1960s
The 1960s (pronounced "nineteen-sixties", shortened to the "'60s" or the "Sixties") was a decade that began on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969.[1]
"Sixties", "'60s", "The Sixties", and "The 60s" redirect here. For decades comprising years 60–69 of other centuries, see List of decades. For the related CNN documentary mini-series, see The Sixties (miniseries).
While the achievements of humans being launched into space, orbiting Earth, and walking on the Moon extended exploration, the Sixties are known as the "countercultural decade" in the United States and other Western countries. There was a revolution in social norms, including clothing, music (such as the Altamont Free Concert), drugs, dress, sexuality, formalities, civil rights, precepts of military duty, and schooling. Others denounce the decade as one of irresponsible excess, flamboyance, the decay of social order, and the fall or relaxation of social taboos. A wide range of music emerged; from popular music inspired by and including the Beatles (in the United States known as the British Invasion), the folk music revival, to the poetic lyrics of Bob Dylan. In the United States the Sixties were also called the "cultural decade" while in the United Kingdom (especially London) it was called the Swinging Sixties.
The United States had four presidents that served during the decade; Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. Eisenhower was near the end of his term and left office in January 1961, and Kennedy was assassinated[2][3] in 1963. Kennedy had wanted Keynesian[4] and staunch anti-communist social reforms. These were passed under Johnson including civil rights for African Americans and health care for the elderly and the poor. Despite his large-scale Great Society programs, Johnson was increasingly disliked by the New Left at home and abroad. For some, May 1968 meant the end of traditional collective action and the beginning of a new era to be dominated mainly by the so-called new social movements.[5]
After the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro, the United States attempted to depose the new leader by training Cuban exiles and invading the island of Cuba. This led to Cuba to ally itself to the Soviet Union, a hostile enemy to the United States, resulting in an international crisis when Cuba hosted Soviet ballistic missiles similar to Turkey hosting American missiles, which brought the possibility of causing World War III. However, after negotiations between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R, both agreed to withdraw their weapons averting potential nuclear warfare.
After U.S. President Kennedy's assassination, direct tensions between the superpower countries of the United States and the Soviet Union developed into a contest with proxy wars, insurgency funding, puppet governments and other overall influence mainly in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. This "Cold War" dominated the world's geopolitics during the decade. Construction of the Berlin Wall by East Germany began in 1961. Africa was in a period of radical political change as 32 countries gained independence from their European colonial rulers. The heavy-handed American role in the Vietnam War lead to an anti-Vietnam War movement with outraged student protestors around the globe culminating in the protests of 1968.
China saw the end of Mao's Great Leap Forward in 1962 that led to many Chinese to die from the deadliest famine in human history and the start of the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976. Its stated goal was to preserve Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society, leading to the arrests of a many Chinese politicians, the killings of millions of civilians and ethnic minorities, and the destruction of many historical and cultural buildings, artifacts and materials all of which would last until the death of Mao Zedong.
By the end of the 1950s, post-war reconstructed Europe began an economic boom. World War II had closed up social classes with remnants of the old feudal gentry disappearing. A developing upper-working-class (a newly redefined middle-class) in Western Europe could afford a radio, television, refrigerator and motor vehicles. The Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries were improving quickly after rebuilding from WWII. Real GDP growth averaged 6% a year during the second half of the decade; overall, the worldwide economy prospered in the 1960s with expansion of the middle class and the increase of new domestic technology.
In the United Kingdom, the Labour Party gained power in 1964 with Harold Wilson as Prime Minister through most of the decade.[6] In France, the protests of 1968 led to President Charles de Gaulle temporarily fleeing the country.[7] Italy formed its first left-of-center government in March 1962 with Aldo Moro becoming Prime Minister in 1963. Soviet leaders during the decade were Nikita Khrushchev until 1964 and Leonid Brezhnev.
During the 1960s, the world population increased from 3.0 to 3.7 billion people. There were approximately 1.15 billion births and 500 million deaths.
Natural:
Non-natural:
TV shows like Doctor Who, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Andy Griffith Show, The Addams Family, and Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek: The Original Series were popular in the 1960s (the latter garnering a much wider audience in the following decades and becoming a global phenomenon).
The Beatles (consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison) released music throughout the 1960s, and are often considered the most popular band in global history. Beatlemania was/is the fanaticism surrounding The Beatles. The Beatles experienced intense fan worship during the '60s era.
Bob Dylan is often considered the greatest songwriter of all time, and through a process of mutual influence with The Beatles and other artists helped define the explosion of musical ideas in the 1960s.
Peace symbols and flowers were an aesthetic of the counterculture and hippie movements of the 1960s.
Anti-war movements like the protests of 1968 were demonstrations and revolts against various forms of governmental jurisdiction and corruption. These protests were a major part of 1960s popular culture.
Hanna-Barbera cartoons such as The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Yogi Bear Show, Wacky Races, Top Cat, Scooby-Doo, and Jonny Quest were popular in the 1960s.
Crowds at the stage during the Woodstock Music Festival, two months after the Stonewall riots in June 1969.
Six Olympic Games were held in the 1960s, Squaw Valley and Rome in 1960, Innsbruck and Tokyo in 1964, Grenoble and Mexico City in 1968 (all during the Cold War).
The 1960s were the height of the Space Age and space aesthetics in popular culture. In 1969, humans landed on the Moon for the first time.
The superhero boom of the decade saw in media and popular culture, TV series like Batman, The Green Hornet, The Marvel Super Heroes, and Spider-Man were more popular.
