APUSH Unit 8 Notes

🇻🇳 Vietnam War & U.S. Support

  • Support decreased as the war dragged on.

  • Graphic media coverage, draft protests, and the Tet Offensive shifted public opinion.

  • My Lai Massacre further fueled anti-war sentiment.

💰 Marshall Plan (1948)

  • U.S. gave $12+ billion to rebuild Western Europe.

  • Aimed to prevent the spread of communism and revive economies.

  • Connected to Truman’s containment policy.

🏛 LBJ’s Great Society (1964–65)

  • Goal: End poverty & racial injustice.

  • Created Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start, food stamps.

  • Similar to the New Deal in its use of government programs.

⚖ Hernandez v. Texas (1954)

  • Involved Pete Hernandez, a Mexican-American.

  • Supreme Court ruled Mexican-Americans are protected by the 14th Amendment.

  • Major win for Mexican-American civil rights.

🪑 Sit-ins (1960+)

  • Began with Greensboro Four, Black college students.

  • Protested segregated lunch counters.

  • Helped lead to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

🧭 Sun Belt vs. Rust Belt Migration

  • Sun Belt (South/West): Population & jobs increased.

  • Rust Belt (Midwest/Northeast): Lost factories, economic decline.

  • Political and economic power shifted south and west.

💵 Economic Justice – MLK vs. Malcolm X

  • King: Economic equality via peaceful reform.

  • Malcolm X: Self-reliance and independence for Black communities.

🌍 Civil Rights & Global Context

  • King: Linked civil rights to global freedom and decolonization.

  • Malcolm X: Pushed for global human rights and UN support.

  • Partial agreement, but Malcolm was more militant.

🛍 1950s Economic Boom & Consumerism

  • Rise in consumer goods, credit, and suburbia.

  • Similar to 1920s (economic growth, advertising, social change).

🏫 School Integration & Federal Response

  • Federal gov’t enforced desegregation (e.g., Little Rock 1957).

  • Resistance in South: school closings, delays, private schools.

📜 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964)

  • Gave Johnson power to escalate U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

  • Led to full-scale troop deployment without Congress declaring war.

🧊 Vietnam & Cold War Policy

  • Seen as a fight to contain communism.

  • Based on Domino Theory: if one country fell, others would follow.

🌿 Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962)

  • Sparked the environmental movement.

  • Led to creation of the EPA, bans on DDT, cleaner air/water laws.

🚨 First vs. Second Red Scare

  • Both involved fear of communism, civil liberties violations.

  • 1920s: Palmer Raids; 1950s: McCarthyism, HUAC hearings.

✊🏽 Chicano/Mexican-American Movement

  • Similar to Civil Rights Movement: equality in education, work, voting.

  • Groups like MEChA, United Farm Workers led activism.

📣 McCarthyism & Soviet Fear

  • McCarthy’s accusations reflected Cold War paranoia and anti-communist hysteria.

🧑🏾‍🏫 Desegregation – Brown v. Board (1954)

  • Declared school segregation unconstitutional.

  • Southern resistance was widespread and delayed integration.

🕵 HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)

  • Investigated suspected communists in Hollywood, government, etc.

  • Played a major role during the Second Red Scare.

📈 1950s–60s Economy

  • Strong economy, rising middle class.

  • Economic benefits did not reach minorities and women equally.

♀ Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

  • Proposed amendment for gender equality.

  • Supported by Gloria Steinem, NOW.

  • Opposed by Phyllis Schlafly; never ratified.

🪖 War Powers Act (1973)

  • Congress limited presidential military power.

  • Required notification within 48 hours of troop deployment.

  • Reaction to Vietnam & executive overreach.

🕵‍♂️ Watergate Scandal (1972–74)

  • Nixon’s cover-up of DNC break-in.

  • Led to resignation in 1974; Gerald Ford pardoned him.

  • Public trust in government plummeted.

🏘 Levittowns & Suburbs (1950s)

  • Mass-produced homes for WWII vets.

  • Suburbs = space, safety, affordability.

  • Effects: Urban decline, racial segregation, cultural conformity.

🏭 Causes of 1960s–70s Pollution

  • Unregulated industry, cars, pesticides, and waste.

🕊 King vs. Malcolm X – Major Differences

  • King: Nonviolence, worked with whites, integration.

  • Malcolm X: Black nationalism, initially rejected white allies, supported self-defense.

🇰🇷 🇻🇳 Korean vs. Vietnam War

  • Korea: UN-backed, ends in stalemate at 38th parallel.

  • Vietnam: Long, unpopular, ends in U.S. withdrawal and communist victory.

🕵‍♂️ Alger Hiss & Rosenbergs

  • Hiss: Gov’t official accused of being a Soviet spy.

  • Rosenbergs: Executed for giving nuclear secrets to USSR.

🧕 Phyllis Schlafly & the ERA

  • Anti-ERA activist; promoted traditional roles for women.

  • Influential in the conservative movement of 1970s–80s.

🎬 Hollywood Ten

  • Writers/directors who refused HUAC testimony.

  • Blacklisted for suspected communist ties.