Digital History>Teachers>Modules> Topic
Learn About the
Tumultuous 1960s
Early in the decade, African American
college students, impatient with the slow pace of legal change, staged
sit-ins, freedom rides, and protest marches to challenge segregation in
the South. Their efforts led the federal government to pass the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting discrimination in public facilities
and employment, and the 24th Amendment and the Voting Rights
Act of 1965, guaranteeing voting rights.
The example of the civil rights movement inspired other groups
to press for equal rights. The women’s movement fought equal educational and
employment opportunities and a transformation of traditional views about women’s
place in society. Mexican Americans battled for bilingual education programs
in schools, unionization of farm workers, improved job opportunities, and increased
political power. Native Americans pressed for control over their lands and resources,
the preservation of native cultures, and tribal self-government. Gays and lesbians
organized to end legal discrimination based on sexual orientation.
In a far-reaching effort to reduce poverty, alleviate malnutrition,
extend medical care, provide adequate housing, and enhance the employability
of the poor, President Lyndon Johnson launched his Great Society Program in
1964. But the Vietnam War, ghetto rioting, and the rise of a militant antiwar
movement and the counterculture, contributed to a political backlash that would
lead the Republican party to control the presidency for ten of the next fourteen
years.
The
1960s was a decade when hundreds of thousands of ordinary Americans
gave new life to the nation’s democratic ideals. African Americans
used sit-ins, freedom rides, and protest marches to fight segregation,
poverty, and unemployment. Feminists demanded equal job opportunities
and an end to sexual discrimination. Mexican Americans protested
discrimination in voting, education, and jobs. Native Americans
demanded that the government recognize their land claims and the
right of tribes to govern themselves. Environmentalists demanded
legislation to control the amount of pollution released into the
environment.
Port
Huron Statement
http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~hst306/documents/huron.html
To
learn more
Handouts and fact sheets:
Tumultuous
1960s
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/us38.cfm
Recommended
lesson plan:
The
Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee
http://ohioteach.history.ohio-state.edu/Lessons/sncclesson.htm
Quizzes:
Test
Your Knowledge About the Tumultuous 1960s
Recommended books:
Maurice
Isserman and Michael Kazin, America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960's
A balanced interpretation and synthesis of the scholarly literature
on the 1960s, which examines such topics as electoral politics, civil
rights, the counterculture, and the impact of the Vietnam war, and looks
at the conservative as well as
left-wing movements.
Recommended
film:
Forrest
Gump
The tumultuous and tragic events of the late 1950s, 1960s and
1970s,
including the Vietnam War and the Watergate Affair, are viewed
through the eyes of a naive, child-like young man.
For comprehensive reviews, see:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ForrestGump-1054356/
The
New Hollywood
A succinct essay on the films of the 1960s and 1970s
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/hollywood_1960s.cfm
Recommended
Website:
American
Cultural History, 1960-1969
http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade60.html
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