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The 1960's

Decent Essays

The 1960’s were most notably deemed as roaring- literally. There were uproars in the streets due to the various controversial topics including the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Civil Rights Movement, just to name a few. Not only was the decade in an uproar, it was devastating. American citizens lost important figures in both movements including President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.. However, the 1960’s summarised was an inadequate decade that produced a growing future. Moreover, because former President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was then sworn into office, the United States was fortunately able to change for the better. In 1959, President John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of America, …show more content…

So, in an attempt to help his campaign, Kennedy planned to visit the state. One of his aims for the trip was to bring Democrats together. He knew that a small yet vocal group of extremists were contributing to the political tensions in Texas and would likely make its presence felt—particularly in Dallas. Previous to the president's trip, US Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson had been physically attacked a month prior after making a speech in the city (Stern). Nonetheless, Kennedy seemed to be satisfied the likelihood of leaving Washington, getting out among the people and into the political fray (Stern). On November 22nd, 1963 President Kennedy was traveling through the city of Dallas, Texas with an intent to make a speech. Just when the president’s car was merely five minutes away from their destination, gun shots fired out. It was at that time that Kennedy was shot. Immediately, the car sped off to the nearest hospital. Within a half an hour, the President of the United States was proclaimed dead …show more content…

Even though the approval rates from Kennedy to Johnson dropped nearly ten percent, both of the two contributed greatly to the nation (Smith). During Kennedy’s presidency he created a passage for the twenty-fourth amendment, contributed towards the housing act of 1961, and led as a stewardship through the cold war (Stern). However, Johnson succeeded in accomplishing much more ‘effective’ acts. This included the Civil Rights Act, the Economic Opportunity Act, and the 1965 Voting Rights Act (Smith). To reiterate, both Presidents bestowed the United States with some of the biggest improvements, and got us through some of the worst hardships. Nonetheless, President Kennedy did not contribute to one of America’s biggest changes- the Civil Rights Movement. I feel that if Kennedy were to have done something, he would be deemed ‘better’ than Johnson. Yet, it was ultimately Johnson who shaped the nation. It was Johnson that acted on every reform he promised to make. Therefore, it was ultimately President Johnson that better sculpted

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