Introduction to the Magic

The time period that was home to many, if not all, significant events in the Vietnam War was also the birthplace of other trends that helped to shape our nation. The 1960’s was driven by the counter culture movement which fought issues such as the Vietnam War, race relations, human sexuality, women’s rights, psychoactive drugs, and many others. During this decade, Pop music became popular as a result of the hippie band The Beatles. Both with their lyrics and their actions, The Beatles portrayed the ideals of the hippie movement through the use of change and experimentation. This alternative thinking was the driving force behind not only the Beatles success, but the counterculture movement as a whole. As protestors marched the streets, major military conflicts were taking place abroad. Two of the most important conflicts during the 1960’s were the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Golf of Tonkin incident. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a military scare which occurred when the U.S. learned about Soviet missiles in nearby Cuba. The conflict was later resolved when the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba as did the U.S. from Turkey. This event illustrated the theme of Brinkmanship that occurred throughout the Cold War. The next major conflict, The Gulf of Tonkin incident, had implications which would provide the military with the backbone it needed to succeed in the Vietnam war. Following this conflict, Congress granted President Lyndon B. Johnson authorization for the use of military force in southeast asia. In doing so, Congress gave Johnson unlimited military power and funds. Congress’s actions became controversial, but furthermore they were responsible for the evolution of the Vietnam War. At the tail end of the 60’s, the first human spaceflight landed on the moon. Apollo 11 made it’s legendary landing on July 20, 1969. As our nation moved into the 70‘s, many of the prevalent events and ideals of the 60’s came to a close. The Hippie movement faded towards the middle of the 1970’s. While artists such the Beatles stayed popular for years to come, the 70’s brought about an era of disco music. On a grander scale, The Vietnam War came to a close in 1975 when the U.S. removed troops further resulting in the fall of Saigon and the unconditional surrender of South Vietnam. A year later, Vietnam was united as one nation. The 60’s and 70’s was an interesting time in American history. Both at home and abroad we were at war. At home many fought for or against the counterculture movement and abroad we fought a vicious guerilla war against communist North Vietnam. In retrospect, no matter ones viewpoints. The 60’s and 70’s played a vital role in the development of our country.