Welcome to the 60s

The sixties brought incredible change. Things began to penetrate during the previous decade, culturally, only to explode during the Vietnam War. At the same time, technical improvements changed how people lived while music changed how people thought. The Cold War continued to wage at this point. Dwight Eisenhower became the first presidential candidate to successfully use the television medium to campaign. In 1960, Kennedy perfected the television medium. The Kennedy Campaign knew how to use the medium to full effect while his opponent did not. During their first televised debate, Kennedy look rested, tanned, and wore makeup; however, Vice-president Nixon refused the makeup and had just recovered from an illness. Nixon wore a five o’clock shadow which accentuated his features and made him appear devious. Radio listeners believed Nixon won the debate; however, those that watched it on television threw the contest to Kennedy. In the first presidential debate of the television era, style beat substance. Millions of people escaped the Eastern Bloc through Berlin. By 1961, the Soviets and East Germans had enough. They built a wall to prevent further escape and to keep the professional classes trapped. The Berlin Wall became a symbol of communist oppression and a propaganda tool for the west. At this time, it lessened tensions between the two Cold War foes. At one point before the wall, the two sides pointed tanks at each other in the streets of Berlin. John Kennedy visited the wall and let the Berliners know the free world stood with them. In 1962, the United States caught the Soviet Union building nuclear installations on Cuba. President Kennedy ordered a blockade. The world stood on the cliff of annihilation. At this time Robert Kennedy worked to secure a peaceful end of the crisis. Towards the end, he made a deal with the Soviets. The United States pulled its missiles out of Turkey while the Soviets would pull out of Cuba; however, the Soviets could not