Essays

The Sixties

The essays in this section have been written by leading scholars of American history. They provide additional depth on events and ideas referred to in the introductory essay and, in some cases, different interpretations by historians looking at the same events. These essays are particularly useful as informational texts to introduce your students to one of the most exciting aspects of studying history—understanding the past from a variety of perspectives.

Photograph of President John F. Kennedy, 1961. (Library of Congress Prints and P

John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address

Author: Michael Nelson Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:
Corwin, Robert, photographer. Phil Ochs, Newport Folk Festival, 1966. Photograph

The Sixties and Protest Music

Author: Kerry Candaele Curriculum Subjects: Art, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The Vietnam War and the My Lai Massacre

Author: George Herring Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:

Essays from Other Sub-Eras

Victoria Sambunaris, courtesy Maya Lin Studio

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Author: Maya Lin Curriculum Subjects: Art Grade Levels:

9/11 and Springsteen

Author: Craig Werner Curriculum Subjects: Art, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Integrated class at Anacostia High School in Washington, DC, 1957. (Library of C

A Local and National Story: The Civil Rights Movement in Postwar Washington, DC

Author: Wendell E. Pritchett Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Martin Luther King Memorial March, April 4, 1998. (GLC08359)

A Place in History: Historical Perspective on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Author: James Oliver Horton Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Sympathy strike in New York City against segregation in southern lunch counters,

African American Religious Leadership and the Civil Rights Movement

Author: Clarence Taylor Curriculum Subjects: Religion and Philosophy Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Sen. Hiram Leong Fong

Chinese American Politics in the Cold War Years

Author: Charlotte Brooks Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics Grade Levels:
Lyndon Johnson meeting with civil rights leaders

Civil Rights Leadership and the 1964 Civil Rights Act

Author: Clarence Taylor Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:

Different Perspectives on the Civil Rights Movement

Author: Anthony J. Badger Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Dispatches from the Front: The Civil Rights Act and the Pursuit of Greater Freedom in a Small Southern City

Author: Charles W. McKinney Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:
Assembly room for chassis and motors, Detroit, MI, 1929 (LOC, P&P)

Motor City: The Story of Detroit

Author: Thomas J. Sugrue Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Chiang Kai-shek, March 1945 (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Postwar Taiwan and the USA

Author: Denny Roy Curriculum Subjects: World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
The front of the Alamo, 1922. (LC-USZ62-87798)

Remembering the Alamo

Author: Char Miller Curriculum Subjects: Geography, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Sandra Day O'Connor, ca. 1982. (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Div.)

Sandra Day O’Connor: A Life of Action

Author: Meryl Justin Chertoff Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
The Allman Brothers Band, ca. 1960-1970 (From forbes.com)

Songs of a Different South: The Allman Brothers’ Blues-Rock Legacy

Author: Kerry Candaele Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
The March on Washington, 1963 (Library of Congress)

Teaching the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Author: Charles L. Zelden Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:

The Civil Rights Movement: Major Events and Legacies

Author: James T. Patterson Curriculum Subjects: Art, Government and Civics, Literature Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
President Lyndon B. Johnson in Vietnam, 1966. (NARA)

The Consequences of Defeat in Vietnam

Author: Mark Atwood Lawrence Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels:

The First Saddest Day of My Life: A Vietnam War Story

Author: Sharon D. Raynor Curriculum Subjects: World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Western High School Girls’ Basketball, Washington, DC, 1899. (Courtesy Library o

The Impact of Title IX

Author: Barbara Winslow Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Muhammad Ali in Chicago, Illinois, March 1974. (NARA)

The Importance of Muhammad Ali

Author: Thomas Hauser Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Letterhead from Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, 1910, detail. (GLC)

The Myth of the Frontier: Progress or Lost Freedom

Author: John Mack Faragher Curriculum Subjects: Art, Economics, Geography, Literature Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
First page of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Passage of the Civil Rights Act

Author: Clay Risen Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:
Presentation of Hon. Anson Burlingame and the attaches of the Chinese embassy to

The Role of China in US History

Author: Warren I. Cohen Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Athletic Sports, 1887. (Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Div.)

Why Sports History Is American History

Author: Mark Naison Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Detail of a broadside promoting women’s suffrage. (GLC08963)

Why We the People? Citizens as Agents of Constitutional Change

Author: Linda R. Monk Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
The County Election, based on a painting by George C. Bingham, 1854. (Gilder Leh

Winning the Vote: A History of Voting Rights

Author: Steven Mintz Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Conference of Republican National Committee Women, 1927. (LOC, P&P)

Women in American Politics in the Twentieth Century

Author: Sara Evans Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Chuck Berry - Collection of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

“Fun, Fun Rock ’n’ Roll High School”

Author: Glenn C. Altschuler, Robert O. Summers Curriculum Subjects: Art, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Odetta performs at the Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963 (

“People Get Ready”: Music and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s

Author: Brian Ward Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+