JFK: A New Generation (3:57)
John F. Kennedy's progressive agenda during the 1960s inspired a new generation of optimism in America.
Videos (36)
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JFK: A New Generation
JFK: A New GenerationVideo Clip (3:57)
Video Clip (3:57)
John F. Kennedy's progressive agenda during the 1960s inspired a new generation of optimism in America.
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Vietnam
VietnamVideo Clip (1:42)
Video Clip (1:42)
Whether they volunteered or were drafted, 1 out of 10 soldiers did not survive Vietnam.
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Lyndon Johnson's Presidential Legacy
Lyndon Johnson's Presidential LegacyVideo Clip (4:06)
Video Clip (4:06)
Lyndon Johnson's presidency is remembered in part for his handling of the Vietnam War, but he also advanced civil rights and equality throughout the nation.
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King Leads the March on Washington
King Leads the March on WashingtonVideo Clip (3:10)
Video Clip (3:10)
On August 28, 1963, a quarter million people gather to support civil rights, and share Dr. King's "dream" of equality.
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Berlin Wall: Deconstructed
Berlin Wall: DeconstructedVideo Clip (2:27)
Video Clip (2:27)
For 30 years, the Berlin Wall was the defining symbol of the Cold War, separating families and keeping the people from jobs and opportunity in the west.
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Inaugural Address: John F. Kennedy
Inaugural Address: John F. KennedyVideo Clip (2:55)
Video Clip (2:55)
Excerpts from John F. Kennedy's inaugural address on Friday, January 20, 1961.
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Jackie Kennedy: Queen of Camelot
Jackie Kennedy: Queen of CamelotVideo Clip (2:42)
Video Clip (2:42)
Jackie Kennedy epitomized the youth and glamour of the Kennedy family.
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The Pill Begins Sexual Revolution
The Pill Begins Sexual RevolutionVideo Clip (3:35)
Video Clip (3:35)
The origin of the Pill, set to "Time of the Season" by The Season.
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Tom Brokaw Remembers the 1960s
Tom Brokaw Remembers the 1960sVideo Clip (1:17)
Video Clip (1:17)
In this History Channel video clip, Tom Brokaw gives an interview in which he talks about the year 1968. He talks about how John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King were both killed. Also he mentions the music of the Beatles and James Taylor.
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The Space Race
The Space RaceVideo Clip (2:58)
Video Clip (2:58)
The U.S. competition with the U.S.S.R. for technological dominance spurred the U.S. on to the first-ever landing on the Moon.
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Dodging the Draft
Dodging the DraftVideo Clip (3:45)
Video Clip (3:45)
Vietnam and the draft lottery set to "Get Together" by The Youngbloods.
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Space: JFK's New Frontier
Space: JFK's New FrontierVideo Clip (3:55)
Video Clip (3:55)
On February 20, 1962, Colonel John Glenn became the first human to orbit the earth, launching the manned space program.
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Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964Video Clip (2:57)
Video Clip (2:57)
After years of struggle and setbacks, advocates for equality celebrate the passage of sweeping legislation that prohibits racial discrimination.
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Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile CrisisVideo Clip (2:22)
Video Clip (2:22)
Get the story of the dramatic face-off that nearly ended in nuclear war, as told by musician and artist Jeffrey Lewis.
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Four Students Killed at Kent State
Four Students Killed at Kent StateVideo Clip (1:04)
Video Clip (1:04)
Travel back in time to 1970 in this video clip detailing the circumstances surrounding the massacre at Kent State University.
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Ted Kennedy's Eulogy for Bobby
Ted Kennedy's Eulogy for BobbyVideo Clip (2:54)
Video Clip (2:54)
Ted Kennedy gave a passionate and sorrowful eulogy for yet another fallen brother, Robert F. Kennedy.
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Lyndon Johnson Reacts to RFK Assassination
Lyndon Johnson Reacts to RFK AssassinationVideo Clip (1:03)
Video Clip (1:03)
Following the assassination of Robert Kennedy, President Johnson spoke to the nation.
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Arlo Guthrie Reflects on Vietnam Era
Arlo Guthrie Reflects on Vietnam EraVideo Clip (3:19)
Video Clip (3:19)
Arlo Guthrie talks with Tom Brokaw about what he saw as a change of consciousness during the 1960s.
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Springsteen and the 60s
Springsteen and the 60sVideo Clip (3:35)
Video Clip (3:35)
In this 1968 video, Bruce Springsteen tells how music had a lasting change on society in 1968 in his interview with Tom Brokaw. Music in the 1960's carried with it messages that still resonate today.
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Freedom March
Freedom MarchVideo Clip (1:38)
Video Clip (1:38)
Newsreel footage of the freedom march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, led by Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Hippie Fashion
Hippie FashionVideo Clip (2:14)
Video Clip (2:14)
A brief look at the fashion of the sixties, and the hippies' contributions.
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Campaign Spot: Kennedy, Kennedy (1960)
Campaign Spot: Kennedy, Kennedy (1960)Video Clip (1:01)
Video Clip (1:01)
This 1960 campaign spot makes use of JFK's relative youth and a repetitious jingle.
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Campaign Spot: Best Qualified (1960)
Campaign Spot: Best Qualified (1960)Video Clip (1:01)
Video Clip (1:01)
After some misinterpreted comments by President Eisenhower about Nixon that JFK used in a campaign ad against his opponent (Nixons Experience), Eisenhower fully endorses Nixon. But it was too little, too late. JFK won the election, by a slim margin.
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JFK and Jackie Wed
JFK and Jackie WedVideo Clip (0:47)
Video Clip (0:47)
A newsreel from 1953 reports on the marriage of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier.
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JFK Sets Goal for Man on Moon
JFK Sets Goal for Man on MoonVideo Clip (1:56)
Video Clip (1:56)
John F. Kennedy's sets the goal of the United States to land a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth.
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Ask Steve: Robert Kennedy
Ask Steve: Robert KennedyVideo Clip (2:04)
Video Clip (2:04)
In this Ask Steve video clip, Robert Kennedy and the chance that he would have been elected president of the United States if he hadn't been assassinated was discussed. It would have been difficult seeing as the primary's were much different then.
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Assassination of JFK
Assassination of JFKVideo Clip (3:37)
Video Clip (3:37)
The course of events surrounding JFK's assassination shocked the nation and left more questions than answers.
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Russia Withdraws Cuban Missiles
Russia Withdraws Cuban MissilesVideo Clip (0:56)
Video Clip (0:56)
Footage from sea of the conclusion of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
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RFK: Promising Career Cut Short
RFK: Promising Career Cut ShortVideo Clip (4:22)
Video Clip (4:22)
Robert Kennedy was a powerful figure in Washington until his assassination in 1968.
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JFK Funeral Newsreel
JFK Funeral NewsreelVideo Clip (3:52)
Video Clip (3:52)
A newsreel report captures a family--and a nation--in mourning during JFK's funeral.
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Ask Steve: Hippie vs Yippie
Ask Steve: Hippie vs YippieVideo Clip (1:48)
Video Clip (1:48)
On Ask Steve, the differences between Yippies and Hippies are discussed. In the 1960's the hippies had long hair, experienced with sex and drugs, and ultimately wanted out of society. Yippies were hippies that were politically active.
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Ask Steve: 1960s Economy
Ask Steve: 1960s EconomyVideo Clip (1:04)
Video Clip (1:04)
In this Ask Steve video, delve into the 1960's economy to find economic issues and economic decisions that would lead to a slowed economy, high unemployment, and high inflation. The economic decisions caused the economy to weaken in the next decade.
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Ask Steve: Campus Unrest in the 60s
Ask Steve: Campus Unrest in the 60sVideo Clip (1:36)
Video Clip (1:36)
Why were college campuses seed-beds of revolution during the 1960's? Steve Gillon explains how the Baby Boom generation is the answer to this question, in his Ask Steve segment.
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Neil Young Forms Buffalo Springfield
Neil Young Forms Buffalo SpringfieldVideo Clip (3:30)
Video Clip (3:30)
Neil Young was one of the more influential musicians during the 1960s.
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Ask Steve: Draft's Impact
Ask Steve: Draft's ImpactVideo Clip (2:05)
Video Clip (2:05)
Examine the effects of the draft on American people in the 1960's in this Ask Steve video. The draft for the Vietnam War brought with it anxiety and anger to many American households.
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Ask Steve: Drugs
Ask Steve: DrugsVideo Clip (1:30)
Video Clip (1:30)
Through his Ask Steve video, Steve Gillon explains the reasons for the increasing drug use among young people in the 1960's. This new generation tried to define themselves through music, sex, and drug use.
Photo Galleries (4)
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John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy(20 Photos)
20 Photos
See pictures from the life and presidency of John F. Kennedy.
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Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson(19 Photos)
19 Photos
See pictures from the life and presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson.
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Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon(18 Photos)
18 Photos
See pictures from the life and presidency of Richard Nixon.
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Gandhi
Gandhi(6 Photos)
6 Photos
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is remembered for his nonviolent methods of effecting social and political change.
Speeches & Audio (23)
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Delivers D-Day Prayer
Franklin D. Roosevelt Delivers D-Day PrayerAudio Clip (3:36)
Audio Clip (3:36)
In a national radio broadcast on June 6, 1944, as 160,000 Allied troops land in Normandy in an attempt to liberate France, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asks America to join him in a prayer.
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John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address
John F. Kennedy's Inaugural AddressAudio Clip (13:59)
Audio Clip (13:59)
In 1961, on the steps of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th president of the United States. In his first speech as president, Kennedy strikes an inspiring chord when he challenges Americans to ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.
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Kennedy and Nixon's Fourth Presidential Debate
Kennedy and Nixon's Fourth Presidential DebateAudio Clip (5:37)
Audio Clip (5:37)
On October 21, 1960, Sen. John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard Nixon took part in the last of a series of the first televised presidential debates in U.S. history.
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Lyndon Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act of 1964
Lyndon Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act of 1964Audio Clip (3:45)
Audio Clip (3:45)
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, prohibited racial discrimination in employment and education, and outlawed segregation in public facilities.
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Kennedy on the Buildup of Arms in Cuba
Kennedy on the Buildup of Arms in CubaAudio Clip (7:35)
Audio Clip (7:35)
On October 22, 1962, in a national statement, President John F. Kennedy discloses that U.S. spy planes discovered the placement of Soviet offensive missiles in Cuba.
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Robert F. Kennedy Announces Run for Presidency
Robert F. Kennedy Announces Run for PresidencyAudio Clip (1:31)
Audio Clip (1:31)
On March 16, 1968, from the On March 16, 1968, from the Caucus Room of the Old Senate Office Building the same place his late brother declared his candidacy for president eight years earlier Sen. Robert F. Kennedy announces his intention to run for the Democratic presidential nomination.
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LBJ on Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
LBJ on Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.Audio Clip (1:41)
Audio Clip (1:41)
On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed by a sniper while standing outside his hotel room in Memphis. After attending a memorial service the next day, President Lyndon B. Johnson speaks to the nation about the tragedy in a broadcast from the White House.
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LBJ on Resumption of Air Strikes in North Vietnam
LBJ on Resumption of Air Strikes in North VietnamAudio Clip (1:20)
Audio Clip (1:20)
In a broadcast from the White House on January 31, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson informs the nation that U.S. airstrikes on Vietnam have resumed after a 37-day pause in bombing.
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Nixon Announces Vietnam Peace Agreement
Nixon Announces Vietnam Peace AgreementAudio Clip (3:39)
Audio Clip (3:39)
On January 23, 1973, President Richard Nixon announces that Henry Kissinger and North Vietnam's chief negotiator, Le Duc Tho, signed an agreement to end U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. The official cease-fire, along with the release of all American prisoners of war, is to go into effect on January 28, though troops would remain in Vietnam until the fall of Saigon in 1975.
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Violence Rocks 1968 Democratic Convention
Violence Rocks 1968 Democratic ConventionAudio Clip (0:18)
Audio Clip (0:18)
In reaction to violence that broke out at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley defends his city's police, blaming instead the anti-Vietnam War demonstrators for the clash.
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Communists Build the Berlin Wall
Communists Build the Berlin WallAudio Clip (0:46)
Audio Clip (0:46)
On August 13, 1961, troops in East Germany sealed the border between East and West Berlin with barbed wire fences that were soon replaced with concrete blocks. As East Germans awake to the new reality, local news coverage paints a grim picture of life for those trapped behind the barricade.
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Cold War Arms Race
Cold War Arms RaceAudio Clip (2:23)
Audio Clip (2:23)
On March 21, 1960, U.S. Vice Admiral Hyman Rickover discusses the importance of keeping abreast of Soviet technological developments.
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Nixon Wins Presidency
Nixon Wins PresidencyAudio Clip (0:44)
Audio Clip (0:44)
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Earl Warren Eulogizes the Late President Kennedy
Earl Warren Eulogizes the Late President KennedyAudio Clip (0:56)
Audio Clip (0:56)
On November 24, 1963, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Earl Warren joined others in the Rotunda of the Capitol to remember President Kennedy and comment on the tragic circumstances of his death.
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John F. Kennedy on Coup in South Vietnam
John F. Kennedy on Coup in South VietnamAudio Clip (6:06)
Audio Clip (6:06)
On October 29, 1963, President John F. Kennedy meets with the National Security Council to discuss whether to support the overthrow of South Vietnam's President Ngo Dinh Diem. During the secretly recorded conversation, Secretary of State Dean Rusk and the president craft a detailed plan involving Henry Cabot Lodge, ambassador to South Vietnam, Gen. Paul D. Harkins and the general of the South Vietnamese military, hoping to avoid setting off a civil war in the country.
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McCarthy Questioned on Anti-Communist Investigation
McCarthy Questioned on Anti-Communist InvestigationAudio Clip (3:38)
Audio Clip (3:38)
In a 1953 episode of NBC's "Meet the Press," Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy is questioned by a panel of reporters on his role as the new chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
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Stokely Carmichael on Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Stokely Carmichael on Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.Audio Clip (2:42)
Audio Clip (2:42)
On April 5, 1968, in a press conference held the day after the slaying of Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael predicts the outbreak of more violence across the nation in retaliation for "white America's biggest mistake."
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Ford Offers Clemency to Draft Evaders
Ford Offers Clemency to Draft EvadersAudio Clip (1:20)
Audio Clip (1:20)
On September 16, 1974, President Gerald Ford signed a proclamation that would offer Vietnam War draft evaders the chance to earn clemency by performing alternative service for their country. In a speech to the American people, Ford defends his decision as one that's best for the nation.
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Reagan and Mondale in 1984 Presidential Debate
Reagan and Mondale in 1984 Presidential DebateAudio Clip (1:15)
Audio Clip (1:15)
On October 21, 1984, President Ronald Reagan and former Vice President Walter Mondale engage in their second nationally broadcast debate. When Henry Trewhitt of the Baltimore Sun asks the president about his advancing age, Reagan turns the question on its head by promising not to make an issue of his opponent’s youth and inexperience.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 Labor Day Speech
Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 Labor Day SpeechAudio Clip (1:37)
Audio Clip (1:37)
In his Labor Day radio broadcast in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt reminds his fellow citizens of the need to devote America’s industrial effort to building weaponry in order to "crush Hitler and his Nazi forces."
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Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fourth of July Address
Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fourth of July AddressAudio Clip (2:07)
Audio Clip (2:07)
In a broadcast from his home in Hyde Park, New York, on July 4, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt warns Americans who wish not to get involved in the war that "the United States will never survive as a happy and fertile oasis of liberty surrounded by a cruel desert of dictatorship."
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Establishes United States as Arsenal of Democracy
Franklin D. Roosevelt Establishes United States as Arsenal of DemocracyAudio Clip (1:08)
Audio Clip (1:08)
President Franklin D. Roosevelt heralds the defense program of the United States and urges Americans to support an increase in aid to Great Britain to help defeat the Axis powers.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt on American Progress in World War II
Franklin D. Roosevelt on American Progress in World War IIAudio Clip (1:00)
Audio Clip (1:00)
With the United States now entered into World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt uses the occasion of Washington’s birthday to broadcast to the nation on February 23, 1942, an outline of America’s progress in the war.
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