The Civil Rights Movements of the 60's
On May 4th, 1970, four students were killed, eight injured, when shots fired out everywhere across the Kent State University Campus (www.may4.org) . This tragedy both symbolically, and chronologically marked the end of a turbulent decade - the "decade of discontent" as some people called it (Gottlieb, 17). This incident was the result of a peace protest against President Richard Nixon, and was just one example of the many political, cultural, and spiritual revolutions that erupted from this decade. The Civil Rights Movement, the Anti-War Movement, and the Women's Right's Movement were three of the largest and most revolutionary idea's which sprung from a generation of counter-culturists. Each Movement contributed to the future American culture in varying degrees. Each had their heroes, their enemies, and their own morale. These movements were the frameworks for a young generation to build upon, who were looking to find a new way of life, and seeing the world. The assassination of President Kennedy on November 22nd, 1963 seems to be the turning point for a generation of teenagers. This was the event after which America began to change. (Gottlieb, 18). People felt that something had been taken away from them, and th
Before this decade, the meaning of democracy had not yet been defined to the American people. With this, there were some indications that perhaps the movement was more successful than first thought. Although Vietnam was seemingly a failure, by the persuasion of the movement, politicians fought harder for the people. However this was the beginning of many future accomplishments. However the impact was felt with much force. In 1968 however, Johnson halted bombing in Vietnam to help promote peace. Considering the outlook for women before this decade was not promising, there was much accomplished. Without the efforts of influential leaders of the sixties, this movement would not have had such a great bearing on politics today. After Johnson's term was completed, President Richard Nixon was elected, and immediately took action to extricate matters in Vietnam away from the United States by creating his "Vietnamization". Women now have a much greater say in American politics and talk of women's rights are now greatly respected. However, when taking a closer look, the effort that many Americans participated in did make a difference, especially in American politics, and can easily be acknowledged. This was another sign of accomplishment for anti-war activists. The political upheavals of this time did not go unnoticed, although some were more successful than others.
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