Contributions of the 1960s

Running Head: Contributions from the Nineteen Sixties

Unit 9 Final Project

Kaplan University

SS310-21

Professor Funk

April 27, 2011

The nineteen sixties is the era known for its dramatic effect it had on not only the United States, but throughout the world. The civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, the women’s movement, the technological advances, and the birth of the hippie nation all played a role in changing what was considered the norm in the United States thus shaping what we now consider the norms today. Each of the events that had occurred during the nineteen sixties brought profound changes to American society including political views, and gender roles amongst American families. Technological advancements during the nineteen sixties not only took American’s on explorations beyond this world, but put society on the path to what is now considered the Information Age. Although the war protests and the African American struggle were considered the two largest movements of the nineteen sixties, there are two events that have affected me personally more than the others and they are the women’s movement, and the technological advancements (Farber, 1994).

The women’s movement was considered the most radical political and social movement of the sixties (Farber, 1994). Prior to this movement, men were considered to have the right to run their homes with women merely there to tend to there needs such as rearing children, and maintaining the day to day housekeeping. Women were given little opportunities outside the home, including career advancement, and economic mobility (Farber, 1994). Women began to stand up and fight for equal rights, rejecting what was then considered the traditional gender role of women in marriage, and in society. This radical movement resulted in the Equal Pay Act, which established equal pay for men and women performing the same job duties, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which bars...