The 1960's Many social changes that were addressed in the 1960s are still the issues being confronted today. The '60s was a decade of social and political upheaval caused by student and anti-war protest movements, political assassinations, and ghetto riots. The decade began under the shadow of the Cold War between the Soviet Union which was aggravated by the U-2 incident, the Berlin Wall construction, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, along with the space race with the USSR. The decade ended under the shadow of the Vietnam War, which deeply divided Americans and their allies and damaged the country’s self-confidence and sense of purpose. Even for someone who