The 1950s and 60s are often considered polar opposites, but were the 1950s as placid and conflict-free as they seemed? Also, why did the 1960s begin on such an optimistic note yet end rather darkly?

The 1950s were not as calm as portrayed in popular culture, as this period marked the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. This was the decade where the jailing of Rosa Parks launched the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This was also when Eisenhower sent in the National Guard, in order to protect the "Little Rock Nine" and thus desegregate the schools and uphold the Brown v. Board Supreme Court ruling.
The decade also saw extreme paranoia situated as it was in the McCarthyism era. Many were accused of being Communist, simply because they backed leftist agendas during the 1930s. Many actors and screenwriters were punished because they would not incriminate others. The period was also bad for women, as they had lost much of the autonomy they had gained during WWII and were now expected to go back to low-paying work and homemaking.
The 1960s began on a relatively positive note. The United States had a young dynamic president who promised to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. He also launched the Peace Corps, which promised to both spread American ideals and make the world a better place. Kennedy also rose above the Southern Democratic party base and helped to establish civil rights, though his successor, Lyndon Johnson, would do more of this upon Kennedy's assassination. Johnson even declared war on poverty in his Great Society platform. The decade ended darkly, as Vietnam, a war which had gradually escalated from advisers to ground troops, turned into America's nightmare. The "living room war" showed American casualties and not enough winning of key battles. It also showed thousands of defenseless Vietnamese being put in inhumane conditions. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot in Memphis in 1968, touching off race riots all over the country. The 1968 Democratic National Convention was picketed by protesters chanting "The Whole World is Watching!" as police beat them away from the convention. Richard Nixon won the election by promising "Peace with Honor" in Vietnam, but he actually escalated the war by invading Laos and Cambodia. The United States did land a man on the moon in 1969; this was one of the bright spots of that year. All of this made the 1960s a decade which started with such promise but ended with more questions unanswered.