1960s ‑ Videos

How Did Charles Manson Recruit His Followers?

Charles Manson’s exploitation of 60s counterculture would result in one of the most notorious crimes of the 20th century.

Why Woodstock Almost Never Happened

Woodstock, the iconic music festival, brought huge audiences and groundbreaking performances. But when local residents raised concerns about crowds of arriving music fans, it almost never happened.

LBJ, Before the War on Poverty

LBJ spent time after college teaching impoverished Mexican‑American immigrants on the border of Texas and Mexico, an experience that shaped his personality and presidential ambitions.

Flashback: RFK Speaks at Columbia University

In the middle of his 1964 New York Senatorial bid, Robert Kennedy visits Columbia University to participate in a student‑led Q&A session. From this excerpt, one can easily see why Kennedy was a rising star of the Democratic Party and a future presidential hopeful.

Children Testing Gas Masks for the U.S. Government

As the Cold War wore on, the American government became increasingly concerned about a potential Soviet strike on the U.S. mainland. In this footage from the early 1960’s, children are used to test the effectiveness of gas masks.

The Great Society

What did President Lyndon B. Johnson envision with his suite of domestic programs known as the Great Society? What did the programs entail, and what became of them after the 1960s?

Flashback: The 1960 Winter Olympics

Revisit the feats of athleticism at the VIII Olympic Winter Games, held in California’s Squaw Valley in February, 1960.

The Detroit Riots of 1967

Explore the history of the 1967 Detroit riots, from the political context that sparked them to the broader consequences of the conflict.

Flashback: The Home of the Future

In 1967, Philco‑Ford produced a short film exploring what the “Home of the Future” might look like. We re‑examine this film to see what they got right about the future—and what was wrong with the past.

Baby Boomers

Find out more about the huge – and hugely influential – generation of Americans born during the post‑World War II period between 1946 and 1964.

The 1960s

Historian Yohuru Williams sums up the tumultuous political and cultural movements of the 1960s.

This Day in History Video: What Happened on December 22