1968
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In 1968 the world was still talking about the decision of President Lyndon Johnson not to run for office a second time. The war in Vietnam was at its height, and the protests against the war had probably been a key reason for Johnson to decide not to run again. He had been criticized for his handling of the war for some time, and his War on Poverty was suffering because of the drain the war made on the people and the economy. The world was also still talking about the assassination of Martin Luther King on April 3 in Memphis, Tennessee, and in another month almost to the day, Robert Kennedy would be shot and killed in Los Angeles. In Vietnam, the Tet offensive had been waged in March and April, at a terrible cost to both sides in the war. It was just after the Tet offensive when Johnson announced his decision. It was a time of political and social turmoil. It had been so all year,, and it would continue to be so for the remainder of 1968 (Neary 186-187).Lyndon Baines Johnson was President of the United States, having become so upon the death of John F. Kennedy in 1963 and then having won the office for himself in the 1964 election against Barry Goldwater. Queen Elizabeth II was the monarch of England and had been since 1952, as she indeed still is. Harold Wilson was then the Prime Minister, a post he had held since 1964 and would hold until 1970. Kurt Georg Kiesinger was the chancellor of Germany and Willy Brandt was foreign minister; Brandt would become chancell
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certain major industries can be compared, along with the Federal Minimum Hourly Wage Rates for 1968. The minimum wage at the time was $1.60 per hour for most workers, $1.15 for farm workers. In the mining industry, weekly earnings stood at $142.71. For construction workers it was at $164.49; for manufacturing jobs, $122.51; for transportation and public utilities, $138.85; and for the wholesale trade, $122.31 (The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1992 172-173).
Prices were lower for foodstuffs, energy, and other goods in 1968 when compared to prices today. Gasoline was still selling in the low price range, depending on grade and other considerations, of from about $.25 to $.39 or so a gallon. The Consumer Price Index for food was 40.1, compared to 132.1 by 1990. Bread and milk cost about one-third what they do today on average (The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1992 150-151). Other consumer expenditures were correspondingly smaller then as compared to today. Rents were probably about a third of today's rates as well, depending on location. Transportation costs were much lower. Bus fares, again depending on location, were as low as $.25, where today they are usually one dollar or more. Interest rates on savings account
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Approximate Word count = 1705
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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