The nineteenth sixties was a decade of power and change. Throughout these years, many exciting, life changing events have taken place. For instance, the Vietnam War, and the Civil Rights Movement, two of many events. The sixties also introduced famous historical figures that should be recognized, Martin Luther King Jr., and John F. Kennedy. There were also issues occurring in the sixties, suck as assassinations to even race rallies! The sixties was an extremely wild yet interesting decade to learn about.
The nineteenth sixties was the heart of the Vietnam War. It started in 1959 and ended in 1975. The war was between the communists and non-communists in North and South Vietnam. This total war, also known as the cold war, caused much damage. War conditions were horrible! The soldiers were freezing and many of the injured were not healed because they could not get to a nurse fast and safe enough. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China while South Vietnam was supported by the United States. President John F. Kennedy was keeping the South from communism while he sent troops to fight there. In 1962, four thousand troops were sent. In 1964, seventeen thousand troops were sent. In 1966, two hundred thousand were sent. And in 1969, five hundred, forty-three thousand troops were there. JFK committed those American troops to South Vietnam. The National Liberation Front was created because of this war in 1960.
Another historical event was the Civil Rights movement. It occurred between 1955 to 1968. The Civil Rights Movement mainly wanted to abolish racial discrimination towards African Americans. This happened particularly in the South. The whites were segregated from the colored. Trains, buses, schools, even water fountains were for a particular use. They were treated with cruelty just because of their color. Powerful people such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, later on Rosa Parks, all contributed something to end the discrimination. They have delivered speeches, founded many national organizations, they are authors who wrote books, and they all took a stand for what was right. Unfortunately, like the rest of the African Americans who were killed or harshly punished for disobeying, many were assassinated. People were scared for change which resulted to killing. Boycotts and freedom marches helped. On July 2nd 1964 the Civil Rights act was signed by President Johnson.
John F. Kennedy was a very interesting President. He was a roman catholic, a democrat and he was the U.S. ambassador to England. He was the youngest, elected at fortythree. He served from 1961 - 1963. World War two had begun and JFK had wanted to invade Cuba. Luckily, that was unsuccessful. Before Kennedy was inaugurated, he had told the African Americans that he would put an end all discrimination but that did not happen. He really wanted to win over the southern voters.
Another historical figure from the sixties is Martin Luther King Jr. This wonderful man affected many lives by his strong powerful words and actions. King was on activist in the peace movement, a public speaker who delivered more than 25 speeches. He was a Baptist minister of a Christian church. One speech especially created an impact on peoples' lives, called " I Have a Dream,". These incredible words and stanzas speak of his desire for a future where white and colored would be considered equal. This speech of his is considered to be one of the greatest and most notable in history. 250,000, civil rights supporters were there to witness this speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for jobs and freedom. MLK was educated and determined. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4. MLK inspired many.
There were many issues of the sixties but one very important, were the race riots that people caused. The riots resulted in defiance and lack of respect for authority, the government, and the law itself. This damaged our country's self-confidence, and pride. The riots were also a disturbance to neighbors as well as to the rest of the citizens. Although the riots came to be because of the war and other incidents, they were significant to our country.
Another issue of the sixties was the assassinations that occurred. A number of them were African American, high political figures too. People like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, many civil rights workers, even President John F. Kennedy. This was a big problem for the United States. Everyone was very scared. They were worried and wondered "what has our country come to ?" What worse can happen ? This has affected our country. These assassinations caused our people to do other scary things.
The nineteen sixties was a decade of radical transition. If these events did not take place, these people did not exist, or the problems weren't resolved, the ways of living now would not be the same. There would still be racial discrimination, just as bad, probably a different war, even a different president. The sixties was a great new start, of new exciting opportunity. We owe it all to the sixties. I learned many things.
Bibliogragphy
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html (February 2009)
http://scholar.library.miami.edu/sixties/urbanRiots.php (February 2009)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy (February 2009)