Unit 8 1945-1980

Cold wars

Foreign Competition

No competition bc every country’s factories are all gone due to WW2

• US gives all the goods to them

Employment Act (1946)

Creates Council of Economic advisors

• Group of ppl. who help ppl. with their money

Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (GI Bill)

All veterans will pay for education = more jobs with higher pay in future

VA loans

Give loans to veterans by lowering interest so that they can quickly pay it back = housing boom

Energy: Military spending

Everything is cheap so they can make the products

• Still spends money on military so that we are ready to fight communists (USSR)

World organizations

United Nations —> 2 part legislature, want US influence to the world

International Monetary Fund —> Help trade through currency regulation

World Bank —> provides low interest loans

The Iron Curtain

Stalin refuses to hold elections and refuses to leave Europe

Both don’t trust each other

Iron Curtain = East and West Europe is now split

• don’t know what’s happening on the other side.`

Truman Doctrine

US will provide political, military, and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces

• must contain communism!

EX: Turkey + Greece (1947) —> US gives a lot of money to reconstruct for 40 years

Marshall Plan

US led initiative to aid Western European nations in rebuilding after WW2, providing billions in economic assistance to promote recovery and stability, and to counter the spread of communism

The A-bomb

Soviets have own atomic bomb

• Arms race begins

  • Both US and USSR donate H-Bomb

Causes of Cold War

Actions of US:

• Casablanca —> met with Churchill without Stalin

• USSR was not included in the Manhattan Project

• US immediate end of Lend- and Lease (giving military aid to UK, USSR, and China)

• US belief that they could bully USSR with bomb

• US delayed invasion of France

• Wanted to forgive and ally with Germany

Actions of USSR:

• USSR refuses to let Eastern Europe from having elections

• USSR emphasis on spheres of influence over free trade

  • Wanted Germany to pay reparations, divide land

Nuremberg Trials

Nazi leaders (trialed) for war crimes

Allied Powers

• United States (joined in 1941 after Pearl Harbor)

• Soviet Union (joined in 1941 after being invaded by Germany)

• United Kingdom

• China (had been fighting Japan since 1937)

• France (Free French forces continued to fight after Nazi occupation)

Axis Powers

• Germany (led by Adolf Hitler)

• Italy (led by Benito Mussolini; switched to Allies in 1943 after Mussolini was overthrown)

• Japan (led by Emperor Hirohito and militarist government)

Berlin Airlift

US+allies decide to reunify their zones (currency)

USSR says no and blocks West Europe

• threatened to starve West Berlin so Truman brought food with airplanes, Berlin Airlift = East Berlin rebuilds

WW3 never occurred bc USSR scared of Atomic bomb

Japan

US rebuilds Japan to create strong allies with no communism and be democratic

Isreal

UN put Jews on Israel and split it up on Palestine

Arabs are not friends with Israel (who is also friends with US)

• so US is hated by Arabs

China

China had civil war against Nationalists vs communists

US upset about losing China to communism

• less votes for democratic party

Korea (1930-1937)

After WWII, Korea—previously occupied by Japan—was divided at the 38th parallel:

• North Korea: Soviet-backed, communist (led by Kim Il-sung)

• South Korea: U.S.-backed, capitalist (led by Syngman Rhee)

  • June 25, 1950: North Korea invaded South Korea, aiming to unify the peninsula under communism.

  • U.S. Response: President Harry Truman, without a formal declaration of war, committed U.S. troops under a United Nations resolution—framed as a "police action."

    • July 1953: Armistice signed under Eisenhower’s administration.

    • No peace treaty—Korea remains divided at the 38th parallel.

    • Over 36,000 Americans died.

Truman’s Loyalty Program

Investigate all Federal employees

• 200+ fired without indictments (witch hunt) also teachers

Richard Nixon says Alger Hiss is a communist

Red Scare at the local level

Teachers say that communism is bad and makes ppl. scared of it

HUAC (House Committees of Un-American Activities)

Committee to stop communists

• was established in 1938, but it became especially powerful in the late 1940s–1950s.

• Its job was to investigate suspected communist influence and "subversive activities" in:

  • Government

  • Hollywood (film industry)

  • Labor unions

  • Education and other sectors

Alger Hiss (1948)

• a former State Department official, was accused of being a Soviet spy.

• He was convicted of perjury, not espionage, but the case raised fear of communists in government.

• Richard Nixon rose to prominence as a young congressman on HUAC for his role in the Hiss case.

McCarran Internal Security Bill

US gov. will keep tabs on ppl. registered as communists

• Allows president to arrest “suspicious” ppl.

Bill passes even with Truman’s veto

The Rosenbergs

Victims of Red Scare

Found that the brother who was working on Manhattan Project was rumored to pass info onto Soviet Union so ppl executed the family

Double V

Equates to World of Home Victories

African American veterans were treated as heros in Europe, but no one papreciated them in the US

This starts vicil rights movement

Wanted freedom at home

Operation Dixie

African American trying to join unions but failed due to racism

FAILED bc

• Jim Crow laws and racial divisions undermined efforts to build multi-racial worker solidarity.

• The start of the Cold War created suspicion of union leaders and left-wing politics.

  • Growing Red Scare (linked to HUAC and McCarthyism) weakened labor’s public image.

Desegregation

Jackie Robinson (1947) first African American baseball player

• first hard but allowed hope for others to become their dream jobs

Truman decides to desegregate the military (1948)

US gov. segregated so should US businesses

• The South does not like this so they leave the Democratic Party

Vietnam (Ike)

France wanted Vietnam back after WW2, US supports bc France is not communist

Ho Chi Min asks us for help but we don’t help because he’s communist and France is our ally

• Viet and France go to war, so US funds 80% of France due to Truman Doctorine

France still lose at Dien Bien Phu by withdrawing

• US temporarily divided Vietnam at parallel, Soviet Union helps north while US helps south with reconstruction

US cancels elections of 1956 bc Vietnam was wanting communism so they make this division permanent

Ngo Dinh Diem (communist) says he will make it democratic

SEATO formed to contain communism in Asia

• Burma and Philippines

Cuba

Dictator Batista put up with communist Fidel Castro

US super concerned bc now they are communists

Huge population of Cubans run away to Florida

Eisenhower makes a secret plan to use Cuban immigrants and fight Cuba

Spirit of Geneva

US + Soviets meet in Geneva —> “open skies” where airplanes can take pictures so that there is no accidental death

• Soviets said no bc Soviets don’t’ have planes to do that Soviets leave Austria —> friendliness and trying not to kill humanity

Hungary wanted that too but instead of being detente they came with tanks

Sputnik

First satellite made by soviets (harmless but threatened US that is could have been nuclear bombs)

Causes US to go on space race = whoever makes more missiles and nukes and gets to space first wins

• School had lockdowns (bomb drills)

Election of 1952

Democrats —> Adlai Stevenson (IL)

• Party is hurt by 3 c’s

  • Corruption —> democrats stayed for too long

  • Communism —> democrats let communism come into America and lost Chine

  • Korea —> can’t defeat communism

GOP —> General Dwight D. Eisenhower

• War hero who fought communists

  • Richard Nixon (VP) rumored to have slush fund but addresses by using his love for his dog.

McCarthyism

Makes rumor saying he has evidence to 205 communists in state department, but never shows evidence

Fear gains votes for Republican party

Eisenhower just lets it be so he can get more votes —> doesn’t defnet his friend

McCarthy then claims that there are communists in the army, but Eisenhower stands up for the army

• McCarthy ends up being humiliated and drinks to death

Baby Boom

Before ppl. did not have kids due to Great Depression and WW2

Also the economy is good

Impact on America bc less ppl. in new gen. now too many old ppl.

• Graying of America bc no younger gen.

Rising standard of living

Middle class grew over 60% of pop.

New labor saving devices —> refrigerator, oven, washing machines

• wanted to consume

Continues federal spending

Keynesian Economics —> spend more

Eisenhower uses this theory method in order to contain communism

Causes of suburbanization

Gov. road construction with interstate highway = allows houses on sub-urbs

Veterans Administration

• allowed veterans money

• VA loans = low interest so it helps them pay easily

Levitt brothers —> construct (mass produce) homes by making workers work on homes opposite way of assembly line (ppl. mave, product stay)

Effects of suburbanization

Less culture bc sub-urbs less community and assimilation (conformity), if different you’re a communist

Red lining —> homeowners don’t sell to certain race bc it would be hard to sell houses bc white ppl. were racist

Women in the 50s

Cult of Domesticity is back

Women should be pretty, popular, marries, a mother

However many still had to work due to being poor

Women worked in pink collar jobs (lower jobs like secretary)

• Women should be curvy (give child and be sexy) —> size 12

Religion in the 50s

Americans are concerned about communism

Everyone is going to church so should you

Rev. Billy Graham says you should be happy christian

The Beats

Anti christian, hard work, marriage

Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg both talk about the Beats (wrote books)

Rock- n- Roll

Came from African Americans = music about sex

Elvis presley first white Rock-n-Roll singer

Mattachine Society

The Mattachine Society was a prominent early LGBTQ+ rights organization in the United States, founded in 1950.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Give equal education to African Americans

Wins Supreme Court Case and allows desegregation of schools

Eisenhower doesn’t push law bc he needs to be popular

With all deliberate speed, soon bu7t not now —> can’t change racism right now

Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955)

Montgomery Alabama, Rosa Parks

African Americans have to sit in the back but parks said no

• Refused to sit in busses, bus companies desegregate busses bc African American are their #1 customer, w/o them bus companies will go bankrupt, (led by MLK).

  • peacefully break law

Little Rock Nine (1957)

African Americans go to white school but was hated very much to the point that Eisenhower had no choice but to step in by having police and army protect them

“More bang for the buck”

How to contain communism powerfully but more cheaply?

Conventional weapons (aircrafts) vs strategic weapons (nukes) ←— cheaper

SAC (strategic Air command) —> ready to destroy humanity with nukes

Brinkmanship —> will kill even if its an accident

Eisenhower’s Farewell Address

Warns military not to grow too big bc big businesses are controlling politics which will end up with corruption again

Eisenhower Doctorine

Contain communism especially South East and Middle East Asia because we need oil

Middle East

• US needs to stop communism and need oil

• Iran’s shah is dictator but its ok bc he’s not communism

  • Us engineers overthrow gov. so he is chosen again

Conservatives

Refused gov. money for Salk vaccine

• Gets rid of Polio

Reduce TVA

Reduce defense spending

Liberal

Continues Social Security

• need old ppl. vote

Continue farm subsidies

• AAA

Interstate Highway Act ($27 billion)

• for defense, evacuation, and business

Kennedy Inaugural

The main message of Kennedy's inaugural address is a call to service and a vision of the United States as a beacon of democracy in the world, urging Americans to "ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country"

Berlin Wall

a concrete barrier and heavily fortified border that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating East Berlin and East Germany from West Berlin and West Germany.

Cuban Missile Crisis

The USSR, under Nikita Khrushchev, began secretly placing nuclear missiles in Cuba to:

• Counter U.S. missiles in Turkey and Italy

• Protect Cuba from future U.S. invasions

Resolved by removal of Soviet missiles in Cuba.

• In return, the U.S. publicly pledged not to invade Cuba and secretly agreed to remove missiles from Turkey.

JFK and Vietnam

• Believed in the Domino Theory: if Vietnam fell to communism, nearby nations might follow.

• Increased the number of U.S. military advisors in South Vietnam from ~900 to over 16,000 by 1963.

  • Supported counterinsurgency efforts to fight the Viet Cong, communist rebels in the South.

LBJ and Vietnam

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Put spy ship near Gulf (USS Maddox) fired at “Communist”

Blank Check —> take all necessary measure to repel any armed attacks

LBJ’s escalation

Operation Roll & Thunder, bomb communists back to stone age

Escalates troops form 15,000 troops to 50,000 troops

Killed millions of South vietnam just with the theory of communism

LBJ is defeated

LBJ is regretting what he’s doing because Vietnam is taking up too much time —> pointless because you can’t force democracy

Says (gives America hope) “There’s light @ end of the tunnel”

• but as soon as he said that Viet. Kong blows all US troops

Now ppl. don’t trust gov. and LBJ

War splits democracy party

Flexible Response

JFK decides to continue Eisenhower’s plan to invade Cuba, embargo Cuba

Bay of Pigs (1961)

Cuban exiles with US weapons and training sent to Bay of Pigs to invade —> immediately wiped out and lost

• Makes Kennedy look week

• Castro asks Soviets for protection

• Khrushchev sends troops and missile to Cuba

Food Stamp Program

if you are poort hen gov. will give food stamps and use to grocery stores

• no one will die from starvation

Head Start

if poor then kids could not go to preschool, so gov. gives money out to poor to help kids all receive pre-k

Job Corp

helps youth (16-24 yrs) ge education and job training

Medicaid

medical assistance for poor people, gov. helps pay bills

Medicare

gob. helps elders to pay expensive medicine

Entitlement programs

programs that help social welfare

Immigration and Nationality Act

Gets rid of 1920 era quota

• If born in America, you are citizen —> anyone with direct citizen connections then your family can become citizens

  • soon other immigrants increase, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and less Europe

Sit-in (1960) (Direct Action)

Woolworth (restaurant) did not allow African Americans

4 African Americans sat at restaurant table peacefully (people threw trash and food at them making the owner give them food in order to leave)

JFK promises but reluctant to act

Freedom Riders (1961) (Direct Action)

MLK organizes school bus riot

African Americans reid bus with white from north to south

• South burns bus and beats kids

JFK starts having Marshalls (undercover military) on these buses to protect the black kids.

Birmingham (1963) (Direct Actions)

A lot of churches (African American churches) were bombed

Attacked leaders of civil rights movements (revereds)

MLK Organized a march on Birmingham and warns Marchers to be peaceful so that white democrats and Kennedy look bad

March on Washington (1963)

200,000 marchers —> “I have a dream”

• puts pressure onto Kennedy but doesn’t do anything bc it was almost election year

  • - Kennedy assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald (who was killed on national tv by Jack Ruby) in Dallas

Freedom Summer (1964)

Fannie Lou Hamer lead program to register African American voters

Shifts in the Civil Rights Movement

After 1965, growing minority say violence is the answer because ppl. are frustrated

• Violence spreads in South, north, and West

Southern rural —> Northern/Western urban

Non Violent —> Violent

De-segregation —> separatist

Watts Riots (1965)

LA —> ppl. burn down neighborhood (own), for 6 days, 34 deaths, and 1,000 wounded

No police or fire trucks arrived, eventually gov. military had to stop it

Critics of nonviolence

Malcolm X —> chosen x as last name bc he did not know due to slavery and racism

SNCC —> young black men/women on college campuses

Stokely Carmichael —> reject white American Dream and make own Dream

Eldridge Cleaver —> created black panther group “kill the whites: (15% liked this idea)

MLK Assassinated (1968)

Memphis TN 1968

Killed by James Earl Ray

Civil Rights Act of 1964

No longer discrimination in public facilities privately owned (no more Jim Crow laws)

EEOC (equal employment opportunity commision): no discrimination in hiring —> race and gender

Affirmative Action Order

Federal money

If you get federal money then you should choose the minority

• unless this is emplaced no minority, will have opportunity

24th amendment

No poll taxing (no taxing not coming with income or resources)

Voting Rights Act (1965)

No more literacy tests

Send federal voter to the south so no white person stops them

Thurgood marshall

FIrst African American appointed to Supreme Court (1967)

Causes of Anti-War movement

Vietnam wants to be communists so they should be communists

• young people don’t want to go to Vietnam

-Troop increase

-Draft (unless you were in college aka rich ppl.)

-TV—> showed the horror of casualties

-African Americans hate it bc, they did not have civil rights at home either

-Voting Age = 21 but draft age was 18

-Inflation —> more inflation the longer we are at war

Democratic National Voncention (1968)

Where leaders, older ppl. chose between McCarthy and Humphrey, young ppl. chant McCarthy outside, but they chose Humphrey so riots and fights erupted

Free Speech Movement

SDS —> student for Democratic Society

College students protest for Anti-war, not wanting to be drafted and thought US was hypocrites —> creates teach ins (staying in classrooms) and new left (should have more diversity and equity)

Tom Hayden - leader of SDS @ Port Huron Movement started at University of Berkley

African American distinctiveness

Start to dress like someone in Africa

Wear hair naturally

University courses —> new left = we should embrace and learn and inclusive to different cultures

Counter-culture

Mainly in San Francisco

Baby Boomers - rebelling against 50s and parents

Disillusioned by Vietnam War and Civil Rights

• used drugs, and have sex

Tim LEary —> supports by saying tune in, turn on, and drop out (YOLO)

LIving communes (be :communist”) —> Hippies, live in nature, share everything (Oneida)

Acid Rock —> design songs with drugs —> music festival “woodstock” = free love, Coachella on drugs

Birth Control pills are invented

Pentagon Papers (1971)

US. military HQ

Someone leaked the top secret form Pentagon so Nixon scared he will also get cancelled

• creates plumber organization (ppl. to find these leakers)

Nixon and Detante

ONly Nixon can go to China

Nixon, first president to go to communist China

• made US embassy in Beijing

-Do it right now bc there is SIno-Soviet conflict —> want China out of communism

-Ping Pong diplomacy —> if we can play ping pong then we are closer

-Try to stop Vietnam War by persuading south Vietnam funding, China

Nixon goes to USSR

Nixon goes to Moscow to persuade them from helping South Vietnam

• Want to talk to Ho Chi Min

• Persuades USSR with food

• Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty

  • USSR tired persuading US to not use ABM and US agrees

• Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT)

  • USSR and US agrees to freeze building long range missiles for 5 years

Nixon and end of Detante

Us breaks SAlt treaty by creating MIRV’s (3 nukes with one missile)

The Environment (1960)

Rachel Carson creates environmental book called Silent Spring (1962)

• 1970s Earth Day is created, April 22

Nixon created EPA (1970)

• Factories can’t just dump chemicals, now they need to be processed

Nixon passed Clean Air Act (1973)

• LImits pollution —> less pollution

Endangered Species Act (1973)

• Fined if you kill these animals (ex: bald eagle)

Energy Crisis under Nixon

Yom Kippur War (1973)

• war between Israel, Egypt, and Syria

  • US backs up Israel so ppl. mad at US for giving weapons so we don’t receive oil = economy crashes and increased inflation

NIxon’s energy policy

Starts building Alaskan Pipeline

Decrease speed limit

Use nuclear energy

• it could melt down and blow up

Watergate

Office building in Washington DC (Democratic HQ)

Nixon worried about winning for re-election so he told plumbers to go to Watergate and find the rival opponent’s strategy

• plumbers go caught (plumbers = CREEP)

Woodward and Bernstein (news reporters ) who caught all of Nixon’s dirty schemes

• This builds up to where the senate brings it to trial

CREEP tells news reporters that someone’s press conference is @ different location or make rumors to get rid of Nixon’s rivals

• White HOuse lawyers told Senate to watch the tapes

• Senates says to give but Nixon uses Executive Privileges (usually used to cover up for National Defense)

Takes to Supreme Court

• Nixon had to give tapes, but whole sections of tapes were delted

• Eventually turns in good tapes

Nixon is about to get impeached and his party convinces him to resign

• resigns (8/8/74), no vice president either due to corruption, so Speaker of House (Gerald Ford) becomes president

War Powers Act (1973)

President must notify Congress within 48 hours

• if troops are still fighting 60 days later then congress can decide to stop or continue war

  • FAILS

Ford Administration (1974-1977)

Ford Pardons Nixon

Ford says Nixon does not have to go on trial

Helsinki Accords (Ford)

Meeting with USSR again

• US agrees that Soviets have the Eastern border of Europe

• USSR will also give more Freedom and human rights

US involvement in Vietnam ends

North Vietnam launches invasion of South

• South Vietnam launches invasion of South

South Vietnam falls to communism & some flea to America

• Boat ppl. = South viet. runaways to US

Carter Administration (1977-1981)

Political dark horse

• Jimmy Carter —> Georgian governor, peanut farmer, not corrupt