The 1960s

THE TURBULENT ’60s

The Election of 1960 Democrats nominated John F. Kennedy while the Republicans nominated Richard M. Nixon For the first time, the nation got to see candidates as they campaigned on television

Kennedy beats Nixon -- John F. Kennedy Inauguration Speech, 1961 “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” -- John F. Kennedy Inauguration Speech, 1961

JFK was a very popular president with the American people. Camelot JFK was a very popular president with the American people. People often refer to Kennedy’s presidency as “Camelot” because of the potential and promise for the future, and the period was symbolic of hope His youthful energy, looks, glamorous wife Jacqueline, and their young children led to constant coverage by the media.

The Kennedy White House JFK’s closest confidant was his brother Bobby Robert Kennedy was appointed to the position of Attorney General

Peace Corps One of Kennedy’s first presidential acts was creating the Peace Corps Americans volunteered to help underdeveloped nations in areas such as education, farming, health care and construction The main purpose of the Peace Corps was to fight poverty in less developed countries.

The United States in the 1960s President John F. Kennedy, the youngest elected president the United States (43 years old), was assassinated in 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald. Lee Harvey Oswald will be murdered two days later by Jack Ruby. Vice President Lyndon Johnson became president and was elected in a landslide victory to another term in 1964.

Conspiracy Theory Lee Harvey Oswald shot Kennedy from the Sixth Floor of the Texas School Book Depository Building The Warren Commission investigated his assassination, but concluded that Oswald acted alone Many people believe there was a second shooter on a grassy knoll

Jack Ruby kills Lee Harvey Oswald

LBJ becomes President Hours after JFK’s assassination, vice-president Lyndon Johnson of Texas was sworn in as president

President Johnson’s Great Society President Johnson’s Great Society programs included health care for the elderly, measures to fight poverty, and aid to education. The U.S. civil rights movement began in 1954 with the Supreme Court ruling that made racial segregation in public schools illegal.

In 1963 the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. , In 1963 the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., a leader of the civil rights movement, led a march on Washington, D.C., for equality. He advocated the use of passive disobedience in gaining racial equality during his famous “I have a dream” speech. .

President Johnson worked for civil rights. In 1964 the Civil Rights Act helped end segregation and discrimination in the workplace and in public places. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 made it easier for African Americans to vote in southern states.

E. In 1968 protest broke out in over a E. In 1968 protest broke out in over a hundred cities over the continuation of the Vietnam War and the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

James Earl Ray Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN

The Hippie Movement In the 60s, thousands of teenagers became part of the “counterculture.” These “hippies” rebelled against the traditional American culture. The hippie look was long hair, tie-dyed shirts, and use of drugs like marijuana, LSD and heroin. Hippies believed in a world free of war and hate and full of peace and love

The Counter-Culture

Music played a large part of the Hippie Movement Famous music groups of the Hippie Movement Music played a large part of the Hippie Movement Jimi Hendrix The Beatles Jim Morrison and the Doors Jefferson Airplane Bob Dylan

of the greatest moments in pop music history Woodstock Music festival held in upstate New York in 1969 that exemplified the counterculture of the 1960s Thirty-two of the best-known musicians of the day performed in front of nearly half a million concert-goers Woodstock is regarded as one of the greatest moments in pop music history

26th Amendment ratified Anger over the draft led to debates about the voting age. Demonstrators held public rallies and marches. The average age of a American soldier in Vietnam was 19. Because you had to be 21 to vote, many people called for changes in voting laws, saying that if you’re old enough to fight in war, you should be old enough to vote. In 1971, the 26th Amendment was ratified, lowered the legal voting age from 21 to 18

Election of 1968 Republicans nominate former vice-president Richard Nixon as their candidate Nixon makes a campaign promise to get the United States out of the Vietnam War