• 1960's

    Digital History: Making and Unmaking of a Counterculture
    This extensive Digital History article chronicles the New Left, a movement against capitalism, monogamy, and competition known by its music, clothing styles, and approach to life.

    AllPolitics: 1960 Debates Overview
    A summary of the key points of the four debates between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in their race for President in 1960.

    Francis Gary Powers, the U-2, U.S. & U.S.S.R.
    Describes the U-2 spy plane, Black Lady, incident. The plane, piloted by Francis Gary Powers, was shot down over the USSR during the "dark, early Cold War days."

    Avalon Project: The U2 Incident 1960
    Collection of primary documents released by Soviet and American governments regarding the downing of an American military spy plane flown by Gary Powers over the USSR.

    US Political Thought/The Crisis of Democracy
    This site offers a scholarly summary of the views of Samuel P. Huntington (The Crisis of Democracy)on the topic of "The Sixties as a Decade of Democratic Renewal."

    JFK's Speech Before the ASNE (April, 1960)
    In this speech before the American Society of Newspaper Editors during the 1960 presidential campaign, John Kennedy discusses what he calls "the religious issue" to relieve the concerns of Americans over electing the first Catholic President.

    Timeline of the Greensboro Sit-ins
    This is a great timeline of the Greensboro sit-ins and the other actions they gave way to in 1960, complete with photos.

    Remembering Chicago 1968
    Interesting opinions and memories of a reporter who was at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968. Many good pictures.

    The Whole World Was Watching: An Oral History of 1968
    Very neat collection of interviews conducted by high school students (great idea for a project!) Memories of 1968. There are transcripts of interviews, Real Audio recordings, and key word summaries. Great sight to browse through!

    NMAH: A Visual Journey:Photographs by Lisa Law 1965-1971
    A great resource for pictures of people, famous and not, in the 1960's. There is text with each photograph to try to explain how people were feeling and what they were doing in this interesting era.

    Broken Cities
    This article discusses the loss of population in urban centers. Its main focus is the policies of the 1960's.

    Nobel Foundation: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1960
    Read about Willard Frank Libby, the scientist and mathematician who discovered the carbon dating methods used by archaologists and geologists. This website includes the Nobel Prize "Presentation Speech" as well as Libby's Nobel Lecture, entitled "Radiocarbon dating," which is available in pdf format.

    Francis Gary Powers - The Spy Who Fell From the Skies
    An account of the U2 incident involving Gary Powers bailing out of his shot U2 airplane above the Soviet Union. Includes information about Powers' planned suicide by cyanide pill provided by the US in case of capture.

    Kennedy and the New Frontier
    A brief overview of Kennedy and his agenda, the "New Frontier", including a look at some achievements and disappointments.

    The Boomer Years
    Use the links on this site to get information about the years 1960-1975. For each individual year, the major events that occurred during that year are listed and discussed.

    U-2 Incident
    A brief, but clearly-stated, description of the downing of Francis Gary Powers' U-2 spy plane over the USSR during the Cold War. Powers survived the incident, and the USA claimed the spy plane was flying for weather purposes. Site maintained by Powers' surviving son.

    CPD: 1960 Presidential Debates
    This site contains some general information about each of the four Presidential debates in 1960. There is also a transcript for each one. Videos do not exist for the 1960 debates.

    Address to Southern Baptist Leaders (1960)
    This site gives a general introduction to and the full text of Kennedy's "Address to Southern Baptist Leaders," a famous speech in which he dispelled fears about electing a Catholic as President.

    JFK Library Foundation
    This site from the JFK Library has a huge mass of information about former-president John Fitzgerald Kennedy, including a biography, speeches, and photographs.

    American Vintage Blues: History of Fashion 1960-1970
    This site from the American Vintage Blues provides a few pictures of clothing and fashion in the 60s and a synopsis of the youth oriented cultural trends. See pictures of Twiggy and the mini-skirt. Also provides a list of popular designers and their influence during that time.

    The Dirksen Center
    Subjects addressed by the Joint Senate-House Republican Leadership from 1961 to 1968 include: Atomic Bomb, Berlin crisis, Red China, Civil Rights, Cuba, Berlin Wall, Vietnam, War on Poverty, the farm problem, and many more issues that were important during the Kennedy and Johnson eras.

    1960: John F. Kennedy v. Richard Nixon
    New York Times article discusses the impact of religion on the Kennedy - Nixon presidential contest. Links to related information.