Year in Review- 1963
Many different things happened in the year 1963. The biggest thing that took place in this year was the president of the United States, John F. Kennedy was shot and killed. All across America racial tension were rising and Martian Luther King Jr. was arrested during a non violent protest in Alabama. Songs that we still hear today were released in this year like surfin’ U.S and a favorite candy that children and adults still eat today was also produced and distrusted this year.
On February 8, 1963 President John F. Kennedy ordered travel restrictions going and coming from Cuba. This took place after the Cuban Missile Crisis. “Following the travel restrictions, Cuban Assets Control Regulations were issued on July 8, 1963, under the Trading with the Enemy Act in response to Cubans hosting Soviet nuclear weapons. Under these restrictions, Cuban assets in the U.S. were frozen and the existing restrictions were consolidated” (Havana Radio).
John F. Kennedy was elected the thirty- fifth president of the United States in 1961 until he was assassinated in 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald on November 22, 1963. While Kennedy was riding in a motorcade in Dallas Texas he was wounded by a single shot (Supercomputing '94). He was fatally wounded with a shot to the head and died within an hour. “People say that November 22, 1963 is the day when America died” (Stankiewicz).
The Warren Commission was ordered by the new President, Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination. “The Warren Commission identified the assassin as twenty four year old, Lee Harvey Oswald. While in police custody in Dallas Texas, Jack Rudy, a nightclub patron, shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald” (Columbia University Press). Later the Warren Commission made a statement saying that Oswald was the one and only assassin.
On April 16, 1963 American civil rights leader Martian Luther King Jr. wrote a letter from Birmingham, Alabama while he was confined in a prison cell for participating in a non violent protest speaking out against segregation. Before King was arrested he participated in the protest for numerous reasons. “He wanted an end to racial segregation in public school; meaningful civil rights legislation, including a law prohibiting racial discrimination in employment; protection of civil rights workers from police brutality; a two dollar minimum wage for all workers; and self-government for Washington D.C.” (Russel).
At the National Mall, King delivered his famous speech, I had a dream. This speech was addressed to all the different nationalities in America that were discriminated against. “This was regarded as one the most famous speeches that was delivered on American soil” (Russel).
Many political figures were concerned with the environment and the Test Ban Treaty was put into affect. This banned all nuclear explosions in the environment which include the atmosphere, outer space, and underwater. The only place where explosions could take place was underground. The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union signed the agreement on August 5, 1963 in Moscow Russia.
President Kennedy was under extreme amounts of pressure by the military to open testing for weapons. Kennedy had to protect America but abide by the international regulations. He opened laboratories to do experiments and followed underground explosion rules. He later broke the treaty and allowed atmospheric testing. This was the beginning to the arms race.
A favorite past time in America was watching the National Hockey League (NHL). The 1963- 1964 hockey season was the forty seventh year in the league. During this time, there were only six teams in the league. Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Detroit Red Wings giving the Maple Leafs their third consecutive Stanley Cup title. Sports casters say that this was one of the most memorable playoff series in history. Going into the seventh the series was tied three to three. Toronto shut out Detroit four to nothing.
From music being played at sporting events to dances, the Beach Boys came out with Surfin’ U.S.A. Surfin’ U.S.A. was released on March 4, 1963 and lasted on charts around the world for seventy eight weeks. This was the Beach Boys biggest song they ever released. The song was inspired by the California setting of the beach and people surfing. This song brought the Beach Boys album into gold record status. (Wapedia).
From Russia with Love starring Sean Connery as special agent, James Bond was released October 10, 1963 in the United Kingdom and later in the United States. “This was Sean Connery’s second movie produced in the James Bond series” (Top Ten Review). This movie was based on a book that was written by Ian Fleming that was published in 1957.
While watching movies at the movies theater or at home, the sweet tarts were a great snack that was introduced this year. Sweet tarts are sugary treats that were basically made the same way pixy sticks.
The 1963 hurricane season was pretty active. The season began on June 15, 1963 and ended on November 15, 1963. Over this five month period hurricane Ginny was the eighth tropical storm and seventh hurricane of the season. The tropical depression formed off the coast of the Bahamas on October 16 moving northward slowly. Four days later on October 20 it became a category one hurricane and then eventually a category two. “Ginny made landfall off the coast of the Carolinas where it brought moderate to heavy rainfall. After reaching cooler waters Ginny became a depression again and terrorized New England” (noaa). New England received about thirteen inches of snow. Ginny was one of the very few hurricanes to produce snow along the northern Atlantic seaboard (hurricane ginny). After this storm left it caused seven fatalities in all and cost about $300,000 in damages in 1963. In 2009, the damages would have been about $2 million.
Late in the year, on December 31, 1963 into January 1, 1964 a huge snow storm impacted the south. This snow storm pushed its way past the gulf coast onto land affecting Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. It caused many problems. Air ports were closed for a few days along with many interstates and most other roads. Fifteen to seventeen inches of snow fell. Another problem on top of all the snow was gusting winds blowing all the snow. “There were power outages all over the place because of tree braches snapping, leaving people with no heat or ways to cook food. This storm caused about $700,000 in damages” (U. S. Weather Bureau).
All the things that happened in 1963 impacted the years that we lived though already or the year we are living in today. American lives are better then ever. Sporting events evolved more and more sophisticated with rules and regulations. The thing that opened people’s eyes was the assassination of Kennedy. If things did not happen in 1963, then people would not be where they are today. We learn from our achievements along with things that go wrong.
Works Cited
Adams, Russell, Great Negroes Past and Present, pp. 106-107. Chicago, Afro-Am Publishing Co., 1963.
Columbia University Press. "Oswald, Lee Harvey." Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac,
Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free online reference, research & homework help. Infoplease.com. 2007. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed.
From Russia with Love (1963) Movie Reviews - TopTenREVIEWS." TopTenREVIEWS Movie Reviews. 2003. http://movies.toptenreviews.com/reviews/mr115466.htm>.
History of US Blockade agaisnt Cuba. 1995. Radio Havana Radio. http://www.radiohc.cu/ingles/especiales/oct07/especiales30oct.htm
"Hurricane Ginny - October 19-30, 1963." Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC) Home Page. 24 Jan. 2009 http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/ginny1963.html
"JFK." Supercomputing '94. http://sc94.ameslab.gov/TOUR/jfk.html
Stankiewicz, Raymond, PERSONAL INTERVIEW, January 27, 2008
U. S. Weather Bureau. "New Year's Eve 1963 snowstorm." Словари и энциклопедии на Академике. 4 Jan. 1964 <http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/4258430
"Wapedia - Wiki: Surfin' USA." Wapedia - Encyclopedia. 19 Jan. 2008 http://wapedia.mobi/en/Surfin%27_USA
