Century Series Video – 1960-1964 - Poisoned Dreams
Mr. Cripps’ Notes
February 1960 – North Carolina
• Lunch counter protest against segregation
• Similar protests in 30 southern cities
• Protestors were young
• People in the country realized something was wrong
President John F. Kennedy
• Very much Cold War warrior
• Candidate of the new generation
• Part of first presidential debate – on television vs. Richard
Nixon
• First President that seemed like a normal person
• Administration dominated by young people
April 1961 – Soviets sent cosmonaut around the globe
• What would we do if Soviets had missiles in space?
• Alan Shepard went into space 3 weeks later
• Kennedy talked about sending a man to the moon
Bay of Pigs
• U.S. supported Cuban exiles invaded Cuba
• We did not support and the exiles were defeated
Berlin
• U.S. told to pull out troops from Berlin
• Serious threat of nuclear war
• People trained for nuclear attacks
• 1961- Berlin Wall built to separate communist Berlin from the
rest of Berlin
Cuba – 1962
• Discovered Soviet nuclear missile in Cuba
• 90 miles from U.S. – could fire on much of Southeastern U.S.
• Kennedy said that any attack from Cuba would be seen as an
act of war between U.S. and USSR
• U. S. in DefCon 2 – closest step to war
• U.S. blockaded Cuba – war supplies at first
• Soviet ships approached – eventually turned around in
exchange for U.S. promise not to invade Cuba
Your Notes
Civil Rights
• Black world and white world
• Segregation in some areas was deemed illegal but rulings were
not enforced
• Freedom Ride - People realized they might die but felt as if
they were serving their country as in war
• Albany, Georgia – hundreds of nonviolent young protestors
jailed – effort failed
Birmingham, Alabama
• most violent racial city –
• Governor George Wallace said that Birmingham schools would
not desegregate
• Leader of the protest was Martin Luther King – recognized
Civil Rights leader
• Young children were used – 1000’s arrested
• Bull Connor was the old-fashioned chief of police – used fire
hoses on protestors
March on Washington (1963)
• due to JFK’s Civil Rights bill
• MLK - “I have a dream” speech
Peace Corps
• Way for young people to do good for the world
• Countered the appeal of communism in the developing world
Green Berets
• New group of elite soldiers
• Fought against guerrilla fighters
• First fought in Vietnam
Vietnam
• Concern about domino effect – if Vietnam became communist,
neighboring nations would follow
• Sent military advisors
• 1963 – situating deteriorating in Vietnam
• War was escalating
1963 – some talks to end Cold War struggles
• nuclear testing ban
November 22 ,1963 - JFK assassinated in Dallas by Lee Harvey
Oswald
• country was devastated
• blow to the self-confidence and optimism of the U.S.