1960s

FBI Shift (JFK)

from internal security work to organized crime cases and civil rights enforcement

J. Edgar Hoover

director of FBI, resisted FBI shift

Robert S. McNamara

took over as sec. of defense, former president of the Ford Motor Company

• key architect in the early Vietnam war

• wanted to shift blame on South Viets → kicked out of cabinet

New Frontier

JFK political agenda, proposal for Peace Corps + improvement in education + healthcare

• didn’t expand quickly

Apollo Mission

project to make man land on the moon

• goal was to beat the Soviets in the space race

Berlin Wall

barrier between East + West Berlin, symbolized divide between capitalist + communist worlds

European Economic Market

“common market” free-trade zone in Western Europe created by Treaty of Rome in 1957

1962 Trade Expansion Act

tariff cuts up to 50% to promote trade with EEX

Globalization

2nd wave of globalization, new era of commerce after WW2

• aimed to reduce trade barriers + foster global economic independence

Conventional Military Forces

increased spending on them

Flexible Response Doctrine

diverse options for Cold War, not just nuclear

Alliance for Progress

under JFK, failed marshall plan for Latin America

Bay of Pigs

failed CIA plot to overthrow Castro by training Cuban exiles

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

1. US spy planes found out Soviets were installing nuclear missiles in Cuba

2. JFK ordered naval quarantine in Cuba

• said any attack would trigger nuclear retaliation against Soviets

3. Khrushchev removed missiles days later

Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty

signed in 1963, JFK appealed to public about peaceful coexistence with Soviets

Freedom Riders

mixed race groups who rode interstate buses in the deep South to protest racial segregation

• were sent federal marshalls for protection

Voter Education Project

SNCC + other civil rights groups helped register Blacks in the South to vote

James Meredith

veteran who tried to register to UMississippi and faced violent opposition

• federal marshalls + troops were sent to enroll him into his 1st class

Campaign in Birmingham, Alabam

(1963) most segregated city in America, world opinion turned strongly in favor

March on Washington

(1963) civil rights demonstration, pushed for Civil Rights Act of 1964

JFK Death

shot by Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963

Jack Ruby

shot Lee Harvey Oswald

1950s Economy

• white collar jobs outnumbered blue collar

• union membership declined

• more opportunities for women

LBJ

smooth transition, focused on civil rights + poverty, Texan, supported New Deal

Civil Rights Act of 1964

banned discrimination in public facilities

Affirmative Action (LBJ)

program to redress racial + gender discrimination in jobs + education

Great Society

LBJ agenda- focused on civil rights + fight poverty

War on Poverty Program

expanded SS system- created Medicare/Medicaid for aged + poor

Election of 1964

LBJ vs. Barry Goldwater of AZ (very conservative)

• Goldwater gained support from rise of conservative movement in middle-class suburbs of Sunbelt

Tonkin Bay Resolution

allowed LBJ to escalate US involvement in Vietnam War

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

North Vietnamese attacks on US destroyers

New Cabinets

dep. of transportation + dep. of housing and urban development

Robert C. Weaver

1st black secretary, for HUD

LBJ 4 Big Legislative Achievements

education, medical care for aged + poor, immigration reform, new voting rights vill

Immigration + Nationality Act of 1965

changed criteria to focus on skill + family ties

• more from Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Middle East came than Western Euope

24th Amendment (1964)

abolished poll taxes in federal elections

Freedom Summer of 1964

massive Mississippi voter registration

Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party

formed to challenge Mississippi’s delegation, denied seats at Democratic National Convention

Voting Rights Act of 1965

banned literacy tests, allowed federal gov. to oversee elections in places with history of discrimination

• marked end of “classical phase” of movement

Watts

(1965) riot that occurred in LA against police brutality

• turned many activists to a more violent side of protest

Malcom X

Black Nationalist leader, voice for Islam, inspired Black Power movement

Black Power

activists who rejected MLKs desire for integration, focused on promoting African heritage

Black Panther Party

organization in Oakland that represented Black Power

MLK Death

shot in 1968 → nationwide outbursts of violent riots

Operation Rolling Thunder

US bombing raids on North Vietnam

Six- Day War

war between Israel and Syria/Egypt/Jordan

• intensified conflict in Middle East

• Israel won

CIA

LBJ ordered them to spy on domestic antiwar activists, a violation of their role as a foreign agency

Tet Offensive

attacks from North Viets → reduced US morale, revealed the war was far from won

Hubert Humphrey

LBJ heir, democrat in election of 1968

Stonewall Rebellion

protests for LGBTQ+ rights against a police raid in NYC

Students for a Democracic Society (SDS)

campus based political organizations formed by Tom Hayden

Young Americans for Freedom (YAF)

directly controversed SDS

Kerner Commission

investigated causes of violent protests

• white racism was the cause

• recommended increasing federal funds to urban Blacks but LBJ never acted