Lessons of the 1960's Essay

Lessons of the 1960’s-The Turbulent Era

By: Jacob Harbin

The sixties were a time of change, counter culture, and political movements. Many young people involved themselves in trying to make America a better place for all, no matter what gender or race they were. The 1960s were a decade where hundreds of thousands of Americans gave new life to the nation's democratic ideals. African Americans used sit-ins, freedom rides, and protest marches to fight segregation, poverty, and unemployment. Feminists demanded equal job opportunities and an end to sexual discrimination. Mexican Americans protested discrimination in voting, education, and employment. Native Americans demanded that the government recognize their land claims and the right of tribes to govern themselves. Environmentalists demanded legislation to control the amount of pollution released into the environment. The 1960’s gave hope for not only one group of people, but for all the men and women of the United States. The 1960’s shaped America and lead to and end to segregation, more rights for women, and many influential people who are still instrumental to our culture today.

America’s people and their leaders had been blinded by the acts of racist intentions for over 250 years. It was not until the 1960’s that our people realized that racism needed to end. Racial segregation had existed everywhere in the United States, but in the South it was mandated through a set of laws known as Jim Crow laws. These laws were enacted on the state and national levels between 1876 and 1964. Jim Crow laws required that African American people be segregated from white people in all public places. People were segregated for many decades simply for the color of their skin. Our government allowed us to treat people like animals, with the belief that their skin color made them less superior than us. These beliefs caused terror, and tension in our country that demoralized are democratic upbringing. It wasn’t until the introduction of two of the most influential people of not only the 1960’s but all time: Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. With their commitment to bring an end to racism and segregation, they showed us the lesson of life without these problems, and how much more peace and gratitude we would have in our lives. They paved the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and brought an end to racial segregation in our country.

The Women’s Rights movement of the 1960’s was a much needed lesson of civil rights for our government and people. Imagine the life of a woman before the 1960s. Her life had been difficult– denied basic rights, trapped in the home her entire life and discriminated against in the workplace. Then, the 1960s came along, with it, the thought that women could have a say in their government, that they could perhaps leave the home without feeling guilty about leaving their children alone, and that they could receive a job and earn wages like men. The women’s liberation movement of the 1960s helped all these changes to come about through its scores of policies and radical ways of thinking. Women should have had equal rights of men since the creation of our nation. This country was based on the formation of equal rights for all, and that everyone should be treated equal. Yet, the leaders of our country have tried to separate men and women not being equal for hundreds of years. Through many organizations such as the National Organization for Women (NOW), women fought for equal rights and for the freedom their nation promised them. In 1963, the Federal Government amended the Equal Rights Act. This was to ensure that sex-based wage discrimination between men and women in the same work establishment was prohibited. The following year, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This was to protect women from being discriminated against in the work environment. In 1965, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioners (EEOC) was appointed to enforce the Civil Rights Act, these acts led to an end of discrimination towards women, and a new beginning for the United States. The lesson of women’s right taught to us in the 1960’s was that anyone can make a difference as long as you strive for what you believe in life.

The 1960’s had many influential people that shaped our country, no one stood out more than John F. Kennedy. JFK’s rise to fame began when he was elected America's youngest president. During his period in office people stepped out and said how they felt. They thought that with Kennedy leading America, anything was possible. JFK was viewed to the people as a leader they could feel free to criticize, that he would listen to the people no matter what their opinion was about him. JFK was the true face of democracy, and provided the American’s with a sense of well-being and realistic answers. He is one of the main contributors of bringing an end to segregation and racisms towards blacks, and equal right’s for women. He taught and lived the lesson of all people should be treated equal, and that no one should ever be discriminated. JFK was able to be a main contributor to the civil rights movement all while dealing with the Cold War and the Cuban missile crisis. His desire for not only peace in the United States, and with Russia made JFK one of the best peace organizers of all time. He taught us the lesson of acting with words rather than violence, to bring equal rights to a nation, and to prevent an all out nuclear war. 

The sixties provided the United States with a clear path to the future, a future with equal rights for all, no matter what race, or gender. The era provided us with many influential people including Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and John F. Kennedy. We found ourselves avoiding all out nuclear war, and reaching the moon. The 1960’s shaped America and lead to and end to segregation, more rights for women, and many influential people who are still instrumental to our culture today. The 1960’s taught us the lesson the sky’s the limit, and never stop achieving or striving for greatness.