Discovery of a Time Capsule American History

Question: OverviewWhen defining an era such as the 1960s, a lot of images come to mind: the march on Washington, psychedelic music, peace signs, the antiwar movement, the assassinations of prominent political leaders, and so on. In this Assignment, you will explain which of the events, people, and symbols best define the 1960s.AssignmentIt is the year 2325. You are a prominent archaeologist who has just been summoned to a dig site because your colleagues have made a unique discovery: a time capsule from the 1960s that was buried long ago. Very carefully, you and your colleagues unearth and open this time capsule. Inside the time capsule you find five items that define the era of the 1960s.For this Assignment write a brief paper that covers the following: Describe each of the five items you have found. Explain why each of these is especially important in defining the era of the 1960s. Based upon these items you have found, conclude your paper with a solid paragraph that explains one major lesso n that you have learned from the 1960s. Answer: Upon opening the time capsule, we were very surprised and glad to have found certain things from the golden era. The adventure landed us in finding certain very interesting things like an account of the technological development during that period, a melody belonging to The Beatles, television series of the period, assasination of Martin Luther King Jr and Bobby Kennedy and a document of the Congress authorising the President Johnson to actions for provoding safety to the American soldiers against the Vietnam War. We shall give an account of the found items in the following paragraphs in no order or priority or popularity. Document related to the Vietnam War: this war was a very long and expensive affair that caused massive havoc in Viet Cong that conssted of Vietnam and its southern allies. The war ended when President Johnson withdrew the US forces in 1973 and decided to unify Vietnam under Communist control after two years. Initially in the war, US involvement saw a steep increase but post the bombing session on Laos and Cambodia, when Tet Offensive was launched bu the communist side, it became a turning point in the war. This caused massive disillusionment and the US ground forces were asked to withdraw themselves from the war (Freedman Kissinger, 2003). The document we found threw light on the assent note of prsident Johnson to withdraw the military troops from Vietnam. The note clearly states that the forces were withdrawn oeing to the fact that it was feared that they would not win the war and it would only remain a illusion. President also felt that public faith in America would be lost and ex pressed a deep concern regarding the ever rising costs associated with the war. The situation also saw big protests from the hippies and if the movement of the hippies would have continued, they would have outnumbered the existing soldiers. The event is important in defining the history of America because as a result of the war, more than 58,000 soldiers of America saw death as their end and almost $350 billion to $900 billion currencies were spent by the US government. Around 700,000 veterans suffered from negative effects on psychology. The war happenned to change the way the Americans approached military actions thoroughly. Assasinations during this period: we all know that the era of 1960s is known to be a golden age but the optimism during this time saw a set back in 1968. In this year, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in his residing motel room in Memphis. Later within a short span of time Dr. King, Bobby Kennedy was also assassinated while he was in a celebration in California on winning his presidential bid (Aloyo, 2013). These events had turned out to be a black scar on the political history of America. Ironically, within seven days of the death of Martin Luther King, the Congress passed the Civil Rights Act bill. This bill aimed at outlawing racial discrimination for which Dr. Luther was fighting when alive. Further, the death of Kennedy allowed a huge win to Richard Nixon in the 1968 election. Had he been alive, Nixon would have not seen the win by half a million votes. Technlogical Developments During the Period: the year also saw on July 20, that Neil Armstrong became the first man to have stepped his foot on the moon. Also, the successful landing of the lunar module Eagle on the moon was a celebrated technological development in the history of America. No living person across the globe had succeeded in stepping on the natural satellite before the real hero of America. This event was heartily congratulated by President Kennedy. Although Neil had a period of 10 years to meet the challenge, yet the success in such a short time, made the young, handsome and importantly the American make his country enter into the pantheon of heroes across the world. This competed to the success story of Yuri Gararin from Soviet Union and brought America in the limelight for a positive cause. The Band Beatles: then came the era of the humming of Yes I dared to go there and Hotel California. The Beatles even after 50 years of dissolution, still remains a favourite of every generation across the globe. It is rightly said that what the band did shall last till eternity. The existence of the Beatles is another major cause for calling the frame to be golden era (Richard, 2009). The music was complete in itself and was utterly timeless. It caused a massive hysteria and its authenticity shall continue to be a hallmark on the nation. The Beatles helped America in being designated as not only being technologically advanced but also being culturally and socially superior. Television Series and Entertainment Sector: the sixties era in America also witnessed another positive ladder in its heritage with the hit musicals like Hello Dolly, Hair, Funny Girl, Camelot etc. the movies during this span were totally unconventional and the James Bond movies created there, still continue to remain a super favourite of many across the globe. There wa developmet in the radio sector as well. FM frequency was introduced in addition to the existing AM. Television series like I Dream of Jeannie, The Flintstones, The Beverly Hillbillies etc bacame extremely popular. The opening of the capsule has also opened our eyes regarding the fact that in spite of having seen certain massive destructions during the golden era, America did not lose hope. Rather, to overcome the sufferrings, the people made sure that they achieve heights in other fields so that they can develop as a nation. 7.7% of adults had a college degree in 1960 while 28% had the same in 1972. Smoking and alcohol consumption has also come down to a great extent (Buck, 2009). The period is rightly called the Golden era because when other nations were trying to keep up with the post World War II effects, America made sure that it rose above the ordinary and achieve heights. The country naturally became the first nation to be declared as a developed economy. Owing to the benefits reaped during the period, the world follows the nation today. References Aloyo, E. (2013). Just assassinations.Int. Theory,5(03), 347-381. doi:10.1017/s1752971913000237 Buck, C. (2009).Religious myths and visions of America. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. Freedman, L., Kissinger, H. (2003). Ending the Vietnam War: A History of America's Involvement in and Extrication from the Vietnam War.Foreign Affairs,82(3), 152. doi:10.2307/20033602 Richard, C. (2009).The golden age of the classics in America. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.