865 replies to this topic

[ags]

This thread is to discuss the news events of the 1960s, I will be adding new events and adding descriptions and links to the events already listed.

November 8, 1960 - The 1960 Presidential Election
John F. Kennedy elected president - John F. Kennedy becomes the youngest man ever to be elected president of the United States, narrowly beating Republican Vice President Richard Nixon. He was also the first Catholic to become president. | Election Data |
United States Presidential Election, 1960 | 1960 Presidential General Election Results | Electoral Map

April 17, 1961 - Bay of Pigs
On April 17, 1961, 1400 Cuban exiles launched what became a botched invasion at the Bay of Pigs on the south coast of Cuba.

February 20, 1962 - John Glenn's Orbit
An American orbits earth - On February 20, 1962, aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft, Lieutenant Colonel John Glenn became the first American astronaut to orbit the earth.
Mercury-Atlas 6|Video (2:47 seconds) of John Glenn speaking at Ticker Tape Parade

March 1, 1962 - Crash of American Airlines Flight 1 | Plane Crash Data

August 5, 1962 - Death of Marilyn Monroe


Past Events:

1944 - The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 or G.I. Bill provided for college or vocational education for returning World War II veterans (more).

June 19, 1953 - Rosenberg Execution
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were found guilty of relaying U.S. military secrets to the Soviets, the Rosenbergs were the first U.S. civilians to be sentenced to death for espionage. They were put to death in the electric chair at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York.


Montgomery Bus Boycott

Future Events:
Publication of The Feminine Mystique
Kennedy Assasination
Vatican II
Stonewall Riots

Edited by ags, Sep 28, 2008 @ 10:55 PM.

[applecruncher]

1954 - mass inoculations of Salk polio vaccine. A later version of the polio vaccine, developed by Albert Sabin, used a weakened form of the live virus and was swallowed instead of injected. It was licensed in 1962 and soon became more popular than Salk's vaccine,

[sighle]

February 1964, the Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show.

[unclewiggly]

Assuming it's late-August/early Sept in MM world (as of "A Night to Remember"), they've got quite a bit of history coming up:

Sept 12, 1962 - JFK reaffirms that the US will put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.

Sept 27, 1962 - Silent Spring is published.

Oct 1, 1962 - James Meredith, the first African-American student at the University of Mississippi, is escorted onto campus by Federal Marshals.

Oct 5, 1962 - Dr. No premieres & The Beatles release their first single Love Me Do.

Oct 11 - Dec 8, 1962 - Vatican II council.

Oct 13, 1962 - Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opens on Broadway (wow -- seems like Don & Betty might be heading down this road, huh?)

Oct 14 - Nov 20, 1962 - Cuban Missile Crisis

[applecruncher]

1961-62 black t-strap shoes (flats) with tiny taps on soles that made noise as you walked down the hall. They barely covered your feet!

[first avenue]

My first real memory of 1960's is the Caroline Kennedy and the Assasintion of President Kennedy. I was only 4 but I remember all the footage on the tv, I remember playing in a room in front of the tv while my mom was busy doing something and I just remember my mom stopped, I think she was ironing or something, she stopped, she said oh my no, no,no so I looked at the tv. I recall a neighbor coming out, I think there was laundry on her clothesline, I think my mom yelled something out of the window. It was all women around talking, on the street holding their hearts, crying, holding their heads, then all running into their respective homes and I could hear tv's going on the street. I recall a few hours later my older brothers and sisters comng in from school. I wanted to play, but they were sad too.
I have those images going round and round in my head when the JFK Assasination Anniversay comes each year.
I don't remember the shooting of Oswald or any of that, but I do remember a old man with glasses on tv saying something about the President being dead or he died. I asked my mom, what does dead mean, mommie, what is that? What is strange is that I asked my mom after the funeral, I said mommie will Jackie Kennedy become the President now? She said no honey.
In my 4 year old mind, there were no boundries on women, I thought simply President Kennedy's wife would become President, I thought oh she'll take over now.

I also remember a old 60's tv show called Diver Dan (for some reason) I loved that show.
I remember my sister turning on Bandstand.
I remember people saying Dick Clark lived in Cherry Hill and wanting to go see his house.
I remember she and her friends talking about going to a dance show called HyLit.
Jerry Blavet seemed to be on tv like Dick Clark
Drive In Boxes being set up(by some enterprising neighbors who worked as an electricians) on our street in the summer so people could sit in their lawn chairs on the street and watch the Drive in movie screen for free,with a clear view across the highway.

Edited by first avenue, Sep 16, 2008 @ 2:20 PM.

[DR76]

My only memory of the 1960s is when I started Headstart around the end of the decade. That's it.

[GatosGal]

I guess I'd have to say the Kennedy Assassination stands out for me. I was working as a bookkeeper in the basement of a bank in Lawrence kansas...(same time zone) One of tellers ran down the stairs and yelled that the president had been shot. The idea was so unthinkable we were convinced it was a joke, until we went upstairs to the bank lobby and saw dozens of people, quiet as mice, not even bothering to stand in line...and the only thing I heard was a radio announcer reading the news flashes as they came in. People were crying, a lot just went home. Even today I can see the waitress at the sandwich shop we went to for lunch..all I could manage was hot chocolate....and she was sobbing as she served it. A lot of us got excused early, since the bank was going to be closed anyway. my husband, meanwhile, had managed to buy a 18" black and white portable tv for $18 and for the next three days all we did was sit and stare at it. Does anyone else remember the funeral procession and the drum cadence...I remember the riderless black horse, prancing and tossing his head.

[GeoBQn]

As the daughter of a Baby Boomer (which apparently makes me part of the "Baby Boomlet"), I was really impressed that they tackled the Cuban Missile Crisis. It gets a lot less attention than the Kennedy Assassination in stuff about the 60's, but my dad's description of being a teenager and thinking the world was going to end really stuck with me, particularly after 9/11.

I also appreciate the inclusion of the 1960's Handbook feature on the DVDs. Before their respective episodes, I had never heard of The Defenders or the Port Huron statement. It was very helpful to have these explained to me as well as how they fit into the show.

[GTS]

Socio-economic question:

(first of all I don't want to this to dissolve into a McMansions/neuveau leveraged bash like the manners thing did)

Don and Betty live in a house pretty much like most of the houses of people I knew growing up in the late 60's early 70's (albeit without a Carla) yet they are hob nobbing with presidents of companies we have all heard of "the portly fellow in the Glenn plaid head of Du Pont" and drinking Rye with Connie Hilton.

Was the world that much smaller then that heads of companies were thick on the ground?

Or are Don and Betty relativly rich yet they don't have a super fancy house?

Was their house reflective of what they could afford at the time they bought it (no sub prime loans back then) and people didn't "trade up" as soon as they could afford to? I know when Mr Ex GTS and I bought our first house my ex mil (who is about Betty's era was SCANDALIZED that we had a 30 year mortgage)

[A Little Edgy]

Don and Betty live in a house pretty much like most of the houses of people I knew growing up in the late 60's early 70's (albeit without a Carla) yet they are hob nobbing with presidents of companies we have all heard of "the portly fellow in the Glenn plaid head of Du Pont" and drinking Rye with Connie Hilton.

Was the world that much smaller then that heads of companies were thick on the ground?

Or are Don and Betty relativly rich yet they don't have a super fancy house?

Was their house reflective of what they could afford at the time they bought it (no sub prime loans back then) and people didn't "trade up" as soon as they could afford to?

Well, Betty and Don were guests of Jane and Roger. Roger is the rich one with social connections. The Drapers are at the same party as the bigwigs, but they don't normally travel in the same social circle. As for running into Conrad Hilton, remember that he was a guest at a wedding that was happening at the same club. He and Don happened to run into each other; they don't normally socialize together.

On the other hand, yes, Don and Betty are rich as a result of the sale of SC. Don got a $500,000 payout, which is the equivalent of several million dollars today. As to why they're still in the same house - which is very nice but not a mansion and probably is the best could afford when they bought it some unknown number of years ago - it hasn't been explained. Maybe the writers just didn't want to bother with writing a plot about the Drapers moving house.

[bbob]

Maybe the writers just didn't want to bother with writing a plot about the Drapers moving house

Yes, that. That would require at least one episode to resolve. Plus two other options. First - they didn't want the expense of building all new sets for the Draper household. And second - given Don's upbringing and secretive nature, perhaps he hasn't told Betty just how well off they are now. Given Don's locked desk, and probably the fact that he pays all the bills, Betty may not know just how much money they actually do have. I could see Don not telling her. I'm sure he told her that they have come into some money due to the buy-out by the Brits. But in his mind, it might make her try to "live above their means", plus, it always gives him a nice stash that he can use to get away, if he ever decides to finally go. Plus, while it's not a mansion by any stretch of the word, the Draper's house is a damn nice house - sitting room, dining room, tv/family room, eat-in kitchen, office, master bedroom, finished third floor, pretty spacious yard, it's a nice house! Maybe they like it!

[VGMan]

I completely forgot about the massive payment that Don received at the end of the season. While I suppose it's unrealistic for them to stay where they are, I'm glad that we're still at the same place. That household set is so beautifully evocative of the show that I'd hate to lose it.

[michellems]

There's also the fact that Don is supporting Anna.

[lucindabelle]

I remember the moon landing, I was four, and was woken up for it.

I remember the riots in Newark (we live in Millburn) and the maid who came in a few days a week crying and telling my mother they were burning everything down... I think that was 68.

I remember when I was very little when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I said a go-go girl, and I really, REALLY wanted white boots.

[queen of mean]

I remember when I was very little when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I said a go-go girl, and I really, REALLY wanted white boots.

Me too. My little sister had a pair - some kind of faux plastic with zippers up the side. Or maybe it was my cousin. Somebody had them.....

Edited by queen of mean, Sep 7, 2009 @ 10:57 AM.

[baxsmom]

Go-go boots were big around 1965-66. I think Nancy Sinatra's song "These Boots Were Made for Walking" was a hit in 1966.

Interesting how Don does not tell Sal or his secretary he is leaving early due to his father-in-law's death. Was it because they are his subordinates, he cannot relate to or denigrates the loss of a parent or it is a 1960s thing to keep a death in the family a private matter? Pete seemed to share the death of his father a couple of years before with the office.

[Libby1975]

I'm too young to remember half the stuff mentioned here, however the description of the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination from the standpoint of a 4-year-old was tremendously evocative.
It reminded me of the only rough equivalent from my own life: news reports of John Lennon's murder, which were ubiquitous and to my childish mind seemed to be about two different people (as a Beatlemania-era pic used to illustrate the story was usually followed by a 70's era one in which John sported his granny glasses and long hair and was thus rendered unrecognizable to me). Crying adults are also a feature of this memory.

Descriptions upthread about Kennedy's death (people thinking it was a joke, going home from work) remind me of some of the reactions to the first reports of 9/11.

Hats off to the writers for their depiction of what the Cuban Missile Crisis actually meant to live through. I've studied what happened in school, but history books rarely note the facts Mad Men bought home so clearly. The subways were empty? People were leaving work early to get out of the city? People with houses outside of town were making a speedy escape? I didn't know any of this stuff. Trudy taking the silver with her was a nice touch. In case of looters no doubt.

Edited by TWoP Mars, Sep 8, 2009 @ 11:11 PM.
Punctuation

[A Little Edgy]

Hats off to the writers for their depiction of what the Cuban Missile Crisis actually meant to live through. I've studied what happened in school, but history books rarely note the facts Mad Men bought home so clearly. The subways were empty? People were leaving work early to get out of the city? People with houses outside of town were making a speedy escape? I didn't know any of this stuff. Trudy taking the silver with her was a nice touch. In case of looters no doubt.

I wouldn't read too much into what MM showed about people's reaction to the Cuban Missile Crisis. They were using it as a metaphor for various plot-related events. In real life, people certainly were scared, and some no doubt stocked up on supplies and read up on how to build a fallout shelter, but life went on. Businesses and schools didn't close down, the cities were not evacuated (spontaneously or otherwise), and people generally carried on. What else could they do? It's not like the bombs were on the way, and no one knew how long the crisis would last. Plus, people in general are very resistant to facing the idea of imminent doomsday. They tend to hope for the best. (For example, people did not massively desert Washington, DC and NYC on 9/11, even though we had no idea what was going on or what terrorist-induced calamity would strike next.)

Edited by A Little Edgy, Sep 7, 2009 @ 3:36 PM.

[LynnMKinAZ]

The white gogo boots! I cried with happiness when I got them for xmas, and then I was dashed when my mother told me I couldn't wear them to school.....like where else did I go?

[oldsoul]

August 7, 1963 Birth of Patrick Bouvier Kennedy (Son of John & Jackie Kennedy)
August 9, 1963 Death of Patrick Bouvier Kennedy

I'm wondering if will be a plot point. Jackie's pregnancy was mentioned at Joan's dinner party.

Edited by oldsoul, Sep 7, 2009 @ 5:50 PM.

[figaro317]

Does anyone remember the book, "Candy"? It was around in the 60's and was the BAD book to read. I think it had been around for a while but I read it in 1965 ( I was 13 at the time). It was handed around in a tan paperbook cover so no one knew what you were reading.

[SummerRose]

Don and Betty relativly rich yet they don't have a super fancy house?

I attribute this to Don's poor childhood. My father was about Don's age, and like Don he grew up during the Depression. Even though he became very successful later in life, he and my mother remained very conservative, fiscally. They always lived well within our means; used credit sparingly, and they avoided most extravagances. Unfortunately, these habits were lost on my sister and me.

I remember when I was very little when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I said a go-go girl, and I really, REALLY wanted white boots.

Me too! I was influenced by a TV show called the Man From U.N.C.L.E., and of course Goldie Hawn on Laugh-In! After expressing my desire to be a Go-Go Girl, I was told that I was too young (about 7 years old) to watch shows like those, and immediately cut off.

Edited by SummerRose, Sep 8, 2009 @ 1:17 PM.

[Alexandria Bay]

My first fandom was Man from U.N.C.L.E. I was maybe 6. I had no interest in go go boots or any of that girly crap--I wanted a gun and a special pen to tell to open channel D.

[RuthlessBunny]

Don and Betty relativly rich yet they don't have a super fancy house?

They are comfortable, not rich. Rich was family money. The Drapers are building wealth. The idea of the ostentatious McMansion wasn't as prevalent as it is today. There just wasn't a market for that kind of housing.

Roger and Bert are old-money rich. So is Pete Campbell, except for the money part. Their families were wealthy at least one generation before they made their money.

I suspect that Don keeps Betty in the dark about the money. In this week's episode there were stacks of twenties in Don's desk, and who knows how much stashed away in other places.

A girl I knew in high school comes from family money, but her house was pretty much like the Drapers house. It was probably the same vintage for sure. Admittedly they were across the street from the country club though.

There's a great book out there called Class by Paul Fussel and it really details exactly how these attitudes evolved.

http://www.amazon.co...c...1546&sr=1-1

Interestingly enough at my reunion last week someone referred to MY high school house as a mansion. That made me laugh. It was just super-modern and built on a hill. 4 bedrooms and about 2000 sq ft. Hardly a mansion. We had rotary dial phones and black and white TV into the eighties.

My how times have changed.

[TWoP Mars]

Just a reminder: This thread is about THE SHOW, and how the '60s are depicted. For your own memories of the '60s or just stuff that existed then that wasn't on the show, please use the nostalgia thread. Thanks.

[selkie]

Carrying over the blue collar and college discussion from the spoiler thread:

My original point was that Peggy's neighbourhood seemed to be working class and unable to save enough to go - or to really expect it, which I based on the people we'd already been introduced to from her neighbourhood.

The GI Bill would have made college affordable for a lot of men in the 1950s and into the 1960s. If a man wanted to make the jump from blue collar to white collar, that post-military option gave them a way for greater social/career mobility than what they could have dreamed of in the 1930s.

With all the other social changes that happened in that era, it's easy to overlook the change in class mobility that started to happen in that era. While many of the guys from Peggy's old neighborhood might not have seen the need to pay for college if they had a perfectly nice job driving the vending machine truck, I'm sure there were others who did go for the jump to the white collar world that we just never saw.

And there are always going to be parents who encourage their kids to look beyond the old neighborhood and see the bigger world. It could be Olive's family nudged their son toward Boston for college because it would get him out of a neighborhood where his peers felt like the potato chip truck was 'good enough' and they knew he was capable of far more than that.

[acsenray]

Anita's husband was wearing a suit when Father John dropped by for dinner, wasn't he? I wonder what his job is.

[RuthlessBunny]

A lot of men wore suits to jobs that we wouldn't think of as white collar today. Retail clerks for example. Also, if it had been known that the priest was coming by, people would have gussied up, men would wear a suit.

[yonkersbaby]

Socio-economic question:

(first of all I don't want to this to dissolve into a McMansions/neuveau leveraged bash like the manners thing did)

Don and Betty live in a house pretty much like most of the houses of people I knew growing up in the late 60's early 70's (albeit without a Carla) yet they are hob nobbing with presidents of companies we have all heard of "the portly fellow in the Glenn plaid head of Du Pont" and drinking Rye with Connie Hilton.

Was the world that much smaller then that heads of companies were thick on the ground?

Or are Don and Betty relativly rich yet they don't have a super fancy house?

Was their house reflective of what they could afford at the time they bought it (no sub prime loans back then) and people didn't "trade up" as soon as they could afford to? I know when Mr Ex GTS and I bought our first house my ex mil (who is about Betty's era was SCANDALIZED that we had a 30 year mortgage)

This is just my experience as a child of the 60's - the Draper house IS super fancy. At least in my socio-economic group. My dad was blue collar (tool maker) and went back to school at nite to get a college degree and thus advanced to a white shirt/skinny tie job (industrial specialist) in the same company. He also worked part time at a retail store. My mom worked, too and this was unheard of in our neighborhood in that time. Anyhow, I think they both worked so they could move from an apartment to our Philadelphia Row Home which IIRC was mortgaged for $10,000, in 1963. One of my school friends lived in a (gasp) single home with floor to ceiling windows-very MOD-which was rumoured to be $20,000. One of my camp friends lived in a home like the Drapers, in Willow Grove, PA. It was in a (oooh) SUBURB of Phila! Her daddy worked as an executive for some pharmaceutical firm I think.

YMMV but in the socio-economic world of my memory the Drapers house was upper middle class. They lived in Ossining, NY (at least according to the police car that showed up last episode) so someone knowledgeable about the area could say if it was an upper middle class area at that time. Also they had help, so by definition, were well off.

Edited by yonkersbaby, Sep 10, 2009 @ 8:48 PM.