Sixties And The “Unraveling Of America" Essay Examples

Sixties and the “Unraveling Of America."

According to James, Michael, Patricia, Sarah, and Susan (2012), American history dates ages ago, however, there is a clear distinction between 1945-1960’s and the years that follows. End of World War II sees America rise to be one of the dominant superpowers. With Eisenhower as the president, there are many changes politically, economically and cultural. The Senate goes ahead to vote America participation in United Nation’s (U.N) activities hence its international involvement (Chase, 2014). He is determined to reduce government spending with an intention of stopping the expansion of socialism. As he tries to tame socialism, he changes many foreign policies, for instance, the use of nuclear weapons as opposed to the conventional weapons and tactics (John, 2001). He makes full use of the newly formed Criminal Investigation Department (C.I.A) to overthrow none- cooperating governments (Chase, 2014). To counter the space war launched by Soviet Union, he forms National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) which is still operational up to date. This an era marked by major economic growth and prosperity for America. The average national income also doubles. The population growth is also on the rise (James et al., 2012).This attributed to Montgomery G.I. bill which aides are returning veterans to settle down and own houses. The Baby boom, the high migration of Africans-Americans and the sun belt also alter the demographics. As Eisenhower term comes to an end, he nominates Republican Richard Nixon as his successor but John F. Keneddy, democrats, wins the election (Folwell, 2014).
The sixties launch America because of the significant changes, economic, social and political that are. Development of civil right movement makes people raise against racial discrimination of African-Americans, for instance, the Montgomery boycott (Folwell, 2014). These protests increase to include the famous march on Washington in 1963 and the famous sit-in.Lyndon Baines in 1964, set in civil right Act that banned discrimination on the basis of race, color or religion. Voting Act is also another victory protecting the voting rights of African-Americans. These Acts are still in place up to date (John, 2001). This period also witness a sexual revolution. Gays and lesbians got into the practice of demanding what they believed to be their rights and equal treatment.Topics like premature sex, abortion and birth control pills are now widely accepted and discussed. Thismeans that people have stopped to be rigid in their thinking hence some mental growth. Birth control pills are endorsed and distributed by the doctors as part of the then President social reforms policy. When looked at differently, there is a new wave of feminism women started to advocate for gender equality a standard issue in the current era and there was also the merge of all men and all-women colleges (James et al., 2012). People were becoming aware of their environment and began protecting it.Thissaw the formation of Earth day, U.N conference on human environment, U.S clean air and clean water act.
With all these major milestone marked in the sixties, America is unveiled. It marks an era of so much growth which can be seen even in the current century (Folwell, 2014). Our thinking and way of conduct borrows some this from this period. So without a doubt, it’s among the most significant period in Americans history.

References

Chase, M. C. (2014). “What We Want is Power for People Who Don’t Have It”: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in California? Doctoral dissertation, Saint Mary’s University.
Folwell, E. J. (2014). From massive resistance to new conservatism: opposition to community action programs in Mississippi, 1965-1975 (Doctoral dissertation, School of Historical Studies).
James, L. R., Michael, P. J., Patricia C., Sarah, S., & Susan, M. H. (2012). The American Promise Value Edition, Volume I: To 1877: A History of the United States (5th ed). Bedford/St. Martin's.
John D. V. (2001). Reassessing the Presidency: The rise of the executive state and the decline of freedom. Ludwig von Mises Institute.