many Acts that ignited much needed change in American society. The increase of televisions in homes put a spot light on the poverty and social injustice happening. Hippies turned their backs on the war and the draft while the silent majority supported both. It could be described as the best of times and the worst of times. A day in the life a young person in the 1960's was no doubt exciting, confusing, infuriating and empowering.
Political Shifts
The 1960's were a rollercoaster of political and social changes. This decade saw a higher voter turnout that any other decade post WWII. Being politically aware was considered a civic duty. After being elected in 1960, John F. Kennedy sought to eliminate injustice and inequality in the US with the New Deal. A few years later, the nation watched in sadness when Kennedy was assassinated, thus crushing the hopes of Americans everywhere. After taking over the Presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson introduce programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Head Start in an attempt to finish the War on Poverty. Unfortunately, the Vietnam War overshadowed much of this. A young person in this time, if not fighting in the war would have likely been protesting in the streets, or fleeing to Canada to avoid the draft.
Civil Rights and Social Outrage
The 1960's became famous for the struggle over civil rights after four black students sat down at a whites-only lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina and refused to leave. In 1964 President Johnson pushed a Civil Rights Act through Congress that prohibited discrimination in public places. This however did not solve the issues many African Americans at the time. The leaders of these groups embraced a more militant ideology and black power became a new focus of the civil rights movement. A young person might have found themselves joining in activist groups, taking over college campuses, organizing anti-ear demonstrations and occupying parks. However, some leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. maintained that a non-violent approach was best. However, that seem difficult for his supporters after he was assassinated in 1968.
The release of The Feminine Mystique gave women everywhere cause to speak out about the inequality they faced. Equal pay at work, an end to sexual harassment, sharing the responsibility for house work and childrearing and a curtailment of severe limits on women in managerial jobs were on the agenda of 1960's feminists.
As society became more radical, a counterculture of hippies developed, practicing free love and some even moved into communes away from the turbulence of life in the 1960's.
The Evolution of Rock and Roll
There was no loss of good music to listen to for a young person in the 1960's. The "British Invasion" brought bands such The Beatles and The Rolling Stones onto the American Billboards. If that wasn't a person's cup of tea, bands and artists such as Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, Jefferson Airplane Janis Joplin, Rays Charles, Johnny Cash, The Doors and Jimi Hendrix were pioneering new and exciting sounds. The evolution of rock music was prominent in the 1960's with the development of pop rock, psychedelic rock, blues rock and folk rock. Many of these sounds were inspired by the political outrage and anti-war attitudes of the musicians.
Fashion Rebellion
There was a pretty obvious split in fashion from the early 60's to the late 60's. Early in the decade, fashion trends followed those of the 1950's - conservative and restrained, with a more classic design. For the first time ever London, not Paris was the center of the fashion world with the styles and attitudes coming all the way to to North America for a short time (known as the Mod style). The Mod style, hitting in the middle of the decade, was probably the best style of the 60's, albeit the shortest, with its bright colors, slender shapes and young London look. The latter half of the decade was all about bright colors and extreme opposites from the first half. Tie-dyed shirts, long hair and beards, tunics, capes, short skirts and tall boots could be found anywhere.
A Step Into The Future
The 1960's have been described by some historians as the ten years having the most significant changes in history. This decade saw the inventions of the audio cassette, acrylic paint, the computer video game, compact discs, Kevlar, astroturf, handheld calculators, the artificial heart, the ATM and much more.
The 60's also set the stage for an astounding time in American space program in the "space-race" with the Soviet Union. Project Mercury had six successful launches of solo astronauts aboard Redstone and Atlas rockets. NASA began working on their own moon launch facility, Launch Complex 39. The maiden voyage of an Apollo crew (Apollo 7) completed an Earth orbital mission in 1968. Two months later, Apollo 8 astronauts flew the first lunar orbital mission. Then in 1969, an estimated 530 million people watched as the Apollo 11 crew set foot on the moon for the first time. By the end of the 1960's NASA had completed two successful moon landings and Kennedy Space Center became the launch capitol of the world.Â
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