AP US History: Time Period 8 (1945-1980) Notes

Overview of Time Period 8 (1945-1980)

  • Major themes include:

    • The Cold War

    • Struggle for civil rights

    • Feminism and demographic changes

The Cold War

  • An ideological struggle between the USA (democracy, capitalism) and the USSR (authoritarianism, communism).

  • No direct war, but conflicts were fought globally on various fronts.

Truman Doctrine

  • Provided economic and military aid to Greece and Turkey to prevent communist takeover.

  • The Marshall Plan followed, providing approximately $12 billion to European countries post-WWII to promote recovery and prevent communism.

Korean War (1950-1953)

  • A United Nations-led police action to protect South Korea from North Korean invasion.

  • NATO supported the USA, while the Warsaw Pact backed the USSR.

Eisenhower's Farewell Address

  • Warned against the military-industrial complex which prioritizes war for economic gain.

Cuban Missile Crisis

  • A 1962 standoff between the USA and the USSR over Soviet missiles in Cuba, representing peak Cold War tension.

Vietnam War

  • Civil war in Vietnam escalated U.S. involvement from 1964 to 1973.

  • Key events include the Tet Offensive (1968) and Nixon's policies of Vietnamization and secret expansion into Cambodia.

  • Kent State Massacre (1970) saw National Guard killing protesting students.

Détente

  • Nixon's approach to relax Cold War tensions included treaties to limit nuclear arms and a historic visit to communist China.

Social Changes and Domestic Front
The Second Red Scare

  • Espionage fears led to McCarthyism, loyalty boards, and the Hollywood blacklist.

  • Notable figures include the Rosenbergs, who were executed for espionage.

Civil Rights Movement

  • Symbolically began with Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball.

Landmark Events:

  • 1948: Truman integrates the military.

  • 1954: Brown v. Board of Education declared school segregation unconstitutional (9-0 ruling).

  • 1955: The murder of Emmett Till highlighted racial violence.

  • 1955-56: Montgomery Bus Boycott led by Rosa Parks and MLK Jr.

  • 1957: Little Rock Nine integrated schools amid violent resistance.

  • 1964: Civil Rights Act passed by LBJ.

  • 1965: Voting Rights Act ensured voting equality.

  • Notable differences in civil rights leadership between MLK and Malcolm X.

Women's Rights

  • The 1950s saw a reversion to traditional roles, contrasting with early 20th-century feminism.

  • The second wave began in the 1960s, marked by the Equal Pay Act and Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique".

  • Roe v. Wade (1973) legalized abortion, highlighting ongoing debates in women's rights.