Unit 9 Final Project

Christina Martinez

SS211 – 2080898

November 18, 2014

On this date of November 16th, 2325 I am writing to document the findings of a time capsule with the date inscribed on it of December 31st 1969. The time capsule was discovered in Washington, D.C. at exactly 2:36 p.m. by myself and my highly skilled archaeological team. This is such an amazing discovery. We have been taught over the years how important the 1960’s were and how they brought about many changes in our nation leading up to its present day success. Inside the time capsule we have found a newspaper article dated February 2nd, 1960 with the headline “A&T Students Launch ‘Sit-Down’ Demand for Service at Downtown Lunch Counter”. (International Civil Rights Center & Museum, 2014) The next item within the capsule was a small package labeled Enovid and appears to one of the first brands of oral contraceptives. Continuing to look further into the capsule we then found 2 tickets from the Washington Coliseum with a date of February 10th 1964 featuring The Beatles. Also included among these items was a flyer dated August 28th 1963 with the heading “March on Washington”. The last item we removed from the time capsule was a small patch with an eagle on it landing on what appears to be the moon with the words “Apollo 11”. I will now go onto write a little history on these items as well as their importance to us in the present day.

In 1865 slavery ended and African-Americans were free to live their own lives. Although this was true African-American were still treated poorly. Segregation was used to separate the African-Americans from the white Americans. Coloreds or blacks were popular terms during this time and every public place including diners, schools transportation and restrooms were divided and marked for eithers whites or blacks. On February 2nd, 1960 four of young men, who attended the exclusively black college of A & T in Greensboro, NC, decided to try and get waited at an all-white lunch counter at Woolworths department store. The store itself was open to all patrons but the restaurants policy was to serve only the white customers. When they went to order they were turned away and denied their meal. Although they did not get service they remained seated at the lunch counter and listened to people curse them and call them names. The said nothing back, they simply sat peacefully and waited for closing time which came thirty minutes early that night. The next day they were joined by 24 more black students. This was the beginning of the sit-in movement across the south. Paving the way for other peaceful assemblies promoting desegregation.

The second item that was found was very important to the women’s movement. The 1960’s were often referred to as the time of the “baby boomers”. Many men and women were getting married and having families at young ages. The responsibility of the wives was to take care of the home and the children on a daily basis while the husbands went to work to be the bread winners for their families. The birth control pill was a beginning to women breaking free of these stereo-types and making choices for themselves. The invention and testing of an oral this oral contraceptive took many years. In 1950 birth control advocates Margaret Sanger Katherine McCormick come together to help fund the invention of and trials for the pill which were masqueraded as fertility studies. Finally in 1960 the FDA approved the use of Enovid, but only for women who were married and suffered from problems during menstruation. By 1965 the pill was available to all women allowing them to feel empowered and in control of their selves and their own bodies helping them to gain more independence from what was previously considered the social norm.

The next item of documentation are two tickets to the first Beatles concert ever held within the United States. The Beatles were already a major hit in the United Kingdom and began what many people liked to refer to as the “British invasion”. This was an important event because this began a change in the youth of the nation. The Beatles came with a new sound and a new attitude. Prior to this event youth were raised to respect the country and the government at all times and that war was necessary for the survival of our country. The Beatles music was sending out a new message and teens were getting the messages loud and clear. This truly was the beginning of a counter culture, anti-war movements and hippies began to emerge as well as the psychedelic movement.

The fourth item found in this amazing time capsule was an original flyer from the very famous march on Washington. The civil rights movement began in 1955. The goal was to allow African-Americans the same rights and opportunities as the white American. Throughout the sixties there were many different events that both helped and hindered the advancement of the civil rights movement. The march on Washington definitely played a major role in aiding the movement towards equal rights regardless of the color of some ones skin. Martin Luther King Jr. was strongly connected with the fight obtaining equality for all of humanity and was known for his tactics of using peaceful assembly. Mr. King led the march on Washington on August 28th, 1963 and was joined by more than 200,000 Americans including both men, women, blacks, and whites. Many speakers came and spoke out on the need for racial equality not only in public and social affairs but also in jobs and wages. One of the most memorable speeches of all times titled “I have a Dream” really put into perspective what Martin Luther King Jr. envisioned for the future. A year later the Civil Rights Act was passed.

The last item discovered, but not the least, was a patch that was on the suits of the three brave astronauts who boarded the Apollo 11 space shuttle destined for the moon. Previous to this event The United States and Russia were going head to head in what was termed “the space race”. Both parties were putting were trying to beat the other in a technological throw down. Russia launched its first satellite “Sputnik” in 1957 giving them the lead and further worrying the American citizens that Russia was spying on us or think about new ways to possibly bomb us. John F Kennedy decide that our nation was going to not only surpass the Russians in this race but take them out of it. Kennedy vowed to be the first country to have a man walk on the surface of the moon. The United States succeeded. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Mike Collins headed out into outer space on a journey to the moon. The launched on July 16th, 1969 and reached their destination four days later. After their arrival Neil Armstrong walked out of the shuttle becoming the first person to physically touch the moon.

Each and every one of these pieces of memorabilia hold so much more then what I have discussed here. These items may seem like very separate pieces of a giant puzzle but all fit together to paint a wonderful picture of the 1960’s. Not only do they let us take a small glimpse into our history, but allow us to appreciate what they had set in motion to make our nation what it is today.

References

Alkana, J. D., & Spivey, D. D. (2014). The Sixties. Retrieved from Miami Education: http://scholar.library.miami.edu/sixties/index.html

Dunbar, Brian. (2009, April 9th ). NASA. Retrieved from The First Person on the Moon: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/first-person-on-moon.html

Farber, D. (1994). The Age of Great Dreams: America in the 1960's. New York: Hill and Wang.

International Civil Rights Center & Museum. (2014). International Civil Rights Center & Museum. Retrieved from Fact Sheets: http://www.sitinmovement.org/newsroom/fact-sheets.asp

PBS Online. (2002). The Pill. Retrieved from American Expirience: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/timeline/index.html

Trueman, C. (2014). History Lerning Site. Retrieved from Greensboro 1960: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/greensboro_1960.htm