It was an extremely close election. An extract from John F. Kennedy’s speech “The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans – born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace…(then asks American’s)… to pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
I also think another previous speech made in 1960 was important... “We stand at the edge of the New Frontier – the frontier of unknown opportunities and perils – a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and dreams...(It would deal with)... unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered pockets of ignorance and prejudice , unanswered questions of poverty and surplus.”
I think that this speech was asking too much too soon and don’t think that the problems could have been answered in America at that time, however much they would of wanted them to have been. If you compare the two speeches they have changed considerably, so had John Kennedy set his hopes to high at first?
In 1960 over 10% of the population were African-American. In the south segregation remained, the Southern politicians were determined to keep segregation and deny black people equal rights, most Southern schools remained segregated too. Black Americans were becoming impatient by the very slow progress being made in getting hold of there full civil rights. Black people thought that Kennedy didn’t want to upset the Southern politicians.
Martin Luther King organised non violent protests in demand for the desegregation of public facilities. Martin Luther King was arrested while leading a demonstration in Birmingham, Alabama. The chief of police ordered his men to attack Kings Supporters with tear gas, fire hoses, dogs and even electric cattle prods. More than 3,000 men, women and children were taken to jail. The media spread pictures of black people being injured at this demonstration and this caused the public to doubt there opinion.
In 1961 CORE (Congress on Racial Equality) began a campaign to stop segregation on busses travelling between states and to stop segregation in the bus stops. Groups of young black and white people refused to sit in the segregated bus stops.
These people were called the ‘Freedom Riders’. These young people decided to sit in the white only area. The white racists strongly opposed this. The black freedom riders were thrown to where they should be sitting at the back. The violence from the white opponents of desegregation and the non-violent freedom riders impressed many and people in other countries. In 1961 the Interstate Commission decided that all buses would be desegregated. The Freedom Riders had won this battle.
I the 1960’s there was another part to the civil rights movement this was feminism. The women believed that they should be equal to men. They didn’t want to a stereotype house wife that did all the household chores.
Women went to work and noticed that they were being paid much less than men when they were doing exactly the same job at the same standard. The feminists used strikes and took legal action to try to increase wages and open higher job opportunities for women.
I think that the term divided nation does describe America in the 1960’s because of the racism, this caused people to spilt up in communities, and the women’s civil rights act caused women to stand up against discrimination from men, so I would say that America in the 1960’s was a divided nation.
