How ‘swinging’ was the sixties? The 1960s in the USA How ‘swinging’ was the sixties?

The 1960s The 1960s is often described as the ‘Swinging Sixties’ – a time when lots of people had fun! Many changes occurred to the way people lived their lives. The lives of young people were particularly affected. Fashion and music changed a lot in the 1960s. People’s behaviour, attitudes, lifestyles and rights also began to change. Countries like the USA and the UK were greatly affected by the changes of the 1960s

Music Pop music became truly popular in the 1960s. Many news bands emerged and they sang songs about issues that hadn’t really been sung about before. They are also inspired new fashions and new hairstyles.

Fashion Clothes and hairstyles changed. Miniskirts, brightly coloured dresses and knee-high boots all became popular. For the first time, Young people didn’t have to dress the same way as their parents.

Hippies – different clothes, different hair, different lifestyle! Many young people in the USA became Hippies. Being a hippie was about rejecting traditional values and lifestyles. Many hippies (men and women) had long hair. Many hippies experimented with drugs and lived communally.

Black Americans in the 1960s Many Black Americans were part of the Civil Rights movement during the 1960s. They wanted to achieve equal rights for Black Americans. Many laws were changed to achieve equality – however in some places in the USA tension between the races continued.

Women in the 1960s More and more women in the 1960s were being educated at universities and more were beginning careers. A women’s protest movement began in the 1960s asking for equal rights for women.

Problems for the ‘Swinging Sixties’ The 1960s was a period of great changes – however some of these changes were less positive than others. Some people began to experiment more with drugs and sex and this made other people in society very concerned.

War and discovery Two others issues that dominated the USA during the 1960s were the Vietnam war and Space exploration.