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APUSH Unit 8

APUSH Unit 8: 1945-1980s Study Guide

1. The Cold War Begins

  • Origins of the Cold War:

    • Ideological differences: US (democracy and capitalism) vs. USSR (communism and totalitarianism).
    • Post-WWII tensions: disagreements over the future of Europe, the Yalta Conference, and Potsdam Conference.

  • Containment Policy:

    • George Kennan's Long Telegram.
    • Truman Doctrine: aid to countries resisting communism (e.g., Greece and Turkey).
    • Marshall Plan: economic aid to rebuild Western Europe.

  • The Korean War (1950-1953):

    • Causes: North Korea's invasion of South Korea.
    • US involvement: UN-backed intervention to contain communism.
    • Key events: Chinese intervention, stalemate, armistice.

  • The Second Red Scare:

    • McCarthyism: Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist crusade.
    • HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee): investigations into alleged communist influence in Hollywood and government.
    • Impact: suppression of dissent, blacklisting.
2. The Cold War Intensifies

  • The Arms Race:

    • Nuclear arms buildup: hydrogen bomb, ICBMs.
    • Brinkmanship: willingness to go to the edge of war.
    • MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction): deterrence theory.

  • The Space Race:

    • Sputnik (1957): Soviet satellite launch.
    • NASA's creation and US efforts to catch up.
    • Significance: technological competition, national prestige.

  • The Vietnam War:

    • Background: French Indochina War, Geneva Accords.
    • US involvement: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, escalation.
    • Tet Offensive: turning point, growing anti-war sentiment.
    • Vietnamization: Nixon's policy of gradually withdrawing US troops.
    • Fall of Saigon (1975): communist victory.

  • The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962):

    • Causes: Soviet deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba.
    • US response: naval blockade.
    • Resolution: Soviet removal of missiles in exchange for US pledge not to invade Cuba.
3. Social and Cultural Transformations

  • The Civil Rights Movement:

    • Key figures: Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X.
    • Brown v. Board of Education (1954): desegregation of schools.
    • Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956).
    • Civil Rights Act of 1964: outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
    • Voting Rights Act of 1965: eliminated barriers to African American voting.

  • The Great Society:

    • Lyndon B. Johnson's domestic program.
    • Goals: poverty reduction, racial equality, improved education and healthcare.
    • Key programs: Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start.

  • The Counterculture Movement:

    • Youth rebellion: rejection of mainstream values.
    • Hippies: experimentation with drugs, music, and alternative lifestyles.
    • Anti-war protests.
    • Feminist Movement: Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, NOW (National Organization for Women).
4. Political and Economic Shifts

  • The Election of 1960:

    • John F. Kennedy vs. Richard Nixon.
    • Significance of television debates.

  • Watergate Scandal:

    • Break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters.
    • Nixon's cover-up and resignation.
    • Impact: erosion of public trust in government.

  • The Energy Crisis:

    • OPEC oil embargo (1973).
    • Causes: US support for Israel during the Yom Kippur War.
    • Impact: rising gas prices, energy conservation efforts.

  • The Conservative Movement:

    • Rise of the New Right: opposition to big government, social liberalism, and the counterculture.
    • Key figures: Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater.
    • Religious Right: Moral Majority.
5. Foreign Policy in the 1970s

  • Détente:

    • Nixon's policy of easing Cold War tensions.
    • Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I).
    • Opening to China.

  • Camp David Accords (1978):

    • Peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.
    • Brokered by President Jimmy Carter.

  • The Iran Hostage Crisis (1979-1981):

    • Causes: Iranian Revolution, US support for the Shah.
    • Impact: strained US-Iranian relations, Carter's declining popularity.
6. The Reagan Era

  • Reaganomics:

    • Supply-side economics: tax cuts to stimulate economic growth.
    • Deregulation.
    • Increased military spending.

  • The End of the Cold War:

    • Reagan's military buildup and assertive foreign policy.
    • Gorbachev's reforms in the Soviet Union (Glasnost and Perestroika).
    • Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989).
    • Dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991).