Twentieth Century

Why might the 1960s be considered the most tumultuous decade during the twentieth century?…..?

Why might the 1960s be considered the most tumultuous decade during the twentieth century? How did the U.S. contradict its isolationist tendencies during the last four decades of the twentieth century? How has U.S. trust in the government been impacted by the events of the 60s through the 90s?

1) Anti-war protests; hippie-versus-traditionalist culture wars; JFK/MLK/RFK’s assassinations; Vietnam War hand-wringing generally; Cuban Missile Crisis; etc. There are a lot of things you could point to.

2) Research the Cold War. Be it out-front wars like in Vietnam or behind-the-scenes arms-dealing like in the Iran-Contra affair, the U.S. began to see itself as being engaged in a global war for the fate of the world’s people with the so-called “Evil Empire” of the Soviet Union.

3) The Vietnam War was wildly unpopular; Watergate was high-powered corruption exposed; Iran-Contra was shady and secretive. There have been several huge scandals over the years.

20th Century Boy