The 1960s Decades of the 20th and 21st Centuries EPUB

The 1960s Decades of the 20th and 21st Centuries EPUB Free Download

“Discusses the decade 1960-1969 in the United States in terms of culture, art, science, and politics”
The 1960s began with a tremendous burst of excitement and optimism. The youthful President John F. Kennedy said that America stood on the edge of a new frontier of progress and prosperity. He inspired idealism at his inauguration in 1961 when he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” Americans flocked to join the Peace Corps, volunteers who taught people in underdeveloped countries the skills necessary to make a better life for themselves. President Kennedy also set a difficult goal for the nation’s space program, which was to land Americans on the moon by the end of the decade. In 1969, American astronauts did land on the moon and return safely to earth. Americans greeted this achievement with pride. But the lunar landing was only a temporary distraction. By 1969, the United States was not a happy place.
The decade that had seemed so full of promise back in 1960 would end in confusion, anger, and despair. The 1960s were a time of great tensions in the world. The United States and the Soviet Union were locked in the bitter rivalry of the Cold War. The two countries did not fight each other directly, but they came dangerously close in 1962. If they had gone to war then, it might have spelled the end of the world. Both countries had thousands of nuclear weapons, and just one of these bombs could destroy an entire city.