Morals of America

In the 1960s the moral integrity of America began to decline. During the ‘60s America had struggled through racism, poverty, and the Vietnam War, and these struggles greatly affected the culture and the values of America.

First, the American people began to have a derogatory attitude towards authority. Young people were beginning to lose their old, long-standing morals with the bombardment of all the problems occurring in the US. Slowly, the values of the nation were slipping away and families and churches were not able to specify values and influence behavior in the way that they used to when all people believed in unified purpose. The Protestant denominations in America lost influence and church attendance began to decline. Secularity became more popular, and the people really were drifting from the good principles that the nation was founded on. Even the Roman Catholic Church became less serious and moral. Their hymns were growing more secular and old traditions were being lost.

The youth in America began to really rebel. One famous idea of the youth in the sixties was “Trust no one over thirty.” A large protest that young held against authority was The Free Speech Movement in Berkeley, California on December 4, 1964. Students wanted to be able to debate on campus. Throughout all this rebellion, many of the young people started doing drugs, listening to “acid rock,” and going against “straight” society.

There was also a “sexual revolution” in the 1960s. The birth control pill was created in 1960, so it became much easier to avoid pregnancies. Hippies rode buses across the nation and practiced sex whenever they wanted, started doing drugs, and getting away from the normal American living. Moreover, gays and lesbians became much more vocal. Theyse spoke out for toleration and became more assertive after some gay men were attacked by police officers that were off duty in New York.

In conclusion, the sixties was a time of many different happenings that affected the American culture in many ways. Many of these changes were negative and brought down the moral standards of America.