postwar boom
gi bill of rights: aka the servicemen’s readjustment act of 1944, helped returning veterans secure education and access to home purchases at government expense
organized labor had prosperity, many working class americans had salaries that placed them in the middle class
unions peaked in 1950s
economic boom came baby boom
builder william levitt took advantage of housing boom and made levittowns in the suburbs of new york and philadelphia, sold for under 10 grand and no down payment for veterans
eisenhower was elected 34th president of the us in 1952
signed into law the highway revenue act in 1956 (provided funding to build a national system of highways called the interstate highway system)
impact of television
engineers developed first television in 1920s
television programs played a key role in the religious revival of 1950s
in 1960s television was used to influence voters, democrats benefited
youth culture
economic freedom
american youth of the 50s had a powerful force on society because of disposable income
parents worried about the freedom it gave their children
rock and roll
crossing the color line
parents were disturbed in kids passion for rock because it had african american roots
many white and african americans listened to the same music
music and sports began to mix fields in the 1950s
effects on african americans
entered sports and music in 50s
us was still widely segregated and they kept trying to move toward equality
effects on women
women had no ambitions beyond getting married and having kids
ww2 changed job force and women entered the workforce in jobs traditionally reserved for men
working women remained invisible in the media
in the 50s women were only seen as taking care of the men and children
in the 60s women were challenging cultural assumptions about their roles and demanding an equal rights amendment to the constitution
the beat generation
word for the postwar boom was conformity
first group to challenge conformity viewed suburbia and material possessions as alienating and destructive to the human spirit
called the beats, defined by despising materialism and personal ambition
became more well knows during the 50s
by the 60s, the beats had become role models for the baby boomers who reached college age
the early cold war
nuremberg trials
court proceedings of german war criminals and nazi leaders after ww2
military officers, government officials and party leaders were all tried for participation in the holocaust
tried 22 nazi defendants, sentenced 12 to death, 3 to life in prison and 4 got terms from 10-20 years, 3 were acquitted
number of war criminals were never tried
established principles for future conflicts like individuals are responsible for their actions during the war
the united nations
dumbarton oaks conference: late 1944, international peace conference in washington dc where the plan was made to create the united nations
in april 1945, representatives from 50 nations met in san fransisco to formally create the united nations
in 1948 delegates formed a commission on human rights, named eleanor roosevelt as chairperson
drafted universal declaration of human rights
the iron curtain
soviets wanted to rebuild eastern europe using their own raw materials and manpower, wanted to prevent democracy and spread communism
leaders agreed to divide germany and austria into 4 zones at yalta conference
churchill said that an iron curtain has descended upon europe, summarized division of eastern and western powers during the cold war
historians mark 1946 as beginning of cold war
during cold war us and soviet union engaged in a nuclear arms race
containing communism
truman doctrine: providing american aid to any country whose welfare deemed essential to the safety of the us, support to nations threatened by authoritarian powers and assisted democratic nations
marshall plan: economic aid sent by us to european nations after ww2 to help rebuild their economies and win their loyalty
berlin airlift: soviet blockaded roads and railways to berlin so us and britain used aircraft to supply city during the war
cold war alliances
both sides of cold war begin to compile weapons, race to militarize
north atlantic treaty organization (nato): defensive military alliance formed by us and allies in 1949
warsaw pact: military alliance between soviet and 7 other communist nations
the cold war at home
intro/objective
senator joseph mccarthy came to fame in america for his wild accusations
macarthyism: name given to his tactics of spreading fear of communism through false charges of radical activities
one of the most dishonorable terms in american political history
another red scare
as stalin’s rule emerged, americans became fearful of communism
huac: house un-american activities committee, formed by reps to investigate people thought to be disloyal to the us, especially those believed to be communist
led investigation in 1945
many people appeared before the huac in oct 1947
lots of actors, screenwriters and directors were commonly accused of being communist and were permanently blacklisted from working in hollywood
politics and the red scare
candidates used the red scare for political elections in 1946
federal employee loyalty program: program created by president truman in 1947 to investigate all federal employees in order to establish their loyalty to the us
subversive activities control act/mccarran act: legislation passed by congress in 1950 over truman’s veto that required communists to register with the federal government, outlawed any group for making a plan to prevent dictatorship and prevented communists from obtaining a passport or entering the us
the korean war
korean war: cold war conflict between north korea and south korea that included the united states, soviet union and china
beginning of the war
japan annexed korea in 1910
during ww2 thousands of koreans were forced into the japanese army
38th parallel: international boundary between north and south korea in 1945 established at the end of ww2
soviet leaders installed a communist government in korea led by kim ii sung
communist north and democratic south
republic of south korea was formed in may of 1948 in seoul
people’s republic of north korea was formed in sept in pyongyang
north korea launched a surprise attack on june 25, 1950
south korea asked the un to intervene and they sent a force to korea, forced us troops back into action
truman quickly moved american troops stationed in japan to korea, 15 other nations also sent troops
general douglas macarthur took charge of the un forces
seesaw conflict
north korean invasion was immediately successful and they captured the capital
on sept 15, 1950 macarthur surprised NK with an attack from behind their lines by sea, successful
late 1951, seesaw from south to north and again ended in a stalemate, general douglas macarthur’s career was over
end of war
june 1951 proposed cease-fire
fighting continued for much of the next 2 years but they eventually agreed on a cease-fire line and created a demilitarized zone (dmz)
july 1953 signed an armistice that ended the fighting, korean war ended in a stalemate
the cold war
arms race
us chose cape canaveral florida in 1948 as a testing site
chose it because of location and missiles could be tested without concern that they would harm populated areas
worked on building an intercontinental ballistic missile (icbm) that could hit targets in the soviet union
space race
oct 4, 1957 was when the soviet union launched a rocket that put the world’s first satellite into orbit called sputnik 1
soviet union launched a second sputnik into orbit with a dog on board
us got worried because if they had a rocket that could launch a satellite into orbit, what could stop them from building an ICBM that could deliver a nuclear bomb
us gets into the race
on dec 6 a vanguard rocket carrying america’s first satellite was ready to be launched
as the rocket fired it blew up in a fireball televised all across america
was very small triumph when the did succeed a month later
now were in a space race (competition between us and ussr over achievements in space tech and exploration) to match the arms race
russian cosmonaut yuri gagarin was the firrst man to travel into space in 1961 and american navy commander alan b shepard succeeded less than a month later
funding the space program
on july 30k, 1958 eisenhower asked congress to fund space organizations, nasa
initiated a program called project mercury to select and train america’s first group of space travelers
7 men were chosen and all were designated astronauts
eisenhower started the space program but jfk inspired americans to beat the russians in space
after kennedy took office, soviets sent the first human into space beating the us
2 soviet cosmonauts were launched into orbit around the earth before the first mercury astronaut was sent on a 10 min flight out of florida
kennedy and the cold war
in his first weeks in office kennedy established the peace corps, organization of various jobs that worked in 48 underdeveloped countries
alliance for progress, initiated in may 1961, was less successful
aid program for latin america but ended up as a way to stop communism
communist cuba
us relationship with cuba dated back to the spanish american war on 1898
on may 1, 1969 castro announced an end to democratic elections
on feb 7, 1962 the us declared a trade embargo on cuba
castro responded by seeking further economic and military aid from russia
in october soviets brought missiles to cuba and caused the world to be on the brink of nuclear war
cuban missile crisis
on oct 15, 1962 a us pilot saw soviet bases on cuba capable of launching missiles
13 day standoff between us and russia
kennedy imposed a naval blockade around the island
in the end both sides agreed to remove the missile and it was cleared by negotiations, closest to direct military conflict in the cold war
assassination
jfk was assassinates on nov 22, 1962 in dallas
3 shots were fired from a local building and 2 struck the president
lee harvey oswald shot kennedy, he was a troubled ex marine married to a russian and lived in the soviet union
oswald was murdered 2 days after he killed kennedy
assassination shocked the nation and the us was at a standstill for 4 days until his funeral
quiz questions
what event was the bay of pigs invasion a response to
castro’s rise to power in cuba
what was a propaganda victory for the ussr
launching of sputnik
what limits did the us ussr and great britain agree to regarding nuclear weapon testing in 1963
testing could only occur underground
what was not a result of the cuban missile crisis
increase in refugees from cuba to the us
what led to the establishment of nasa
soviets launching sputnik 1
according to the warren investigation who was responsible for assassination of jfk
lee harvey oswald
what ended the cuban missile crisis
us agreed to not invade cuba and soviets agreed to remove all missiles from cuba
why was cape canaveral chosen as a launch site for rockets
favorable geographic location for launches
what development was made during the 1950s that made long-range bombers obsolete
icbm, intercontinental missiles
vietnam war
us involvement
france created indochina during the 19th century but after ww2 french control of indochina weakened
ho cho minh declared vietnam independent in 1945
us believed in domino theory and thought communist vietnam would spread communism
in 1954 us + 7 other nations formed the southeast asia treaty organization (seato) to fight the spread of communism
because of containment us leaders supported france to help the french maintain control in vietnam and prevent communist victory, billions of dollars in us military aid went to france
vietnam divided
battle of dien bien phu, vietnamese siege on french military base, french surrendered after a 55 day siege
geneva accords (peace treaty ending the indochina wars between france and vietnam) granted independence to indochina
due to treaty, vietnam was divided into 2 nations - communist north (led by ho chi minh) and non-communist south (led by ngo dinh diem)
us provided lots of support to diem although he was less popular
vietcong: south vietnamese communists who fought against us and south vietnamese troops with help from the north vietnamese, use guerilla tactics
us support of south vietnam
diem was a bad political leader
only kept his government in power by us support
when jfk took office he increased us troops to vietnam but by 1963 the us ceased support
diem was assassinated in november 1963 and kennedy was weeks after
johnson and vietnam
lyndon b johnson took office after kennedy’s assassination
johnson increased direct us support for the war and gained unprecedented control over military involvement
august 1964 north vietnamese torpedo ships fired on us destroyer uss maddox in the gulf of tonkin off north vietnam
congress passed the gulf of tonkin resolution
act granting the president the power to send us troops into battle without a formal declaration of war
end of us involvement
vietnamization: process of shifting control of the war from the us military to the south vietnamese military
quiz questions
what was the policy of vietnamization
South Vietnam took on a greater military role in the conflict
What was the most immediate result of Diem's refusal to hold elections?
The Vietcong formed to resist the government
what country controlled vietnam prior to the vietnam war
france
what was weakened by the outcome of the vietnam war
popular support for cold war theories
Which event most directly contributed to the end of U.S. involvement in Vietnam?
U.S. public opinion against the war became very high during an election year
What was the effect of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment?
The voting age was lowered
How did the Tet Offensive mostly affect the course of the Vietnam War?
It greatly damaged American popular support for the conflict
How did the media shape public perception of the Vietnam War?
For the first time, people saw up-to-date news coverage of war on television
What position did the United States take during the Indochina Wars?
It supported France because it wanted to limit communism in Southeast Asia
disillusionment: being confronted with reality after believing in a false ideal
effects of vietnam war
television had a big impact on how americans saw the war, they could compare what they saw on screen with what they were told by government officials
television created a credibility gap between government statements and media reports
many people protesting us involvement in vietnam war were from the baby boom and born after ww2
vietnam war had been part of american life for almost 10 years
1968 nixon won the presidential election and in 1969 he announced the policy of vietnamization
nixon also approved the secret bombing of cambodia and a raid in 1970
the pentagon papers
in 1971 us support for war diminished when the new york times published a series of articles about leaked secret government documents
pentagon papers: secret government documents about us involvement in vietnam
daniel ellsberg leaked the contents and was a researcher who helped compile the 3000 page document
finally a supreme court ruling found that the newspapers had the right to publish the documents
war powers act: law required the president to consult with congress within 48 hours of committing us troops to foreign conflicts
the watergate scandal: scandal that resulted from a politically motivated break-in and government cover-up that led to the resignation of president nixon
effects of watergate
nixon was accused of accepting illegal campaign contributions
In October 1973, during the Watergate turmoil, the FBI charged Vice President Spiro Agnew with several felonies, including taking bribes while in office
became the first vice president to resign over criminal charges
nixon appointed congressman gerald ford as vp
during investigations, investigators found that nixon had used federal agencies to target personal enemies
faced with impeachment, nixon resigned in august 1974 and gerald ford became president