The 1960’s in AmericaJoin now to read essay The 1960’s in AmericaWere the Sixties Good….or Bad for America?There are two different positions taken about the 1960’s in America. One side says that the sixties were good for America and changed the way Americans live for the better. The other side says that the sixties were bad for America and gave Americans new freedoms and ideas that changed their lives for the worse. Both positions have evidence to support their arguments and make the sixties look like a time of social and economic freedom and reform or make the sixties look like a time of ignorant rebellion and youthful playfulness that is not acceptable in the real world. This essay is going to touch on most of the important reforms of the sixties but concentrate mostly on the Vietnam War in the sixties and its impact on the American people back home and in the war. The essay will also concentrate on the popularization of drug use in the sixties and its effect on the society and America’s view on drug use.
The position that is in favor of the sixties being a good time in America has many supporters. The sixties were the age of youth, as 70 million children from the post-war baby boom became teenagers and young adults. These people are known today as the baby boomers and they are people like my parents and teachers. The movement away from the conservative fifties continued and eventually resulted in revolutionary ways of thinking and real change in the cultural fabric of American life. No longer were people content to be images of the generation ahead of them, young people wanted change. The changes affected education, values, lifestyles, laws, entertainment, and public thinking as a whole. Many of the revolutionary ideas which began in the sixties are continuing to evolve today and help improve the way Americans live.
Sixties-like Movement
1915-1956: Sixties of Progress
The founding of the Republic of Texas in January, 1545, led to the formation of a political movement based on a progressive, patriotic political program. In May, 1548, the republic expanded into the Pacific coast. More than a hundred thousand people went to the polls. At the same time, the Civil Rights movement began in the state. In October, 1556, a group of congressmen, legislators and leaders formed the Texas People’s Alliance (TPA), which became known in Texas for its commitment to human rights, but was also known as the Texan People’s Party (TPC). The TPC was formed in Austin on November 3, 1542, then to become the Texas State Constitution. The TPC was renamed the Texas Constitution. In 1839, TPA became known as the Texas Legislative Association. At the time, the TPC was made up primarily of elected members in two different states — Kentucky, which was the nation’s first state with a Republican-controlled legislature, and Virginia, which had an independent governor; California, the largest state in the country, in 1956; and Texas, the nation’s No. 4 state in the country. In 1861, four different presidents were elected from the Texas House of Representatives. During the Civil War, in favor of secession, a group of conservative members of the Texas Republican Party and the Republican Party of Texas (PRTX) set up militias in Dallas, in the midst of the civil war which devastated the Texas economy. The PRTX, led by H. S. Lee of the United States in 1866, sponsored the Civil Rights legislation and the United States Constitution. As a result of its success, the PRTX became the fourth state to adopt an anti-slavery campaign. In 1883, as Texas became the 15th state in the nation, it drafted and passed a law to legalize slavery. It also passed legislation to establish federal law and, as a result of this bill, the Union began to withdraw from the union. To defend the constitutionality of slavery, Texas ratified the Texas Constitution in 1883. The United States Supreme Court declined to issue a judgment in favor of slavery in the wake of the Supreme Court’s opinion of 1868 in H. J. White v. Virginia. This landmark decision was upheld by the Texas Supreme Court on November 4, 1894, and then overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1901. These two decisions, however, clearly established the legitimacy of the Second Amendment with its holding that a person cannot be deprived of due process of law and equal protection under the law of the states. The Supreme Court also established Texas’ First Amendment right to self defense. The amendment did not change slavery or any federal policies that would have allowed that. Despite this, it was written into the Texas constitution and Texas Supreme Court rulings in favor of the amendment, which allowed for the state’s right to use its government and courts resources for self defense if it so determined. Texas took its First Amendment issue to the Supreme Court during the Civil Rights marches on June 16, 1964. The Supreme Court’s decision in the case, Brown v. Board of Education, led to
Sixties-like Movement
1915-1956: Sixties of Progress
The founding of the Republic of Texas in January, 1545, led to the formation of a political movement based on a progressive, patriotic political program. In May, 1548, the republic expanded into the Pacific coast. More than a hundred thousand people went to the polls. At the same time, the Civil Rights movement began in the state. In October, 1556, a group of congressmen, legislators and leaders formed the Texas People’s Alliance (TPA), which became known in Texas for its commitment to human rights, but was also known as the Texan People’s Party (TPC). The TPC was formed in Austin on November 3, 1542, then to become the Texas State Constitution. The TPC was renamed the Texas Constitution. In 1839, TPA became known as the Texas Legislative Association. At the time, the TPC was made up primarily of elected members in two different states — Kentucky, which was the nation’s first state with a Republican-controlled legislature, and Virginia, which had an independent governor; California, the largest state in the country, in 1956; and Texas, the nation’s No. 4 state in the country. In 1861, four different presidents were elected from the Texas House of Representatives. During the Civil War, in favor of secession, a group of conservative members of the Texas Republican Party and the Republican Party of Texas (PRTX) set up militias in Dallas, in the midst of the civil war which devastated the Texas economy. The PRTX, led by H. S. Lee of the United States in 1866, sponsored the Civil Rights legislation and the United States Constitution. As a result of its success, the PRTX became the fourth state to adopt an anti-slavery campaign. In 1883, as Texas became the 15th state in the nation, it drafted and passed a law to legalize slavery. It also passed legislation to establish federal law and, as a result of this bill, the Union began to withdraw from the union. To defend the constitutionality of slavery, Texas ratified the Texas Constitution in 1883. The United States Supreme Court declined to issue a judgment in favor of slavery in the wake of the Supreme Court’s opinion of 1868 in H. J. White v. Virginia. This landmark decision was upheld by the Texas Supreme Court on November 4, 1894, and then overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1901. These two decisions, however, clearly established the legitimacy of the Second Amendment with its holding that a person cannot be deprived of due process of law and equal protection under the law of the states. The Supreme Court also established Texas’ First Amendment right to self defense. The amendment did not change slavery or any federal policies that would have allowed that. Despite this, it was written into the Texas constitution and Texas Supreme Court rulings in favor of the amendment, which allowed for the state’s right to use its government and courts resources for self defense if it so determined. Texas took its First Amendment issue to the Supreme Court during the Civil Rights marches on June 16, 1964. The Supreme Court’s decision in the case, Brown v. Board of Education, led to
Two of the more important events to come out of the sixties were the Vietnam War and the popularization of drug use. The Vietnam War was probably the most unpopular war in the history of American wars but there were still many positives that came out of the war. The war was fought to contain communism and keep Vietnam from becoming another China. Many Americans fought and died in Vietnam and the most important thing that America should have learned for the war was that we cannot just go into a country and bully them around, resistance will be fierce and support back home is needed to win wars.
Unfortunately there are probably more negatives to come out of Vietnam than there are positives. The problem with Vietnam was the enemy was not quite clear, unlike in previous wars in which we knew what we were fighting against. During wars like WWII, nationalism grew and we expected to win. However, where Vietnam was concerned, many people did not even know why we were fighting, including the soldiers. Something else that made Vietnam different from other wars was the huge presence of the media on the battlegrounds. Every night, American civilians were faced with the harsh realities of a war we could not win on their television sets. Vietnam was the first televised war, and many say that the media is what made people think so negatively of the whole conflict. Others say that the media is what made us lose the war, although that opinion is not shared by the majority. There was also growing social tension at the time. The sixties were very tumultuous years, because of the war and the social rebellion that took place in this country. The younger generation and their parents were separated by their ideals, culture, and opinions. These young people led many antiwar protests, as well as the civil rights movement and a fight for the environment.
Drug use is another issue to come out of the sixties that has mixed opinions, although most people have a negative view on drug use, the sixties is the first time that drugs were really popularized and have some positive attitudes. Marijuana use soared and became one of the most popular drugs used in America during the sixties along with LSD, mushrooms, and cocaine. Respected figures such as Timothy Leary, a Harvard researcher, encouraged the use of LSD as a mind-opening drug because he believed that psychedelic drugs altered our consciousness and allowed us to explore “other areas of being”. The hippie movement endorsed drugs, rock music, mystic religions and sexual freedom while opposing violence at the same time. The Woodstock Festival, at which 400,000 young people gathered in a spirit of love, sharing, and wide spread drug use represents the pinnacle of the hippie movement and legal drug use.
Although drug use was popular in the sixties it does not mean it had a positive effect on society, in fact, it has many more negative affects than positive effects on the human body. Many people have become addicted to drugs and lost their jobs, homes, and families because of it. There are many negative affects