1960-present :: essays research papers

Contemporary Literature and the Events That Influenced ItIn the last forty years there have been or so key people and events that have shaped history and in turn have influenced the works of some of literatures most prolific writers. During this era period some of the most powerful speeches, poems, and literary protests were written. These works of literature were sometimes written out of necessity for the times and spoke out to totally that read them. It all started in 1960 when John F. Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon, become one of the youngest workforce ever to hold the office of president in the eyes of m both a nonher(prenominal) this event began a new era in history. When John F. Kennedy was elected he inherited the task of taking over a nation that was in the middle of many tragic events. Kennedys ideas and trances were summed up in this famous line from his election speech when he stated And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country. In 1963, when John F. Kennedy was only in his third year as president, the young, well wish president was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president in the wake of the assassination (Davidson 672-675). That same year Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous I have a dream speech. In this speech he spoke out against racism and pushed towards the future, saying I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their pare but by the content of their character. Two years later in 1965 President Johnson made the decision that affected the United States and all U.S. citizens more than any other event during that time. He officially sent U.S. troops into Vietnam, beginning the massacre known as the Vietnam War. (Karnow) During the Vietnam War in the United States young men and women started to protest mainly against the war, but also against the Establishmentt he values, tradition, and views of their parents. Those who rejected the Establishment became hippies, dropping out of society to live together in communes. Make love, not war, they demanded and never trust anyone over thirty. For the first time in society, drug use became widespread and young people experimented with new freedoms.