Explain the issues in the post-war world 1945-1960s in America that may have led to the unrest and reform of the 1960s. Consider economic, social, political and cultural issues.

One such issue was the role of women in post-war America. Many women took on jobs during WWII. They enjoyed their newfound independence. After the war, many did not want to conform to the role of homemaker, even though this was the role that they were expected to take. Women started to agitate for more rights and became a strong voting bloc at the state and national level. Though the women's movement really started to take shape in the late 1960s, it would take until the 1970s for it to see results such as Title IX legislation and Roe v. Wade.
Another issue was civil rights. This was the dominant domestic issue of postwar America, especially in the South. African Americans who had served their country either fighting fascism or working in wartime industries did not want to be treated like lesser citizens. The movement started to gain momentum during the 1950s with legislation to end segregation. Even though he was relatively late to endorse it as he did not want to upset his Southern base, John F. Kennedy began to see civil rights as an important cause. When Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, Lyndon Johnson was able to pass a great deal of civil rights legislation by convincing people that it was what Kennedy would have wanted. The civil rights movement was also related to the antiwar movement and the anti-poverty movement, as African Americans in the United States were more likely to get sent to Vietnam as they had less college deferments. Martin Luther King Jr. was influential in both civil rights and the antiwar movement.
Another issue was the war movement, especially pertaining to Vietnam. Television allowed people to see footage from the war, and many did not like what they saw. "Hawks," or people who supported the Vietnam War, viewed it as an important conflict in keeping the US safe. They endorsed the domino theory, which stated that the United States must stand against the spread of communism. "Doves," or people who opposed the war, saw it as unnecessary, as it appeared to go on without end. They also pointed out that it was largely fought by poor and working-class young men who did not have the same options as those who went to college. There were not many scholarships available back then, so college was still considered a place for the wealthy and the upper-middle class. Antiwar protesters also stated that eighteen-year-olds could not vote against the war, but they were old enough to die for their country.
The antiwar movement was part of the larger counterculture movement that would ultimately shun many of the conservative values of their parents. One of the key successes of the antiwar movement was Amendment XXVI. Another success was America's departure from Vietnam though others would see this as a failure of American foreign policy, as Vietnam was unified under communist rule two years after American forces left.