The ‘60s saw a man walk on the moon, the counterculture revolution, and the British Invasion. The decade also saw the Vietnam War escalate and the Cold War play out in proxy wars across Africa and Asia. Here are 17 things that happened in the ’60s that you might have forgotten about.
The British Invasion
After The Beatles’ groundbreaking appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, British bands changed the music landscape in America. Described as the “British Invasion,” bands including The Animals, The Kinks, and The Rolling Stones led to this transatlantic cultural exchange. Grammy Museum argued, “At no other time in the 20th century had American popular music been so jolted by foreign sounds and influences.”
The Space Race Peaks
After WWII ended, the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union began. History reports, “By the late 1950s, space became another dramatic arena for this competition, as each side sought to prove the superiority of its technology, its military firepower and—by extension—its political-economic system.” The intense competition between the two superpowers ended in American victory when NASA’s Apollo 11 mission saw Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong land on the moon in 1969.
The Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Movement was a campaign to abolish legalized discrimination, disenfranchisement, and racial segregation in the U.S. The 1960s saw several critical events in the movement, including the 1964 Civil Rights Act, outlawing racial or religiously motivated discrimination, and the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965.
The Counterculture Revolution
The counterculture revolution was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon that saw social tensions between generational lines regarding sexuality, women’s rights, the rights of people of color, drug use, and the end of racial segregation. Widespread protests were held against the Vietnam War, and psychedelic art and music emerged in the 1967 Summer of Love in San Francisco.
Second-Wave Feminism
The 1963 publication of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique sparked widespread public discussion about women’s roles and rights, beginning second-wave feminism in the U.S. Notable events included the formation of the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966, which advocated for equal rights for women, and the Miss America protest of 1968, where feminists publicly challenged the beauty pageant for its objectification of women.
The Vietnam War Escalates
The Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964 saw an unprovoked attack on a U.S. Navy destroyer by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. Britannica writes that this “allowed President Lyndon B. Johnson to greatly escalate U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War.” The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was shortly adopted, which served as the president’s legal justification for deploying conventional U.S. forces to South Vietnam and beginning open warfare against North Vietnam.
The Rise of Environmentalism
Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring, released in 1962, highlighted the dangers of indiscriminate pesticide use during WWII and the environmental pollution it caused. This led to public discussions about environmentalism that increased over the next decade. The Cuyahoga River fire in 1969 drew further national attention to industrial pollution, with Congress establishing the Environmental Protection Agency in January of the following year, which also saw the country’s first Earth Day.
Cuban Missile Crisis
In 1962, the Cold War looked like it was heating up. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day crisis sparked by the presence of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, diplomatically resolved by the publicized removal of the Soviet missiles and a non-publicized removal of American nuclear missiles from Italy and Turkey. The peaceful resolution also saw the creation of a nuclear hotline between the two superpowers to avoid repeating a similar incident.
Pop Art Movement
Lobo Pop Art describes artists of the pop army movement of the 1960s incorporating “common objects – comic books, cans of soup, newspapers and more – into their works.” Andy Warhol’s iconic “Marilyn Diptych” and “Campbell’s Soup Cans” challenged traditional concepts of art, while Roy Lichtenstein’s comic strip-inspired paintings blended and parodied pop culture.
The Assassination of John F. Kennedy
In November 1963, in Dallas, Texas, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding down Dealey Plaza in a presidential motorcade. Lee Harvey Oswald, his accused killer, was apprehended later that day before being murdered two days later by nightclub owner Jack Ruby live on television at the Dallas Police Headquarters. The subsequent Warren Commission investigation into the assassination found that Oswald had been the lone shooter of the president but has since been met with heavy skepticism.
Woodstock Music & Art Fair
The Woodstock Festival of 1969 became a symbol of the counterculture movement, attracting over 460,000 attendees. Thirty-two acts, including Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, performed in overcast, rainy conditions in the “Three Days of Peace.” The festival was the most famous of its kind in the 1960s and is regarded as a pivotal moment in pop music history.
The Rise of Television
In an opinion piece for Smithsonian Magazine, Susan Murray argued that “color television was one of the most complex and transformative technological innovations of its time, symbolizing a unique and thoroughly modern form of seeing and representing.” The widespread adoption of color television saw dynamic shows like Star Trek and The Ed Sullivan Show watched by millions of Americans, who soon viewed black-and-white TV as quaint and old-fashioned.
Decolonization and Independence Movements
1960 is known as the year of Africa, with 17 African countries gaining independence as decolonization accelerated. As countries worldwide gained independence from the U.K., France, and other former colonial powers, the U.S. and the USSR competed for influence in the newly independent states. The newly independent states organized to oppose continued economic colonialism from their former imperial powers, setting up the Non-Aligned Movement.
The Beatles’ Disbandment
After years of Beatlemania, the group grew tired of live performances and stopped touring in 1966, focusing on record production. The band soon started quarreling and displaying individual artistic agendas. The Collector describes the subsequent breakup as “multifaceted and complex,” caused by “money problems, Brian Epstein’s death, John’s relationship with Yoko, not to mention creative divergences, internal power struggles, and the evolving artistic impulses of all four Beatles.”
The Birth of the Internet
In 1969, ARPANET, the first public packet-switched computer network and the precursor of the modern internet, was launched, marking the start of digital communication. TechTarget notes, “Many of the protocols used by computer networks today were developed for ARPANET, and it is considered the forerunner of the modern internet.”
The Cultural Impact of James Bond
The 1962 release of Dr. No introduced audiences to James Bond, launching a successful film franchise. James Bond embodied the Cold War era’s tensions and fantasies, and the 007 series kicked off the “spy wave” of the 1960s, including films like Our Man Flint, The Liquidator, and Modesty Blaise.
The Mini Skirt Revolution
British fashion designer Mary Quant popularized the mini skirt in the early 1960s. The skirt was associated with the women’s liberation movement and was a symbol of freedom and liberation. Its influence on fashion has endured in the decades since. CF
READ MORE
Times change, and some of us are old enough to remember how much. Some things that were seen as affordable or reasonable a few decades ago are now luxury items kept as a rare treat, only exist in certain instances (or not at all), or are reserved for the wealthy. One internet user recently inquired, “What was normal 20–30 years ago but is considered a luxury now?” Here are the top 20 replies:
20 THINGS THAT WEREN’T CONSIDERED LUXURIES 20–30 YEARS AGO (BUT ARE NOW)
23 THINGS HUSBANDS WISH THEY COULD TELL THEIR WIVES WITHOUT STARTING A FIGHT
A recent internet survey posed the question, “Married men: what’s one thing you wish you could tell your wife but won’t because you know it will start a fight?” Here are the 23 best responses.
23 THINGS HUSBANDS WISH THEY COULD TELL THEIR WIVES WITHOUT STARTING A FIGHT
STUCK IN THE PAST? 21 HOME DECOR ITEMS THAT INSTANTLY EXPOSES YOU AS A BOOMER
Some things never change, and a few products hold onto the past. Here are 21 items that scream ‘Boomer’ and are associated with outdated technology and nostalgic trinkets. Check your home to see if you have any of these relics.
STUCK IN THE PAST? 21 HOME DECOR ITEMS THAT INSTANTLY EXPOSES YOU AS A BOOMER
19 THINGS THAT ONLY OLD PEOPLE SEEM TO HATE (AND NO ONE ELSE CARES)
As times change, there are inevitably some things that baffle our beloved seniors, while leaving the rest of us in splits or simply shrugging it off. From avocado toasts to e-books, in this article, we’re highlighting 19 things old people hate that the rest of us just don’t understand.
19 THINGS THAT ONLY OLD PEOPLE SEEM TO HATE (AND NO ONE ELSE CARES)
20 AMERICAN FOODS THAT THE REST OF THE WORLD CAN’T STOMACH
They say you are what you eat, but for these treats, you might want to wish otherwise. Read on for the top 20 foods that Americans may love but the rest of the world just absolutely can’t stand.