The sixties was an exciting yet turbulent time; it had mood and character. It had fashions, music, civil rights. woman's liberation,Viet Nam. flower power, Peace Marches, Woodstock, Beatles, sexual Freedom, Martin Luther King, Lunar Landing, Dr. Timmothy Leary, Malcom X, McCarthyisim, Abbie Hoffman, March from Selma to Montgomery and Gay Liberation. President Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" launches Head Start, Medicare, VISTA, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Ronald Reagan is elected governor of California with promises to crack down on rebellious students and obscenity. First issue of Rolling Stone magazine appears and the Democratic Convention opens in Chicago as police and antiwar demonstrators clash "America--Love It or Leave It" campaign begins and we shall never forget Camelot.
HIPPIE: A person who rejected the mores of an established society. They believed in a world of universal peace. They got high, made love and promised nothing.They were a minority cult. Most of them just wanted a good time.
Let's begin with 1960 when the United States implemented an embargo that cut off trade between the U.S. and Cuba. In 1961, John fitzgerald Kennedy was elected president. He was the youngest president ever to be elected. 1961 began with the "Bay of Pigs Invasion"; this was an unsuccessful attempt to over throw the government of the Cuban Leader Fidel Castro.
The Cuban Missile crisis of 1962 was a confrontation between the United States and Russia, concerning Soviet supplied missle installations in Cuba. This incident was regarded by many as the closest approach to nuclear war. 1962 also introduced the first american in space and along came the peace corps. Fashions became a topic of interest and legs never had it so good, along came the mini dress, men's ties became colorful,fish shaped and 6 inches wide. January 15. 1967 the first SuperBowl was played at the "Memorial Coliseum" in Los Angeles between the GreenBay Packers of the Nat'l football league and the Kansas city chiefs of the American football league.....GreenBay won by a score of 35 to 10.
Viet Nam actually began in the 1950's; on record, it started in 1961 and lasted thru 1975. Viet Nam was a divided country. Our government felt that if the communist in North Viet Nam were to gain control, then South East Asia would fall to communist rule. As American involvement increased, casualties rose, as did the protest against the war. Anti war protest swept the nation. This was America's longest and controversial war. Why? Some say this war was unnecessary and immoral.
November 22, 1963 John F. Kennedy was assasinated by accused Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald was killed before standing trial by Jack Ruby a Dallas night club owner. Lyndon B. Johnson became president.This was the end of Camelot.
And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. John F. Kennedy (inaugural speech, 1961)
Lyndon Baines Johnson is now the president and in August 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King rallied in support of civil rights and made his famous "I have a Dream" speech. He was assasinated in April, 1968. Robert F. Kennedy was appointed Attorney General in President Kennedy's Cabinet.He was assasinated on June 6, 1968. In 1964 the Beatles came to America, Johnson signed the civil rights act and the music played on.
With the mid 60's, came the hippie movement and hard rock music known as "Psychedelic Rock" and "Acid Rock". A national symbol of the "Counter Culture". "Remember, it's not the Destination it's the Journey"
Woodstock, 1969, the music began. Sullivan county, New York. Over 450,000 people attended. The music began on August 15th and continued until August 18th. The concerts slogan was "Three days of Peace and Music." Woodstock was advertised as "A weekend in the country" - temporary commune. Stands were selling head bands, hand woven belts,and drug paraphenalia. Hashish and Marijuana was in the air. It was psychedelic; It was a time of revolution.
"I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
"What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom and compassion toward one another and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country whether they be white or whether they be black."
I hope you enjoyed this trip back to the "age of Aquarius" as much as I have enjoyed bringing it to you. It sure brought back many memories. Please don't forget to sign my guest book before you leave.
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