The 1950s have always been portrayed as a perfectly painted picture, an era of traditionalism, prosperity, and conformity, however, as the 1960s ushered in the United States proved to be the complete opposite with recklessness, disillusionment, and protest. Many historians identify these two decades this way and it is completely true considering both social and political aspects of the 1950s and the 1960s are incredibly different. Political aspects in the 1950s were outstanding, the economy was great and a great military leader was the president of the era, Eisenhower. After the war production of the 1930s and 1940s, factories across the nation began to switch over to consumer production and a combination of war inflation and new found consumerism
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On November 10, 1963, Malcolm X gave a speech in Detroit, Michigan called, “Message to the Grass Roots,” where he voiced his opinion as violence begin an essential part of social revolution (Doc. F). Malcolm X’s methods were proved wrong when MLK’s successful bus boycott, lunch sit-ins, and marches made humongous strides in the right direction. The feminist movement began to spring up with Feminist Mystique by Betty Friedan in 1963, which expressed women’s thoughts of dissatisfaction with their lives in the home, but this movement did not fully emerge until the 1970s (Doc. G). But, the biggest social piece of this decade was protesting and resistance. Young adults all over the country were protesting the traditionalism of the 1950s and the Vietnam War, that was often televised across America. Some of these protests led to violence, either it be by the protesters or law enforcement, but incidents such as, the Siege of Chicago in 1968 and the Kent State University Massacre in 1970. At the Democratic National Convention of 1968, anti-war protesters broke out into a bloody riot, which led to police intervention, as …show more content…
The 1950s, brought about traditional values, conformity, and economic prosperity, which was reflected in the war Americans lived, like the suburbs, keeping up with the Jones’, and being a good housewife. While the 1960s, were full of resistance, protests, and sticking it to the man, rebelling against 1950s traditional, mom and pop values. The Civil Rights movement, early Feminism, and anti war efforts were huge aspects of the 1960s and it was even reflected in the music of the decade, which may have even fueled the disapproval. Therefore, the 1950s and the 1960s were in sharp contrasts due to the social and political climates of both
On November 10, 1963, Malcolm X gave a speech in Detroit, Michigan called, “Message to the Grass Roots,” where he voiced his opinion as violence begin an essential part of social revolution (Doc. F). Malcolm X’s methods were proved wrong when MLK’s successful bus boycott, lunch sit-ins, and marches made humongous strides in the right direction. The feminist movement began to spring up with Feminist Mystique by Betty Friedan in 1963, which expressed women’s thoughts of dissatisfaction with their lives in the home, but this movement did not fully emerge until the 1970s (Doc. G). But, the biggest social piece of this decade was protesting and resistance. Young adults all over the country were protesting the traditionalism of the 1950s and the Vietnam War, that was often televised across America. Some of these protests led to violence, either it be by the protesters or law enforcement, but incidents such as, the Siege of Chicago in 1968 and the Kent State University Massacre in 1970. At the Democratic National Convention of 1968, anti-war protesters broke out into a bloody riot, which led to police intervention, as …show more content…
The 1950s, brought about traditional values, conformity, and economic prosperity, which was reflected in the war Americans lived, like the suburbs, keeping up with the Jones’, and being a good housewife. While the 1960s, were full of resistance, protests, and sticking it to the man, rebelling against 1950s traditional, mom and pop values. The Civil Rights movement, early Feminism, and anti war efforts were huge aspects of the 1960s and it was even reflected in the music of the decade, which may have even fueled the disapproval. Therefore, the 1950s and the 1960s were in sharp contrasts due to the social and political climates of both