1960s Innovation

689 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Effects of john f kennedy assassination

1960s: The Decade of Innovation
The 1960s was a very influential decade in American history. The decade began with the election of President John F. Kennedy, a leader who tried to reassure the people with the promise of a hopeful future and protection of human rights. After JFK’s assassination, a nation full of innocence and naivety was given a reality check as protests and violence became increasingly popular. However, the protests brought about leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., who led the African Americans in the Civil Rights Movement. The 1960s was not only a time of violence, but also increased productivity and innovation. Overall, I learned that the two biggest improvements of the 1960s were made in space technology and civil rights.
During his time as president, JFK made many modifications to the field of science and technology, including outer space. After Yuri Gagarin, a member of the Soviet Union and the first human successfully launched into space, the United States was pressured to regain their status as one of the top countries. The U.S. made a comeback with Alan Shepard, who was the second person and first American to travel into space. In a similar manner, John Glenn was the first American to orbit Earth and Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon. All these accomplishments would not have been possible without the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, which acquired research to construct new …show more content…

John F. Kennedy brought about the advancements of science and technology through NASA, Telstar, and the man on the moon. Also, the Civil Rights Movement sparked, and protests led to the passing of numerous laws for the African Americans. Although the 1960s consisted of much violence and protests, there was also an abundance in productivity, which ultimately makes this decade very prominent throughout American

Show More
Related

  • Analysis of The thesis of The Age of Great Dreams by David Farber and American Pastoral by Philip Roth

    2679 Words  | 6 Pages

    The 1960’s was a radical decade filled with political tensions, social strife, and overall cultural intrigue. The beginning of the decade allowed for the transition from President Eisenhower to President Kennedy, the youngest President to take office, and the first Roman Catholic. The move represented a shift from a Republican to Democratic administration in the Oval Office. Kennedy became a symbol for the young vibrancy of the American populous, as he was quickly accepted by the grand majority. After Kennedy was assassinated and Lyndon B. Johnson took office, the nation was further engulfed in the war that would come to define America for years to come. The Republican Party regained office as Richard Nixon was elected in his second attempt to run as the decade came to a close. Activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X paved the way for the civil rights movement that swept the nation and captivated the spirit of not only black Americans, but white Americans as well. The race between the United States of America and The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for domination of space escalated as Kennedy pushed for a man on the moon by the close of the decade, achieved in 1969. The possibility of nuclear war became all too real in 1962 as the launch of nuclear missiles became an abundantly clear possibility. The drug culture emerged in the 1960’s in large part due to the newfound accessibility of illegal drugs, such as marijuana and Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, or LSD. American society was entrenched in the chaotic desire for new, improved highs. The profound ascent of the drug culture was truly realized when the 3-day music festival, Woodstock, took place in 1969, as “sex, drugs and rock n’ roll” symbolized America’s...

    Read More

  • NASA Apollo 11: Neil Armstrong

    1345 Words  | 3 Pages

    "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," said by Neil Armstrong as he took his first steps on the moon during the NASA Apollo 11 expedition to the moon. No man has ever been to the moon before and NASA, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was the first to get someone to land on the moon. NASA has had many great accomplishments in exploring the "new frontier" that have affected the United States ever since it was first created in July 1958. The idea for NASA first started when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite on October 4, 1957. United States started up its own space travel program and started to work on its own projects that would be better in than the Soviet Union's. This all started the great space race. It was a big race between the Soviet Union and the United States to see who could learn and discover the most. The United States and Soviet Union started building and sending satellites and space ships. Then they tried to see who could make a suit and ship that would be able to allow a living thing to go up in space. They tested out all of the equipment with monkeys and dogs, seeing what would work. Many animals did die in the process but by the results of their testing they were able to build suits and ships that allow human beings to go up in space. Even though they were able to create these machines, that doesn't mean that they didn't have their difficulties and dangers. Two space shuttles were crashed or blown up. There were many key factors that they had learned to fix that resulted in the crashing of those ships. They have made many discoveries and accomplishments like having the first astronauts walk on the moon.

    Read More

  • The Students for a Democratic Society of the late 1960’s

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    The 1960’s was a happening decade. It was a time when many people came together for a common good and stood against injustice. The 60’s is often recalled as the era of the peace sign, one ridden with hippies, marijuana and pacifism. While true of much of the era, some of the movements calling for immense social change began as non-violent harbingers of change and later became radicals. The reason for this turn to radicalism, as seen in the case of the Students for a Democratic Society, and as suggested by the change between this organizations earlier Port Huron statement and the later Weatherman Manifesto, is due to the gradual escalation of the Vietnam war.

    Read More

  • Students and the Civil Rights Movement During the 1960's

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1960's was a decade of tremendous social and political upheaval. In the United States, many movements occurred by groups of people seeking to make positive changes in society.

    Read More

  • The Sixties

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    Freedom has been discussed and debated for a while now and yet no one can completely agree that it exists. Since the Civil, War America has been conditioned to be divided politically. The conflict over the meaning of freedom continues to exist from the civil war, throughout the sixties and in the present. The Civil War was fought over the question of what freedom means in America. The issue was in the open for all to see: slavery. Human slavery was the shameless face of the idea of freedom. The cultural war in the sixties was once more about the question of what freedom is and what it means to Americans. No slaves. Instead, in the sixties and seventies four main issues dominated the struggle for racial equality: opposition to discriminatory immigration controls; the fight against racist attacks; the struggle for equality in the workplace; and, most explosively, the issue of police brutality. For more than two centuries, Americans demanded successive expansions of freedom; progressive freedom. Americans wanted freedom that grants expansions of voting rights, civil rights, education, public health, scientific knowledge and protections from fear.

    Read More

  • What Is The Similarities Between The Black Panther Party Of The 1960s

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 1960s African Americans fought for Civil Rights. The African American community has made many achievements since the Civil Rights era. However, this community still shares some of the same civil unrest and emotionally driven movements that are similar to those of the 1960’s.

    Read More

  • A Protest Groups that Transpired in the United States in the 1960s

    1185 Words  | 3 Pages

    If you grew up in the 60s’, it was a time where major protest groups began to appear all over the place with one protest or another against things like the war, women’s rights, school protests, etc. But in the 60s, there was one of these groups that want to fight for equity and that group was the civil rights group. Therefore, even though the civil rights group began in the 50’s it did not really come into the forefront until the 1960s, where they emerged and greatly expanded in the 1960s. This group was the first movement group of the 1960s-era social movements. This movement was also responsible for producing one of the most significant American social activists every of the 20th century, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

    Read More

  • African American Sharecropping System

    2276 Words  | 5 Pages

    Evaluate how successful it was as a strategy in the many struggles that occurred between 1956 and 1966.The American Civil Rights Movement in the late 1950s and 1960s represents a pivotal event in world history. The positive changes it brought to voting and civil rights continue to be felt throughout the United States and much of the world. Although this struggle for black equality was fought on hundreds of different “battlefields” throughout the United States, many observers at the time described the state of Mississippi as the most racist and violent.

    Read More

  • The Counterculture

    696 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although the sixties were a decade in which the United States became a more open, more tolerant, and a freer country, in some ways it became less of these things. During the sixties, America intervened in other nations and efforts were made to stop the progress of the civil rights movement. Because of America’s foreign policy and Americans fight against the civil rights movement, it is clear that the sixties in America were not purely a decade of openness, tolerance, and freedom in the United States.

    Read More

  • Space Race in the 1960's

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    Early on in the race, the USSR was very successful. In 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik, which triggered the start of the space race (John F. Kennedy). The United States began to scramble, trying to catch up with the Soviets. However, soon after, the Soviet Union completed another huge success. They sent the first man to orbit Earth (John F. Kennedy). In 1961 the USSR’s Yuri Gagarin became the first human to ever orbit the Earth (John F. Kennedy). The United States was still unsuccessful and beginning to look weak. After that, America got serious. On May 25, 1961, President Kennedy asked Congress for around eight billion dollars to build up the space program over the next five years (John F. Kennedy). The president declared, “This nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth” (John F. Kennedy).

    Read More

  • The 1960’s: A Decade of Change

    2148 Words  | 5 Pages

    The first reason why the 1960’s is the decade of change is because of the political history. Some major political events included in the 60's, the decade of change is the civil rights movement, space race, and the Bay of Pigs. In the 1900's there was allot of bad stuff happening between blacks and whites. When the civil rights movement was passed it made major changes in the 1960's. The civil rights "movement began peacefully, with Martin Luther King and Stokely Carmichael leading sit-ins and peaceful protests, joined by whites, particularly Jews. Malcolm X preached about Black Nationalism. After his assassination, the Black Panthers were formed to continue his mission. In 1965, the Watts riots broke out in Los Angeles. The term "blacks" became socially acceptable, replacing Negroes"(Goodwin 4). MLK or Martin Luther King w...

    Read More

  • Effects Of Drugs In The 1960s

    1635 Words  | 4 Pages

    As the 1960s dawned on America, the bald eagle faced unprecedented threats from afar while facing a new internal struggle. As America continued their battle with the Soviet Union, it also saw a clash amongst its people. Terror was brought to the hearts of many as America was on the brink of a Nuclear Holocaust. The 60s conveyed an exploration of the universe beyond earth. A race between Superpowers America and the Soviet Union, led to the first man to ever walk the moon. Not all was bad in the 60s, people would rejoice in many new dance styles that were on the rise. With technology becoming more advance, many TV shows that portrayed American life were being aired. Life in America seemed great as it was disciplined by a great leader, John F. Kennedy. Sadly, with the loss of a great leader Americans became distraught. During the 1960s in cultural and political movements and musical movements, Americans were rebellious, enterprising, and impulsive.

    Read More

  • Final Exam Essay

    1402 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1960s was a period well remembered for all the civil rights movements that occurred during that time frame and the impact these movements had on the social and political dynamics of the United States. The three largest movements that were striving in the 1960s were the African American civil rights movement, the New Left movement and the feminist movement. These three movements were in a lot of ways influenced by each other and were very similar in terms of their goals and strategies. However, within each of these movements there were divisions in the way they tried to approach the issues they were fighting against. Looking at each of these movements individually will reveal the relationship they all share as well as the changes that were brought forth as a result of each groups actions.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Slaughterhouse-Five Antiwar Sentiments

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the most significant societal movements during the 1960s was the Civil Rights movement, a coalition lead by many that voiced strong opposition to the war in Vietnam. Martin Luther King Jr was a huge voice for civil liberties, and according critic Mark Barringer, “Martin Luther King Jr openly expressed support for the antiwar movement on moral grounds…asserting that the war was draining much-needed resources from domestic programs”(Barringer 3). Martin Luther King Jr had a profound effect on the 1960s civil rights movement. He was eventually assassinated for his invo...

    Read More

  • The Kennedy Space Center

    2360 Words  | 5 Pages

    Even in the late 19th century, few people believed such a feat was possible, and yet, a mere half a century later, the first man was launched into space (Irvine 5). How did the human race go from just dreaming about space to actually launching human beings into space in such a short time? Surprisingly, the United States’ space program started with the Cold War. The Cold War pushed the United States and the Soviet Union into a space race in which both nations rapidly developed space programs and tried to best each other in space exploration (Cold War 1). The Kennedy Space Center was built in Florida as a control center which handled many of the shuttle launches into space (NASA 1).

    Read More

More about 1960s Innovation

Open Document