The 1960’s – an Era of Discord
A young black man is brutally murdered
for a harmless comment to a white woman. A mother distresses over the discovery
of her son’s rock and roll collection. A United States soldier sits in a trench
in
Vietnam
contemplating the reason for his sitting knee-deep in mud. The 1960’s
was marked with confusion, insecurity and rebellion. It was a period of time
when Americans stood up and took full advantage of liberalism in America and
their God-given right to freedom of speech to create a decade bursting with
social revolutions. The Civil Rights Movement, Counter Culture and the War in
Vietnam were three of the most prominent events during this era and helped to
define the 1960’s as arguably the most influential decade in our nation’s
history. The Civil Rights Movement was marked by public uprisings against
segregation and the fortitude of Black-Americans to achieve equal rights among
the whites. Many young people used music, drugs, politics and alternative
lifestyles in search of a better world and to rebel against the older generation
to create what came to be known as counterculture. The Vietnam War further
divided the country with opposing views on the situation and public disapproval
of the actions of our president. However, these acts were necessary for the
advancement of our nation in many aspects and helped accomplish the freedoms
enjoyed today.
The
Civil Rights Movement was the turning point in social
equality for Black Americans. The fruit of the protestors laboring was the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, guaranteeing basic civil
rights for all Americans, regardless of race. However, there were many hardships
and drastic events leading to this final accomplishment. The Montgomery Bus
Boycott of 1955 was led by
Martin Luther King and a number of other black
leaders in Montgomery, Alabama after a woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up
her seat to a white man. This was perfect ammunition for the black group to
start a boycott and word was spread by ministers in their churches. Other means
of transportation were developed for the blacks such as a “personal taxi
service.” The boycott lasted for over a year until final concession was reached.
Also dealing with public transportation were “The Freedom Rides.” This was a
symbolic plan to reverse the bus system. Whites would sit in the back and blacks
in the front on the trip from the north to New Orleans. At rest stops, whites
would go in Black’s only areas and vice versa. Hostility was faced along the
way, as in Montgomery, Alabama, where an uprising occurred and
President Kennedy
felt it necessary to enforce Martial Law. Although the “ride” never made it to
New Orleans, they forced the Kennedy Administration to take a stand against
civil rights and segregation was outlawed in interstate bus travel. Arguably the
most significant victory for the Civil Rights Movement occurred in Birmingham,
Alabama. Martin Luther King led sit-ins and protests against segregation
beginning on April 3, 1963. Bull Connor, mayor of Birmingham attempted to stop
these protests by jailing MLK. In solitary confinement, King wrote the highly
influential, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” further encouraging protests.
Children refused to attend school and stayed in parks. Connor sent in
firefighters to hose them away but they remained insistent. When all jails were
filled and the administration had it’s back to the wall, business communities
agreed to integrate lunch counters and hire more black workers; a huge victory
for Martin Luther King. After events like these and a considerable amount of
bloodshed, the segregation problem took an upward swing and differences began to
be reconciled, eventually leading to the Civil Rights Act of 1954.
Counterculture in the 1960’s sprung from a desire of primarily young people
to rebel against the conformities of the preceding era. The counterculture
lifestyle integrated many of the ideals of the time: peace, love, harmony,
music, and religions outside the Christian tradition. Meditation, yoga, and
psychedelic drugs were embraced as routes to expanding one's consciousness. This
movement contributed to drastic changes in American culture. A willingness to
challenge authority, greater social tolerance, environmental awareness, and
changes in attitudes toward women’s roles, marriage, and child-raising were all
evident in this period. Many children chose to leave cities to seek out utopian
lifestyles in the countryside. This was an escape from the problems they saw in
urban lifestyles and an opportunity to live a simple life. Woodstock, a music
festival in 1969, was a true counterculture event. It was four days of peace and
music, full of illegal drug use, sex and self-indulgence. As one hippie states,
“It was pure heaven.” Aside from different sit-ins and protests against
injustices of America, counterculture was merely a youth rebellion adding
another element of distraction to the already confused state of the country.
The Vietnam War further added to the turmoil of the nation. After French
defeat in 1954, the United States sent military advisors to South Vietnam to aid
the government of Ngo Dinh Diem. The Soviet Union, China and North Vietnam
supported the pro-communist Vietcong. In 1964, after the US was shot at by North
Vietnamese, Lyndon Johnson authorized military force in Vietnam. In 1968, the
Vietcong struck several American bases and various cities, known as the Tet
Offensive. Although they suffered large losses, the Vietcong won a psychological
victory as American opinion began to turn against the war. When Nixon became
president, he proposed that all non-South Vietnamese troops be withdrawn in
phases and an internationally supervised election be held in South Vietnam. The
North rejected. Nixon decided to resort to Vietnamization; a plan to build up
South Vietnamese forces while withdrawing American troops. He reduced American
troop strength by 60,000, but at the same time ordered the bombing of Cambodia,
a neutral country. This brought out thousands of protestors in the states after
reports of an American Massacre of Vietnamese at My Lai but Nixon continued with
his policy. The bombing continued until an agreement was finally reached. North
Vietnamese would gain control of large areas of the South and agreed to release
American prisoners of war within 60 days. After their release, the U.S. would
leave Vietnam. On March 29, 1973, after 60,000 Americans were killed and $109
billion was spent on a war that many believed should not have been fought;
American combat troops left South Vietnam.
|
|