Unit 8 Summary: Cold War to Carter

Cold War

• US and Soviet Union rivalry after WWII.
• US aimed to contain communism.
• Mistrust due to Soviet control over Central and Eastern Europe.
• Containment: Preventing the spread of communism.
• Truman Doctrine: US support to nations threatened by communism.
• Marshall Plan: Economic aid to rebuild European nations.
• NATO vs. Warsaw Pact: Mutual defense organizations.
• Arms race: Competition to develop superior weapon systems.
• Proxy wars: Supporting opposing sides in conflicts like Korea and Vietnam.

Second Red Scare and McCarthyism

• Fear of communist spies infiltrating American society.
• House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) searched for communist influence.
• Joseph McCarthy's witch hunt for communists; later disgraced.

US Economy in the 1950s

• Baby boom: Population increase from 1945-1960.
• Increased demand for housing, construction in suburbs (e.g., Levittown).
• Rise of mass culture: Homogeneity influenced by television.
• Rebellion against conformity from artists and Beat Poets.

Civil Rights Movement (1940s-1950s)

• Racial segregation was the law in the South.
• Brown v. Board of Education: Desegregation of schools, overturning Plessy v. Ferguson.
• Montgomery bus boycott: Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr.
• Advocated nonviolent civil disobedience.

Civil Rights Movement (1960s)

• Spread of resistance through sit-ins and mass arrests.
• March on Washington: King's "I Have a Dream" speech.
• Civil Rights Act of 1964: Outlawed discrimination based on race, religion, or sex.
• Voting Rights Act of 1965: Prohibited racial discrimination in voting.
• Malcolm X advocated militarism and separatism, contrasting King's nonviolence.

Decolonization and Cold War Involvement

• Post-WWII independence movements in former colonies.
• US and Soviet Union competed for influence in new countries.
• Examples: US involvement in Guatemala and Iran.

Vietnam War

• Fought under communist containment.
• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: Granted presidential powers to protect American interests.
• Deep divisions among Americans due to anti-war protests.
• Mistrust in the government due to misinformation.

Lyndon Johnson's Great Society

• Expansion of FDR's New Deal reforms.
• War on poverty: Addressing poverty affecting 40 million Americans.
• Medicare: Health insurance for people over 65.
• Medicaid: Health insurance for those in poverty.
• Immigration Act: Abolished immigration quotas.

Expansion of Civil Rights Movement

• Inspired various movements among Latinos, American Indians, Asian Americans, women, and gay/lesbian Americans.
• Latino rights movement led by Cesar Chavez, achieving collective bargaining rights.
• American Indian Movement: Reclaiming tribal traditions and self-determination.
• Gay liberation movement: Sparked by Stonewall Inn raid, leading to organized protests.
• Second wave of women's rights movement: Betty Friedan and the National Organization of Women (NOW).
• Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) failed to pass.

Youth Culture in the 1960s

• Counterculture: Rejection of social, political, and economic norms.
• Experimentation with rebellious styles, drug use, and free love led by hippies.
• Woodstock Music Festival in 1969.

Environmental Movement

• Growing concern over environmental damage.
• Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
• Creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970.

Declining Public Trust in Government

• Rapid decline during the Vietnam War and Watergate scandal.
• Stagflation: Recession with inflation and economic stagnation.
• Watergate scandal: Nixon's involvement and resignation.
• Roe v. Wade: Legalized abortion based on the right to privacy.