Richard Nixon

Nixon became the resurgence of the Republican party after the defeats of the previous Democrat presidents. In his presidency, he ended the draft, made new environmental incentives, anti crime laws, and revenue sharing. In 1969, under his office, America set foot on the moon, which is also notable. Nixon took up the end of the sixties, as he was only president in one year of it (1969). He is perhaps most famous for his “The Silent Majority” speech, in which he put forth flexible plans for the end of the war. Within the year, American soldiers had been withdrawn and the ceasefire had held.

Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh gained support and power in North Vietnam through the Chinese communists, whose military and economic contributions allowed Minh to establish a North Vietnamese government after the French left the area. In December of 1960, Minh formed the North Vietnamese military, the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF) also known as the Vietcong. The reason why Minh was able to gain so much power was through the separation of knowledge (so interrogation did not serve much of a purpose) and the fostering of alliances with peasants, which is why the Vietnam War was so hard to fight

Ngo Dinh Diem

Diem was the anticommunist leader of South Vietnam from after WW II until 1963. As the communist threat in North Vietnam rose, so did American support for him. Kennedy sent both “military advisors” and some $201 million dollars toward Diem’s South Korea in support. In this time, the strength of the Vietcong guerilla was growing, making more authoritative decisions come from Diem, such as the calling off of an election, which would have surely gone to the communist side, under Ho Chi Minh. Diem was corrupt, though, and particularly favored the Catholic population as opposed to the Buddhist and Maoist, gaining him general disfavor and dissent. Diem’s government disfavored the Buddhists, and in 1963, there was a crisis in Siagon involving the harassment of Buddhists by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. On May 8th, the ARVN fired on protesting Buddhists, leading to the famous protesting monk who burned himself alive.

Lyndon B. Johnson

Johnson’s new policies were the ultimate invasion of private rights. After his landslide election in 1964, which he won mostly because of the aftermath of Kennedy’s fame, Johnson became the butt-end of many political critics and voters. The passing of the Civil Rights act of 1964 banned racial discrimination in privately owned public places. This placed more power in Federal hands to instill the act, while limiting free speech and rights of owners. It also paved way for the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which had the effect of limiting discrimination in job hiring through the tactic of Affirmative action. In 1965, Johnson made an executive order enforcing affirmative action in all federal contracting—meeting quotas became mandatory.

Although in the election of 1964 Lyndon won a landslide (mostly due to a warmongering portrayal of opposition Goldwater), Johnson himself ended up to be a butcher of young American boys, prompting anti-war cries of “LBJ, LBJ, how many boys did you kill today?” Johnson used the Gulf of Tonkin incident to send air raids over the North Vietnamese and promote further deployment of troops to Vietnam. Johnson’s political ideals could easily be summed up in the following: Limiting State rights and promoting the growth of Federal government, Great Society, Civil Rights, and greater military involvement. By the next election in 1968, Johnson had managed to decimate all political support he had—Johnson was not even in the running for the Democratic primary.

The Assassination of John F. Kennedy

On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was shot in a parade. The gunman was Lee Harvey Oswald, a communist who was hiding in a school warehouse. Oswald was then assassinated by nightclub owner, Jack Ruby. Johnson was sworn in on Air Force One quickly following the action that had ensued. Theories abound as to the real force behind the assassination, but whether or not it was a conspiracy is still unknown. 7 Days after the assassination, Johnson set up the Warren Commission, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, to collect information about the assassination and make a formalized report. Also notable was the formation of The House Select Committee on Assassinations, which also investigated the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

John F. Kennedy

Kennedy had a few problems facing him upon his election. The first of these was a shaky balance in Congress. The Democrats held a small majority, but some older members were teaming up with conservatives to minimize spending of federalized healthcare and education. Recession and inflation also left their marks upon the U.S economy. In 1962, the government made a sort of pact with the steel industry: Noninflationary wage standards and an assumed stop to the rise of prices. This of course, could not be helped due to the newly formed OPEC (1960). Prices rose, Kennedy got mad, and big business grew resentment against the New Frontier. Kennedy cut taxes and restored business to private hands. Kennedy decided to raise morale and jobs by joining the space race with more enthusiasm, putting Alan Shepherd and Neil Armstrong on the moon.

On an international level, Western civilization and its previous colonies were facing issues. Britain withdrew from Africa, and France from Laos, in the sixties. The new nations immediately plunged into civil unrest, forcing UN intervention. The U.S. sent massive funds but no manpower to quell the violence, but to little avail. Kennedy and his defense secretary (Robert S. McNamara) culminated the plan of flexible military response. This provided different levels and options of military involvement for political purpose, allowing for the military involvement of the decade that would follow. The Kennedy administration would support Diem with “military advisors” and increased involvement.

Malcolm X

Bio: Born May19, 1925 as Malcolm Little in Omaha Nebraska

Died: February 21, 1965 (assasinated)

In comparison to his fellow civil rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X was considered a radical when it came to fighting for equality in the United States. He had a resentment towards white Americans due to the oppression that he faced as the backlash of slavery. Was the child of political activist who supported Marcus Garvey's militant style of activism. He did not keep his birthname because he took it as a brand of the slave owners that owned his family years ago and took on the name Malcolm X/El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. He had also been appointed as a minister and national spokesman for the nation of Islam. Because of his behavior the United States government took interest in him and began an investigation that incorporated wire taps, bugging and spies that infiltrated his organization. In 1964 he terminated his relationship with the nation of Islam after learning of Elijah Muhammad's adultry and hipocritical teachings. Was subjected to many death threats and his assassination was successful in 1965 when he was shot at several times during one of his speeches in a ballroom. He was 39 years old. Foraudio speeches click here

Martin Luther King Jr.

Bio: Born January 15, 1929

Died April 4, 1968 (Assassinated)

Was a civil rights activist during the 1960's. Using his background work as a reverend, he traveled around the United States preaching about equality and injustices throughout the country. Was supported by other activists such as Jesse Jackson and Malcolm X. Supported civil disobedience as a method of speaking out against the inequality that plagued African-Americans. Was a member of the executive committee of the NAACP. At age 35, was the youngest man in history to receive the Nobel peace prize.

Quotes:
1. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
2. History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes