A Decade of Contrasts.

The 1960s were years of enormous contrasts in American politics. President John F. Kennedy's challenge to "Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country" at his inauguration in January 1961 ushered in a new decade of activism with consequences neither he nor anyone else at that time could foresee. Young idealists flocked to join the Peace Corps and VISTA — for government service to the needy overseas and at home. Others, believing that America could indeed be a land of equal opportunity, joined the civil rights movement and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Yet as the decade progressed, optimism gave way to anger and pessimism.

Violence and Disillusionment.

The assassinations of President Kennedy in November 1963; civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in April 1968; and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy's brother...