Unit 8 APUSH; Cold War (1945-80)

Cold War

WW2 dramatically changed the US from an isolationist country to a world power. Millions of Americans domestically and returning from home wished to have a normal domestic life and enjoy the new revitalized economy. However, the growing conflict during Truman’s administration between the USSR and US would result in a long struggle known as the Cold War. The Cold War dominated geopolitics between the late 1940s to the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The conflict centered around the leading Communist super power the USSR and leading Democratic super power the US. They compete against each other through diplomacy and support indirect conflicts, never directly against each other. However, in several instances, the Cold War almost turned hot.

Soviet Union

WW2 dramatically changed the US from an isolationist country to a world power. Millions of Americans domestically and returning from home wished to have a normal domestic life and enjoy the new revitalized economy. However, the growing conflict during Truman’s administration between the USSR and US would result in a long struggle known as the Cold War. The Cold War dominated geopolitics between the late 1940s to the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The conflict centered around the leading Communist super power the USSR and leading Democratic super power the US. They compete against each other through diplomacy and support indirect conflicts, never directly against each other. However, in several instances, the Cold War almost turned hot.

Joseph Stalin

The wartime alliance between the USSR and US was actually a temporary halt to the generally poor relations in the past. Since the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, Americans viewed the Soviets as a threat to all capitalist countries. This view propelled the first Red Scare of 1919, and the US would refuse to recognize the country until 1933. Even during a brief honeymoon period, FDR’s advisors concluded that Joseph Stalin could not be trusted. The Non-Aggression pact in 1939 between the USSR and Germany helped cement this view. In 1941, Hitler’s surprise invasion of the USSR and Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor led to a Soviet-US alliance out of convince, not mutual respect. Stalin bitterly complained that Britain and the US waited until 1944 to start their invasion of Europe, forcing the USSR to bear most of the fighting in Europe. As a result, an estimated half of all deaths in the war were Soviets. The postwar conflicts over Central and Eastern Europe became evident in Yalta and Potsdam in 1945. FDR hoped that personal diplomacy would keep Stalin in check, but when Truman was sworn in he became suspicious.

United Nations

The founding of the United Nations in the fall of 1945 proved to be a good sign of the future. The General Assembly of the UN was created to provide representation for all members nations, and the 15-member Security Council was given the responsibility of maintaining international security and authorizing peacekeeping missions. The five major allied countries - Britain, France, USSR, China, and the US- were all guaranteed permanent seats on the council as well as veto power. Optimists hoped that these nations could reach an agreement on international issues. The Soviets would go along with the US proposed Atomic Energy Commission of the United Nations. They would reject a plan proposed by Bernard Baruch of regulating nuclear energy and elimination atomic weapons. American leaders interpreted this rejection as proof that Moscow did not have peaceful intentions. The United States also offered the Soviets participation in the World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) which was created at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. The banks initial purpose was to provide funding to rebuild war torn countries. The Soviets declined, viewing it as an instrument of capitalism. They did, however, join other allied countries in the Nuremberg trials.

Satellites

Distrust turned into hostility in 1946 when Soviet forces remained in occupied territories of Central and Eastern Europe. Elections were still held in these countries, promised in Yalta, but they were often manipulated to get Communist dictators in power. These dictators were often loyal to Moscow, and between 1946-8, one by one countries started to fall under Moscow’s grasp (Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia). Soviet supporters argued that the USSR needed buffer nations to help protect itself from a Hitler-like invasion from the West. The US and Britain were alarmed by this takeover, they regarded Soviet action as a direct violation of self-determination, Democracy, and free-markets. Britain was particularly alarmed by the fall of Poland who they guaranteed their independence in WW2.

Winston Churchill

At the end of the war, the division of Germany and Austria into different occupation zones was meant to be only temporary. However, the eastern zone of Germany, under Soviet occupation, gradually turned into a new Communist state called the German Democratic Republic. The conflict over Germany was a conflict over different views of national security and economic needs.. The Soviets wanted a weak Germany and large war reparations while the US and Great Britain refused to war reparation in their western zones, viewing the recovery of Germany important to the stability of Central Europe. The Soviets, fearing a restored Germany, tightened their grip in East Germany and attempted to force the other Allied nations to give up their zones in Berlin. In January 1946, news of a Canadian spy ring stealing atomic secrets to the Soviets and continued Soviet occupation of Northern Iran furthered a tough policy in Washington against the Soviets. In March 1946, Truman was in Fulton Missouri giving a speech when the former British Prime Minister declared that an “Iron Curtain has descended across the continent” of Europe. His metaphor was later used throughout the Cold War to refer to the division of the US and their allies in the West, and the Soviets and their allies in the East. His speech called for the halting of Communism.

Iron Curtain

The Soviets, fearing a restored Germany, tightened their grip in East Germany and attempted to force the other Allied nations to give up their zones in Berlin. In January 1946, news of a Canadian spy ring stealing atomic secrets to the Soviets and continued Soviet occupation of Northern Iran furthered a tough policy in Washington against the Soviets. In March 1946, Truman was in Fulton Missouri giving a speech when the former British Prime Minister declared that an “Iron Curtain has descended across the continent” of Europe. His metaphor was later used throughout the Cold War to refer to the division of the US and their allies in the West, and the Soviets and their allies in the East. His speech called for the halting of Communism.

Containment Policy

Early in 1947, Truman adopted a policy designed to prevent Soviet expansion without starting a war, a Containment Policy. The plan, which would guide American foreign policy for decades, was formulated by Secretary of State George Marshal, Undersecretary of State Dean Acheson, and expert on Soviet affairs George F Kennan. In his influential article, Kennan claimed that a long-term but firm policy against the Soviet’s expansion ideals would eventually cause them to back off and live in peace with other nations. Critics of the containment policy, such journalists Walter Lippmann, argued that it was too ambitious. He considered some areas vital to US security and other not, but also that some government didn’t deserve US support. However, American leaders learned that appeasement didn’t work from the Munich Agreement, Communist aggression must be challenged wherever it occured.

George Marshall

Early in 1947, Truman adopted a policy designed to prevent Soviet expansion without starting a war, a Containment Policy. The plan, which would guide American foreign policy for decades, was formulated by Secretary of State George Marshal, Undersecretary of State Dean Acheson, and expert on Soviet affairs George F Kennan. In his influential article, Kennan claimed that a long-term but firm policy against the Soviet’s expansion ideals would eventually cause them to back off and live in peace with other nations. Critics of the containment policy, such journalists Walter Lippmann, argued that it was too ambitious. He considered some areas vital to US security and other not, but also that some government didn’t deserve US support. However, American leaders learned that appeasement didn’t work from the Munich Agreement, Communist aggression must be challenged wherever it occured.

Truman Doctrine

Truman first implemented the Containment Policy in response to a Communist led uprising in Greece and Soviet demands for control of a water route in Turkey. In what became known as the Truman Doctrine, the president asked Congress for $400 million in March of 1947 In order to provide military and economic aid of the governments of Greece and Turkey against ‘totalitarian’ regimes. While Truman’s speech was an oversimplification of the crisis in these two countries, it did help gain bipartisan support in Congress.

Marshall Plan

After the war, Europe laid in ruins with food running out and debt gaining larger. The winter of 1946-7 only demoralized Europeans more, who had suffered the Depression and war. Discontent helped encourage the establishment of Communist Parties in France in Italy, and the Truman administration feared that Western Democracies might vote in Communists into power. In June 1947, George Marshall created a plan for an extensive program of US economic aid to help revive European nations. In December, Truman submitted to Congress a $17 billion European Recovery Program, better known as the Marshall Plan. In 1948, $12 billion was approved for distribution to countries over a fear year period. The US even offered the plan to the USSR and its salleities, but they refused due to the fear of relying on American dependence. The Marshall Plan had its intended affect, the massive infusion of US dollars helped Western Europe achieve self-sustaining growth by the 1950s as well as end any real threat of Communist political success in the region. It also helped bolster US prosperity by increasing US exports to Europe while also deepening the rift between Communist East and non-Communist West.

Berlin Airlift

A major crisis of the Cold War focused on Berlin. In June 1948, the Soviets cut all land access to Berlin for the allied nations. Truman dismissed any plans to withdraw from Berlin but also not use any force. Instead, he ordered US planes to fly in supplies to the people of West Berlin. For weeks, the massive airlift would continue while Truman sent 60 bombers to England that could carry atomic weapons. The world waited nervously for the outbreak of war, but Stalin didn’t challenge the airlift (Truman’s airlift helped him win the election of 1948). By May 1949, the Soviets finally opened up the highway to Berlin, thus ending the 11 month blockade. A major long-term consequence of the crisis was the creation of two German states: the Federal Republic of Germany in the West, and the German Democratic Republic in the East. Berlin, within the GDR, also was still divided into sectors between the Allies and Soviets.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Truman would break Washington’s tradition of no permanent alliances in Europe in 1949 with his recommendation of the US joining a military defense pact to protect Western Europe. The Senate readily gave its consent, ten European nations joining the US and Canada in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which was a military alliance for defending all members from outside attack. General Eisenhower would be picked as NATO’s Supreme Commanders and stationed US troops in Western Europe to help deter a Soviet invasion. Because of this, the Containment Policy would lead to military buildup and major commitments abroad. The Soviet Union countered by creating their own alliance in 1955, the Warsaw Pact, which was a military alliance for the defense of Communist states in Europe.

Warsaw Pact

Truman would break Washington’s tradition of no permanent alliances in Europe in 1949 with his recommendation of the US joining a military defense pact to protect Western Europe. The Senate readily gave its consent, ten European nations joining the US and Canada in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which was a military alliance for defending all members from outside attack. General Eisenhower would be picked as NATO’s Supreme Commanders and stationed US troops in Western Europe to help deter a Soviet invasion. Because of this, the Containment Policy would lead to military buildup and major commitments abroad. The Soviet Union countered by creating their own alliance in 1955, the Warsaw Pact, which was a military alliance for the defense of Communist states in Europe.

National Security Act

In 1947, the US started modernizing its military capability by passing the National Security Act. It created a centralized Department of Defense to coordinate the operations of all parts of the military, the creation of the National Security Council (NSC) to coordinate foreign policy, and the creation of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to gather information on foreign governments. In 1948, the Selective Service System and a peacetime military draft were created.

Arms Race

After the Berlin crisis, teams of scientists in both the USSR and US were engaged in an intense competition, or arms race, in the development of superior weapon systems. For a brief period of time, 1945-9, the US was the only nation that had the atomic bomb. In this period as well, it also developed a new generation of long-range bombers. The Soviets would test their own atomic bomb in the fall of 1949. Truman would then approve the development of hydrogen bombs, bombs 1,000 more powerful than the ones dropped on Hiroshima. In 1952, hydrogen bombs were now added the US arsenal. Earlier in 1950, the National Security Council recommended, in a secret report dubbed NSC-68, that the following measures be implemented in order to fight the Cold War.

• 4x the US government defense spending to 20% of the GNP

• convince Americans that costly arms buildup was important for national defense

• form alliances with non-Communist countries across the globe

Critics of NATO and the defense buildup argued that Truman’s administration intensified Russian fears and started an unnecessary arms race between the two countries. However, NATO become one of the most successful military alliances in history, and effectively check Soviet expansion in Europe and maintained an uneasy peace between the two sides until their collapse in 1991.

Douglas McArthur

The successful containment policy in Europe was not successful in Asia. The old imperialist systems in India and Southeast Asia after the end of WW2 eventually gave away to new nations. Because they had different cultural and political traditions, as well as the bitter memory of Western colonialism, they often resist US influence. However, the Asian nation that became Americas closest ally for US defense would be Japan. Unlike Germany, Japan was solely under the control of the US. General Douglas MacArthur was in control of the Reconstruction of Japan. Seven Japanese generals, including Premier Hideki Tojo, were tried for war crimes and executed. Under MacArthur’s guidance, the new constitution adopted in 1947 contained a parliamentary democracy. It still gave emperor Hirohito the ceremonial head of state, but he gave up his claim of divinity. The new constitution also provided limited military capability and renounced war as an instrument of national policy. Because of this, Japan relied on the military protection of the US. With the signing of treaties in 1951, Japan renounced its claims to Korea and some Pacific Islands. The US needed its occupation of Japan, but US troops still remained in military bases in Japan in order to protect the country against external enemies. Japan became a strong ally and prospered under the American shield. On July 4th, 1946, the act by Congress in 1934 granted independence for the Philippines as a Republic. However, the US still retained important naval and air bases throughout the Cold War. These bases, alongside US control of the Un trustee islands from Japan, made the Pacific an American lake.

Mao Zedong

Since coming into power in the late 1920s, Chiang Kai-Shek, used his command of the Nationalist, or Kuomintang, party to control China’s central government. During WW2, the US gave massive military aid to Chiang in order to prevent all of China being swallowed by Japan. As soon as the war ended though, a civil war starting back from the 1930s was renewed between Chiang and the Chinese Communists under Mao Zedong. The Nationalists were losing the loyalty of millions due to runaway inflation and corruption, while the Communists successfully appealed to the landless poor. The Truman administration sent George Marshall to China in order to negotiate an end to the civil war in 1946. However, his compromise would fail and by 1947 Chiang’s armies were in retreat. After ruling out a large-scale intervention into China, Truman seemed unsure what to do. In 1948, Congress approved $400 million of aid to the Nationalist government. However, 80% of the military supplies ended up in Communist hands because of corruption and the collapse of the Nationalist armies.

People’s Republic of China

By the end of 1949, all of mainland China was under Communist rule. Chiang and his supports fled to the island of Taiwan and still claimed from there as the legitimate ruler of all of China. The US still continued to support Chiang and refused to recognize Mao Zedong’s regime in Beijing (The People’s Republic of China) until 30 years later in 1979. In the US, Republicans blamed the Democrats for the loss of China to communism. In 1950, Stalin and Mao signed a Sino- Soviet pact which added to fears of a world wide Communist plot.

38th parallel

After the defeat of Japan, its former colony of Korea was divided along the 38th parallel between the Soviet armies in the North and US forces in the South. By 1949, both armies were withdrawn, leaving the North in the hands of Communist leader Kim ll Sung and the South under conservative nationalist Syngman Rhee.

Korean War

After the defeat of Japan, its former colony of Korea was divided along the 38th parallel between the Soviet armies in the North and US forces in the South. By 1949, both armies were withdrawn, leaving the North in the hands of Communist leader Kim ll Sung and the South under conservative nationalist Syngman Rhee. On June 25, 1950, the North Korean army shocked the world by invading South Korea. Truman immediately took action, applying his containment policy to the latest crisis in Asia. He called for a special session of the UN Security Council, and taking advantage of a temporary boycott by the USSR delegation, helped push for the council to authorized a UN force to defend South Korea. Although other nations participated in this force, US troops made up most of the UN forces sent. Commanding the expedition was General Douglas MacArthur. Congress supported the usage of US troops but failed to declare war, accepting Truman’s ideal of “police action”. At first, the war went badly for the UN. South Korean and US forces were pushed all the way to the tip of the peninsula, however General MacArthur’s daring amphibious assault at Inchon helped reverse the tide. UN forces then destroyed much of the NK army and advanced as far north to the Chinese border. MacArthur would fail to heed China’s warning that it would resist threats to its security, causing masses of Chinese troops to cross the border in November 1950 and overwhelm UN forces. MacArthur stabilized the fighting near the 38th parallel but called for greater intervention into China and even invading. Truman cautioned MacArthur about making public statements that went against US policy, but he spoke out anyway. With the support of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Truman recalled MacArthur in April of 1951 under insubordination. MacArthur returned home as a hero and critics attacked Truman and the Democrats as appeasers for not trying to destroy Communism in Asia. In Korea, neither side seemed to be able to win, fighting was stalled just North of the 38th parallel. At the city of Panmunjom, peace talks began in July of 1951. From the view of grand strategy, Truman’s containment policy worked in Korea. It stopped Communist aggression without allowing conflict to develop further. The Truman administration used the Korean War as justification to dramatically expand the military, including the funding of a new jet bomber (B-52) and stationing more US troops in oversea bases. However, Republicans were not satisfied with the statement and Mao’s success. Republicans characterized Truman and the Democrats as “soft on Communism”, attacking leading Democrats as members of ‘Dean Acheson’s Cowardly College of Communist Containment.” The Republicans would go on to win the election of 1952 with their candidate General Dwight Eisenhower.

John Foster Dulles

President Dwight D Eisenhower’s terms (1953-1961) focused on both foreign policy and international crises that occured from the Cold War. The experienced diplomat who helped shaped US foreign policy through the war was Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. Dulles took a critical view on Truman’s policies, viewing them as passive. He advocated, instead, a stronger approach to challenging the USSR and PRC. Conservatives would pleased, while others were alarmed, by Dulles’s new form of diplomacy called Brinkmanship. This was a style of diplomacy that would push the Communist nations to the brink of war, but would ultimately back down due to the US’s superior nuclear arsenal. However, Eisenhower would prevent Dulles from carrying out his ideas.

Brinkmanship

President Dwight D Eisenhower’s terms (1953-1961) focused on both foreign policy and international crises that occured from the Cold War. The experienced diplomat who helped shaped US foreign policy through the war was Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. Dulles took a critical view on Truman’s policies, viewing them as passive. He advocated, instead, a stronger approach to challenging the USSR and PRC. Conservatives would pleased, while others were alarmed, by Dulles’s new form of diplomacy called Brinkmanship. This was a style of diplomacy that would push the Communist nations to the brink of war, but would ultimately back down due to the US’s superior nuclear arsenal. However, Eisenhower would prevent Dulles from carrying out his ideas.

massive retaliation

Dulles advocated for the reduction of convention arms for air power and nuclear weapons instead. This would reduce costs, help balance the budget, and put more pressure on enemies. In 1953, the US tested and developed its first Hydrogen bomb which could destroy the largest cities. Within a year, the Soviets would catch up and the policy of massive retaliation looked like mutual annihilation. Nuclear weapons indeed proved a powerful weapon against the superpowers fighting an all-out war. However, such weapons didn’t prevent the superpowers from being involved in “brushfire” war in developing nations like Southeast Asia, Africa, and West Asia. (Middle East). The US and USSR would back opposing sides, expanding the war and causing hundreds of thousands of casualties. The two powers, however, refused to use even smaller nuclear weapons due to the fear of escalation.

Korean armistice

Soon after taking office in 1953, Eisenhower kept his campaign promise to go to Korea and try to end the war. He understood that no quick fix was likely, but the threat of nuclear war and the death of Joseph Stalin in March 1953 finally convinced China and North Korea to agree to an armistice in exchange for prisoners in July 1953. The fighting would end, and most American troops were withdrawn. Korea remains divided at the 38th parallel and more than 2.5 million people die in the conflict, including 36,914 Americans.

Nikita Khrushchev

For US security, nothing war more crucial than diplomatic relations with the USSR. Throughout Eisenhower’s presidency, he had to deal with fluctuating tension between the two sides. After Stalin’s death, Eisenhower called for a slowdown in arms race and presented the UN with an “atoms for peace” plan. The Soviets showed signs of wanting to reduce Cold War tension, they withdrew their troops from Austria and established peaceful relationships with Greece and Turkey. By 1955, a desire for improved relations on both sides caused a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland between Eisenhower and the New Soviet premier, Nikolai Bulganin. At this conference, the president proposed an “open skies” policy over each other’s territory, open to aerial photography by the opposing nation to eliminate the chance of a surprise nuclear attack. The Soviets rejected the proposal, but the “Spirit of Geneva” produced the first thaw in the Cold War. Even more encouraging, the new Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev denounced the crimes of Joseph Stalin and supported “peaceful coexistence” with the West in early 1956.

Sputnik

The relaxation in the Cold War caused workers in East Germany and Poland to demand reforms from their governments. In October 1956, a popular uprising in Hungary actually succeeded and overthrew the Moscow backed government. The new, more liberal leaders, wanted Hungary out of the Warsaw Pact. This was too much for the Kremlin, and Soviet tanks were sent to crush the freedom fighters and restore order in Hungary. The US took no action, fearing that sending troops to help Hungary would cause a war in Europe. By not giving aid, the US finally recognized the Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe and ended Dulle’s talks of “liberating” the region. The Soviet suppression of the Hungarian revolt ended the first thaw of the Cold War. In 1957, the Soviet Union shocked the US by launching its first satellites, Sputnik 1 and 2, into orbit. Suddenly, the technological superiority of the US was up for debate. To add to American embarrassment, US rockets designed to duplicate the Soviet accomplishment failed repeatedly. Critics attacked American schools for their lack of math and science instruction and failure to produce more scientists and engineers. In 1958, Congress responded with the National Defense and Education Act (NDEA), which gave hundreds of millions of federal money to schools for math, science, and foreign language. With new confidence and pride from Sputnik, the Soviet leader pushed the Berlin issue in 1958. He gave the West six months to pull its troops out of West Berlin before turning over the city to the East Germans. The US refused, but Eisenhower invited Khrushchev to visit in the US in 1959 to defuse the crisis. At the presidential retreat of Camp David in Maryland, the two agreed to put off the crisis and schedule another summit conference in Paris for 1960.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Congress also created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1958 to direct the US efforts to build missiles and explore outer space. Billions were given to compete with the Russians. Fears of nuclear war were intensified with Sputnik, the missiles launched could also deliver thermonuclear warheads anywhere in the world in minutes. At the time, there was no defense against them.

U-2 Incident

The friendly push for Camp David would never have a chance to develop. Two weeks before the planned meeting in Paris, the Russians shot down a high-altitude US spy plane (U2) over the Soviet Union. The incident exposes a secret US tactic for gaining information. After its “open-sky” policy was rejected in 1955, the US had decided to conduct regular spy flights over the USSR anyway to find more about the enemy’s missile program. Eisenhower took full responsibility for the flight after they were exposed by the U-2 incident, but Eisenhower’s honesty proved to be a diplomatic mistake. Khrushchev denounced the US and walked out of the Paris summit.

Fidel Castro

Perhaps more alarming than any other Cold War development during Eisenhower’s years was the emergence of Cuba into a Communist nation. Fidel Castro, a bearded revolutionary, overthrew the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959. At first, no knew Castro’s politics would be better or worse than his predecessor, but Castro would nationalize American-owned businesses and properties in Cuba. Eisenhower retaliated by cutting of US trade with Cuba. Castro then turned to the Soviet for support, and revealed that he was a Marxist and set up his own Communist totalitarian state. Fearing communism only 90 miles off the shores of Florida, Eisenhower authorized the CIA to train anti-communist Cuba exiles to invade the island and overthrow Castro. However, the decision and responsibility of the invasion would go to the next president, JFK.

Military-industrial complex

After leaving office, Eisenhower claimed credit for checking Communist aggression and maintaining peace without the loss of American lives. He also started the long process of relaxing tensions with the USSR, in 1958 he intimated the first arms limitations by voluntarily suspending above ground testing of nuclear weapons. In his farewell address, Eisenhower spoke out against the negative impact of the Cold War on the uS and the influence of the military-industrial complex. He feared the arms race was taking on a momentum and logic of its own. It seemed to some Americans in the 60s that the US was in danger of going down the path of classical Rome.

Bay of Pigs

In 1960, JFK was elected president after attacking the Eisenhower administration for the recent recession and permitting the Soviets to take the lead in the arms race. What Kennedy called a “missile gap’ was actually in the US’s favor, but his charges seemed plausible from Sputnik. The youthful Kennedy made a major blind shortly after entering office. He would approve the invasion of Cuba from the Cuban exiles. In April 1961, the exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba but failed to set off a general uprising as planned. Trapped on the beach, the exiles surrendered after Kennedy rejected using US forces to save them. Castro used the failed invasion to get more aid form the USSR and strengthen his grip on power.

Berlin Wall

Trying to shake off the embarrassment of the Bay of Pigs, Kennedy agreed to meet Khrushchev in Vienna in the summer of 1961. Khrushchev seized the opportunity to threaten the president by renewing Soviet demands that the US pull its troops out of Berlin. Kennedy refused. In August, East Germans with Soviet help built a wall around West Berlin in order to keep East Germany’s out. As the wall was being built, Soviet and US tanks faced off in Berlin, and Kennedy called up reserves. However, he made no move to stop the completion of the wall. In 1963, the president traveled to West Berlin to assure its residents of continuing US support. The Berlin Wall stood as a gloomy symbol of the Cold War until it was torn down by rebellious East Germans in 1989.

Cuban missile crisis

The most dangerous moment in US-Soviet relations was in October 1962. In response to the Bay of Pigs invasion, Castro offered the Soviets to build underground missile sites that could launch offensive missiles that could reach the US in minutes. The Soviets agreed and soon US reconnaissance planes discovered evidence of construction. Kennedy responded by announcing to the world that he was setting up a naval blockade, and if Soviet ships challenged it a full-scale war might result. After 13 days, Khrushchev finally agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba in exchange for Kennedy’s pledge not to invade the island nation and remove some missiles from Turkey. The Cuban Missile Crisis had a sobering effect on both sides, causing an established telecommunication hotline between Washington and Moscow so the leaders could talk directly during a crisis. In 1963, the Soviet Union and US, along with 100 other nations, agreed to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty which ended testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere. This first step in controlling nuclear arms was offset by a new round in the arms race for developing missile and warhead superiority.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

The most dangerous moment in US-Soviet relations was in October 1962. In response to the Bay of Pigs invasion, Castro offered the Soviets to build underground missile sites that could launch offensive missiles that could reach the US in minutes. The Soviets agreed and soon US reconnaissance planes discovered evidence of construction. Kennedy responded by announcing to the world that he was setting up a naval blockade, and if Soviet ships challenged it a full-scale war might result. After 13 days, Khrushchev finally agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba in exchange for Kennedy’s pledge not to invade the island nation and remove some missiles from Turkey. The Cuban Missile Crisis had a sobering effect on both sides, causing an established telecommunication hotline between Washington and Moscow so the leaders could talk directly during a crisis. In 1963, the Soviet Union and US, along with 100 other nations, agreed to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty which ended testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere. This first step in controlling nuclear arms was offset by a new round in the arms race for developing missile and warhead superiority.

flexible-response policy

Many “brushfire wars” in Africa and Southeast Asia were a different Cold War challenge. Often, insurgent forces with Soviet training and arms challenged and existing government with ties to the US. Such conflicts in the Congo, Laos, and Vietnam convinced Kennedy to rethink Dulle’s idea of massive retaliation and reliance on nuclear weapons. Kennedy and Defense Secretary, Robert S McNamara, wanted options that would less likely escalate into global destruction. They increased spending for conventional arms and mobile military force. While this flexible-response policy reduced the risk of using nuclear weapons, it also increased the temption of sending elite forces into combat all over the globe.

Non-Proliferation Treaty

After less than 3 years in office, JFK was assassinated during a visit to Texas. Kennedy’s VP, Lyndon Johnson, was a former leader of the Senate and was more interested in domestic reforms to further the New Deal than foreign policy. However, Johnson (1963-9) continued the Containment policy that called upon the US to block Communist expansion around the globe, including getting involved in Vietnam. Vietnam would dominate foreign policy for his administration, but he also continued to engage the Soviets on other fronts. Despite the Vietnam war, Johnson did negotiate agreements with the USSR to control nuclear weapons. In the later 1960s, the Soviet Union sought closer relations with the US due to the costly arms race and a worsening relationship with China. The Johnson administration signed the Outer Space Treaty and laid the foundation for the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. In July 1968, the US, Britain, and the USSR signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty which each country agreed to not help other countries develop or acquire nuclear weapons. A planned US-Soviet nuclear disarmament summit was scuttled after the USSR violently suppressed the Prague Spring, an attempt to democratize Czechoslovakia. The ebbs and flows of the Cold War revealed that it was a complex chess game, and the next president proved to be a player.

Henry Kissinger

In January 1969, President Richard Nixon promised to bring Americans together after the turmoil of the 1960s in his inaugural address. Nixon’s first interest was international relations, not domestic policy. Together, with his national security advisor Henry Kissinger (later Secretary of State during Nixon’s second term), Nixon focused on a realist or pragmatic foreign policy to end Vietnam and reduce the tensions of the Cold War.

detente

Nixon and Kissinger strengthened the US position in the world by taking advantage between the rivalry between China and the USSR. Their diplomacy was praised as bringing about detente, a deliberate reduction of Cold War tensions. Even after his Watergate scandal, Nixon’s critics would admit that his conduct of foreign affairs had enhanced world peace. Nixon had long been a fierce critic of Communism, because of this he took a bold step of improving relations with Mao in Communist China without being condemned as “soft” on Communism. After a series of secret negotiations with Chinese leaders, Nixon astonished the world in February 1972 by traveling to Beijing to meet with Mao. His visit initiated diplomatic exchanges that led to US recognition of the communist government in 1979.

anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs)

Nixon used his new relationship with China to pressure the USSr to agree to a treaty limiting anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs), a new technology that would expand the arms race. After the first round of Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT l), US diplomatic secured Soviet consent to freeze the number of ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads. While this agreement didn’t end the arms race, it was a significant step toward reducing Cold War tensions and bringing about detente.

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)

Nixon used his new relationship with China to pressure the USSr to agree to a treaty limiting anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs), a new technology that would expand the arms race. After the first round of Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT l), US diplomatic secured Soviet consent to freeze the number of ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads. While this agreement didn’t end the arms race, it was a significant step toward reducing Cold War tensions and bringing about detente. The resignation of Nixon in August 1974 puzzled both allies and enemies. After Nixon’s Watergate scandal and the fall of South Vietnam in 1975, many Americans lost trust in their government. Presidents faced strong opposition in Congress against further military interventions. During Ford’s term (1974-7), the Democratic Congress continued to investigate abuses in the Executive Branch, including the CIA.The CIA was accused of assassinating foreign leaders like Marxist president of Chile Salvador Allende. Ford appointed a former member of Congress, George H W Bush, to reform the agency. President Jimmy Carter (1977-81) attempted to continue Nixon and Ford’s policy of detente. In 1979, the US ended its recognition of the government of Taiwan as the official government of China and completed the first exchange of ambassadors with the People’s Republic of China. At first, the Soviet Union signed the SALT ll treaty of 1979 which limited the size of each nuclear delivery system. The Senate would never ratify the treaty as a result of renewed Cold War tensions in Afghanistan. In December 1979, Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan, an action that ended a decade of improving US-Soviet relations. The US feared the invasion might lead to a Soviet move to control the oil-rich Persian Gulf. Carter reacted by placing an embargo on grain exports and the sale of high tech to the USSR, and also boycotting the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. After campaigning for arms reduction, Carter switched his gears to arms building. At the end of Carter’s administration, relations with the USSR were back to a period of confrontation.

Loyalty Review Board

A second Red Scare would hit the US after WW2. The Truman administration’s tendency to see a Communist conspiracy behind civil wars helped contribute to the idea that they had infiltrated American society and government. In 1947, the Truman administration, under the pressure of Republican opposition, set up a Loyalty Review Board that investigated the backgrounds of more than 3 million federal employees. Thousands of officials and civil service employees either resigned or lother their jobs in a probe that went on for four years (1947-51).

Dennis et al v United States

In addition, leaders of the American Communist party were jailed for advocating trying the overthrow of the US government. In the case of Dennis et al vs US (1951), the Supreme Court upheld the Smith Act of 1940 which made it illegal to advocate or teach the overthrow of the government by force to belong to an organization with this objective.

Smith Act (1940)

In addition, leaders of the American Communist party were jailed for advocating trying the overthrow of the US government. In the case of Dennis et al vs US (1951), the Supreme Court upheld the Smith Act of 1940 which made it illegal to advocate or teach the overthrow of the government by force to belong to an organization with this objective.

McCarran Internal Security Act (1950)

Over Truman’s veto, Congress would pass the McCarran Internal Security Act which made it illegal to advocate or support a totalitarian government, restricted employment and travel of those joining Communist organizations, and authorized the creation of detention camps for subversives.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

In the House of Representatives, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) would be reactivated in the postwar years to find Communists after being established in 1939 to find Nazis. The committee not only investigated government officials but also looked for Communist influence in organizations like the Boy Scouts or in the Hollywood film industry. Actors, directors, and writers were called before to testify, those who would refuse would be tried for contempt. Others were blacklisted from their industry. The second Red Scare had a chilling effect on freedom of expression, creators of the gritty film noir crime drama and play writes came under attack as “Un-American”. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical South Pacific (1949) was criticized as a Communistic assault on racial segregation by Southern politicians. Loyalty oaths were commonly required of writers and teachers under employment and the American Civil Liberties Union would argue that these security measures violated the 1st Amendment right of Freedom of Speech, even if joining a communist party. Artists and writers responded, for example Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” (1948) si about a town whose citizens blindly accept a tradition even though it had deadly consequences.

Alger Hiss

The fear of a Communist conspiracy bent on world conquest was further supported by actual cases of Communist espionage in Great Britain, Canada, and the US. The methods used to identify Communist spies would raise serious questions on government power and civil liberties. A star witness for the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1948 was Whittaker Chambers, who was a Communist. His testimony alongside the work of a young Congressman named Richard Nixon of California led to the trial of Alger Hiss. Hiss was a prominent official who worked at the State Department and even helped FDR with the Yalta Conference. Hiss denied that he was a Communist and given secret documents to Chambers. In 1950, however, he was convicted of perjury and sent to prison. Many Americans could not help wondering if the highest levels of government were infiltrated by Communist spies.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

When the Soviets tested their first atomic weapon in 1949, many Americans were convinced that spies helped steal the technology from the US to the USSR. Klaus Fuchs, a British scientist who had worked on the Manhattan Project admitted that he had given A-Bomb secrets to the Russians. The FBI would investigate another spy ring to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg of New York. After a controversial trial in 1951, the Rosenbergs were convicted of treason and sent to death in 1953. Civil Rights groups charged the anti-Communist hysteria as response for the conviction and execution of the Rosenbergs.

McCarthyism

Joseph McCarthy, a Republican Senator from Wisconsin, would use the communist hysteria to advance his own political career. In a speech in 1950, McCarthy claimed that he had a list of 205 Communists who worked for the State Department. As the press publicized this sensational, though unproven, accusation, McCarthy became one of the most powerful leaders in America. Other politicians feared the damage McCarthy could do if he accused them. Senator McCarthy used a steady stream of accusations about Communists in government in order to keep the media focus on himself and discredit the Truman administration. Working class Americans loved his hands off approach and hard hitting remarks, which were often targeted against the wealthy and privileged of society. While many disliked McCarthy’s ruthless tactics, he was primarily hurting the Democrats before the election of Eisenhower in 1952. He became so popular that even Eisenhower wouldn’t dare defend his friend George Marshall against McCarthy’s accusations. In 1954, McCarthy’s cruelty was finally exposed on television. A Senate committee held a televised hearing on Communist infiltration in the army, and McCarthy was seen as a bully by millions of viewers. In December, Republicans joined Democrats in a Senate censure of McCarthy. The “witch hunt” for Communists (McCarthyism) had played itself out. Three years later, McCarthy died a broken man. The Red Scare after WW2 ran out of steam as it became clear that the fear of a Communist takeover was overblown. Cooler heads, including President Eisenhower gained control of the politician dialogue, but the language, tactics, and threats of McCarthyism remained a concern for Democracy whenever politics became bitter and partisan. Americans also pushed the fear of Communism into the background after the Korean War armistice as Average Americans enjoyed the booming economy of the 1950s.

Harry S Truman (8.5)

The 15 million American military members returning to civilian life needed jobs and housing in 1945 and 6. Many feared that the end of the war would bring hard times, however the war years had increased the per-capita income of Americans. they had been saving their money, and since the wartime shortages created less consumer goods to buy, the pent-up consumer demand combined with government project introduced an era of unprecedented prosperity and economic growth. By the 1950s, Americans enjoyed the highest standard of living achieved by any society in history. President Truman (1945-53) was put into the presidency after FDR’s death in April of 1945. His basic honesty and unpretentious style appealed to the average citizen, as he attempted to continue the new Deal economic policies of FDR but faced growing conservative opposition.

Employment Act of 1946

In September of 1945, the same week that Japan formally surrendered, Truman urged Congress to enact a series of progressive measures that included national health insurance, an increase in minimum wage, and government commitment to maintaining full employment. After much debate and watering down, the Employment Act of 1946 was passed which created the Council of Economic Advisers which advised the president and Congress on ways to promote the national economic welfare. However, a coalition of Republicans and conservative Southern Democrats would hindered the passage of Truman’s domestic program over the next 7 years (Also, the Cold War).

Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (GI Bill or Rights or GI Bills)

The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (known as the GI Bill of Rights) proved powerful support for the 15 million veterans transition back into the peacetime economy. It helped more than 2 million GIs attend college and more than 5 million received other training, creating a postwar boom in post-high school education. The veterans also received $16 billion in low-interest loans to buy homes and farms and even start business. By focusing on a better-educated workforce and promoting construction, the federal government stimulated the postwar economic expansion. However, these government benefits didn’t reach the hands of Black people. Most African Americans returned to their homes in the South. Since most universities in the region didn’t admit Black students, few could get educational benefits. The banks also refused to make loans to African Americans. While the GI Bill helped the economy overall, it also increased the racial wealth gap.

Baby Boom

One sign of the confidence in young people was an explosion of marriages and births. Earlier marriages and larger families resulted in 50 million babies entering the US population between 1945-60. As the baby boom generation slowly passed from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, it profoundly affected the nation in the later half of the 20th century. At first, the baby boom forced women to focus more on raising their children and homemaking. However, the rise of more women in the workplace continued unlike previous decades. By 1960, more than 1/3rd of married women worked outside the house.

Levittown

The high demand for housing after the war caused a construction boom. William J Levitt led the development of postwar suburbia with his building and promotion of Levittown, a project of 17,000 mass-produced and low-priced family homes in Long Island, NY. Low interest rates on mortgages that were both government insured and tax deductibles made the move from city to suburbia affordable for even families of modest wealth. in a single generation, the majority of middle-class Americans became suburbanites. However, Levittown was only for White families. African American families were not allowed to buy homes there, and the federal government policies supported segregation in housing. For many older generation cities, the mass movement to suburbia was disastrous. By the 1960s, cities from Boston to LA became increasingly poor and racially divided. Uprooted by the war, millions of Americans moved far more often in the postwar era. A warmer climate, lower taxes, and economic opportunities in defense industries attracted many GIs and their families to the Sun Belt states of Florida and California. By moving tax dollars from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and West, military spending during the Cold War helped finance the shift of industry, people, and political power from on region to another. Truman urged Congress to continue the price controls of wartime in order to hold inflation in check. Instead, Southern Democrats joined with Republicans to relax the controls of the OPA. The result was inflation increasing by 25% during the first year and half of peace. Workers and unions wanted wages to catch up after years of wage controls. More than 4.5 million workers went on strike in 1946. Strikes by railroad and mine workers threatened the national security. Truman took a tough approach by seizing the mines and using soldiers to keep them operating until the United Mine Workers finally called off their strike. Unhappy with inflation and strikes, voters decided to support more conservative forces in the fall of 1946 when Republicans gained a majority in Congress. Under Republican control, Congress attempted to pass two tax cuts for upper-income Americans, but they were vetoed by Truman. Republicans were more successful, however, with amending the Constitution and rolling back some New Deal policies on labror.

22nd Amendment

Reacting against that election of Roosevelt as president for almost 4 terms, the Republican Congress proposed a constitutional amendment to limit the maximum number of terms a president can serve to two. The 22nd Amendment would be ratified by the states in 1951.

Taft-Hartley Act

In 1947, Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act which was very pro-business. Truman vetoed the measure, calling it a “slave-labor” bill but Congress would override his veto. The purpose of the law was to check the growing power of unions. The law included:

• outlawing closed shop (requiring workers to join a union before being hired)

• Allowing states to pass “right to work” laws, outlawing the Union shop (requiring workers to join a union after being hired)

• outlawing secondary boycotts (the practice of several unions supporting a striking union by joining a boycott)

• giving the president the power to invoke an 80 day cooling off period before a strike endangering the national safety could be called

For years after, unions sought to unsuccessfully repeal the act. This act became a major issue dividing Republicans and Democrats in the 1950s.

Fair Deal

Truman’s popularity in 1948 was at an all-time low. Republicans were confident in a victory, especially since the Democratic party split into two separate parties (Progressive party and Dixiecrats). The Republicans nominated Thomas E Dewey, NY Governor, again while Truman toured the nation giving fiery speeches. Truman would upset Dewey with a decisive victory, winning the popular vote by 2 million votes and winning the electoral college 303 to 189. Truman would launch an ambitious reform program which he called the Fair Deal in 1949. He urged Congress to enact national health insurance, federal aid to education, civil rights, funds for public housing, and a new farm program. Conservatives in Congress blocked most of the proposals except an increase in the minimum wage (from 40 to 75 cents an hour) and the inclusion of more workers under Social Security. Most of the Fair Deal policies were defeated for two reasons, either Truman’s political conflicts with Congress or the pressing for foreign policy in the Cold War.

Dwight D Eisenhower

President Dwight D Eisenhower would dominate the 1950s. The Republican campaign slogan expressed the genuine feelings of millions of middle class Americans. They liked his winning smiles and trusted and admired the former general who had successfully commanded Allied troops. The last year of Truman’s presidency, Americans were looking for relief from the war in Korea and an end to the “mess in Washington”. Republicans looked forward to having their first president in 20 years, and nominated former General Dwight D Eisenhower and Senator Richard Nixon of California as his VP. The Democrats picked popular Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson, who confronted McCarthyism. Eisenhower’s pledge to go to Korea and end the war helped the Republicans win 55% of the popular vote and an Electoral College landslide of 442 to 89. Eisenhower adopted a style of leadership that focused on authority. He filled his cabinet with business leaders which gave his administration a business-like tone. Eisenhower was often criticized by the press for spending too much time golfing or fishing while relying on his staff, but later research shows that Eisenhower was in charge.

Modern Republicanism

Eisenhower was a fiscal conservative who focused on balancing the budget after years of deficit spending. Although his annual budgets were not always balanced, he came closer to curbing federal spending than any of his successors. As a moderate on domestic issues, he accepted and even expanded some New Deal programs. During his two terms, Social Security was extended to 10 million more citizens, minimum wage was raised, and additional public housing was built. In 1953, Eisenhower consolidated welfare programs into a single department called the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. For farmers, a soil-bank program was created to reduce farms production and there by increase farmers’ income. However, Eisenhower opposed federal health insurance and federal aid to education. He called his balanced and moderate approach “modern Republicanism”.

Highway Act

The most permanent physical legacy of the Eisenhower years was the passage in 1956 of the Highway Act, which created 42,000 miles of interstate highways linking all the nations major cities. The US highway system became a model for the rest of the world. The reasons behind were for new taxes on fuel, tires, and vehicles was to improve national defense by improving movements of troops and weapons. At the same time, this immense public works projects created jobs, promoted the trucking industry, accelerated suburbs, and contributed to a more homogenous national culture. However, the focus on autos hurts the railroads and environment. Little attention was paid to public transportation, which the old and poor depended on. Eisenhower’s domestic legislation was modest, however the country enjoyed a steady economic growth rate with a negligible inflation rate. Although the federal budget had a small surplus only 3 times in 8 years, the deficits fell in relation to the national wealth. Between 1945 and 1960, the per Capita of disposable income for Americans was tripled. By the mid-1950s, the average American family had 2x the real income of a family during the 1920s. The postwar economy gave Americans the highest standard of living in the world. For these reasons, some view Eisenhower’s economic policies as the most successful of any modern president.

New Frontier

At 43 JFk was the youngest president ever as well as the first Roman Catholic. Kennedy’s energy and sharp with gave a new , personal style to the presidency. In his inaugural address, JFk promised to lead the nation into a “New Frontier”. The Democrat president surrounded himself with both business executives like Robert McNamara as Secretary of Defense and academics like economist John Kenneth Galbraith. For the attorney general, he chose his brother Robert. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline brought style, glamour, and appreciation of the arts to the White House. The press loved his new conferences, and some later likened his administration to the mythical kingdom of Camelot and the court of King Arthur. The promises of the New Frontier proved difficult to keep. Kennedy called for aid to education, federal support of health care, urban renewal, and civil rights, but his domestic programs languished in Congress. While few of Kennedy’s proposals became laws, most were passed under LBJ. On economics issues, Kennedy had some success, he persuaded Congress to pass the trade Expansion Act (1962) which authorized tariff reductions with the new European Economic Community (Common Market) of Western European nations. He faced down big steel executives over high prices and achieved a price roll back. The economy was also stimulated by an increase in spending for defense and space exploration as the president committed the nation to land on the moon by the end of the decade. LBJ would take office in 1963, and using his experience from the House and Senate, aggressively pushed JFk’s domestic programs that originally failed. LBJ was able to get an expanded version of JFK’s civil rights bill as well as an income tax cut after being sworn into office. The tax cut increased consumer spending and jobs, while the country enjoyed a long period of economic expansion in the 1960s. LBJ would create significant domestic programs, known as the “Great Society’ which targeted the ills of society. Some of his programs produced results while others didn’t, however the War on Poverty did significantly reduce the number of American families living in poverty. The election of Republican Richard Nixon in 1968 and 72 gave the Republicans control of the White House, however the Democrats had a majority in Congress. Because of this, Nixon had to pass laws with concessions and compromises. At the same time, Nixon laid the foundation of a shift in public opinion to conservatism and for the Republicans to challenge and overthrow the Democratic control of Congress in the 1980s and 90s. Nixon tried to slow down the growth of Johnson’s Great Society programs by proposing the Family Assistance Plan, which would have replaced welfare by providing guaranteed annual income for working Americans. The Democratic majority easily defeated this. The Republican president did succeed in shifting some responsibility of social programs from the federal level to the state in a program known as Revenue sharing or New Federalism. Congress would give local government $30 billion in block grants over five years to address local needs as they saw fit. Republicans hoped to check the growth of the federal government and return responsibility to the states, where it had been taken from during the New Deal. Nixon attempted to not spend funds for appropriated social programs. Democrats protested this as an abuse of power, the courts would agree that the President is supposed to carry out the laws of Congress whether he agrees with them or not. Starting with a recession in 1970, the US economy throughout the 70s faced stagflation (lower economic health with increased inflation). Nixon tried to slow inflation by cutting federal spending but it instead contributed to a recession and unemployment. So instead, he adopted deficit spending. This didn’t work, so in August 1971 he surprised the nation by imposing a 90 day wage and price freeze and took the dollar off the gold standard, which helped devalue it relative to foreign currencies and imposed a 10% surtax on all imports. These actions cost consumers, but they made goods produced in the US more competitive with those in other countries. By the election year of 1972, the recession was over. Congress also approved automatic increases for Social Security benefits based on the annual rise in costs that year. This measure protected seniors, the poor, and the disabled from the worst effects of inflation but also contributed to increasing costs for these programs in the future. In the 1970s, the biggest economic concern was inflation. President Gerald Ford (1974-7) promised voluntary measures for business and consumers to fight inflation by minimizing prices and wage increases. Not only did inflation continue, but the economy sank deeper into recession with the unemployment rate reaching more than 9%. Ford finally agreed to a Democratic package to stimulate the economy, but he voted most other Democratic bills. At first, President Jimmy Carter (1977-81) tried to check inflation with measures that conserved energy, like oil and reviving the coal industry. However, the compromises that came out of Congress failed to reduce the consummation of oil or check inflation. By 1979-90, inflation seemed completely out of control and reached the unheard rate of 13%. Inflation slowed economic growth as consumers and businesses could no longer afford the high interest rates that came with high prices. Inflation also pushed middle-class taxpayers into higher tax brackets. Government social programs that were indexed to the inflation rate helped to push the federal deficit to nearly $60 billion in 1980. The chairman of the FRB, Paul Volcker, believed that breaking the back of inflation was more important than reducing unemployment. Under hime, the FR pushed interest rates even higher to 20% in 1980. The high interest rates especially hurt the automobile and building industries which laid off tens of thousands of workers. The policy, though, worked to reduce inflation. By 1982, inflation was under 4%. The period of high inflation, high interest rates, and high unemployment in the 1970s changed how many Americans viewed the economy. The postwar boom was over, as the economic recovery of war-torn nations challenged the uS position in the world as the strongest economy. Less-expensive, and often better-built automobiles and other consumer products from other countries competed successfully against American made products. In addition, new tech required less workers.

Beatniks

Among White Suburbanites, the 1950s was marked with similar social norms of conformity and consensus. Consensus and conformity were hall-marks of the consumer-driven mass economy. TV, advertising, and the middle class movement to the suburbs contributed to the growing homogeneity of American culture. TV’s suddenly became a center of family life in American homes after their limited usage in the 40s. By 1961, there was one set for every 3.3 Americans, and 3 national networks dominated the air. There were westerns, comedy’s, quiz shows, and professional sports. FCC chairman Newton Minnow worried that TV was a “vast wasteland” and impact of children consuming 5 or more hours of TV a day. The culture portrayed on TV, especially for third and fourth generation of ethnic Americans, provided a common content for their common language. Shows also reinforced conservative values and stereotypes. In all the media, aggressive advertising by name brands promoted common material wants, and the intro of suburban shopping centers and credit cards quickly provided the means to satisfy themselves. The start of fast food restaurants on the roadside was one example of success for the new marketing techniques and standardized products as the nation turned to franchise operations. Despite TV, American read more than ever. Paperback books, an innovation in the 1950s, were selling a million copies a day by 1960. Popular music was revolutionized by the mass selling of inexpensive long-playing record albums and stacks of 45 RPM records. Teenagers fell in love with rock and roll, which was a blend of African American rhythm and blues sounds with White country music (Famously popularized by Elvis). In the business world, conglomerates with diversified holdings dominated industries like food processing, hotels, transportation, insurance, and banking. For the first time in history, more American workers worked in white collar jobs than blue collar. Working for one of the Fortune magazine’s top 500 companies seemed to be the road to success. Large corporations promoted teamwork and conformity, including a dress code for male workers that included a dark business suit, white shirt, and conservative tie. Social scientist William Whyte documented the loss of individuality in his book The Organization Man (1956) which showed people believing that organizations could make better decisions than individuals. Big unions became more powerful after the merger of the AFL and CIO into the AFL-Cio in 1955. They also became more conservative as blue-collar workers began to enjoy middle class incomes. For most Americans, conformity was a small price for affluence, a home in the suburbs, a new car every few years, good schools, and maybe a vacation (Disneyland was open in California in 1955). organized religions expanded dramatically after WW2 with the building of thousands of new churches and synagogues, as people also had a new religious tolerance of the times and lack of interest in doctrine. Instead, people saw religious membership as a source of both individual identity and socialization. The baby boom and the new life in the suburbs reinforced the traditional view of a woman’s role at home. This was also reinforced with mass media and best-selling self-help books at the time. At the same time, dissatisfaction was growing, especially among well-educated women of the middle class. More married women entered the workforce, especially when they reached middle age. Yet male employers still viewed females workers as wives and mothers in the 1950s, and women’s wages reflected this attitude (often low). Not everybody approved the social trends of the 1950s, as critics pointed out the replacement of individuality with conformity and the failure of wealthy Americans to address the need for increased social spending on the common good. Some of the most popular novelists in the 1950s wrote about the individual’s struggle against conformity, like JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (1951) or Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. A group of rebellious writers and intellectuals made up the Beat Generation of the 1950s. Led by Jack Kerouac and poet Allen Ginsberg, the beatniks advocated the use of drugs, and rebellion against societal standards. The beatniks would become models for the youth rebellion of the 1960s. JFK’s assassination on November 22, 1963 shocked the nation. Millions of stunned Americans were fixed on their TV for days and even witness the killing of Lee Harvey Oswald, just two days after JFK’s death. The Warren Commission concluded that Oswald was the lone assassin, but their were still so many questions not answered. For many Americans, the Warren Commission marked the beginning of the a loss for credibility in government. JFK’s presidency inspired many young Americans to get more involved in government. Some volunteered for the Peace Corps or to fight in Vietnam. However, the war’s failures, conspiracy theories after JFK’s death, conflicts over civil rights, and the shallow materialism of the 1950s raised doubted about American society and culture. Instead of the consensus of the 1950s, America had become by 1968 a county that was “coming apart”. The counterculture had arrived.

Jackie Robinson

Baseball player Jackie Robinson would break the color barrier in 1947 by being the first African American to play on a major league team since the 1880s. Robinson’s breakthrough had a huge impact, however some point to African Americans in the North as the origin of the modern civil rights movements. In the North, African Americans, who joined the Democrats during the New Deal, had growing influence in politics in the 1940s and 50s.

Committee on Civil Rights

African Americans had been fighting racism since the 17th century, but progress was slow until after WW2. By then, African Americans in the South were still segregated by law from Whites in schools, and most public facilities. They were also kept from voting by poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and intimidation. Social segregation left most poorly educated, while economic discrimination kept them in a state of poverty. Truman was the first modern president to end discrimination, he would use his executive powers to establish the Committee on Civil Rights in 1946, bypassing Southern Democrats who controlled key committees Congress. He also strengthened the civil rights division of the Justice Department which helped Black leaders end segregation in schools. Most importantly though, he ordered the end of racial discrimination throughout the federal government in 1948, including the armed forced. The end of segregation changed life on military bases, many of which were in the South. Truman also urged Congress to create a Fair Employment Practices Commission that would prevent employers from discriminating against hiring African Americans. South Democrats blocked the legislation. The Cold War also played a role, as the competition between Democracy and Communism focused people on their values. As such, racial segregation and discrimination stood out as glaring wrongs of democracy that needed to be corrected.

Thurgood Marshall

The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) had been trying to overturn Plessy v Ferguson (1896) for decades. In the late 1940s, the NAACP won a series of cases involving higher education. One of the greatest landmark cases in Supreme Court history was argue din early 1950s by the NAACp led by Thurgood Marshall. In Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, they argued that segregation of Black children in public schools was unconstitutional because it violated the 14th amendment. In May 1954, the Supreme Court agreed with Marshall and overturned Plessy v Ferguson. Chief Justice Earl Warren, writing for a unanimous court, that separate and equal was inherently unequal and therefore unconstitutional, and school segregation should end with “all deliberate speed”.

Brown v Board of Education of Topeka

The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) had been trying to overturn Plessy v Ferguson (1896) for decades. In the late 1940s, the NAACP won a series of cases involving higher education. One of the greatest landmark cases in Supreme Court history was argue din early 1950s by the NAACp led by Thurgood Marshall. In Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, they argued that segregation of Black children in public schools was unconstitutional because it violated the 14th amendment. In May 1954, the Supreme Court agreed with Marshall and overturned Plessy v Ferguson. Chief Justice Earl Warren, writing for a unanimous court, that separate and equal was inherently unequal and therefore unconstitutional, and school segregation should end with “all deliberate speed”.

Southern Manifesto

Opposition to the Brown decision erupted in the South, as 101 members of Congress signed the “Southern Manifesto” which condemned the ruling. States fought the decision several ways, including closing public schools and setting up private schools. The KKK made a come back, and violence against African Americans increased.

desegregation

In Arkansas in 1957, a federal court ordered school desegregation. Governor Orval Faubus used the state’s National Guard to prevent nine African American students from entering little Rock Central High School. President Eisenhower intervened even though he didn’t actively support desegregation, he understood his constitutional duty to uphold federal authority. Eisenhower ordered federal troops to stand guard in Little Rock and protect Black students. Resistance remained stubborn, in 1964 fewer than 2% of Black students in the South attended integrated schools.

Little Rock

In Arkansas in 1957, a federal court ordered school desegregation. Governor Orval Faubus used the state’s National Guard to prevent nine African American students from entering little Rock Central High School. President Eisenhower intervened even though he didn’t actively support desegregation, he understood his constitutional duty to uphold federal authority. Eisenhower ordered federal troops to stand guard in Little Rock and protect Black students. Resistance remained stubborn, in 1964 fewer than 2% of Black students in the South attended integrated schools.

Rosa Parks

In 1955, a Montgomery Alabama bus driver ordered a middle aged Black woman named Rosa Parks to give up her seat for a white person. Rosa Parks, an active member of the local chapter of the NAACP refused. The police were called and arrested her for violating the segregation laws. This arrest sparked massive African American protest in the form of a boycott of the city buses. The Reverend MLK, minister of a Montgomery Baptist church, soon emerged as the inspirational leader of a nonviolent movement to end segregation. The protest from Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott resulted in the Supreme Court ruling that segregation laws were unconstitutional. The boycott also inspired other civil rights protests that reshaped America over the coming decades.

Martin Luther King Jr

In 1955, a Montgomery Alabama bus driver ordered a middle aged Black woman named Rosa Parks to give up her seat for a white person. Rosa Parks, an active member of the local chapter of the NAACP refused. The police were called and arrested her for violating the segregation laws. This arrest sparked massive African American protest in the form of a boycott of the city buses. The Reverend MLK, minister of a Montgomery Baptist church, soon emerged as the inspirational leader of a nonviolent movement to end segregation. The protest from Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott resulted in the Supreme Court ruling that segregation laws were unconstitutional. The boycott also inspired other civil rights protests that reshaped America over the coming decades.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

In 1955, a Montgomery Alabama bus driver ordered a middle aged Black woman named Rosa Parks to give up her seat for a white person. Rosa Parks, an active member of the local chapter of the NAACP refused. The police were called and arrested her for violating the segregation laws. This arrest sparked massive African American protest in the form of a boycott of the city buses. The Reverend MLK, minister of a Montgomery Baptist church, soon emerged as the inspirational leader of a nonviolent movement to end segregation. The protest from Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott resulted in the Supreme Court ruling that segregation laws were unconstitutional. The boycott also inspired other civil rights protests that reshaped America over the coming decades.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

In 1957, MLK created the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) which organized ministers and churches in the South to get behind the civil rights struggle. In February 1960, college students in Greensboro, North Carolina, started the sit-in movement after being refused service at a White-only Woolworth’s lunch counter. To call attention to the injustice of segregated facilities, students would deliberately invite arrest by sitting in restricted areas. Within a few months, young activists like 23 year old John Lewis, organized the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to promote voting rights and end segregation. In the 1960s, African Americans used sit-in to integrate restaurants, hotels, libraries, pools, and transportation throughout the South.

Sit-in movement

In 1957, MLK created the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) which organized ministers and churches in the South to get behind the civil rights struggle. In February 1960, college students in Greensboro, North Carolina, started the sit-in movement after being refused service at a White-only Woolworth’s lunch counter. To call attention to the injustice of segregated facilities, students would deliberately invite arrest by sitting in restricted areas. Within a few months, young activists like 23 year old John Lewis, organized the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to promote voting rights and end segregation. In the 1960s, African Americans used sit-in to integrate restaurants, hotels, libraries, pools, and transportation throughout the South.

Student Nonviolent coordinating Committee (SNCC)

In 1957, MLK created the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) which organized ministers and churches in the South to get behind the civil rights struggle. In February 1960, college students in Greensboro, North Carolina, started the sit-in movement after being refused service at a White-only Woolworth’s lunch counter. To call attention to the injustice of segregated facilities, students would deliberately invite arrest by sitting in restricted areas. Within a few months, young activists like 23 year old John Lewis, organized the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to promote voting rights and end segregation. In the 1960s, African Americans used sit-in to integrate restaurants, hotels, libraries, pools, and transportation throughout the South. The results of the boycotts, sit-ins, court rulings, and government responses to pressure marked a turning point in the civil rights movement. Progress was slow, however. In the 1960s, growing impatience with African Americans would manifest into violent confrontations in the streets. While Eisenhower was skeptical about the Brown ruling, he did sign civil rights laws in 1957 and 1960. These were the first such laws to be enacted by the US Congress since Reconstruction, however they were modest in scope. They created a permanent Civil Rights Commission and gave the Justice Department new powers to protect the voting rights of African Americans. Despite this legislation, Southern officials still used an arsenal of obstructive tactics to prevent black citizens from voting. The Court rulings and federal laws of the 1950s were only the beginning for the fight for racial justice. The movement for racial justice continued with decades of protests, legislation, and court decisions to win African Americans access to schools, public places, voting rights, housing, and employment. The effort took the country state by state, county by county, and city by city against the entrenched traditions of segregation and racism in the South and North.

covert action

Decolonization was the most important development following the end of WW2. The new emerging nations would look to either the anti-colonial history of the US or the Communists. Between 1947-60, 37 new nations emerged from colonies in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Most were former subject of European empires, India and Pakistan became new nations in 1947 and the former Dutch East Indies became Indonesia in 1949. In Africa, Ghana declared independence in 1957 from British rule and these new developing nations of the “Third World” often lacked stable political and economic institutions, resulting in the need for foreign aid from either the US or Soviets. The primary tool used by the US to gain developing nations on their side was foreign aid. Until 1952, most Us foreign aid went to Europe, however by 1960 90% went to Third World nations. Some foreign aid was grant money with no strings attached, however often the aid was in from of low-interest loans with restriction which caused poorer nations to resent. Despite foreign aid, many recipients such as India and Egypt refused to choose sides in the Cold War and instead choose a policy of “nonalignment”. In the Middle-East, the US tried to balance maintaining friendly relations with the oil-rich Arab countries while also supporting the new nation of Israel. Israel was created in 1948 under the UN after a civil war broke out in the British mandate territory of Palestine divided the Israelis and Palestinians. Israel’s neighbor’s, including Egypt, had fought unsuccessfully to prevent a Jewish state from being formed. President Eisenhower’s administration (1953-61) focused on more covert action. Undercover intervention in internal politics was less objectionable to voters than direct intervention as well as less expensive. In 1953, the CIA helped overthrow a government in Iran that had tried to nationalize the holding for foreign oil companies, the overthrow allowed the return of Reza Pahlavi as Shah (monarch) of Iran. In return, the shah provided the West with favorable oil prices and made enormous purchase of American arms.

Suez crisis

Leb by Arab nationalist General Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt asked the US for funding to build the Aswan Dam project on the Nile. The US refused because Egypt threatened the security of Israel so Egypt went to the USSR. The Soviets agreed to provide limited financing for the project but Nasser need another source of funds so in July of 1956 eh seized and nationalized the British and French owned Suez Canal. Loss of the canal threatened Western Europe’s supply line to Middle Eastern oil, so Britain, France, and Israel carried out a surprise attack against Egypt and retook the canal. Eisenhower, furious that he was kept in the dark about this attack, sponsored a UN resolution condemning the invasion of Egypt. The pressure of the US and world public opinion forced the invading forces to withdraw.

Eisenhower Doctrine

The US quickly replaced France and Britain as the leading Western power in the region, but faced growing Soviet influence in Egypt and Syria. The US in 1957 pledged economic and military aid to any Middle Eastern country threatened by Communism (Eisenhower Doctrine). Eisenhower first applied this doctrine in 1958 by sending 14,000 marines ot Lebanon to prevent a civil war between Christians and Muslims.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

In Eisenhower’s last year in office, 1960, the Middle Eastern countries of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran joined with Venezuela to form the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Members of OPEC want to expand their political power by coordinating their oil prices, oil was shaping up to be a critical foreign policy issue. The combination of Western dependence on Middle Eastern oil, Arab nationalism, and the conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians would trouble American presidents in the coming decades.

Yom Kippur (October) War

In world politics, the most important event in 1973 was the beginning of the Yom Kippur (October) War which occurred on October 6 (Yom Kippur). Syrian and Egyptian forces launched a surprise attack on Israel in order to attempt to recover the lands lost in the Six-Day War of 1967. Nixon ordered US nuclear forces on alert and airlifted almost $2 billion in arms to Israel to stem the retreat. The tide of the battle quickly changed in favor of Israelis, and the war was soon over. The US paid a huge price of supporting Israel, as the Arab members of OPEC placed an embargo on oil sold to Israel’s supporters. The embargo caused worldwide oil shortages and long lines at gas stations in the US. Even worse was the impact on the US economy which now suffered from runaway inflation, loss of manufacturing jobs, and a lower standard of living. Blue collar workers were the hardest hit people. Consumers also switched from big American made cars to smaller, more fuel efficient Japanese cars causing the loss of more than 225,000 auto working jobs in the US. Congress responded by enacting a 55 MPH speed limit to save gasoline and approving construction of a controversial oil pipeline to tap American oil reserves in Alaska. No government program, however, seemed to bolster the sluggish economy or stop the high inflation rates, which continued until the end of the decade.

Oil Embargo

In world politics, the most important event in 1973 was the beginning of the Yom Kippur (October) War which occurred on October 6 (Yom Kippur). Syrian and Egyptian forces launched a surprise attack on Israel in order to attempt to recover the lands lost in the Six-Day War of 1967. Nixon ordered US nuclear forces on alert and airlifted almost $2 billion in arms to Israel to stem the retreat. The tide of the battle quickly changed in favor of Israelis, and the war was soon over. The US paid a huge price of supporting Israel, as the Arab members of OPEC placed an embargo on oil sold to Israel’s supporters. The embargo caused worldwide oil shortages and long lines at gas stations in the US. Even worse was the impact on the US economy which now suffered from runaway inflation, loss of manufacturing jobs, and a lower standard of living. Blue collar workers were the hardest hit people. Consumers also switched from big American made cars to smaller, more fuel efficient Japanese cars causing the loss of more than 225,000 auto working jobs in the US. Congress responded by enacting a 55 MPH speed limit to save gasoline and approving construction of a controversial oil pipeline to tap American oil reserves in Alaska. No government program, however, seemed to bolster the sluggish economy or stop the high inflation rates, which continued until the end of the decade.

Camp David Accords

President Carter’s (1977-81) most important achievement as president was arranging a peace settlement between Egypt and Israel. In 1977, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat took the first step toward Middle East peace by visiting Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Jerusalem. President Carter followed this bold initiative by inviting Sadat and Begin to meet at the Camp David, Maryland which was the presidential retreat. With Carter acting as a middle-man, the two leaders negotiated the Camp David Accords (September 1978) which provided a peace settlement between their countries. The result of the treaty in 1979 made Egypt become the first Arab nation to recognize the nation of Israel and in return Israel withdrew its troops from the Sinai territory from Egypts in the Six-Day War of 1967. This treaty was opposed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as well as most Arab nations, but it was a step toward a negotiated peace in the Middle East. Since the overthrow of the country’s democratically elected leader in 1953, anti-American sentiment had been growing strong in Iran. The new leader, the shah, had kept the oil flowing for the West during the 1970s, but his autocratic rule and policy of westernization had alienated a large part of the Iranian population. In 1979, Islamic fundamentalists in Iran, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, overthrew the shah causing him to flee. Iranians demanded his return to stand trials for crimes against their people. With ayatollah and fundamentalists in power, Iranian oil exports halted to a ground cussing the second worldwide oil shortage of the decade and another round of price increases. US impotence in dealing with the ciris became more evident in November 1970 when the US allowed the shah in the country for medical treatment. As a result, Iranian militants seized the US embassy in Teheran and held more than 50 American staff members as prisoners and hostages. The hostage crisis dragged out through the rest of Carter’s presidency. In April 1980, Carter approved a reduce mission but the breakdown of the helicopters over the Iranian desert forced the US to abort the mission. For many Americans, Carter’s failures in attempting to free the hostages symbolized a failed presidency.

Peace Corps

In 1954, President Eisenhower (1953-61) approved a CIA covert action to overthrow a leftist government in Guatemala that threatened American business interests. US opposition to communism often caused Washington to support corrupt and often ruthless dictators, especially in Latin America. LIke Iran, this kind of intervention in Latin American politics also fueled anti-American feelings. In 1960, after winning a close election, JFK focused his attention on policies related to developing countries. In 1961, he created the Peace Corps which was an organization that recruited young AMerican volunteers to give technical aid to developing countries. In 1961 as well, JFK also created the Alliance for Progress which was a US program that promoted land reform and economic development in Latin America. Kennedy’s interest in Latin America and the Alliance of Progress were fondly remembered after his death. However, CIA operations fueled anti-American feelings in Latin America. These included the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion that failed to overthrow Fidel Castro and plots to assassinate Communist or leftist leaders like Fidel Castro.

Alliance for Progress

In 1954, President Eisenhower (1953-61) approved a CIA covert action to overthrow a leftist government in Guatemala that threatened American business interests. US opposition to communism often caused Washington to support corrupt and often ruthless dictators, especially in Latin America. LIke Iran, this kind of intervention in Latin American politics also fueled anti-American feelings. In 1960, after winning a close election, JFK focused his attention on policies related to developing countries. In 1961, he created the Peace Corps which was an organization that recruited young AMerican volunteers to give technical aid to developing countries. In 1961 as well, JFK also created the Alliance for Progress which was a US program that promoted land reform and economic development in Latin America. Kennedy’s interest in Latin America and the Alliance of Progress were fondly remembered after his death. However, CIA operations fueled anti-American feelings in Latin America. These included the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion that failed to overthrow Fidel Castro and plots to assassinate Communist or leftist leaders like Fidel Castro. LBJ’s administration judged Western Hemisphere neighbors by their commitment against communism, the Alliance for Progress was allowed to wither and LBJ’s policies increasingly became interventionist leading to the deployment of US soldiers in the Dominican Republican and the backing of a right-wing military coup in Brazil in 1964. When Panamanians rioted against US control of the Panama Canal Zone, Johnson dealt firmly with the violence, although he later agreed to negotiations that eventually returned the Canal to Panama in 1999. LBJ’s interventionist doctrine was that the US would prevent any Communist government from coming to power in the Western Hemisphere, reminding some of TR’s “Big-stick” diplomacy. Promoting a human right’s policy, Carter’s administration attempted to correct inequities in the original Panama Canal Treaty of 1903 by negotiating a new treaty. In 1978, after a long debate, the Senate ratified a treaty that would gradually transfer operation and control of the Panama Canal from the US to the Panamanians, which would be completed in 2000. Opponents criticized Cart'er’s “giveaway” of the canal in the 1980 election. The difficulties of nation building were especially challenging for newly created nations in Africa. Shortly after Belgium gave independence to the Congo in 1960, civil war broke out. The US helped the United Nations quell the insurrection fearing a Communist victory. While the threat of a Communist takeover was overblow, the Kennedy administration’s intervention into the shaky politics of the Congo caused resentment among African nationalists as another example of white colonialism. Until the mid 1970s, Africa ranked low in President Nixon’s list of priorities. The Nixon administration did strengthen ties with the White minority governments of Portuguese Angola, Rhodesia, and South Africa. When Black rebels tried to overthrow colonial control in Angola, the CIA spent tens of millions of dollars on cover actions to prevent the Communist-backed rebels from gaining power. After Nixon resigned as president, Congress pulled funding from the scheme. In 1976, the Soviet and Cuban backed party took control of Angola. After the Angola experience, the US decided to no longer back White minority government with segregationist policies (apartheid) in Africa. The Hallmark of President Carter’s foreign policy was human rights, which he preached fervently to the world’ dictators. Carter appointed Andrew Young, an African American, to serve as US ambassador to the UN. Carter and Young championed the cause of human rights around the world, especially by opposing the oppression of Black majorities in South Africa and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) by all White governments. In Latin American, human rights violations by the military governments of Argentina and Chiles caused Carter to cut off US aid to those countries. Increased foreign economic competitions, oil shortages, rising unemployment, and high inflation made Americans aware that even the world’s leading superpower would have to adjust to a fast-changing, less-manageable world. The US was cutting back on its foreign aid to developing nations. Overall, in world economy the uS seemed to be losing its competitive edge, which had been the foundation of its unrivaled political and military strength since WW2.

Ngo Dinh Diem

Domino theory

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

General William Westmoreland

Tet Offensive

Robert F Kennedy

Richard Nixon

Democratic Convention in Chicago

Hubert Humphrey

Henry Kissinger

Vietnamization

Nixon Doctrine

Kent State

My Lai

Pentagon Papers