What were the cultural changes of the 1960s?

The 1960s saw the birth of a new form of counterculture and witnessed significant changes in the roles of women, African Americans, and others in society. The early 1960s were a time of hope, but after John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963 and the worsening of the conflict in Vietnam in the mid and late 1960s, people began to question authority and traditional institutions such as schools, churches, and the government. 

Students played prominent roles...

The 1960s saw the birth of a new form of counterculture and witnessed significant changes in the roles of women, African Americans, and others in society. The early 1960s were a time of hope, but after John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963 and the worsening of the conflict in Vietnam in the mid and late 1960s, people began to question authority and traditional institutions such as schools, churches, and the government. 

Students played prominent roles in new forms of activism through organizations such as Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and SNCC, or the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which advocated African American rights and equality. In the late 1960s, youth culture was popularized through rock and roll and in concerts like Woodstock in 1969. College campuses became places of protests and revolt against the war in Vietnam, among other causes.

Women's rights became a focus of popular protests, and the role of women changed as women pushed for equal pay and equal rights. Many formerly all-male colleges and graduate schools began to admit women, and more professions began to open their doors to women. During the 1960s, women also had greater sexual freedom than ever before, in part because of the invention of the birth control pill (which the FDA approved as a contraceptive in 1960). The idea that a woman had to get married began to fade away as more women delayed marriage or did not marry at all. In addition, starting with the Stonewall Riots of 1969 in New York City, people in the LGBTQ community began to advocate for their rights and fight against police harassment of their community.

As a result, many hidebound institutions (for example, marriage and regular church worship) that had defined earlier eras began to crumble. By the end of the 1960s, the expectations of women had changed radically, and women, African Americans, and others began a crusade for equality that continues until today.