U.S. Becomes More Open, Tolerant, and Free in the 1960s - Essay Sample

Introduction

"During the 1960s, the United States had become a more open, more tolerant in a word, freer". Many examples exist that prove that the United States became a freer state, the United States became more open, and a much more tolerant country during the 1960s. One needs only look at some of the federal legislation that was passed in the 1960s to show that saw the end of legally approved discrimination and white sovereignty. For example, while segregating neighborhoods by race and ethnicity had been common, legal, and accepted practice for more than a century, the fair housing act of 1968 made segregation in housing illegal (Give Me Liberty! An American History). Owners could no longer refuse to sell to a person based on race, and realtors were legally required to show any home on the market to any person who might want to buy it, regardless of race.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Another important example of legislation passed in 1968 banned race, sex, and age discrimination in hiring. Before this time, companies could advertise a position as particular for a woman, labeling it, for example, "Girl Friday, "and refusing to interview men. Women also were routinely required to leave jobs for no other reason that that were too old such as more than 25 or pregnant (Give Me Liberty! An American History). Other positions were considered male-only or white only. This legislation opened up many opportunities for people who were once channeled into low paying, low-status jobs.

During the 1960s, the lid blew off a culture that had been bottled up too long because of the people being slotted arbitrarily into roles and denied opportunities based on such markers as race, sex, and age. The new freedom energized society and was manifested in more self-expression in clothing and hairstyle and the loosening of many social taboos so that people could live and express themselves more honestly and freely (Give Me Liberty! An American History). The changes were not embraced by everyone and are still a work in progress, but the 1960s nevertheless marked a huge cultural shift in the direction of freedom. Another example representing "The 1960s, the United States had become more open, more tolerant in a word, freer ".

By the following of the voting rights act that worked to eliminate discrimination in voting, ensuring that more people had access to the political process (Give Me Liberty! An American History). Very public movements for the rights of women, Native Americans, the LGBTQ community, and other groups also emerged from the 1960s, bringing their concerns before the national consciousness (Give Me Liberty! An American History). It was during this time that a supposed sexual upheaval was experienced. The insurgency saw a lot of people liberate themselves from conventional patterns. Thanks to the modern civilizations, women then had increased access to advanced family planning methods. It is safe to say that their sexual lives became free and more open (Give Me Liberty! An American History).

Conclusion

In conclusion, there was a doubt that many different groups of people staked a claim to equality during this period, but there is a major point that should be mentioned. That major point is that these people during the 1960s faced many struggled demonstrated how unequal and closed American society was for many of these people in the 1960s.

Works Cited

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History: One Volume. WW Norton & Company, 2016.