The United States of America (America) underwent significantly positive changes during the 1960s. During that decade, America underwent a series of emancipation programs that led it to become the nation that it is right now. America emerged from the conservative 1950s and started to open up towards liberal ideas in the 1960s. The sociopolitical scene during the 1960s underwent radical changes in terms of policies and ideologies (Bradley, Goodwin).
The 1960s spanned a period of remarkable innovations in human rights. Developments such as the 1963 Presidential Commission on the Status of Women helped expose the true state of women in American society. Unequal treatment of women was exposed and placed in greater scrutiny. In the process, options like abortion, artificial insemination and birth control pills gave greater regard for women’s welfare. American society moved towards equal treatment for African-Americans through movements led by luminaries Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Peace became an overarching theme among American youth, in light of the high crime rates in the previous decade, the Vietnam War and several chaotic events in American politics (Bradley, Goodwin).
Tension between America and the Soviet Union grew in light of Cuban leader Fidel Castro’s switch to Communism leading to the Bay of Pigs operation and the Cuban missile crisis. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy and his senator brother Robert stunned the American political scene. The Vietnam War met negative reactions as anti-war movements grew. All those events served as eye-opening lessons to the subsequent course of American politics (Bradley, Goodwin).
The decade focused on developments in science and technology. Environmental and health consciousness emerged, with examples ranging from the definition of smoking as a health hazard to the environmental “Silent Spring” movement led by Rachel Carson. The Space Race versus the Soviet Union led America to send its first men to space and the moon through the sophisticated Apollo space program (Bradley, Goodwin).
Overall, the 1960s gave great positive impact to America back then, the effects of which further extended towards the present times. Whereas there may have been negative consequences, the events during the 1960s opened America towards favorable prospects. The American nation grew into a nation with improved democratic consciousness that subsequently led to developments in the sociopolitical realm as well in science and technology.
Work Cited
Bradley, Becky and Susan Goodwin. "1960-1969." American Cultural History. Lone Star College-Kingwood Library, 1999. Web. 5 Aug. 2012.
