Dreaming in the 1960s essays

Dreaming in the 1960s essays In 1962, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said his most famous words: "I have a dream." He was not the only one who felt this way. For many, the 1960s was a decade in which their dreams about America might be fulfilled. For Martin Luther King Jr., this was a dream of a truly equal America; for John F. Kennedy, it was a dream of a young vigorous nation that would put a man on the moon; and for the hippy movement, it was one of love, peace, and freedom. The 1960s was a tumultuous decade of social and political upheaval. We are still confronting many social issues that were addressed in the 1960s today. In spite of the turmoil, there were some positive results, such as the civil rights revolution. However, many outcomes were negative: student antiwar protest movements, political assassinations, and ghetto riots excited American people and resulted in a lack of respect for authority and the law. The first president during the 1960s was John F. Kennedy. He was young, appealing, and had a carefully crafted public image that barely won him the election. Because former President Eisenhower supported the Republican nominee, Richard Nixon, and because many had doubts about Kennedy's youth and Catholic religion, Kennedy only received three-tenths of one percent more of the popular vote than Nixon. The first thing Kennedy did during his brief presidency was to try to restore the nation's economy. Economic growth was slow in 1961 when Kennedy entered the White house. The President initiated a series of tariff negotiations to stimulate exports and proposed a federal tax cut to help the economy internally. John F. Kennedy was known as one of the few presidents in history who made his own personality a significant part of his presidency and a focus of national attention. Nothing illustrated this more clearly than the reaction to the tragedy of November 22, 1963. Kennedy was driving through the streets of Dallas. The streets were...