APUSH Period 8 Timeline of Major Events and Ideas (1945-1980)

Servicemen's Readjustment Act or GI Bill (1944)

This was created to help veterans of the Second World War, establishing hospitals, low-interest mortgages, and stipends that guaranteed coverage of college tuition.

Formation of the United Nations (1945)

This was formed to bring nations into dialogue in hopes of preventing further world wars. Unlike the previous League of Nations, this was much more realistic in recognizing the authority of the Big Five Powers.

Iron Curtain (1946)

This was the non physical barrier separating the former Soviet bloc and the U.S., French, and British occupied West Berlin prior to the decline Communism that followed the political events in Eastern Europe in 1989.

Employment Act of 1946

This was a federal law with the main purpose of laying the responsibility of economic stability of inflation and unemployment onto the federal government.

Committee on Civil Rights (1946)

This was established by executive Order 9808 in order to propose measures to strengthen and protect the civil rights of Americans.

Levitttown (1947)

These were suburban neighborhoods of mass-produced affordable housing for veterans returning from the Second World War. They would ultimately come to epitomize the suburban pop-culture of the 1960s.

Taft-Hartley Act (1947)

Also known as the Labor Management Relations Act, this is a United States federal law that restricted the activities and powers of organized labor unions.

Department of Defense (1947)

This is a branch of executive power charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and activities of the federal government.

National Security Council (1947)

This is the principal forum used by the federal government for consideration of national security, military maters, and foreign policy matters.

Central Intelligence Agency (1947)

This is the civilian foreign intelligence service formed to gather and collect information on threats to national security.

Selective Service System (1948)

This is an independent agency that maintains information on those potentially subject to military conscription.

Truman Doctrine (1947)

This was President Harry S. Truman's foreign policy that was made to counter Soviet geopolitical expansion during the Cold War which was further developed by containment of Greece and Turkey.

McCarran Internal Security Act (1950)

This act was formed to protect the United States from certain un-American and subversive activities by requiring the registration of man Communist organizations.

Dennis et al v. United States (1951)

This was a United States Supreme Court case that discussed the convictions of conspiring to overthrow the United States government with force through participation in Communist organizations.

Hiss Case (1948-1950)

Alger Hiss was a government official who was accused of being a Soviet spy whilst also being convicted of perjury in connection to the further allegations made. However, prior to his charges, Hiss was involved with the formation of the United Nations.

Rosenberg Case (1951-1953)

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were to American civilians who spied on behalf of the Soviet Union. The two left their two sons behind when they were tried, convicted, and ultimately executed by the federal government.

Executive Order 9981 (1948)

Issued by President Harry S. Truman, this abolished discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin within the United States Armed Forces.

Molotov Plan (1947)

This was a system created by the Soviet Union in 1947 in order to provide aid to rebuild eastern European countries that were politically aligned to the Soviet Union.

Berlin Airlift (1948-1949)

This was a 327 day operation in which the United States, France, and Great Britain flew food and supplies into West Berlin after the Soviet Blockade of Russian occupied Germany.

Truman's Fair Deal (1949)

This was an ambitious set of proposals put forward by President Harry S. Truman to Congress as a general domestic policy which was classified as a partial success with its step toward racial desegregation and increase in the minimum wage.

Sino-Soviet Plan (1950)

This was the Treaty of Alliance concluded between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union signed at a time of weakened ties during the Cold War.

McCarthyism (1950s)

This was a campaign led by Joseph McCarthy against alleged Communist spies in the United States government which led to many being blacklisted during the Second Red Scare.

June 25, 1950

SEOUL, June 25 (Sunday) (INS)—Communist North Korea today declared war on the South Korean Republic 6 hours after 60,000 Korean troops poured into the republic over a 200-mile front.

Counterattack of the Korean War

American and other UN troops came ashore at Inchon, the seaport of the city of Seoul, and quickly broke through the North Korean lines. ... The UN forces were soon able to dislodge the North Koreans from all of South Korea.

Truman v. MacArthur

MacArthur managed to stabilize fighting, called for an expansion of the war including mainland bombing, MacArthur spoke out against US policy, Truman was force to fire him for insubordination,"there is no substitute for victory"

Armistice of the Korean War

an agreement to not shoot each other for the time being; a stop to fighting

22nd Amendment (1951)

the president is limited to two terms or a total of 10 years in office

United States Japanese Security Treaties (1951)

The agreement contained five articles, which dictated Japan to grant the United States the territorial means to establish a military presence in the Far East.

Hydrogen Bomb (1952)

US explodes the first hydrogen bomb at a test site in Marshall Island (pacific); approx. 1 yr. later USSR tests their bomb; fall out shelters built in both countries

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (1953)

The department was formed for "protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves."

Operation Wetback (1954)

A government program to roundup and deport as many as one million illegal Mexican migrant workers in the United States. The program was promoted in part by the Mexican government and reflected burgeoning concerns about non-European immigration to America. (957)

Geneva Conference (1954)

French wanted out of Vietnam , the agreement signed by Ho Chi Minh France divided Vietnam on the 17th parallel, confining Minh's government to the North. In the South, an independent government was headed by Diem.

Domino Theory (1954)

A theory that if one nation comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control.

South-East Asia Treaty Organization (1954)

n September of 1954, the United States, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan formed the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, or SEATO. The purpose of the organization was to prevent communism from gaining ground in the region.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was a landmark 1954 Supreme Court case in which the justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional.

Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955)

In 1955, after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus, Dr. Martin L. King led a boycott of city busses. After 11 months the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public transportation was illegal.

Little Rock Nine (1956)

In 1954 the United States Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools were illegal. The "Little Rock Nine," as the nine teens came to be known, were to be the first African American students to enter Little Rock's Central High School.

Suez Crisis (1956)

military attack on Egypt by Britain, France, and Israel beginning on 29 October 1956. The attack followed Egypt's decision of 26 July 1956 to nationalize the Suez Canal after the withdrawal of an offer by Britain and the United States to fund the building of the Aswan Dam

Highway Act (1956)

was enacted on June 29, 1956, when a hospitalized Dwight D. Eisenhower signed this bill into law. Appropriating $25 billion for the construction of 40,000 miles (64,000 km) of interstate highways over a 10-year period, it was the largest public works project in American history to that point.

Civil Rights Act of 1957

Primarily a voting rights bill, was the first civil rights legislation enacted by Republicans in the United States since Reconstruction.

Formation of the Southern California Leadership Conference (1957)

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was created on January 10-11, 1957, when sixty black ministers and civil rights leaders met in Atlanta, Georgia in an effort to replicate the successful strategy and tactics of the recently concluded Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Eisenhower Doctrine (1957)

Promised military and economic aid to countries fighting communism in the Middle East.

Sputnik (1957)

First man-made satellite put into orbit by the USSR. This caused fear in the US that the Soviets had passed them by in science & technology and the arms race. Democrats scorched the Republican administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower for allowing the United States to fall so far behind the communists. Eisenhower responded by speeding up the U.S. space program (NASA), which resulted in the launching of the satellite Explorer I on January 31, 1958. The "space race" had begun. In 1969, the US would land men on the moon, a major victory.

Yates v. United States (1957)

Ruled that the First Amendment protected radical and revolutionary speech, including that of Communists, unless it presented a "clear and present danger" to the safety of the country.

National Defense and Education Act (1958)

law that authorized the use of federal funds to improve the nation's elementary and high schools; inspired by Cold War fears that the United States was falling behind the Soviet Union in the arms and space race, it was directed at improving science, math, and foreign-language education.

Civil Rights Act of 1960

It gave the Federal Courts the power to register Black voters and provided for voting referees who served wherever there was racial discrimination in voting, making sure Whites did not try to stop Blacks from voting.

Formation of The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (1960)

The SNCC, or Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, was a civil-rights group formed to give younger Black people more of a voice in the civil rights movement. The SNCC soon became one of the movement's more radical branches.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (1960)

to prevent its concessionaires—the world's largest oil producers, refiners, and marketers—from lowering the price of oil, which they had always specified, or "posted." OPEC members sought to gain greater control over oil prices by coordinating their production and export .

U-2 Incident (1960)

EISENHOWER 1960 US spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union. The Eisenhower administration acknowledged responsibility for the surveillance mission.

"Military-Industrial Complex" (1961)

Term first used by President Eisenhower to describe the close relationship of military spending and defense contractors that emerged during World War II and grew with the Cold War. In the 1950s and 1960s, federal defense spending had a tremendous influence on the national economy, particularly in the South and West where many defense contractors were located.

- In his farewell address in 1961, Eisenhower raised troubling questions about the influence of this new power in a democracy and warned the nation to be vigilant.

"Beatniks" (1950s-1960s)

a young person in the 1950s and early 1960s belonging to a subculture associated with the beat generation.

Kennedy Nixon Debates (1960s)

The first televised presidential debate in American history took place between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon on September 26, 1960.

New Frontier (1960)

The campaign program advocated by JFK in the 1960 election. He promised to revitalize the stagnant economy and enact reform legislation in education, health care, and civil rights.

Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961)

An unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the U.S. government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro.

Berlin Wall (1961)

Built by the Communists to stop the flow of refugees seeking to gain political asylum in West Berlin from East Berlin. It became the symbol of division between the East and the West.

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Extended the Exclusionary Rule to the states, increasing the protections for defendants

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

an international crisis in October 1962, the closest approach to nuclear war at any time between the U.S. and the USSR. When the U.S. discovered Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba, President John F. Kennedy demanded their removal and announced a naval blockade of the island; the Soviet leader Khrushchev acceded to the U.S. demands a week later.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Established the principle of "one person, one vote" and made such patterns of representation illegal. The Court asserted that the federal courts had the right to tell states to reapportion their districts for more equal representation.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Prohibited state-sponsored recitation of prayer in public schools by virtue of 1st Amendment's establishment clause and the 14th Amendment's due process clause; Warren Court's judicial activism.

Students for a Democratic Society (1962)

Founded in 1962, it was a popular college student organization that protested shortcomings in American life, notably racial injustice and the Vietnam War. It led thousands of campus protests before it split apart at the end of the 1960s.

"Letter from Birmingham Jail" (1963)

A letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. after he had been arrested when he took part in a nonviolent march against segregation. He was disappointed more Christians didn't speak out against racism. Advocated nonviolence protest methods

March on Washington (1963)

a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech advocating racial harmony at the Lincoln Memorial during the march. Widely credited as helping lead to the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the National Voting Rights Act (1965). 80% of the marchers were black. Organized by union leader A. Philip Randolph.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Extends to the defendant the right of counsel in all state and federal criminal trials regardless of their ability to pay.

Equal Pay Act of 1963

An amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act, this act requires equal pay for men and women doing equal work.

Kennedy Assassination (November 22, 1963)

Shortly after noon on November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas. By the fall of 1963, President John F. Kennedy and his political advisers were preparing for the next presidential campaign.

Office of Economic Opportunity (1964)

oversaw many programs to improve lives of disadvantaged groups, including the Job Corps, an education and training program for at-risk youth.

Head Start Program (1964)

Head Start was designed to help break the cycle of poverty, providing preschool children of low-income families with a comprehensive program to meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional and psychological needs.

Job Corps (1964)

help disadvantaged youth (16-24) develop marketable skills

Food Stamp Act (1964)

Authorized a food stamp program to permit low income households to receive "a greater share of the Nation's food abundance

National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities (1965)

ACT To provide for the establishment of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities to promote progress and scholarship in the humanities and the arts in the United States, and for other purposes.

Medicare (1965)

Health insurance program for the elderly and disabled, providing government payment for health care supplied by private doctors and hospitals.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965)

Extended federal aid to private and parochial schools in addition to public schools and based the aid on the economic conditions of students rather than the need of the schools.

Immigration Act (1965)

Abolished the national-origins quotas and providing for the admission each year of 170,000 immigrants from the Eastern Hemisphere and 120,000 from the Western Hemisphere

Child Nutrition Act (1966)

established a school breakfast program and expanded school lunch and milk program to improve poor children's nutrition

Free Speech Movement (1964)

Mario Savio. Student at Berkeley protesting ban of political activities on campus. Fueled by Vietnam and later led to People's Park.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

This act made racial, religious, and sex discrimination by employers illegal and gave the government the power to enforce all laws governing civil rights, including desegregation of schools and public places.

24th Amendment (1964)

Prohibits federal and state governments from charging poll tax

Escobedo v. Illinois (1964)

Ruled that a defendant must be allowed access to a lawyer before questioning by police.

Tonkin Gulf Resolution (1964)

After President Johnson claimed North Vietnamese forces attacked U.S. boats in international

waters in the Gulf of Tonkin, the U.S. Congress voted to give the president a "blank check" to do

whatever was necessary to stop communism in South Vietnam.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (1965)

the United States federal department that administers federal programs dealing with better housing and urban renewal; Government provides housing for poor, developed urban areas.

March to Montgomery (1965)

voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery in Alabama;

Police beatings - Johnson sends troops

Voting Rights Act of 1965

a law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African-American suffrage

Kerner Commission (1965)

After intense mid to late 1960s urban rioting, President Lyndon B. Johnson commissioned The Natonal Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders—generally known as the Kerner Commission—to study the causes of the riots and to propose solutions.

Griswald v. Connecticut (1965)

Established right of privacy through 4th and 9th Amendments. Set a precedent for Roe v. Wade.

Black Panthers (1966)

Called for African Americans to become liberated through violence. Provided free lunches to African American children.

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

The court ruled that those subjected to in-custody interrogation be advised of their constitutional right to an attorney and their right to remain silent.

Campaign for the ERA (1966)

American activist organization (founded 1966) that promotes equal rights for women. It is the largest feminist group in the United States, with some 500,000 members in the early 21st century.

Department of Transportation (1967)

Administers programs to promote and regulate highways, mass transit, railroads, waterways, air travel, & oil and gas pipelines. Important agencies include the Federal Highway Administration, the Maritime Administration, and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination (1968)

April 4,1968, he was shot by James Earl Ray while standing on a balcony outside his second-floor room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee

Tet Offensive (1968)

The Tet Offensive was one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War, launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army against the forces of South Vietnam, the United States, and their allies. It failed militarily, but had an enormous psychological impact on the US, showing that the war was far from over, and proving that the government was lying about the war.

Election of 1968

At the end of a difficult year, the presidential election of 1968 was held. Republican candidate Richard Nixon appealed to a nation tired of violence and unrest as the "law and order" candidate. Nixon vowed he would end the Vietnam War and win "peace with honor." Democratic nominee, Hubert Humphrey, Johnson's vice president, seemed a continuation of the old politics. In the end, Richard Nixon won.

My Lai Massacre (1968)

Military assault in a small Vietnamese village on March 16, 1968, in which American soldiers under the command of 2nd Lieutenant William Calley murdered hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians, mostly women and children. The atrocity produced outrage and reduced support for the war in America and around the world when details of the massacre and an attempted cover-up were revealed in 1971.

Counterculture (1960s)

White middle-class youths, called "hippies". New Left, against Vietnam War, turned back on America because they believed in a society based on peace and love. Rock'n'roll, colorful clothes, and the use of drugs, lived in large groups. Lived in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbuy district because of the availibility of drugs.

Birth Control (1960s)

1960 The first oral contraceptive, Enovid, a mix of the hormones progesterone and estrogen, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It quickly became known simply as "the Pill."

"Vietnamization" (1969)

The US policy of withdrawing its troops and transferring the responsibility and direction of the war effort to the government of South Vietnam. It is important because it would bring the end of the Vietnam war in 1973.

SALT I (1969)

The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks were two rounds of bilateral conferences and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War superpowers dealt with arms control in two rounds of talks and agreements

Pentagon Papers (1970)

Classified documents that detailed decisions leading to the US involvement in Vietnam. The Times obtained them and published them. This made the administration paranoid about information being leaked to the public

Nixon's Visit to China (1972)

China and Him agreed on a joint communique on the need for greater interaction between China and the US.

Title IX (1972)

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance

CREEP

Richard Nixon's committee for re-electing the president. Found to have been engaged in a "dirty tricks" campaign against the democrats in 1972. They raised tens of millions of dollars in campaign funds using unethical means. They were involved in the infamous Watergate cover-up.