Great Conflict And Tensions Of The 1960's

The 1960’s was a time of great conflict and tension for America. Lyndon B. Johnson was elected president in 1963, and many social issues were dividing the United States at this time. The fight for equal rights for every citizen, not just white males, caused many riots, protests, and distress for the country. The Vietnam War was taking place on the other side of the world, but was severely affecting Americans back in the States. It lead to the Anti-War Movement, which still affects America on foreign relations today. On top of all of that, there was a serious economic divide in the country that caused certain classes to rise and fall. This decade was very trying for the United States, and has affected our society even to this day. The 1960’s was full of civil rights leaders that helped shape America into the country it is today. There will always be racial tensions in society, but without Martin Luther King Jr. and his fellow activists, the inequalities that blacks faced in America wouldn’t have been addressed until much later on in life. However, great progress comes with great struggle. Americans all over the country had issues with giving black people rights, but this was predominant in the deep south. Three civil rights workers traveled down to Mississippi in 1964 with the goal of registering African Americans to vote.

In the 1960’s forty million Americans lived under the poverty line according to the documentary watched in class on Wednesday. President Lyndon B. Johnson’s solution to this was something called the Great Society. This was basically the start of welfare, and the start of a large portion of the country being more dependant on the government than on themselves. The Great Society made it acceptable to not pursue a path of personal success, and instead allowed for generation after generation to accept government aid in place of working for themselves and their