THE SIXTIES: A DECADE OF PROTEST AND CHANGE

Agenda 4/10

• 1. Notes: the 1960s • 2. Test

The Kennedy Presidency, 1960-1963

• Election of 1960– JFK defeated Nixon thanks to TV– Youngest pres. elected

• Domestic policy under JFK: New Frontier– Peace Corps– Space Race: John Glenn orbits earth, Armstrong &

Aldrin are first on the moon

Foreign Policy Under JFK• Soviets build Berlin Wall in 1961• Cuba– Leader Fidel Castro had Soviet

support– Bay of Pigs Invasion= failed US

attempt to invade Cuba– Cuban Missile Crisis= Kennedy

successfully convinced the Soviets to remove their missiles from Cuba• Closest the world ever came to

nuclear war**

JFK Assassination

• Nov. 22, 1963• Dallas, TX

The Johnson Presidency, 1963-1968

• The Great Society “War on Poverty”– CRA of 1964– VRA of 1965– Medicare– Job Corps– Economic Opp. Act

• Immigration Act of 1965= identical quotas (limits) for the number of immigrants each country can send to the US

Agenda 4/10

• 1. Notes• 2. Court Cases jigsaw activity

• **Review TOMORROW 9-12

The Women’s Liberation Movement

• Aka Feminist Movement• Reasons:– Dissatisfaction– CRM influence– “Sexual Revolution”

• Betty Friedan– wrote The Feminine Mystique– Housewives are unhappy– Helped for the National Organization of Women

(NOW)

The Women’s Liberation Movement• Achievements:– Better educational

opportunities (affirmative action)

– Equal Pay Act= same pay for same work

– Roe v. Wade (1973)- legalized abortion within the first 3 months of pregnancy

– Title IX- guarantees girls the same opportunities as boys in school

The Expanding Struggle for Equal Rights:Increasing African-American Militancy

• Black Power= blacks should be economically, culturally, and politically independent from whites

• Other militant groups– Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)– Black Muslims

• Malcolm X– Muslim leader who questions MLK’s nonviolent approach. Blacks should

achieve rights “by any means necessary”.

The Expanding Struggle for Equal Rights:Increasing African-American Militancy

• Many blacks in the north lived in ghettos• Riots erupted following the assassination of

MLK

The Expanding Struggle for Equal Rights:The Chicano Movement

• Hector Perez Garcia– Texan who was first Mexican American to serve on Commission on Civil Rights

• Cesar Chavez– organized successful grape boycott for improved wages/conditions for farm workers

• Dolores Huerta– helped Chavez form the United Farm Workers

The American Indian Movement (AIM)

• Slogan: “Red Power”• Indians sought greater respect for their

heritage• Temporary occupied gov. monument at

Wounded Knee

The “Youth Culture” of the Sixties

• Aka counterculture• Influenced by rock

music• Hippies• 26th Amendment–

lowered voting age to 18

The Vietnam War, 1954-1973• Background:– Ho Chi Minh- Vietnamese

nationalist leader– Geneva Conference • Divided Vietnam (N was

communist, S wasn’t)– Planned to reunite after elections

• Vietcong (Southern Commies) & North Vietnamese attacked SV government

The War under JFK, 1960-1963

• Domino theory= if a nation becomes communist, then the surrounding nations will too, and on and on…

The War under LBJ, 1963-1968

• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution- LBJ could send troops to war (escalation) w/o a declaration from Congress

• New weapons: napalm (gas jelly) and Agent Orange (herbicide)– Destroyed the jungle

The War under LBJ, 1963-1968• Tet Offensive- Vietcong

launched attack against SV, capturing major cities including Saigon– Turning point: Americans

realize victory is far away• Roy Benavidez- Texan

who won medal of honor for efforts in Vietnam

The War under LBJ, 1963-1968• Increasing difficulties for

the US:– $25B/year– Ho Chi Minh= “father” of

Vietnam– Vietcong guerilla warfare– Growing discontent: the

Anti-War Movement• Media shaped public

opinion (1st war on TV)• “credibility gap”– difference

between what Pres. LBJ said & what journalists reported

Agenda 4/14

• 1. finish Vietnam notes• 2. court case flashcard activity

The War under Nixon, 1969-1973• LBJ chose not to run for

reelection• Nixon promised “peace

w/honor” during campaign• Henry Kissinger- Nixon’s Sec.

of State– Vietnamization= US troops

gradually withdraw as SV takes over fighting

– Secret bombing of Laos & Cambodia

– Nixon negotiated w/NV’s allies (China & USSR)

The War under Nixon, 1969-1973• Anti-war demonstration

at Kent State University leaves 4 students dead

• “silent majority”= Nixon’s supporters who quietly still supported the war

• Pentagon Papers- leaked documents that showed that several presidents before Nixon lied to the public about Vietnam

The War under Nixon, 1969-1973• The fall of Saigon marked the end of

the war (1975)– US troops withdrew in 1973

• Legacy of the Vietnam War– Over 58,000 Americans killed (1m +

Vietnamese)– Economic: ended some Great Society

programs; led to inflation– War Powers Resolution (1973): Pres.

must inform Congress within 48 hours of sending troops to fight overseas. If Congress doesn’t approve within 60 days, the Pres. must withdraw the troops.

Post-war Literature, Art, and Music

• Beat Generation writers– Care-free, reckless, fresh approach– Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac

• Music:– Rock and roll: Elvis, Little Richard– Motown

Post-war Literature, Art, and Music

• Art– Jackson Pollock– Andy Warhol

• Mendez v. Westminster ISD– segregation of children of a group was illegal w/o a special state law requiring it

• Delgado v. Bastrop ISD– segregated Mexican American children in Texas is illegal

• Hernandez v. Texas–Mexican Americans, though not a separate race, are entitled to class protection under the 14th Amendment

• White v. Regester– allowed single-member districts to elect their own representatives

• Edgewood ISD v. Kirby– required changes in school finance to increase funding for schools in poorer school districts