A Time of Change

Doubt is set in 1964, a time of immense change in the world. Here’s a look at what was going on in the nation and the world during that time.

Vietnam War
In 1964, North Vietnam attacked U.S. destroyers. This resulted in the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, which allowed U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson to make war plans. The United States increased its military aid to South Vietnam and began air raids on North Vietnam.

JFK
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 shocked the country and punctured the nation’s sense of security. In 1964, The Warren Commission Report issued its findings that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Some Americans began seriously questioning its conclusions.

Civil Rights
The political climate in the United States was changing in regards to civil rights. A new generation of African Americans refused to remain separated from opportunities available to other Americans, and many turned to the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his philosophy of non-violence as they pursued new civil rights legislation. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was landmark legislation in the United States and outlawed segregation in schools and public places.

Nuclear Weapons
China explodes their first atomic weapon, becoming the fifth nation to produce the bomb. The U.S., U.S.S.R., Great Britain and France were the other nuclear powers. China pledged that it would not be the first to use nuclear weapons.

Religious Reform
After the death of Pope John XXIII in 1963, Pope Paul VI declared his intent to see the Second Vatican Council through and reaffirm Pope John's goal of making it an instrument of church renewal. Reforms included revising the liturgy and altering relations with clergy and laity. Many traditionalist Catholics hold that these reforms moved the Church away from important principles of the historic Catholic faith.