Cover Slide
The American
Pageant
Chapter 38
The Stormy Sixties,
1960-1968
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"Girls say yes to boys who say no," 1968
"Girls say yes to boys who say no,"
1968
Those opposing the war in Vietnam not
only demonstrated against the war but
also encouraged young men to resist the
draft. Here, singer and activist Joan Baez
(left) and her sisters suggest one
"benefit" those who say "no" to the draft
might expect. (National Museum of
American History, Smithsonian
Institution, Washington, D.C.)
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1969 moon landing
1969 moon landing
On July 20, 1969, American astronauts
Neil A. Armstrong (shown above) and
Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin, Jr., plant an
American flag on the moon, thus
fulfilling President John F. Kennedy's
pledge to land a man on the moon by the
end of the 1960s. (NASA)
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Bong Son, Vietnam, 1966
Bong Son, Vietnam, 1966
A Vietnamese mother and her children,
framed by the legs of a soldier in the
U.S. First Cavalry Division. (Wide
World/AP Photo/Henri Huet)
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Dogs turned on Birmingham demonstrators
Dogs turned on Birmingham demonstrators
The ferocious attempts by local authorities in Birmingham, Alabama, led by Eugene "Bull"
Connor, to repel nonviolent black protesters using fire hoses (capable of 100 pounds of water
pressure per square inch), electrically charged cattle prods, and police dogs were shown nightly on
television. Tactics such as these made white supremacy an object of revulsion throughout most of
the country and forced the Kennedy administration to intervene to end the crisis. (Wide World)
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Drink Coca Cola--White Customers Only!
Drink Coca Cola--White Customers
Only!
Signs like this were common in the
South prior to the Civil Rights
Movement of the 1960s. (Library of
Congress)
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Hippies in their garden of grass
Hippies in their garden of grass
"Grass opened up a new space for middle class white kids," wrote chronicler of the
drug culture Jay Stevens, "an inner space as well as outer space. It became a ritual-sitting around with your friends, passing a joint from person to person, listening to
music, eating, talking, joking, maybe making out--all the senses heightened." (John
and Leni Sinclair Collection, Bentley Historical Library,University of Michigan)
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JFK assassination
JFK assassination
As Jacqueline Kennedy reacts to her husband being fatally shot in the head, their
open-air limousine races to nearby Parkland Hospital. The president died less than an
hour later. CBS television news anchor Walter Cronkite cried as he told the nation
the news. (National Archives)
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Johnson signing Medicare legislation
Johnson signing Medicare legislation
President Johnson's Great Society greatly expanded the role of society in the lives of
Americans through passage of civil rights, welfare, and education legislation. In this
picture, President Johnson signs legislation establishing Medicare. His wife, Lady
Bird, and Vice President Hubert Humphrey watch in the background. (Lyndon B.
Johnson Presidential Library)
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Kennedy campaigning
Kennedy campaigning
John F. Kennedy is surrounded by supporters and the press as he arrives for the 1960
Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. Young, handsome, and articulate,
Kennedy introduced new vitality, and perhaps superficiality, into political
campaigning. On television and in person, Kennedy was a popular politician; when
he became president, he became a media star as well. (Wide World Photos, Inc.)
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Kennedy family, July 5, 1963
Kennedy family, July 5, 1963
President John F. Kennedy, his wife Jacqueline, and their two young children, John
Jr. and Caroline, symbolized youthful energy and idealism. This photograph was
taken at their vacation home at Hyannisport on Cape Cod in July 1963. (John F.
Kennedy Library)
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LBJ treatment
LBJ treatment
Not content unless he could wholly
dominate friend as well as foe, Lyndon
Johnson used his body as well as his
voice to bend others to his will and gain
his objectives. (Lyndon B. Johnson
Presidential Library)
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President Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act, 1964
President Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act, 1964
Surrounded by an illustrious group of civil rights leaders and members of Congress,
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Standing behind the
president is Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. (Corbis-Bettmann)
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Violence at Democratic Convention
Violence at Democratic Convention
Photographs and televised pictures of the Chicago police beating and gassing antiwar
protesters and innocent bystanders at the Democratic convention in 1968 linked
Democrats in the public mind with violence and mayhem. The scenes made
Republican Richard Nixon a reassuring presence to those he would term "the silent
majority." ((c) Bettmann/Corbis)
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War on Poverty
War on Poverty
Johnson wanted to be remembered for
his domestic programs, especially his
effort to reduce poverty. During his
presidency, Congress passed a variety of
new programs, including Medicaid and
Head Start, that targeted the 35 million
Americans living below the poverty line.
(Richard Wallmeyer/LBJ Library)
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Map: African American Voting Rights, 1960-1971
African American Voting Rights, 1960-1971
After passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, African American registration skyrocketed in Mississippi and Alabama and rose
substantially in other southern states.
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Map: Disturbances on College and University Campuses, 1967-1969
Disturbances on College and University Campuses, 1967-1969
Students on campuses from coast to coast protested against the Vietnam war. Some protests were peaceful; others erupted
into violent confrontations between protesters and police and army troops.
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Map: Presidential Election, 1968
Presidential Election, 1968
The popular vote was almost evenly split between Richard M. Nixon and Hubert Humphrey, but Nixon won 31 states to
Humphrey's 14 and triumphed easily in electoral votes. George Wallace, the American Independent Party candidate, won 5
states in the Deep South.
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Map: Race Riots, 1965-1968
Race Riots, 1965-1968
The first major race riot of the 1960s exploded in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts in 1965. The bloodiest riots of
1967 were in Newark, New Jersey, and Detroit. Scores of riots erupted in the aftermath of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s
assassination in 1968.
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Map: The Tet Offensive, January-February 1968
The Tet Offensive, January-February 1968
Although the Tet offensive proved a major tactical defeat for the communists, it effectively undermined American public
support for the war.
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Map: The U.S. in the Caribbean & Central America
The U.S. in the Caribbean & Central America
The United States often has intervened in the Caribbean and Central America. Geographical proximity, economic stakes,
political disputes, security links, trade in illicit drugs, and Cuba's alliance with the Soviet Union and defiance of the United
States have kept North American eyes fixed on events in the region.
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Map: The Vietnam War to 1968
The Vietnam War to 1968
Wishing to guarantee an independent, noncommunist government in South Vietnam, Lyndon Johnson remarked in 1965, "We
fight because we must fight if we are to live in a world where every country can shape its own destiny. To withdraw from
one battlefield means only to prepare for the next."
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