APUSH Period 8

Causes of the Cold War

• German Division: Split into four zones (US, UK, FR, USSR). The USSR felt "ganged up on."

• Poland: Stalin broke promises of free elections; Poland became the first Satellite Nation.

• Trust Issues: Delay of the Western Front in WWII and the secrecy of the Manhattan Project (Atomic bomb as a "bargaining chip") sparked the Arms Race.

The Cold War abroad

• Abroad (The "Iron Curtain"):

• Truman Doctrine (1947): Promised support to nations resisting communism; specifically focused on Greece and Turkey

• Marshall Plan: Economic aid to rebuild Western Europe to prevent Soviet influence.

• NSC-68 (1950): Advocated for a massive military buildup to counter Soviet threats globally.

• Alliances: NATO (Western mutual defense) vs. the Warsaw Pact (Soviet-led Eastern Bloc).

The Cold War at home

• At Home (The Second Red Scare):

  • HUAC & Hollywood Ten: Investigations into communist infiltration in media.

  • Spy Cases: Cases of Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs increased domestic fear of sabotage.

• McCarthyism: Senator Joseph McCarthy led "witch hunts" for communists without evidence, often violating civil liberties.

The 1950s

• The Economy: Rise of the Sunbelt (jobs/climate shift) and the GI Bill (education/housing for veterans).

• Suburbanization: Levittowns (mass-produced homes) and the 1956 Interstate Highway Act fueled the "car culture".

• Conformity: Pressure to fit the "middle-class" ideal; religion became a defense against "godless" communism ("Under God" added to the Pledge).

The non-violent Civil Rights Movement

• Focus: Desegregation and voting rights.

• Key Event: Brown v. Board of Education (1954) overturned "separate but equal" in schools.

• Strategy: Nonviolent direct action (e.g., Montgomery Bus Boycott, Sit-ins, March on Washington).

The violent Civil Rights Movement

• Focus: Economic inequality and systemic racism in the North.

• Shift: Rise of Black Power, Malcolm X, and the Black Panthers; focus on "de facto" (social) rather than just "de jure" (legal) segregation.

1968 (The Turning Point)

• Tet Offensive: A military blow to the US in Vietnam; led to a "credibility gap" where Americans doubted the government.

• Assassinations: Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were killed, leading to nationwide riots and political chaos.

• 1968 Election: Nixon’s victory represented the rise of the "Silent Majority" and a shift toward conservatism.

LBJ domestic and foreign policy

• Domestic:

  • Great Society: War on Poverty, Medicare/Medicaid, Civil Rights Act (1964), Voting Rights Act (1965).

• Foreign:

  • Vietnam Escalation: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave him broad war powers.

Nixon domestic and foreign policy

• Domestic:

  • New Federalism: Shifted power back to states. Established the EPA and Clean Air Act.

• Foreign:

  • Détente: Thawing of tensions with USSR (SALT I) and a historic visit to China (1972).

Ford domestic and foreign policy

• Domestic:

  • Dealt with Stagflation (high inflation + high unemployment). Pardons Nixon.

• Foreign:

  • Continued Détente; oversaw the fall of Saigon. War Powers Act, Helsinki Records.

Carter domestic and foreign policy

• Domestic:

  • Focused on energy conservation and government reform. Draft Amnesty, affirmative action.

  • Moral Majority- wanted to revive religion. Trad values, against liberal actions.

  • Energy crisis → Dept of energy and National Energy act were created.

  • Crisis of Confidence and Malaise Speech in 7/15/79

• Foreign:

  • Human Rights focus. Camp David Accords (peace between Egypt/Israel) but marred by the Iran Hostage Crisis.

Key Supreme Court cases

• Brown v. Board (1954): Ended school segregation.

• Mapp v. Ohio (1961): Evidence seized illegally cannot be used in court.

• Miranda v. Arizona (1966): Established "Miranda rights" for those arrested.

• Roe v. Wade (1973): Legalized abortion nationwide.

• Bakke v. University of California (1978): Limited but upheld affirmative action in college admissions.

Aftermath of the Vietnam War

• Nixon elected → expands war into Laos and Cambodia. Then he Vietnamizes the war

• 58,000 US killed. Veterans suffered from depression, PTSD, etc. Illness from agent Orange + societal rejection.

• Cost over $120 billion. 26th Amendment- vote at 18 (if you can get drafted at 18, you should be able to vote at 18 too). War Powers Act- limited president ability to send troops (must get approval)

The 1960s

• Student Protest

  • Major driving forces for protest:

    • Pendulum swing away from conservatism from the 50s.

    • Lessons from Civil Rights movement and Vietnam

    • New Left forms in 1962. Young intellectuals challenge society.

• 1964: Free Speech Movement

  • 800 arrests for occupying the UC Berkeley admin building (sit-in). 

• 1965: Early Vietnam

  • First teach in at U of M- professors teach about reform/war after hours.

  • Selma-Montgomery March

• 1966: Militancy

  • CORE labels war as discriminatory

  • Stokely Carmichael leads SNCC- very militant. Black Panthers are also militant.

• 1967: 1st Year of Social Anarchy

  • Hippies officially exist and host the Summer of Love.

  •  Summer of worst CR riots in inner cities.