Decade: 1960s Civil Rights and Turmoil

 ◦ ◦ 1960 Census indicates the US population to be over 179 million people, an 18.5 increase since 1950. New York and California have over million people within their borders.

Senator John F. Kennedy is elected as president. This campaign for president saw the first televised debate.

  ◦ ◦ ◦ 1961 The Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba is squashed by Cuban forces. Cuban exiles under the direction of the United States government tried to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro.

1962 First signs of looming Vietnam conflict emerge when President Kennedy admits that the military advisors already in Vietnam would engage the enemy if fired upon.

The Cuban Missile Crisis begins. President JFK orders a naval and air blockade of military equipment on the island in response to the Soviets building offensive missiles in Cuba. The conflict would last 38 days before an agreement is reached.

 1963 ◦ US Supreme Court rules that the laws requiring the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer or Bible verses in public schools is unconstitutional (Abington School District v. Schemmp).

◦ ◦ The Civil Rights march on Washington D.C. culminates with Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Over 200,000 people participated in the march for equal rights.

JFK is fatally shot in Dallas, TX on Nov. 22 nd by Lee Harvey Oswald. VP Lyndon Johnson is sworn into office later that day. Lee Harvey Oswald would be shot two days after Kennedy’s assassination on live television by Jack Ruby while being transported by police.

  ◦ ◦ ◦ 1964 US legislation is passed, banning discrimination in jobs, voting, and accommodations.

Tonkin Resolution is passed, giving the president broad powers to take action in Vietnam after two American destroyers were attacked.

Lyndon B. Johnson wins his first presidential election.

◦ ◦ 1965 President Johnson orders the continuous bombing of North Vietnam.

The Voting Rights Act is passed. Voters are no longer required to take a literacy test.

  ◦ ◦ ◦ 1966 Medicare, the government medical program for citizens over the age of 65, begins.

1968 President Johnson announces a slowing to the bombing of North Vietnam. Peace talks would begin in Paris in May. All bombing of North Vietnam is halted by late October.

Richard Nixon wins the presidential election.

  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ 1960 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The Twist by Chubby Checker Andy Griffith show airs. It would run until 1968.

The Flinstones, by Hanna-Barbera, would air from 1960 to 1966.

The Twilight Zone becomes popular after it’s debut in 1959. It would run for 5 seasons.

1961 Ernest Hemingway kills himself with a shotgun.

101 Dalmatians by Disney is produced.

Stand By Me by Ben E. King Crazy and I Fall to Pieces by Patsy Cline The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens

 ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ 1962 Marilyn Monroe dies after an apparent drug overdose.

The Beverly Hillbillies becomes one of the most popular TV series (62-71) To Kill a Mockingbird is made into a movie, starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch.

The Jetson’s by Hanna-Barbera Dr. No, the first James Bond movie, starring Sean Connery is produced.

Andy Warhol exhibits his Campbell’s Soup Can artwork.

Surfin Safari by The Beach Boys Big Girls Don’t Cry by the Four Seasons Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter, Paul, and Mary

  ◦ ◦ 1963 Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds is produced.

Surfin USA by The Beach Boys Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ 1964 Beatlemania hits the shores of the US with the release of “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” Mary Poppins, starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke is produced Disney.

I Dream of Jeanie airs from 64-70 The Addams Family airs from 64 66 Bewitched airs from 64-72 Gilligan’s Island airs from 64-67 Goldfinger, the second James Bond movie, is produced.

  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ 1964 cont… ◦ My Girl by The Temptations Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison 1965 The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews, wins Best Picture.

Green Acres airs from 65 71 Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers Turn, Turn, Turn by the Byrds I Got You Babe by Sonny and Cher

 ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ 1966 Walt Disney dies Star Trek, starring William Shatner, airs from 66-69 Batman, starring Adam West, airs from 66-68 Mission Impossible airs from 66-73 Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys When a Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge Yellow Submarine by The Beatles

  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ 1967 The rock musical Hair opens on Broadway The Carol Burnett show airs (1967-78) The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft, is produced.

Respect by Aretha Franklin All You Need Is Love by the Beatles Otis Redding dies in a plane crash 3 days after recording Dock of the Bay ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ 1968 2001: A Space Odyssey Planet of the Apes, starring Charleston Heston Mrs. Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel Stand By Your Man by Tammy Wynette

 ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ 1969 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford Sesame Street on PBS airs Scooby Doo Where Are You?

Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles Aquaris/Let the Sun Shine In by 5 th Dimension

   ◦ ◦ 1964 1960 Olympic Champion Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) wins the World Heavyweight Championship in boxing.

1967 ◦ Muhammad Ali is stripped of his heavyweight title and boxing license for refusing the draft.

1969 The New York Jets win Super Bowl III after a bold prediction by quarterback Joe Namath. This is the first time a former American Football League team wins in the NFL.

  ◦ 1961 The First US manned sub-orbital space flight is completed with Commander Alan B. Shepard, Jr. Twenty days later, President Kennedy announces his intention to place a man on the moon by the end of the decade.

◦ 1962 Lt. Colonel John Glenn becomes the first US astronaut in orbit. He would circle the earth three times before returning to earth.

  ◦ 1965 Kevlar is developed by a Dupont scientist. It would be patented two years later.

◦ 1969 The Internet (originally called Arpanet) is invented by a division of the US Department of Defense.

 ◦ ◦ 1960 Four black college students stage a sit-in in Greensboro, NC at a segregated Woolworth lunch counter, protesting their denial of service. This action caused a national campaign waged by 75,000 students over the next eight months, in sit ins across the nation for Civil Rights.

A US recon plane is shot down in the Soviet Union. Pilot Gary Powers is captured and sentenced to ten years in prison for espionage. He would be exchanged two years later for a Soviet spy in Berlin.

  ◦ ◦ 1961 The entire US figure skating team is killed in a plane crash near Brussels, Belgium on their journey to the World Championships. 73 people are killed as a result of the crash.

Construction of the Berlin Wall begins by the Soviet bloc, segregating the German city. The wall would last for 28 years.

◦ ◦ 1962 The Seattle Century 21 Exposition, the first world’s fair to be held in the US since WWII, opens under the theme of space exploration.

3,000 troops quell riots, allowing James Meredith to enter the University of Mississippi as the first black student under guard by Federal marshals.

   ◦ 1963 Alcatraz, the island prison in San Francisco Bay, is closed and the remaining 27 prisoners are relocated.

◦ 1964 This year marks the end of the post-war Baby Boom. Nearly 77.3 million births occurred between 1946 and 1964.

◦ ◦ 1965 The Watts race riots occur in Los Angeles. The six-day riot culminates in the death of 34 people and property damage in the excess of $200 million.

The first public burning of a draft card occurs in protest to the Vietnam War.

  ◦ ◦ ◦ 1967 Thurgood Marshall is sworn into office as the first black Supreme Court Justice.

1968 Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray in Memphis, TN while standing on a motel balcony.

Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is shot at a campaign celebration in Los Angeles by Sirhan Sirhan. He dies one day later.

 ◦ 1969 The Apollo program completes it mission. Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to set foot on the moon.

 The 1960s featured a number of diverse trends. It was a decade that broke many fashion traditions, mirroring social movements during the time. ◦ Culottes, go-go boots, box-shaped PVC dresses and other PVC clothes were popular as well as the bikini, after being featured in the musical Beach Party .

◦ ◦ ◦ The mini-skirt and the pillbox hat (introduced by Jackie Kennedy), both became extremely popular. False eyelashes and hairstyles of varying lengths and styles was popular. People wore psychedelic prints, highlighter colors, and mismatched patterns. The hippie movement exerted a strong influence on ladies' clothing styles, including bell-bottom jeans, tie-dye, as well as paisley prints.

       Bad pipes – sore throat Bag – to steal Bread – money Copasetic – very good; all right Cords – corduroy pants (worn very tight) Ding-a-ling – odd person, nerd Don’t flip your wig/don’t have a cow – don’t get upset

           Fink – tattletale Fly right – to be honest Fuzz – police Go ape – lose control Green – money Hang loose – relax; take it easy Heavy – powerful, deep thought or sad Juice – inside, confidential information Killer – extremely good Kiss off – to dismiss Lip flappin’ – talking about things of little importance

           Nifty – useful; good Nitty-gritty – to core of truth Old lady/old man – referred to mom and dad Peepers – eyeglasses Pound – to beat up Scratch – money Shot down – rejected Threads – clothes Thumb – to hitchhike What’s your bag, man? – what’s your problem?

Zilch/zot – zero; nothing