Publisher’s Note Defining Documents in American History series, pro- Themes. Readers will appreciate the diversity of the duced by Salem Press, consists of a collection of essays collected texts, including speeches, treaties, leaflets, on important historical documents by a diverse range political and religious sermons, laws, government re- of writers on a broad range of subjects in American his- ports, Executive Orders, and court opinions, among tory. This established series currently offers nineteen other genres. An important feature of each essay is a titles ranging from Colonial America to the present vol- close reading of the primary source that develops evi- ume, The 1960s. dence of broader themes, such as the author’s rhetori- This volume, Defining Documents in American His- cal purpose, social or class position, point of view, and tory: The 1960s (1960-1969), offers in-depth analysis other relevant issues. In addition, essays are organized of a broad range of historical documents and historic by section themes, listed above, highlighting major is- events that shaped such pivotal themes as the nucle- sues of the period, many of which extend across eras ar arms race, antiwar sentiment, civil rights, privacy and continue to shape life as we know it around the rights, and race to the moon, all taking place in the world. Each section begins with a brief introduction 1960s. Through the close study of 49 primary source that defines questions and problems underlying the documents, this text delivers a thorough examination subjects in the historical documents. Each essay also of important political movements and societal trends in includes a Bibliography and Additional Reading section the U.S. from 1960 to 1969. The material is organized for further research. under three broad categories: Appendixes • Visions of a New Era • Chronological List arranges all documents by • Confrontations with Communism year. • Civil Rights, Social Justice, and Antiwar • Web Resources is an annotated list of websites Activism that offer valuable supplemental resources. • Bibliography lists helpful articles and books Historical documents provide a compelling view of for further study. important aspects of American history. Designed for high school and college students, the aim of the series Contributors is to advance historical document studies as an impor- Salem Press would like to extend its appreciation to tant activity in learning about history. all involved in the development and production of this work. The essays have been written and signed by Essay Format scholars of history, humanities, and other disciplines re- The 1960s contains 49 primary source documents— lated to the essays’ topics. Without these expert contri- many in their entirety. Each document is supported butions, a project of this nature would not be possible. by a critical essay, written by historians and teachers, A full list of contributor’s names and affiliations appears that includes a Summary Overview, Defining Moment, in the front matter of this volume. Author Biography, Document Analysis, and Essential vii Editor’s Introduction During the 1960s Americans became increasingly out- where North and South Vietnam were at odds. Ulti- spoken in their demands for democratization and other mately, however, Kennedy’s domestic accomplishments basic changes to the American system. African Ameri- were not extensive because his time in office was cut cans drew on their nascent protest movement in the short by his assassination in Dallas, Texas, on No- late 1950s to expand their fight for equality. Members vember 22, 1963. (The shooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, of other ethnic minorities, as well as women and young is considered by most authorities to have acted alone, people, became more active in order to advance causes but conspiracy theorists, then as now, have refused important to them. So did environmentalists, antiwar to accept that conclusion.) Kennedy’s vice president, activists, consumers, and, perhaps surprisingly, political Lyndon Johnson, took his place in the White House conservatives. That is, even as liberals favoring social and continued to promote reform programs favored by reform gained strength in all branches of the federal liberals. Johnson obtained passage of unemployment government, a broad swath of the American public—a measures and civil rights legislation that Kennedy, in “silent majority,” as Richard Nixon dubbed them near his time, had promoted. Johnson launched a “war on the end of the decade—continued to adhere to more poverty” that entailed research into the issue and led to traditional values. And a small but vocal group of con- a variety of remedial efforts, none of which, in the end, servatives pushed for sharply limiting the reach of gov- proved very effective. ernment. By the time of the 1964 presidential election, John- son had impressed a wide enough segment of the A Reform Effort Takes Root American populous to be returned to office—in a In the congressional elections of 1958, Democrats won landslide. He was aided in his victory by the relatively a lopsided victory as voters looked to a revival of liber- narrow appeal of his Republican rival, Senator Barry alism in the waning years of the Eisenhower adminis- Goldwater of Arizona, who held conservative views that tration, partly as a way to escape the minor recession many, even many Republicans, found too extreme. One that was then affecting the economy. These voters were Goldwater supporter, Ronald Reagan, nevertheless confident in the ability of the federal government to came to national prominence by speaking on the Sena- offer solutions to social and economic problems. Re- tor’s behalf. The election results served to strengthen sisting Republican efforts to curtail government action the Democrats’ hold on Congress, allowing Johnson to and spending, liberals in Congress, including Senator move ahead with his reform programs. In 1965 John- John F. Kennedy, worked with Senate majority leader son realized a string of major legislative aims, including Lyndon Johnson to begin tackling the problems of un- Medicare for the elderly, federal aid to education, and employment, unequal schools, and lack of affordable comprehensive civil rights and voting rights laws that health care for the elderly. At the same time, calls for greatly aided Southern blacks. changes in the area of race relations continued to be met with strong resistance from white Southern legis- Continuation of the Cold War—and Vietnam lators and their constituents. Earlier, President Eisen- Foreign affairs occupied much of Kennedy’s agenda hower himself, no firm believer in civil rights goals, had and then Johnson’s as well, especially after 1965. It was to use the US Army to enforce a court order for the de- certainly at the top of the agenda in the Nixon adminis- segregation of schools in Little Rock, Arkansas (1957). tration in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He also signed modest voting rights measures (1957, Kennedy sought to expand America’s influence in the 1960) into law. world, based on the country’s strong economy, techno- In 1960 John F. Kennedy was elected president, nar- logical sophistication, and vibrant form of government. rowly defeating Richard Nixon. Kennedy sought to use Kennedy believed in the policy of containment with the presidency to advance liberal social and economic respect to Communism. He expanded foreign aid pro- reforms even as he understood the need to satisfy his grams and increased missile and bomber forces within Republican opponents—for example, by reducing taxes the US military. He also launched a space program with and maintaining a US military presence in Indochina, the goal of eventually landing an astronaut on the moon. ix Before all that, however, in one of his first major de- Race, Resistance, and Reaction cisions as president, Kennedy approved an Eisenhow- The struggle for black freedom in the 1960s relied on er administration plan to topple the pro-Communist the method of nonviolent direct action, at least initially. leader Fidel Castro in Cuba by means of a small-scale Boycotts, sit-ins, and marches, some of them led by a military invasion of the island nation. The disastrous young clergyman named Martin Luther King Jr., had Bay of Pigs operation (April 1961) might easily have the effect of drawing attention to the cause and advanc- derailed his presidency, yet Kennedy managed success- ing the goal of desegregation, even as Southern whites fully to downplay its import and effects. In any case, by who opposed civil rights lashed out. The 1963 March August of the same year, a continent away, a wall was on Washington represented a milestone in the evolu- going up in Berlin that divided the eastern (Commu- tion of this movement, serving to highlight the work of nist) and western (Democratic) halves of the city. This various black leaders and groups such as the Southern was potentially a far more volatile situation, and Ken- Christian Leadership Conference, the Student Non- nedy made it clear that he opposed the wall. Then, in violent Coordinating Committee, and the Congress of what was surely the most tension-filled moment of the Racial Equality. The march, and the movement in gen- Cold War, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev took steps eral, contributed to the passage of the Civil Rights Act in October of 1963 to establish a nuclear missile base of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. in Cuba, only to be checked by Kennedy and pressed Many blacks, however, remained dissatisfied. Riot- to return the weaponry to Russia. (Kennedy, in turn, ing erupted in a number of urban black neighborhoods agreed not to invade Cuba and, behind the scenes, to between 1964 and 1968, including Los Angeles, Chi- expedite the scheduled removal of some outdated US cago, Detroit, and Newark. A Black Power movement missiles in Turkey.) The Cuban Missile Crisis proved emerged that challenged the principles of nonviolence a spectacular success for Kennedy, both diplomatically and political acquiescence, demanding instead black and politically.