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).