What Is The Economic And Political Context Of The 1960s?

When most people think of the 1950’s or 1960’s, they think of Elvis, Greasers, jukeboxes, Woodstock, and rainbow peace signs and hippie love. Although these symbols are somewhat accurate (and very popular), not many people think about the changes society and culture went through. The 1950’s and 60’s were a time of great change and freedom for many Americans. Everything from World War II, to the gay liberation movement, to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 helped to change society. Many of the views American’s had on topics such as war, gender roles and sexual preference were changed greatly after these events and have led to our culture being what it is today. The 1950’s and 1960’s were a time where great changes took place that helped to

The 1950s and the 1960s had many similarities, though they had many differences as well. Their similarities and differences include: the politics, the economy, the society, and the culture of both decades. In the 1950s, North Korea moved into South Korea and began a civil war between the two parallel countries. The reason for this dispute was the border lines as well as guerrilla fighting in the South, which created a greater tension on the issue. The reason why the U.S entered the Korean War was so that the Soviet Union would not gain another nation and, in turn, more power. Like the 50s, our country was also at war with another country in the 60s. This time, the U.S was at war with Vietnam. The U.S entered the war because the

Life in America began to undergo great economic and social changes during the 1980s under the Reagan Administration. During this period of time, stagflation began to distress the US economy, leaving millions of Americans to fall victim to homelessness and poverty. The unemployment rate had reached its highest peak since the Great Depression, creating a major crisis for low-income families and other individuals concerning living conditions. The introduction of Reaganism into society primarily focused on reducing the growth of government spending through the modulation of federal income tax and reduction of government regulation to diminish inflation. Despite all attempts for economic recovery, the US struggled to bounce back from the 1970s recession and in time led to the significant rise in urban poverty. Uniquely, an American film director from the 1980s by the name of John Carpenter produced a science-fiction film, They Live, that served as a powerful and eye-opening depiction of his own personal views of Reaganism (Reaganomics). He essentially depicts our world to be controlled by powerful elites who have created a repressive society that we are unwilling brought to live and build in. He also clarifies how the majority of Americans during the 1980s were focused primarily on materialism and how an individual’s “success” was measured by the amount of money they possessed. Carpenter’s major criticisms of 1980s America included the impact of consumerism in America as well as

“What Does Labor Want?” written by Samuel Gompers (1893) shares some key values with the anarchists who wrote “The Pittsburgh Manifesto” (1883), but also many differences. Gompers had the same “cynical view” about the government’s trustworthiness as the anarchists. Gompers believed that there was a major problem involving the upper class. He referred to the wealthy class as a “class of parasites” and he believed that all they did was consume and gain money from laborers who were not getting the rights that they deserved. Upper class citizens in 1883, according to Gompers, would take profits that clearly belonged to the workers for themselves. The upper class threw out all their morals just for money, for example, they took advantage of children who did hard

Wallace had discovered the dog whistle, a way to communicate racial animosity without using explicit racism. This is a distinctly modern expression of racism which, as Ian Haney Lopez says, “[stimulates] the intended audience without overtly

Historians tend to portray the 1950’s as a decade of prosperity, conformity, and consensus, and the 1960’s as a decade of turbulence, protest, and disillusionment. Do you agree or disagree with this view? Show evidence to support your argument.

Initially, the intent of labor unions was for employed workers to meet together and collectively agree on fundamental workplace objectives and goals. The rise of the union came about after the Civil War, in the United States- responding to the industrial economy boom. Following the war, labor unions finally reached public popularity within the 1930-1950’s, and then again began to slowly decrease, through the 1960’s and on to today’s times. Although, the popularity of labor unions has decreased, its importance remains to be evident with politics, journalism, auto, and the public education industries.

How did the events from the later 1960’s and through the 1970’s contribute to cynicism and mistrust toward the nation’s leaders, especially those in politics?

Henry Ward Beecher, a member of the middle class, regarded the labor union strikes as irrational acts. He described them as “transient bubbles, which burst as soon as they were formed. They sprang from ignorance and passion.” He degraded strikers to nothing more than desperate souls that could not provide for themselves or their families. Beecher, along with most the middle class, spoke in an apathetic tone

The strong mutual support from other unions along with public protest made an intimidating crowd against the employers. The media was significant in spreading their message and emphasizing the reality of these factory workplaces. With increasing the support from middle and upper class citizens we target more of other portion of the population to back up the working class’s cause. Using testimonials and interviews the media portrayed Max Blanck and Isaac Harris as evil, greedy, and heartless. An example would be from American Federationist, which uses emotionally loaded language to capture a reader’s emotional response. The outcry that is generated can be attributed from the descriptive language of the incident reported by the

Being a part of an independent worker’s union can risk one’s job; leading a union can often lead to losing that job, being threatened, or even murdered due to to the unpopular views. Unions arise when workers see that their jobs no longer meet their basic needs in order to protect their worker’s rights alongside their jobs. However, the social elite are opposed to unions because they do not wish to loosen their grip on the workers. When composing The Iron Heel, and expressed his socialist views through the various characters. In The Iron Heel, Jack London criticizes the rise of the oligarchy and its suppression of justice as well as individuals who questioned its supremacy and legitimacy.

The American labor union has failed in its duty to protect the employees. Currently, most of the public unions agree to the plan that every worthy benefit or wage ought to be balanced by the union’s special consideration like agreeing to a two-tier salary scale, surrendering some hours, raised copays or even deductibles for medical procedures. However, these associations have done little to fight for the workers when they are faced with salary reductions, poor pays, unwarranted cutbacks and when they are denied compensation for retirements or injuries. According to Aronowitz, the US labor movement has continued to deteriorate and lacks the voice it had some times ago. By 1990s, the labor had already decreased in intensity from the higher 35 percent membership in 1953. This is just an indication that workers have no hopes in the then merged AFL-CIO (American Federation Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations) who sought to democratize the labor movement. Their so-mediated organizing model that aimed at expanding the membership was a change of the core role of the previous service model of unionism that focused on petitioning for the members’ requests. Where the distresses may have begun earlier in the 1970s, it was not until the era of Ronald Reagan that the impact was felt. Since then, members of the labor unions have turned to be mere clients. The restructuring of the economy through technological change, and company merges, so millions of workers lose jobs. However, the

The infamous numbers of “wildcat strikes” has led to Wilson and his new employment minister, Barbara Castle, into planning to use the law to limit these unofficial strikes. She believed strongly in a powerful trade union movement but she was also convinced of the need for it to act responsibly. As a result, Castle produced her white paper in 1969, In Place of Strife. In many ways, Castle’s policy proposals would strengthen the unions in dealing with employers but the trade unions were not fooled. Castle’s In Place of Strike never got beyond the White Paper stage which proves that the Labour government were only strong on rhetoric but not on action. This is also evident through the deep divisions it had created within the Labour Party. The left asked bitterly why the government was contemplating a measure that undermined the principles for which the Labour Party was

The 1960s are frequently referred to as a period of social protest and dissent. Antiwar demonstrators, civil-rights activists, feminists, and members of various other social groups demanded what they considered to be justice and sought reparation for the wrongs they believed they had suffered. The decade marked a shift from a collective view on politics, to a much more individualistic viewpoint. The 1960s could easily be characterized as a period during which political, ideological, and social tensions among radicals, liberals, and conservatives in American society are seen to have rapidly unfolded. Due to this, the decade has had an overwhelming effect on the decades that have followed. The sixties have had the greatest impact on American society out of any decade in recent history. Whether for better or for worse, the decade has had a profound influence on politics, society, foreign policy, and culture.

All human societies have been class based in some way, shape or form and, interpreting this in the most basic way, it can be said that in every known human society there has been a fundamental division between two broad social groups, the buorgeoisie that own and control the means of production, and the proletariat who own nothing but their ability to sell their labour power (that is, their ability to work) in return for wages. The anger and dissent over the differences in social classes has never wavered