Dreaming In The 1960S
...one who felt
this way. For many, the 1960s was a decade in which their
dreams about America might be fulfilled. For Martin Luther
King Jr., this was a dream of a truly equal America; for
John F. Kennedy, it was a dream of a young vigorous
nation that would put a man on the moon; and for the hippy
movement, it was one of love, peace, and freedom. The
1960s was a tumultuous decade of social and political
upheaval. We are still confronting many social issues that
were addressed in the 1960s today. In spite of the turmoil,
there were some positive results, such as the civil rights
revolution. However, many outcomes were negative:
student antiwar protest movements, political assassinations,
and ghetto riots excited American people and resulted in a
lack of respect for authority and the law. The first president
during the 1960s was John F. Kennedy. He was young,
appealing, and had a carefully crafted public image that
barely won him the election. Because former President
Eisenhower supported the Republican nominee, Richard
Nixon, and because many had doubts about Kennedy's
youth and Catholic religion, Kennedy only received
three-tenths of one percent more of the popular vote than
Nixon. The first thing Kennedy did during his brief
presidency was to try to restore the nation's economy.
Economic growth was slow in 1961 when Kennedy
entered the White house. The President initiated a series of
tariff negotiations to stimulate exports and proposed a
federal tax cut to help the economy internally. John F.
Kennedy was known as one of the few presidents in
history who made his own personality a significant part of
his presidency and a focus of national attention. Nothing
illustrated this more clearly than the reaction to the tragedy
of November 22, 1963. Kennedy was driving through the
streets of Dallas. The streets were full of cheering...
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