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Themes 1.3 and 1.4
Why was Truman considered the “whoopsie” president?
he became president because he was vice president when FDR died at the beginning of his term
Who took the blame for the initial postwar economy being poor?
Truman
Why was the postwar economy poor initially?
due to inflation and labor strikes
What redeeming qualities did Truman have?
he was authentic and accountable
What did Truman accomplish?
he integrated the military
he appointed a civil rights commission
he raised minimum wage
he attempted universal healthcare
he extended the New Deal
Why did Republicans win control of Congress in the 1946 midterm elections?
the Democrats in power were blamed for the poor economy
Who did the Republicans nominate for the 1948 presidential candidate?
Thomas Dewey, New York governor
Why was Dewey confident in the 1948 presidential election?
he had a large lead in the polls and the Democrats were split between candidates Truman and Wallace
Who were the 2 presidential candidates that created opposition to Truman within the Democratic party?
Henry Wallace (Progressive/Left) – liberal, soft on Soviets, and strong on civil rights
Strom Thurmond (Dixiecrats/Right) – a southern segregationist that left the Democratic party angry over Truman’s civil rights agenda
How did Truman campaign?
by traveling throughout the country by train, giving more than 300 speeches, and labeling the Republican Congress a “do nothing” Congress
How did Truman earn the nickname “give ‘em hell Harry”?
a supporter shouted the phrase during a speech
Why was Truman’s win surprising?
split parties don’t usually win elections
When was the First Red Scare?
in the 1920s
What did the First Red Scare lead to?
the deportation of “undesirable” immigrants, who were mostly from Southern and Eastern Europe
What were the main events of the First Red Scare?
the Palmer raids and the Sacco and Vanzetti trial
What did postwar WWII issues include?
the aggressiveness of Stalin and the Iron Curtain
What did communist ideology include?
government control of all private property, including social media, no free elections or bill of rights, and criminalization of organized religion
How did Soviets obtain the ability to make atomic bombs?
espionage
Who were outed as Communist spies?
Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs
What happened to the Rosenbergs?
they were executed
What country became communist in 1949?
China
How was the U.S.’s approach to communism viewed?
they were believed to be soft toward it
Who started the Korean war?
aggressive Communist North Koreans
Who were the Communist North Koreans backed by?
China and the USSR
What portion of Americans belonged to communist/socialist policies?
a small percentage
What did conservatives label as Reds/Commies?
labor unions, civil rights leaders, and liberals
Why did Truman create the Loyalty Review Board (EO 9835)?
to investigate communist sympathizers in the government
What did the House UnAmerican Committie (HUAC)?
it investigated subversives in the entertainment industry
What did the Supreme Court rule in Dennis v. U.S. (1951)?
it upheld limiting the first amendment rights of communists
What did FBI director J. Edgar Hoover do to help Loyalty Committees do?
investigate 5,000,000 Americans
What did the Lavender Scare do?
out and fire gay federal employees
Who was Joseph McCarthy>
a conservative senator from Wisconsin who was the person most associated with anti-communist hysteria
What did McCarthy use the Red Scare for?
for his political benefit, by accusing people without evidence
How did the media benefit from McCarthyism?
the scandal sold millions of newspapers and boosted TV ratings
How far did McCarthy’s investigations extend?
throughout all levels of the government, including the military
Why wasn’t McCarthy confronted?
due to fear of being put on his list and losing elections
Who used communism to win political campaigns?
mostly conservative Republicans and Southern Democrats
How was McCarthy shown to be reckless and belligerent?
through the televised Army-McCarthy hearings in 1953
What happened to McCarthy?
he lost public trust, was eventually censured by Congress, and died of alcoholism in 1957
Who was on the Democratic ticket in the 1952 presidential election?
Illinois governor Adlai Stevenson for president and segregationist John Sparkman as vice president
Who was on the Republican ticket in the 1952 presidential election?
war hero Dwight “Ike” D. Eisenhower as president and Richard Nixon as vice president
What helped Nixon to gain hard line conservative votes?
his reputation as a communist hater and hunter
What kept Nixon on the Democratic ticket in spite of corruption charges and accusations of him being soft on communism?
his televised “checkers” speech
What were the biggest issues at the time of the 1952 presidential election?
the Cold War, Red Scare, and U.S. involvement in the Korean War
How did TV help Eisenhower’s brand?
by portraying him as an “American grandpa”
What demographic was Eisenhower very popular with?
female voters
Who did Eisenhower win the Republican primary against, and how?
Taft, over issues of limiting government spending
Who were the candidates of the 1956 presidential election?
Stevenson and Eisenhower, once again
Why was Eisenhower popular?
for ending the Korean war, leading a peacetime economy, and having well-liked domestic policies
How did Stevenson loose Northern liberal votes in the 1956 presidential election?
by appeasing racist Southern Democrats
How did Democrats try to make Eisenhower look worse?
by using negative TV ads, which ended up being unsuccessful and benefitted Eisenhower
Why did Eisenhower consider military spending a “necessary evil”?
based on the Cold War arms race with the Soviets
What did Eisenhower’s 1961 farewell address warn against?
the build up of peacetime weapons by profiteers and war hawks (a.k.a. the military industrial complex)
How was Eisenhower a “dynamic” (a.k.a. Moderate) Republican?
he was conservative on fiscal policy and liberal on social issues
What were Eisenhower’s anti-socialist policies?
cutting federal spending, balancing the budget, and cutting taxes
Who ended the bracero program of legally imported Mexican farmworkers?
Eisenhower
Who started Operation Wetback?
Eisenhower
What did Operation Wetback do?
it rounded up thousands of illegal immigrants and dumped them across the border in 1954
How did Eisenhower strengthen and support the New Deal programs?
by raising minimum wage, expanding Social Security, helping unemployment, and giving farm aid
What did the Interstate Highway Act of 1956 do?
it built 42,000 miles of highway systems all across the U.S.
What benefitted from the Interstate Highway Act?
cars, trucks, oil, suburbs, and construction
What was worsened from the Interstate Highway Act?
cities, trains, the environment, and traffic fatalities
What weakened unions?
organized crime and corruption
What did weakened unions lead to?
labor union reform and transparency laws
What was Eisenhower’s role in civil rights?
he moderately supported iconic civil rights achievements, including Brown v. Board of Education, the Alabama bus boycott, Little Rock 9, and Civil Rights of 1957
What does the NAACP stand for?
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
When was the NAACP established?
1909
Who established the NAACP by?
W.E.B. DuBois and Ida B. Wells
What is the largest civil rights group?
the NAACP
What was one of the original goals of the NAACP?
to campaign against lynching
What film did the NAACP boycott and why?
Birth of a Nation, because it portrayed the KKK as heroes
What was the NAACP instrumental in?
desegregation in the 1950s
Which NAACP member made the winning argument in Brown v. Board of Education?
Thurgood Marshall
Who was the NAACP led by?
Walter White (1929-55)
What did the NAACP work on with SCLC?
a successful boycott in 1955-56 after Rosa Parks’ arrest
What does the SCLC stand for?
the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
What was the SCLC?
an organization of black ministers
Who led the SCLC?
Martin Luther King, Jr.
What was the SCLC most notable for?
nonviolent civil disobedience, including protest marches
Where did the SCLC have umbrella organizations?
across Southern states where Jim Crow laws were strictly enforced
What was the SCLC’s original focus in the 1950s?
desegregation of the South and black voting rights
Who was A. Philip Randolph?
an iconic labor union organizer and politician
What did A. Philip Randolph accomplish?
he famously developed nonviolent methods to protest against discrimination in the workplace
he became the model for civil rights protests of the 1950s
he helped organize the 1963 March on Washington
Who was Roy Wilkins?
a civil rights leader, activist, and newspaper editor
What did Roy Wilkins believe in?
achieving reform through registration
What did Roy Wilkins accomplish?
he wrote hundreds of legal challenges
he led the NAACP for over 20 years, including through Brown vs. Board and the ‘50s/’60s civil rights movement
Who was Bayard Rustin?
a political activist and pacifist
What did Bayard Rustin accomplish?
he was a primary organizer of the March on Washington
he mentored MLK on nonviolent resistance
he planned the Journey of Reconciliation, which served as a model for the Freedom Rides
he led a voter registration campaign and a program to prepare people of color for apprenticeships
Who was Thurgood Marshall?
a civil rights lawyer
What did Thurgood Marshall accomplish?
he graduated from Howard (an HBCU)
he led a voter registration campaign and a program to prepare people of color for apprenticeships
he successfully argued Brown v. Board
he became the first black Supreme Court Justice
Who was John Lewis?
a civil rights activist and politician
What did John Lewis accomplish?
he co-founded and chair the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
he participated in the Freedom Rides
he gave a keynote speech at the March on Washington
he led the first of the three Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965
Who was James Farmer?
a civil rights activist and leader
What did James Farmer accomplish?
he co-founded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to fight Jim Crow laws
he led the Freedom Rides to desegregate interstate bus travel
Who was Ella Baker?
a civil and human rights activist and original member of SCLC
What did Ella Baker accomplish?
she was the executive director of the SCLC
she encouraged young people to create SNCC
she helped create the Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party, which was intended to help overturn the all-white Democratic Party delegation
she co-founded In Friendship, an organization to raise money to fight against Jim Crow Laws
Who was Medgar Evers?
a civil rights activist and soldier
What did Medgar Evers accomplish?
he spoke out against Jim Crow laws
he protested segregation
he investigated the lynching of Emmett Till
he established new NAACP chapters
he organized voter register drives to help blacks in Mississippi
he led boycotts of segregationist companies and white merchants
he led efforts to desegregate schools, parks and beaches
he gathered evidence of racially motivated incidents
Who was W.E.B. DuBois?
a sociologist, socialist, historian and civil rights activist
What did W.E.B. DuBois accomplish?
he co-founded the NAACP
he founded the NAACP’s official journal, The Crisis
he wrote The Souls of Black Folk, a collection of sociological essays that examined the Black experience in the United States
he founded the Niagara Movement, a group of African American leaders who fought for racial equality
he was a founder of the Pan-African movement and organized the first international congresses of leaders from Africa and the Diaspora
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