period 8 kco + extra review

Yalta conference

Yalta conference

The February 1945 Yalta Conference with leaders from the “Big 3” (USA, Britain and USSR) led to both the establishment of the United Nations, replacing the former League of Nations (to ensure collective security/international aid) and the foreshadowing of conflicts between the US and the Soviet Union, as evidenced by the two global superpowers’ differing visions for postwar eastern Europe. The US wanted to maintain democracy there, while the USSR aimed to spread communism.

Potsdam conference

The July 1945 Potsdam Conference raised concern amongst the former Allies in the West as Stalin and the USSR aimed to take control of increasing amounts of land and supplies while also endorsing Marxism to solve future conflicts, blaming previous wars on western capitalism. Many now feared an even more serious war with the extremely powerful Soviet Union. Truman wanted to stand up to Stalin and “rule with an iron fist” but was in no position to realign eastern European affairs as Soviet governments in Poland, Hungary, and Romania were backed up by the Red Army. Truman and Secretary of State James Byrnes managed to convince Stalin to settle for land reparations only from the Soviet zone, paving the way for the later division of Germany into the communist East and capitalist West.

containment

Containment was the main strategy the US used to stop the spread of communism in foreign countries. It aimed to counter Stalin by limiting his influence in eastern Europe (such as in the Greek Civil War) and was led by legislation such as the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. Between 1947 and 1951, the US spent almost $13 billion on this strategy. Some of its policies eventually led to the Cold War.

Truman Doctrine

The 1947 Truman Doctrine marked the start of the Cold War as Soviet communists saw the expression of Truman’s blatant dislike of the USSR’s actions and proposal of support for all nations or people groups under attack by them as a declaration of war. It also became one of the main foundations of American foreign policy.

Marshall Plan

Approved in 1948 in response to Stalin’s communist coup in Czechoslovakia, the Marshall Plan led to the US contribution of $13 billion dollars (between 1947-1951) towards a comprehensive recovery program for post-WW2 Europe. It was able to benefit both Western Europe and the US as it both boosted European industrial production and decreased the appeal of communism in these countries.

Berlin crisis

The Berlin Crisis (June 1948 to May 1949) was one of the relatively few times during the Cold War in which the US and USSR came close to actual warfare. It led nations in Western Europe to seek a collective security pact with the US, which came in the form of NATO in 1949. It was the first time since the American Revolution in which the US had entered into a peacetime military alliance. (The USSR formed the Warsaw Pact for Eastern Europe in response.)

NSC-68

After the USSR developed atomic technology, the National Security Council’s 1950 report marked a turning point in the US approach to the Cold War. It called for taxes to support a new military arsenal (to surpass that of the USSR), effectively militarizing the war (which had been primarily economic in the past).

Chinese civil war

The US withdrew their support for the Chinese Nationalists to avoid military intervention. This led to the victory of Mao Zedong’s Communist forces and regime. Mao’s decision to align China with the Soviets led to retaliation by the US State Department, who blocked Chinese entry into the United Nations upon widespread national blame for the US’s “defeat”.

Loyalty-Security Program

Truman’s Loyalty-Security Program (created in 1947 by Executive Order 9835) aimed to expel dangerous Communists or Communist sympathizers from federal employment, but it ended up being too broad and spreading another Red Scare across America, even to civil rights organizations such as the NAACP. It also dismissed some completely innocent employees from work, such as several gay men and lesbians.

HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)

The HUAC was a largely conservative organization that held several publicized hearings aiming to expose Communist influences in the movie industry and eventually the government, such as in the Alger Hiss case. Some alleged Communists went to federal prison (such as Hiss or the Hollywood Ten), while others were blacklisted by their industries (such as Oscar-winning actress Lee Grant).

McCarthyism

McCarthyism was the widespread search to identify and punish Communists all over America, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Although many trials were biased (such as the 1951 Rosenburg Trial, which was widely criticized as anti-Semitic) or baseless (such as the Smith Act convictions between 1949-1955) in nature, mostly targeting Democrats and his critics, McCarthy succeeded in spreading anticommunist rhetoric in the earlier parts of the Cold War.

Elvis Presley

Elvis, the so-called “King of Rock and Roll”, became one of the most significant and widely recognized singers and overall cultural icons as mass culture spread all throughout America. Rock music in particular became popular among the newly rebellious youth of America, despite their parents’ initial rejection at first.

TV

TV replaced radio as the main source of American entertainment after World War 2, with many families purchasing television sets and planning their schedules around TV broadcasts. It led to both scandal (such as the Charles van Doren incident with the NBC quiz show Twenty One) and celebration (such as when VP Nixon and Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev met at the American exhibition in Moscow); promoting cultural shifts in music (Dick Clark’s American Bandstand) and life with the spread of TV advertising of products and political campaigns (starting with Eisenhower in 1952).

Levitt approach

In 1947, William Levitt used mass production methods like assembly lines to create affordable neighborhoods of “cookie cutter” houses, starting with Levittown in NY potato fields. This was a main factor in the mass migration of the rapidly growing middle class to such suburban areas. By the end of the 1940s, nearly 1/4 of the American population lived in the suburbs.

Bretton Woods system

Combined with GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade), the Bretton Woods system provided desperately-needed global economic stability following WW2. However, since it so heavily favored America (establishing the US dollar as a benchmark for the International Monetary Fund in the hopes of encouraging the spread of open-market capitalism), some argued that it was hurting newly independent countries seeking to adopt a capitalist economy.

military-industrial complex

President Eisenhower, whose administration had essentially fostered America’s military-industrial complex, also warned Americans of the dangers it posed as defense spending during peacetime skyrocketed, with several industries even becoming divisions of the Defense Department. America was constantly readying itself for the new large-scale war. As both an arms race and a space race developed with the USSR as part of the Cold War, the National Defense Act of 1958 was passed to fund several prestigious universities such as UMich, MIT, and Berkeley to compete with the ever-advancing Soviet scientists who created and launched Sputnik, the world’s first satellite.

corporate power

The accelerated consolidation of corporate power in American industry as well as expansion into foreign markets and the replacement of manpower with machines stimulated vast postwar economic growth. However, it required a large army of white-collar workers, the social conformity of whom was criticized as a threat to creativity by some. Additionally, union leaders criticized the switch to machine production, citing the fact that neither unemployed Americans nor the machines could buy goods to keep the economy afloat.

GI Bill

Formally known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, the GI Bill financed both college/trade school education and home ownership (through the VA) for World War 2 veterans. This led to better employment opportunities for these veterans, which then gave them more and better employment opportunities. This, in turn, increased consumer spending and stimulated economic growth. Consumer spending was one of the driving factors behind the postwar economic boom.

Beats movement

The Beats, a group of young white writers in urban areas such as New York City and San Francisco, paved the way for the rise of 1960s counterculture movements through both the disdain for middle class materialism/the social and political status quo and their promotion of sexual, spiritual, and drug-related liberation.

Billy Graham

Billy Graham and other evangelists of the late 1950s-early 1960s used radio and television to reach a wide audience and establish a picture of American Christianity that was opposed to “godless” Communist atheism. This laid the groundwork for 1970s televangelism and the spread of politicized religion. Graham was one of the most popular evangelists as he was young, eloquent, charismatic, and made good use of technology. Revivals such as Graham’s (1949 in Los Angeles, 1957 in Madison Square Garden) led to several changes in US culture, such as the addition of “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance and “in God we trust” being stamped on US coins.

baby boom

The baby boom, resulting from a variety of postwar factors (such as a younger average marriage age and the societal norm of parenthood), led to economic growth through targeted advertising and an overall higher birthrate than the nation had seen for 150 years prior.

homophile movement

A small group of gay and lesbian activists who sought to earn rights for the gay/lesbian communities by combating prejudice and proving their “normalcy” despite widespread beliefs that homosexuality was unnatural and should be feared or kept illegal.

National Interstate and Defense Highways Act

With a massive increase in car ownership, this 1956 act authorized $26 billion (over a 10-year period) for the construction of a nationally integrated highway system - 42,500 miles total. It permanently changed American cities and was cast as a necessity due to the looming threat of nuclear attacks during the Cold War. It surpassed every New Deal program in terms of scale and was enthusiastically supported by Eisenhower, who claimed that the flow of personal and commercial movement across the country sustained the nation.

Sunbelt region

Consisting of the southern and southwestern states, suburban living took off in the Sunbelt region because of the low taxes, mild climate, and large amounts of open space. Many retired people flocked to Florida (3.5 million from 1940-1970), while the petrochemical and defense industries of Texas created immense profits. California grew especially rapidly because of its booming defense-related industries. By 1970, CA had surpassed NY as the most populous US state (containing 1/10 of the US population) and its economy became one of the 10 largest in the world - even when compared to whole countries. Sunbelt suburbanization was closely related to the military-industrial complex, with defense providing both profit and jobs. One prime example of this was Orange County, CA, where Walt Disney eventually established Disneyland (Anaheim).

urban crisis

As many middle-class whites flocked to the suburbs, African-American migrants experienced intensified poverty, deterioration of old housing, and the continuity of racial segregation in urban centers. Some black people were able to climb to the middle class, but far from all. Racism remained in housing, education, infrastructure, and so on. Some areas of urban centers were demolished to make them more appealing to the exiting middle class, and the dislocated were to be relocated to federally funded housing projects such as the Robert Taylor Homes in Chicago.

Spanish-speaking immigrants

Having been the main source of cheap labor for US agriculture during the war since 1920s legislation restricted European immigration, Spanish-speaking immigrants from Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba came to the US in large numbers. They often settled in major cities such as NYC, Miami, and those of the Southwest. Many came seeking economic opportunity (due to the mechanization of agriculture) or freedom from political oppression (after Castro seized power in Cuba in 1959). Though separated from other cultural communities, their ethnic enclaves flourished with bilingualism, Catholicism, and eventual prosperity.

Cuban missile crisis

The 1962 Cuban missile crisis was one of the tensest periods in US-Soviet relations during the Cold War and led to a slight “thaw” in relations between the sides, both fearing the prospect of actual nuclear warfare. Nothing came of it militarily except for some compromises made by both sides, including the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba and US missiles from Turkey, as well as Kennedy’s pledge that the US would not invade China.

Double V campaign

Strategy adopted by African-Americans that lasted during and after World War 2. Essentially, it promoted victory over both fascism (abroad) and racism (at home) by demonstrating black loyalty and commitment to the US. This led to retaliation from white people, as evidenced by hate strikes and outbursts in cities like Detroit, where white workers protested new racial equality in the workplace.

American GI Forum (Mexican rights)

Founded in Texas in 1948, the American GI Forum was one of many organizations founded by Mexican-Americans in order to fight for better conditions for those of said descent. This was enforced by legal decisions such as Mendez v. Westminster School District (which saw the 9th Circuit Court rule racial segregation in school unconstitutional) as well as local activism that eventually won some forms of equality. The forum itself was mainly founded to advocate for the rights of the 400,000+ Mexican-American WW2 veterans.

JACL (Japanese-American Citizens League)

The JACL was the largest Asian-American rights organization in America, advocating for Japanese-American citizenship and return of property after the atrocities committed against them during World War 2 - namely, the internment camps created by Executive Order 9066 and upheld twice by the Supreme Court in the 1943 Hirabayashi and 1944 Korematsu cases. Some of their largest accomplishments were the lobbying of Congress for Japanese-American citizenship and the Evacuation Claims Act of 1948.

Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood Marshall was a lawyer and judge who argued several landmark civil rights cases, including the famous 1945 Brown v. Board of Education case. He firmly believed that the only way to success was a proper education, and he fought to make that opportunity equally accessible to all. He was so influential that he was appointed to the US Court of Appeals, Solicitor General, and Supreme Court. His work even earned him the nickname “Mr. Civil Rights”.

Brown v. Board of Education

In the Brown case, the Supreme Court monumentally overturned the “separate but equal” precedent set by the earlier Plessy v. Ferguson case. This was a huge victory for the growing civil rights movement, but it also led to massive protests from whites over integration, especially in the South. The date of the decision - May 17th, 1954 - was dubbed “Black Monday” by Southern racists, referred to as a day of infamy.

Kinsey Reports

The Kinsey Reports, two studies published by zoologist Alfred Kinsey and his research team (1948 and 1953), were highly criticized by religious leaders as they promoted new views of sexual norms and behaviors, including homosexuality and the overall conversation about sex in America. Although Kinsey’s numbers were criticized by statisticians for not using randomly selected samples, the reports showed evidence of an unmentioned “sexual revolution” that had taken place in the US.

Korean War

The Korean War was a bloody example of what the Cold War may have looked like if the US and USSR had engaged in direct military combat. It represented the ideological struggles between communism and capitalist democracy that were the core issues fueling the flame of the Cold War. Technically, the Korean War still impacts Korea today, despite the armistice.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Although it provided some key reforms that civil rights activists had campaigned for, such as protections against racially-based discrimination in employment under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; this law also left black voting rights unprotected. This sparked protests in the South with events like Freedom Summer in Mississippi, which ultimately caused backlash from racist whites and even violence.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

MLK was the face of the civil rights movement, especially the subdivision that focused on nonviolent protest tactics inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. Leading and/or organizing notable events such as the Montgomery bus boycott and the Selma march; founding the SCLC; and giving various impactful speeches (ex. “I Have A Dream”), MLK truly had an undeniable role in the 1960s civil rights movement. Although some (like Malcolm X) criticized him for catering the approaches to white people, there is no doubt that they were effective in their own way.

Palestine/Israel

The US aimed to protect various interests in Palestine/Israel, such as oil (and other energy resources plentiful there), staving off Communist influences, ensuring survival of Israeli/Arab allies, promoting democracy, and reducing the flow(s) of refugees.

Egypt

The situation in Egypt was caused by the disagreement in negotiations over the Suez Canal. The US stopped other nations from attacking over this dispute to avoid a larger war, but they gave up the opportunity for a long-term ally as Egypt ended up building another dam on the Nile with the support of the USSR. Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt’s leader, initially sought to create a new pan-Arab socialism without the influence of either of the Cold War powers. The entire situation led the US president to pass the Eisenhower Doctrine in 1957, which stated that US forces would help any nation that required aid in fighting nations controlled by international communism.

Third/Fourth Great Awakenings

The Third and Fourth Great Awakenings showed the societal shifts taking place at this time in regards to religion. While a variety of viewpoints had initially been expressed, it eventually focused on promoting the aims and ideologies of the political right through evangelism and reform movements.

Black Panther Party

Inspired by Malcolm X, the Black Panthers were a radical black nationalist group founded in 1966. They were dedicated to protecting African-Americans from police violence, opposing the Vietnam War, and supporting “Third World” revolutionary movements. Members undertook various community projects (free kids’ breakfast, testing for sickle cell anemia, etc.) in large cities, but their radicalism and beliefs in armed self-defense led to violent police encounters.

Chicano movement

Led by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, the Mexican-American Chicano movement shared some concerns with the African-American civil rights movement, but they also focused on new problems, such as immigration policies. Through organizations like UFW, MAPA, and MALDF, Mexican-Americans mobilized into a large and powerful voting bloc. Younger Mexican-Americans grew impatient and created the militant Brown Berets (modeled after the Black Panthers), who later organized La Raza Unida (The United Race - a political party) and even feminist groups like Las Hijas (The Daughters) to organize people on college campuses/in the barrios.

National Black Political Agenda

In 1972, black leaders met in Gary, Indiana in a meeting that brought together people from all across the political spectrum. Debates centered around whether to form a third, black political party. However, instead of creating a new party, they issued this agenda, which inclined calls for community control of schools (mostly in black neighborhoods), national health insurance, and the elimination of the death penalty.

American Indian Movement (AIM)

Along with the NIYC (National Indian Youth Council) and the IAT (Indians of All Tribes), AIM embraced the concept of Red Power and began staging protests to draw attention to Native concerns, especially that of those who had been forced to leave even their reservations by the federal government. One notable protest was the siege at Wounded Knee in February 1973 (the site of the infamous Sioux massacre), which was negotiated to an end and spurred government action on tribal issues.

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

Founded in 1942 and inspired by Gandhi’s strategies of nonviolence and civil disobedience, CORE took a lead role in sit-ins, picket lines, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Freedom Rides, and the 1963 March on Washington. It worked alongside leaders like MLK until 1966, when it turned its focus to becoming a black separatist and Black Power organization. Their 1947 Journey of Reconciliation, for example, was an integrated, multi-state bus ride through the upper South. They were also committed to interracial membership.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, GA that was founded by MLK in 1957. It aimed to “redeem the soul of America” through nonviolent protest tactics inspired by Gandhi.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

Led by Ella Baker, the SNCC was made up mostly of black college students who practiced peaceful, direct action protest tactics. Baker recommended that the group remain autonomous and unassociated with the SCLC or other civil rights groups. SNCC also became victims of violence when they became more politically involved, throwing their support into protesting the Vietnam War in 1966.

States’ Rights Democratic Party

Also known as “Dixiecrats”, this was a rather short-lived, segregationist political party primarily active in the South. It arose upon a Southern regional split opposing Northern Democrats. Led by Strom Thurmond, the formation of the Dixiecrats hinted at the internal struggle of the Democratic Party that would eventually divide it in the 1960s.

Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party

Founded in April 1964 as a branch of the populist Freedom Democratic organization in Mississippi, the MFDP was open to all without regard to race and aimed to maintain the voting rights of Southern blacks.

Nation of Islam

A religious group founded by Elijah Muhummad in 1933 to promote both black separatism and the Islamic religion. It fused rejection of Christianity with a strong philosophy of self-improvement. Also called Black Muslims, they preached an apocalyptic brand of Islam, waiting for the day when Allah would banish the whites and give its black followers justice. With charismatic leaders like Malcolm X, the Nation of Islam had a wide following among African-Americans in Northern cities.

Warsaw Pact

Collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland between the USSR and 7 other countries in the Eastern Bloc (“iron curtain”) socialist republics in May 1955 (during the Cold War). Many believed it was the Soviets’ response to the US’s formation of NATO in 1949.

Taft-Hartley Act

Also known as the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 - restricted the activities and power of labor unions. It was enacted by Congress despite President Truman’s veto. It defined 6 unfair labor practices to correct union conduct after the earlier passage of the Wagner Act. For instance, it protected employees from restraint/coercion by unions and prevented “featherbedding” (causing an employer to pay for work not performed).

Fair Deal

Following in FDR’s footsteps, a set of proposals put forward by President Truman in 1945 and 1949. It recommended health insurance, an increased minimum wage, and equal employment rights for all Americans. It was not popular in Congress, although they did raise the minimum wage and pass the Employment Act in 1946.

“New Frontier”

JFK’s program for change in which he issued a challenge to the American people. He called upon them to make sacrifices to achieve their potential greatness. He also proposed programs to achieve medical assistance for the elderly, increased education spending, space exploration, public service initiatives, and a newfound commitment to civil rights. One of these public service initiatives was the Peace Corps - an “army” of idealistic/youthful volunteers who brought American skills to underdeveloped countries.

Sputnik

The first-ever artificial satellite, launched by the USSR on October 4, 1957. Its launch brought about the Space Race and the start of the space age. It came as a shock to American experts and citizens, who had hoped that the US would be the first to accomplish this feat. However, the US was the first to land on the moon, which happened in 1969 after years of a technological race between the two major Cold War superpowers. Eisenhower had downplayed the importance of Sputnik to calm the American public, but he poured federal funding into the space program to catch up. It also inadvertently fueled the arms race as both countries prepared new ways to attack the other.

Veterans Administration

A federal agency created in 1930 to provide a loan program to enable qualified veterans to finance real estate purchases with a higher loan-to-value ratio than what is normally possible with conventional finance.

Kerner Commission

Commissioned by President Lyndon B. Johnson to study the causes of the intense urban rioting in the mid to late 60s. They also recommended solutions to improve social conditions that caused these riots.

Dr. Benjamin Spock

American pediatrician and left-wing activist who wrote Baby and Child Care, one of the best-selling books of the 1900s. He studied psychoanalysis to try to understand children’s needs and family dynamics. He also taught that babies had their own emotional needs and should be nurtured as such, rather than pushed into the demands of adult life as soon as possible.

Montgomery bus boycott (years only)

1955 (Rosa Parks’ arrest) to 1956 (SCOTUS declares bus segregation illegal)

Great Society

Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society programs were an echo of FDR’s New Deal, providing health care, employment, federal financial assistance, and new educational opportunities for many. It was able to reach many people, including the elderly, children, and workplaces (where diversity newly flourished). However, it failed to completely resolve the larger issues of poverty, racial segregation, and unfair wealth distribution, leaving the vast majority of the lowest class as far behind as ever.

rebirth of the women’s movement (NOW)

The women’s movement was revived after being largely excluded from acknowledgment by Johnson’s Great Society programs. Leaders like Betty Friedman (author of the wildly popular 1963 the Feminine Mystique) and groups like the National Organization for Women (NOW) were able to bring about changes in traditional views of genders and their societal roles as well as legislation like the 1963 Equal Pay Act and JFK’s 1961 Presidential Commission on the Status of Women.

National Defense Education Act (NDEA)

NDEA was signed into law by President Eisenhower on September 2nd, 1958 in response to the 1957 launch of the Soviet Sputnik satellite. With the acceleration of the space race, the law provided federal funding for trained manpower as well as loans to students in order to promote STEM education.

Vietnam War

Beginning in 1955 (following the division of Vietnam at the 1954 Geneva Accords), the US’s involvement in the Vietnam War was a struggle to prevent the spread of communism throughout southeast Asia (according to Eisenhower’s domino theory, if Vietnam fell, the rest of Asia might too) that lasted throughout several US presidential administrations. The US sent aid to Ngo Dinh Diem’s forces in a variety of ways, such as the military intervention of the Green Berets. However, the war became extremely expensive after a while, and the sheer violence shown on TV caused many Americans back home to protest the continuation of their country’s involvement. Conversely, many presidents believed the war in Vietnam was a necessary evil required to ensure the global survival of liberty.

war on poverty

President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a “war on poverty” as part of his State of the Union address in 1964. He implemented various government-funded programs to address the staggeringly high poverty rate (19%). saying that poverty was not due to the moral failings of the poor, but rather it was society’s duty to life them out of their unfortunate circumstances. However, these programs were somewhat limited in their capabilities as most federal funding was directed toward the Vietnam War at that time. Other critics said that the programs locked people into a state of dependency on the government.

The Affluent Society + The Other America

Books like Galbraith’s The Affluent Society and Harrington’s The Other America aimed to both expose the conditions of the poor in America and call for reforms to address these issues, which they claimed were due to no fault of those affected by poverty.

Warren Court

The Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren (1953-1969) made some of the most liberal decisions in the Court’s history. They were able to force the desegregation of public schools (Brown v. Board), protect voting rights for all (Reynolds v. Sims), allow for interracial marriage (Loving v. Virginia), and reform the criminal justice system in a variety of ways (Gideon v. Wainwright, Mapp v. Ohio, Miranda v. Arizona). All of these addressed problems that had previously disproportionately affected black people.

Barry Goldwater

Although Goldwater ended up losing to Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1964 presidential election, his highly conservative tactics and criticism of Republican moderates reignited the far-right wing of the Republican Party, challenging the growing liberal movements and policies taking shape in the 1960s.

Young Americans for Freedom (YAF)

YAF was founded to promote conservative values on college campuses and counter the growing liberal movements and ideologies being spread there. It was even the largest student political organization in the US at the time. They primarily stood for US action in the Cold and Vietnam Wars as well as liberty and “god-given free will”.

Weathermen

The Weathermen were a far-left political group that advocated violence and terrorist action as a form of protest over various concerns (largely the same as those of SDS, which they grew out of). They were eventually forced underground in the 1970s, partially because of their fairly unsuccessful “Days of Rage”.

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965

The new Immigration Act of 1965 (also called the Hart-Celler Act) eliminated the racially-motivated quotas established in the early 1920s, causing a significant demographic shift in following years. It was also partially propelled by the civil rights movement and the growing calls to abolish racial discrimination in legislation.

Cuba

The US initially supported Fulgencio Batista’s non-Communist regime in Cuba, but when Fidel Castro’s blatantly Communist government took over, tensions between the two nations led to events such as the Cuban missile crisis, failed Bay of Pigs invasion, and Freedom Flights. This also meant a significant increase in the US Cuban population.

Guatemala

The US interfered in Guatemala multiple times - first to overthrow Jorge Ubico’s dictatorship, then to execute a CIA-initiated coup overthrowing Jacobo Arbenz, who was “soft on communism” and interfered with the profits of the United Fruit Company.

Symbionese Liberation Army

The Symbionese Liberation Army was a very small yet very notorious far-left political terrorist group that wasn’t exactly respected politically - it was infamous for the kidnapping and indoctrination of Patty Hearst, during which they extracted $2 million from Hearst’s father for People in Need (to feed the hungry).

counterculture

The “flower children” who participated in 1960s counterculture advocated an end to the Vietnam War, but they primarily represented a cultural shift; rejecting traditional societal norms and promoting freedom in sex and drug use.

Peace Corps

Proposed by JFK in the 1960s as a means of promoting democracy, freedom, and diplomacy abroad, especially in underdeveloped countries. This was also to counter the Soviet Union’s “army” of similarly-skilled volunteers working to spread communism. It was especially popular among recent college graduates at that time, many of whom would have identified as liberals. The first countries to participate were Ghana and Tanzania. It became a federal agency under the State Department in 1961, then became an independent agency in 1981.