Skip to Main Content
A young woman offers a flower to military police during a protest, with a crowd and sign visible in the background.
A large crowd gathers at a podium during an inauguration ceremony, with flags and a presidential seal visible.
John F. Kennedy smiling in a suit, standing near a wall with hanging items, black and white photo.
A black and white photo of a submarine navigating through ocean waters, with a helicopter visible in the background.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – Chapter 14

31 items

A young woman offers a flower to military police during a protest, with a crowd and sign visible in the background.
Chapter 14 Introductory Essay: 1960-1968
Essay - 9309 Words

Essay

9309 Words

How did cultural tensions shape the 1960s?
A large crowd gathers at a podium during an inauguration ceremony, with flags and a presidential seal visible.
John F. Kennedy’s Inauguration
Essay - 2413 Words

Essay

2413 Words

Why is JFK's Inaugural Address so iconic?
John F. Kennedy smiling in a suit, standing near a wall with hanging items, black and white photo.
John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
A black and white photo of a submarine navigating through ocean waters, with a helicopter visible in the background.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
Essay - 2319 Words

Essay

2319 Words

How close was the U.S. to nuclear war in 1962?
Black and white image of soldiers marching along a dusty path surrounded by trees.
The Vietnam War: Ia Drang Valley
Essay - 2113 Words

Essay

2113 Words

What lessons did the U.S. learn after the battle of Ia Drang?
President Lyndon B. Johnson signing legislation with advisors and officials in attendance.
Was the Great Society Successful?
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Did the Great Society significantly alleviate poverty and social ills in the United States or did it have little impact beyond creating unsustainably expensive federal programs? Anthony D. Bartl and Gregory L. Schneider debate this question.
A table comparing claims about the success of the Great Society in reducing poverty through federal programs.
Was the Great Society Successful Graphic Organizer
Activity

Activity

40 Min

A handout to accompany the scholarly claims made in the corresponding Point-Counterpoint readings that helps student synthesize the claims put forth.
A man stands at a podium with microphones, delivering a speech to a large crowd at a graduation ceremony.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Commencement Address at the University of Michigan (“Great Society” Speech), May 22, 1964
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
Robert F. Kennedy speaking to a large crowd during a civil rights demonstration, holding a megaphone.
The Election of 1968
Essay - 3039 Words

Essay

3039 Words

Who ran for president in the 1968 election?
A smiling man in military uniform stands outdoors wearing a flower lei, with palm trees in the background.
The Vietnam War Experience: An Interview with Veteran William Maxwell Barner III
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
A naval ship navigating through open water on a clear day.
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution, 1964
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
A man stands at a podium with the Presidential seal, addressing an audience against a curtain backdrop.
Lyndon B. Johnson, “Peace Without Conquest,” April 7, 1965
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
A large crowd watches a military parade in front of a building with columns, with spectators on the roof.
Image Analysis: March on the Pentagon, October 21, 1967
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source imagery to analyze major events in history.
A man in military attire stands amidst a war-torn landscape, speaking to a camera.
Walter Cronkite Speaks Out against Vietnam, February 27, 1968
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
Black and white photo of a girl and a boy holding peace symbol armbands.
Free Speech and the Student Anti-War Movement
Essay - 2057 Words

Essay

2057 Words

Explores the impact of students on the anti-war movement.
Rows of National Guard soldiers stand in the street and face protesting civilians.
Students and the Anti-War Movement
Essay - 2578 Words

Essay

2578 Words

Why were many students opposed to the Vietnam War?
Students participating in a protest in a Marquette classroom, surrounded by desks and a chalkboard.
Students for a Democratic Society, “Port Huron Statement,” 1962
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
Two men engaged in a serious conversation, one leaning forward and the other looking down, in a formal setting.
Lyndon B. Johnson’s Decision Not to Run in 1968
Essay - 2123 Words

Essay

2123 Words

Why did LBJ decide not to run for president in 1968?
A burning bus with thick black smoke rising, next to a sign for an ice cream brand.
Freedom Riders
Essay - 2752 Words

Essay

2752 Words

How did the Freedom Riders fight to end segregation?
Logo featuring a handshake within a circle, labeled with the letters "SNCC."
The March on Birmingham
Essay - 2444 Words

Essay

2444 Words

How did did the March on Birmingham impact the Civil Rights Movement?
Three individuals holding "Free Huey" flags while standing on steps in front of a building.
Black Power
Essay - 2570 Words

Essay

2570 Words

Explores the impact of the Black Power movement in the 1960s.
A split image of Martin Luther King Jr., one side showing him in a police mugshot, the other in a contemplative pose in jail.
Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” 1963
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
Black and white photo of a smiling man in a suit with glasses, speaking at an event.
Malcolm X, “The Ballot or the Bullet,” April 12, 1964
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaking to a large crowd during the March on Washington, with the Lincoln Memorial in the background.
Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream,” August 28, 1963
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
Women walk down a city street and hold signs that say Women Demand Equality and GWU Women's Liberation.
Betty Friedan and the Women’s Movement
Essay - 2290 Words

Essay

2290 Words

What did the feminist movement of the 1960s work for?
Photograph of Betty Friedan.
Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique, 1963
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
Image of a document titled "The Declaration of Independence," featuring text from the introduction section.
Primary Source Excerpt Declaration of Independence
Activity

Activity

How should someone act in the face of a government that violates natural rights instead of protecting them?
Handout titled "The Duty of a Citizen in the Face of Injustice," by Henry David Thoreau, discussing civil disobedience.
Primary Source “Civil Disobedience,” by Henry David Thoreau, 1849
Activity

Activity

What is the duty of a citizen in the face of injustice and the violation of fundamental natural rights?
Handout outlining Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech on civil rights and natural rights, 1963.
Primary Source “I Have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr., 1963
Activity

Activity

How is the struggle for civil rights a natural extension of the Founding guarantee of natural rights?
Black and white portrait of a woman in a light-colored blouse, smiling at the camera.
Rachel Carson and Silent Spring
Essay - 2075 Words

Essay

2075 Words

Explores Rachel Carson's impact on environmentalism.
Black and white portrait of a woman in a light-colored blouse, smiling at the camera.
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, 1962
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.