The 60's undoubtedly were the most turbulent years of the century. Walter Cronkite When you look back on some years.....everything seems forgettable Except for the 60's... The 60's were exciting, fast paced, turbulent, and fascinating. Some people called it the "Decade of Discontent" because of the race riots in Detroit, Los Angeles, and other cities. Others called it the Decade of "Peace, Love, and Harmony" because of the peace movement and the emergence of the "flower children" To some, it was acid trips and mind expansion: "Far out, man." For us teenagers, it was surely a Decade of "Rock and Roll"... from Elvis to the Beatles...and a thousand places in between. It was an active decade in the Congress as President Johnson signed major civil rights legislation and the laws enacting Medicare and the first round of the war on poverty... Oh Wait ! I left out the race to the moon, major political assassinations, the Berlin Wall... The country was a far different place in 1960 than it was in 1969. No, you cannot describe what happened in the Sixties in a single paragraph... perhaps not in a thousand. That is part of it's fascination. All of these significant events occurred in the span of just "One Decade" |
1960: The Soviets shoot down a U.S. spy plane and capture US Pilot; John Kennedy is elected President; and Chubby Checker introduces a new dance craze - "The Twist." Billboard Magazine published its top 100 list every week. |
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1961: The whole nation watches with excitement as Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris compete against each other in an effort to break Babe Ruth's home run record. Roger Maris does it with 61 home runs! |
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1962: K-Mart and Wal-Mart open; Russian warheads in Cuba bring the world to the edge of war; Marilyn Monroe dies suddenly; National Guard oversees the integration of first black to enroll in the University of Mississippi. |
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1962: Johnny Carson begins a 30 year reign as the host of the "Tonight Show". Johnny remained the undisputed leader of late night television until he retired. |
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1963: President Kennedy is assassinated during a visit to Dallas, Texas. Two days later, in front of a national television audience, Jack Ruby shot and killed Kennedy's accused assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald. |
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1963: Dr. Martin Luther King, preaching non violence, offers his "I have a Dream" speech before an audience of 200,000 in Washington D.C. The women's liberation movement takes off with the publishing of "The Feminine Mystique" |
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1964: The Beatles led the "British invasion" by landing in New York, and proceeded to change rock music forever. President Johnson declares a "war on poverty" Ted Kennedy nearly dies in plane crash. |
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1965: Class of '65 graduates from USC High School Civil disturbances over race and the Vietnam war play increasingly larger roles in American Society. President Johnson unveils his plan for the "Great Society" |
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1966: The Supreme Court issues its "Miranda" ruling; U.S. troop strength in southeast Asia reaches 400,000. Sam Sheppard, defended by unknown attorney F. Lee Baily, is found not guilty of murdering his wife. This was perhaps the most grizzly and heinous crime ever thrust onto the national scene. This is the crime that inspired "The Fugitive" |
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1967: The first Heart transplant operation is performed; Three U.S. Astronauts die in a fire on the launch pad during a practice session. This is the first serious accident associated with the U.S. Space program....it is a devastating setback With hardly anybody paying attention, the Green Bay Packers beat Kansas City in the first "Super Bowl" |
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1967: Huge and horrible race riots in Detroit surpass those in the Watts section of Los Angeles two years earlier, in terms of financial cost and lives lost. Forty-one people die; Detroit's mayor says, "It looks like Berlin in 1945." The face of America has serious blemishes. |
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1968: In a televised address to the nation, President Lyndon Johnson suddenly declares, "I shall not seek, and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president." The Vietnam war claims another soldier. |
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1968: Dr. Martin Luther King is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Two months later, Bobby Kennedy is assassinated in Los Angeles while running for President. |
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1968: The voting public looks for a change. In a political comeback unmatched in the twentieth century, Richard Nixon wins the presidential election in a close race against Vice-President Hubert Humphrey. |
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1968: President Kennedy's widow, Jackie, marries Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis. |
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1969: The U.S. wins the space race convincingly by landing a man on the moon. "Houston... Tranquility Base, here; the Eagle has landed." Neil Armstrong is the first man to step onto the surface of the moon. |
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1969: Senator Ted Kennedy drives his car off a bridge in Massachusetts, killing his young passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne. Many Americans would never look at Kennedy the same way (few would ever ride in a car with him at the wheel) |
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1969: Half a million party-goers sludge through the mud to experience four days of rock n' roll at an event called "Woodstock" Heavy press coverage makes the event seem much larger than it was and shows the passing of baby boomers from young children to adult children. |
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1969: Charles Manson and other members of his cult murder actress Sharon Tate and six others in a horrible event that was referred to as "Helter Skelter." The death penalty is later overturned in California, so Charlie amd his "family" can spend the rest of their lives in prison at the taxpayers' expense. |
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1969: 250,000 protestors (mostly boomers) march against the war in Washington, D.C. It is only fitting that the decade ends with as much excitement and turmoil as it began ! |
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What a decade !! Take a look at 1969...all the events listed for 1969 took place within a period of five months ! It was simply awesome ! Visit the Baby Boomer Site at www.bbhq.com for more exciting 60's trivia |
