The Age of Great Dreams

A detailed Summary of The Age of Great Dreams

Material covered in The Age of Great Dreams can be drawn from the title; it covers issues that were at the forefront of the 1960's. The book details American growth after World War 2, civil rights, the Vietnam War, and the organization of students. Unlike other books about the 1960's, Farber does not focus on a single point, but rather, gives a general overview of major events and movements of the 1960's.

Farber begins by detailing the financial growth of the United States. The conclusion of World War 2 brought great riches to the United States. Soldiers came home and started families, these families lead to the baby boom. Unlike wars in the past, America maintained the level of economic superiority it demonstrated during the war. Business was alive and flourishing. An abundance of money and goods led to the creation of suburbs. Families fled the big cities for smaller neighborhoods where the goal was to be like everyone else and strive for the easy life as presented by the newly created television. Refrigerators, washers and dryers, automatic dishwashers, television sets, and automobiles were in abundance and affordable for the average family to own. Quickly the suburbs began to take on a similar look; individuality was on t

Out of the protests rose the use of drugs. Drugs were in use prior to the decade, but it was on the school campuses that where it found its acceptance and home. People would share in the bonding of smoking marijuana with each other and tried to expand their minds through the use of hallucinogenic such as LSD. Drug use grew rapidly. Books were written about the benefits of drugs, particularly LSD. Drugs became a major part of the protest environment, perhaps out of the boredom of legal substances such as cigarettes and alcohol. Along with the drug use, prescription drug abuse was on the rise. American youth was being influenced by rock n' roll and rock n' roll was being influenced by youth. The decade became the experimental decade, drugs, sex, and rock n' roll truly was the attitude of the decade.

The leading event of the decade was the Vietnam War. The United States refused to let Vietnam fall to communism. A civil war that had been going on since 1946 was drawing American soldiers into battle. Once a necessary war, in the eyes of politicians and the American public, was fast becoming an unpopular war with the American public, particularly with students. Politicians viewed Vietnam as the stepping stone for Communism to sweep through South West Asia (Indochina). Vietnam was the first domino in a chain, if fallen, would topple the other dominoes allowing Communism to sweep through the region.

The American government escalated the military's involvement in the conflict. The main goal being the thwarting of the Communist regime led by Ho Chi Minh. The original goal was to establish two separate governments in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh to the north and an American backed leader in the south. The attempt failed and U.S. military intervention was called upon. Over the course of 1954 to 1972, the U.S. sent troops to fight the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong. Never fully reaching popularity with the American people, politicians never had a definite plan for Vietnam. Tired of watching their sons and daughters die during World War 2 and the Korean War, the public was not ready to witness the slaughter of more American youth.

Even worse than draft dodgers were the protesters in college. These idiots who thought American casualties were a joke and that they got what they disserved make me sick. While U.S. soldiers were fighting and dying they were at home doing drugs, forgetting about personal hygiene, hiding from American duty, and protesting that some course was not available at their school. I know that not every student of the 60's felt this way, but this book provides strong evidence to the contrary. I would like to have seen them go through one day in the life that a soldier in Vietnam faced. None of them would have made it and they would have been forced to see that what a soldier did was for survival. To take the life of another soldier, to see that dead face in your dreams every night is not an easy thing to do, it is done out of survival, not because they get off on killing babies. This part of American history is a chapter that I wish we could disregard and learn to forget.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Vietnam Worse, LSD Drugs, Americans Ironically, Richard Nixon, United Soldiers, SNCC King, Tired French, Vietnam War, Detroit MI, War United, world war, n' roll, american public, rock n' roll, rock n', war 2, civil rights, world war 2, race people, vietnam war, ho chi minh, sons daughters, american youth,

Approximate Word count = 2283
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History