The Civil Rights Movements of the 60s essays

The Civil Rights Movements of the 60s essays On May 4th, 1970, four students were killed, eight injured, when shots fired out everywhere across the Kent State University Campus (www.may4.org) . This tragedy both symbolically, and chronologically marked the end of a turbulent decade the decade of discontent as some people called it (Gottlieb, 17). This incident was the result of a peace protest against President Richard Nixon, and was just one example of the many political, cultural, and spiritual revolutions that erupted from this decade. The Civil Rights Movement, the Anti-War Movement, and the Womens Rights Movement were three of the largest and most revolutionary ideas which sprung from a generation of counter-culturists. Each Movement contributed to the future American culture in varying degrees. Each had their heroes, their enemies, and their own morale. These movements were the frameworks for a young generation to build upon, who were looking to find a new way of life, and seeing the world. The assassination of President Kennedy on November 22nd, 1963 seems to be the turning point for a generation of teenagers. This was the event after which America began to change. (Gottlieb, 18). People felt that something had been taken away from them, and there was nothing to fill the void that was left. This is when the restlessness and upheaval of a culture began. There had already been instigation, during Kennedys term, of the most lasting and continual movement that has ever come out of the United States. Led by a strong, and devoted citizen, Martin Luther King Jr. The Civil Rights movement had already begun. The fight for equal rights among blacks and whites had already started to change the way America was thinking. It was affecting the way Congress, and politics in general were running. The predictability of votes, and discipline of Congress was beginning to become weak. As House Majority Leader Carl Albert ...