APUSH Period 8 - 60s & 70s

Brown v. Board of Education (May 1954)

- sc declared segregation in schools unconstitutional, overturning plessy v ferguson's "separate but equal"

- energized the civil rights movement by providing legal grounds to challenge segregation

Murder of Emmett Till (Aug. 1955)

- 14 year old black boy from chicago was brutally murdered in mississippi after being accused of whistling at a white woman

- open casket funeral * photos published shocked the nation and became a catalyst for the movement, highlighting the brutality of racism in the south

Montgomery Bus Boycott & roles of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr (Dec. 1955-Dec. 1956)

- rosa parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger, sparking the boycott

- boycott was led by MLK jr, lasted a year and resulted in the desegregation of montgomery's buses

Little Rock Nine (Sept. 1957)

- 9 black students integrated central high school in little rock, arkansas, facing violent resistance. president eisenhower sent federal troops to enforce the order

- highlighted federal government's willingness to intervene in states that resisted desegregation

Greensboro Sit-ins (Feb. 1960)

- 4 black college students in north carolina staged a sit-in at a segregated woolworth's lunch counter, sparking a wave of nonviolent protests across the south

- crucial in engaging youth and demonstrated the effectiveness of peaceful protest

Freedom Rides (May 1961)

- interracial groups rode buses into the segregated south to test SC ruling banning segregation in interstate travel facilities

- riders faced brutal violence, but pushed the federal government to enforce desegregation laws more aggressively

March on Washington (August 1963)

- over 200k people gathered in DC to advocate for civil and economic rights. MLK delivered his "i have a dream" speech

- built pressure on lawmakers and helped inspire the civil rights act

Civil Rights Act (July 1964)

- banned discrimination in public accommodations and employment, and strengthened federal enforcement of school desegregation

- major legal victory for the civil rights movement, fulfilled a key goal of the march on washington

Freedom Summer (Summer 1964)

- launched a campaign to register black voters in mississippi, volunteers faced harassment, violence, and even murder

- exposed the depth of racism in the south, built momentum for voting rights legislation

***(assassination of) Malcolm X

assassination:

- increasingly embraced pan-african unity & human rights

- killed in new york (2-1965)

- major blow to black nationalism, but his ideas influenced the rising black power movement

- parents supported marcus garvey, faced death threats and father was murdered by white supremacists

- drawn to nation of islam while incarcerated

- charismatic, dedicated, and eloquent -> attracted new members to NOI

- NOI opposed integration/nonviolent resistance -> tired of little progress, wanted true power & freedom

- wanted to empower black people -> "black is beautiful"

- left NOI in (1964) - disillusioned with group, had become ostracized

- created organization for afro-american unity, but was soon killed

Selma to Montgomery Marches and "Bloody Sunday" (March 1965)

- peaceful protesters marching for voting rights were brutally attacked by police on edmund pettus bridge

- national outrage helped lead to the passage of the voting rights act

Voting Rights Act (July 1965)

- outlawed literacy tests and other tactics used to suppress black voting and allowed federal oversight of voter registration in some areas

- one of the most effective civil rights laws, dramatically increasing black voter registration & participation

Affirmative Action (September 1965)

- president johnson issued an executive order requiring federal contractors to take affirmative action to hire minorities

- designed to address systemic inequalities and promote diversity in education and employment

Beginning of Black Power Movement (June 1966)

- stokely carmichael popularized "black power" during the march against fear, symbolized a shift toward racial pride & self-reliance

Black Panther Party Founded (Oct. 1966)

- huey newton & bob seale's black panther party combined community programs with calls for self defense and systemic change

Kerner Commission Report (March 1968)

De facto v. de jure segregation

de jure segregation -> legalized segregation (like jim crow laws) -> made illegal through the efforts of activists during the 1960s -> civil rights act, voting rights act, fair housing act, school integration etc

de facto segregation -> segregation/discrimination that continues without legal backing -> embedded into soviety -> housing (redlining/white flight), schools/education (due to neighborhood racial differences), social interactions, job opportunities (hard to prove discrimination)

Redlining

a discriminatory practice in which financial services were withheld from neighborhoods that have significant numbers of racial/ethnic minorities. contributed to de facto segregation

Civil Rights Organizations - SNCC, CORE, NAACP, SCLC

NAACP (1909) -> national association for the advancement of colored people

- promote equality, eradicate racial injustice

- brown v board of education, montgomery bus boycott

- use of litigation & legislation

SCLC (1957) -> southern christian leadership conference

- headed by MLK

- use direct action, boycotts, non-violent civil disobedience

- march on washington, selma march -> VRA

SNCC (1960) -> student nonviolent coordinating committee/student national coordinating committee

- outlet for student activists, orginated from greensboro sit-ins

- began to question commitment to nonviolence/integration as movement's progress slowed

CORE (1942) -> congress on racial equality

- founded by bayard rustin & james farmer

- challenge segregation through sit-ins and demonstrations in segregated public spaces

- freedom rides -> brought attention

- also began to question commitment to nonviolence by mid 1960s

NAACP and SCLCwere more traditional organizations, while SNCC and CORE were more radical.

Termination Policy -> Native Americans

federal tribal policies that tried to incorporate indians into mainstream american society, whether they wanted to assimilate or not.

two laws passed in (1953) established the basis of the policy. federal government withdrew all official recognition of the tribes as legal entities; funneled native americans into cities, where they would lose their cultural distinctiveness. eisenhower administration barred further terminations after indians fought bitterly against the policies (1958)

American Indian Movement -> Native Americans

established by a group of young, militant indians, drawing support from urban areas and reservations alike (1968)

Indian Civil Rights Act -> Native Americans

as a result of activism, congress guaranteed indians protections by the bill of rights and recognized the legitimacy of tribal laws within reservations (1968)

César Chavez & United Farm Workers -> Latino Civil Rights Movement

- strengthened their ethnic identification and organized for political and economic power

- cesar chavez: arizona-born farmworker of mexican descent who created an effective union of largely mexican itinerant farmworkers, the united farm workers (UFW). one of the most visible efforts to organize hispanics. nispired by MLK and gandhi, nonviolent direct action of black civil rights movement -> organized marches, grape boycott

- path to economic and political power remained difficult, latinos formed one of the poorest segments of the population

- latinos = fastest-growing minority group in the US in the 70s largely due to mexican immigration during WWII

- constituted more than a third of all legal immigrants to the US after 1960

- puerto ricans immigrated to eastern urban areas, cubans fled the castro regime to south florida, and later in the 1980s, large numbers of immigrants began to arrive from central and south america

Gay Rights Movement

effort by gay men and lesbians to win political and economic rights and social acceptance during the 1960s

- challenged traditional values and assumptions of the time; organizations sprung up and media coverage/public discussion of homosexuality dramatically increased

- empowered gay men and lesbians to demand acceptance

Frank Kameny -> Gay Rights Movement

decided to picket/protest the white house. this suggested that he was normal; just the same as everybody else and should be treated as such by the government (not fired)

Stonewall Inn -> Gay Rights Movement

police officers raided the stonewall inn, a gay nightclub in nyc's greenwich village, the center of new york's gay community, and began attacking patrons. though the raid was not unusual, gay onlookers taunted the police and attacked them. someone started a blaze at the inn, almost trapping the police inside. rioting continued throughout greenwich village throughout the night. marked the growth of the gay liberation movement -> watershed moment! american psychiatric association declassified homosexuality as a mental illness in 4 years. (6-1969)

Reaction against (DOMA) -> Gay Rights Movement

Betty Friedan & Feminine Mystique -> Women's Rights Movement

writer for women's magazines who interviewed women across the country from her graduating class at smith college, many of whom were deeply frustrated and unhappy despite living the postwar "american dream." published the book, which is cited as one of the first events of contemporary women's liberation; it gave voice to the movement (19630

Griswold v. Connecticut -> Women's Rights Movement

- estelle griswold was the president of planned parenthood in CT -> started handing out birth control

- SC case made birth control legal for married couples 0> established the "right to privacy"

- women could now pursue education & work!

National Organization for Women (NOW) -> Women's Rights Movement

friedan joined with other feminists to create it. became the nation's largest and most influential feminist organization. demanded greater educational opportunities for women and denounced the domestic ideal and the traditional concept of marriage. goal was to make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender (1966)

Gloria Steinem and the Women's Liberation Movement -> Women's Rights Movement

reporter who went undercover as a playboy bunny. exposed treatment of the bunnies -> objectification, sexism. spokesperson for the WLM -> community-based activism to solid organizing. younger generation wanted more!

Title IX -> Women's Rights Movement

legislation requiring universities to support male and female athletic programs at equal levels. part of women's effort to move into the economic and political mainstream (1972)

Equal Rights Amendment -> Women's Rights Movement

congress approved it and sent it to the states, and ratification seemed almost certain. however, by the late 1970s, the momentum behind the movement had died because of rising objections from people who feared it would disrupt traditional social patterns. the 10 years allotted for ratification expired (1972, 1982)

Roe v. Wade -> Women's Rights Movement

supreme court decision, based on an implied "right to privacy" from a few years earlier, invalidated all laws prohibiting abortion during the first trimester. came following pressure from the women's movement as women worked to win greater control of their sexual and reproductive lives (1973)

Phyllis Schlafly -> Women's Rights Movement

conservative political organizer who worked to prevent the ratification of the equal rights amendment, which would have banned discrimination against women. advocated for the traditional role of women. linked the amendment to controversial issues like abortion rights and the lgbtq+ rights movement -> helped align the republican party against those issues

Rachel Carson & Silent Spring -> Environmental Movement

book that revealed the dangers of pesticides. based solidly on the ideas of ecologists and introduced those ideas to a larger public (1962)

Environmental advocacy -> Environmental Movement

Earth Day -> Environmental Movement

- originally proposed by wisconsin senator gaylord nelson as a series of teach-ins on college campuses, it gradually took on a much larger life and could be considered the largest single demonstration in america's history (4-1970)

- its cautious, centrist character helped create a movement that was, for a time, less divisive

Creation of the EPA -> Environmental Movement

environmental protection agency. created by the national environment protection act to enforce antipollution standards on businesses and consumers (1970)

Nixon

domestic policies and actions: C+

- signed EPA into action

- made supreme court more conservative

- watergate!

- undid some great society programs

- lowered voting age

- tried to stop busing/school integration

- signed title ix

foreign policies and actions: A-

- visit to china -> forged a new relationship, removed animosity

- detente/SALT O -> improved relations with soviet union, reduced arms

- nixon doctrine -> reduced american involvement in third world countries

- vietnam -> slowed peace talks, increased bombing

- coup in chile

overall B-

Visit to China -> Nixon

wanted to forge a new relationship with the chinese communists, in part to strengthen them as a counterbalance to the soviet union. nixon's visit erased much of the deep animosity between the united states and the chinese communists, and they soon began low-level diplomatic relations. (2-1972)

Détente -> Nixon

nixon adminstration's initiative to improve relations with the soviet union. significant change from brinkmanship

SALT I -> Nixon

first strategic arms limitation treaty produced by american and soviet diplomats. froze the arsenals of some nuclear missiles/ICBMs on both sides. president traveled to moscow; soviet premier visited washington (1971)

Nixon Doctrine -> Nixon

united states would "participate in the defense and development of allies and friends" but would leave the "basic responsibility" for the future of those friends to the nations themselves. meant a declining american interest in contributing to third world development (1969/1970)

OPEC Embargo -> Nixon

organization of the petroleum exporting companies. following the yom kippur war of egypt and syria against israel, the arab members of OPEC set a very painful embargo against the US and other allies of israel. provided an ominous warning of the costs of dependence on foreign oil (1973-74)

Silent Majority -> Nixon

Warren Court -> Nixon

- SC was very liberal institution under chief justice earl warren that made progressive decisions on race, civil liberties/crime, religion in schools, and more, angering the conservative middle class (1960s)

- nixon promised to give the court a more conservative cast and replaced warren after his retirement with warren burger, a federal appeals court judge with conservative leanings (1969)

- however, the burger court actually committed more to social reform in some areas, though it held conservative in others

Watergate Scandal -> Nixon

began when 7 men connected to nixon's reelection campaign were arrested for breaking into the democratic national committee headquarters (6-1972). as investigations unfolded, one of the burglars cooperated with authorities, revealing widespread abuses of power and white house cover-ups (1973). despite nixon's denials, tapes from a secret recording system in the white house provided undeniable evidence of his involvement (7-1974). with impeachment looming and public trust eroding, nixon resigned, becoming the first president to do so (8-1974). the scandal left a lasting impact on american politics and public confidence in government

Ford

domestic policies and actions: D+

- pardoned nixon

- caused/didn't help fix stagflation

foreign policies and actions: B

- met with leonid brezhid (ussr) in siberia and signed an arms control accord (1974)

- kissinger helped produce a new accord by which israel agreed to return large portions of the occupied sinai to egypt -> israel/egypt pledged not to resolve future differences by force

overall C

Stagflation -> Ford

economic problems of the 70s -> ford called for largely ineffective voluntary efforts, supported high interest rates, opposed increased federal spending and tax reduction -> rising unemployment/high inflation = "stagflation" (1974-1975)

Pardon of Nixon -> Ford

ford granted nixon a "full, free, and absolute pardon," which further hurt americans' trust in the government (1974)

Jimmy Carter

domestic policies and actions: C+

- approach to economic trouble -> decreased unemployment but increased inflation, interest rates

- malaise speech

foreign policies and actions: A-

- completed negotiations to turn over control of the panama canal to the government of panama

- spoke out sharply about human rights violations in many countries, especially the soviet union

- camp david accords between egypt and israel

- continued trying to improve relations with china and the soviet union

- strong reaction to soviet invasion of afghanistan

overall B+

Approach to economic trouble -> Jimmy Carter

raised public spending, cut federal taxes -> unemployment decreased but inflation increased greatly (largely due to OPEC energy price increases). tried to stop inflation -> high interest rates (>20%!)

"Malaise speech" -> Jimmy Carter

following a fuel crisis, delivered the speech. people felt it blamed his problems on the american people -> a "crisis of confidence" etc (1979)

Camp David Accords -> Jimmy Carter

arranged a peace treaty between egypt and israel (3-1979)

SALT II -> Jimmy Carter

he continued trying to improve relations with china and the soviet union. drafted SALT II in (1979)

Iran Hostage Crisis -> Jimmy Carter

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan -> Jimmy Carter

imposed a series of economic sanctions on russia, canceled american participation in the 1980 olympics, and withdrew SALT II

New Conservatism

Sunbelt -> New Conservatism

population increase

- states in southeast/southwest -> exceeded older industrial regions in north/east

- strong populist traditions -> opposition to growth of government

- sagebrush rebellion

Sagebrush Rebellion -> New Conservatism

conservative opposition to environmental laws/restrictions

Christian Evangelicalism -> New Conservatism

- growth of evangelicalism -> belief in "personal conversion"/"born again"

- alarmed by a "spread of immorality and disorder" in american life -> growth of socialism, feminism

Christian Coalition -> New Conservatism

- christian right organizations sought to restore the dominance of "christian values"

- other christian denominations than evangelical, such as catholics and mormons, also became allies of the right

"New Right" -> New Conservatism

- following barry goldwater's defeat in 1964, organizers built new right-wing institutions (think tanks, consulting firms, lobbyists, foundations, colleges & universities) -> better funded and organized than opponents (1964)

- emergence of ronald reagan -> seized leadership, became CA governor (1966)

- gerald ford (accidentally ?) deeply angered conservatives

Barry Goldwater -> New Conservatism

republican senator. leader of conservative movement -> anti-communism, muscular americanism, reduce government size. could be described as the republican JFK. led republican party to become much more conservative. defeat in 1964 to johnson led to the rise of the new right as conservatives became more determined than ever.

Ronald Reagan -> New Conservatism

rose to prominence and seized leadership of the conservative movement following the defeat of barry goldwater, who he had backed in 1964. became governor of CA (1966)