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1950s - 1960s

1. The Beginning of the Civil Rights Movement

Slavery to Civil War:

  • Slavery began in 1619, was central to the Southern economy.

  • Abolition movements and events (like Bleeding Kansas, Dred Scott, and John Brown’s Raid) led to the Civil War.

  • Emancipation Proclamation (1863) shifted war goals to ending slavery.

Reconstruction & Jim Crow:

  • 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments granted freedom, citizenship, and voting rights.

  • Southern backlash included KKK, Black Codes, and Jim Crow laws.

  • Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): legalized “separate but equal.”

20th Century Struggles:

  • African Americans contributed in WWI & WWII but faced segregation.

  • Harlem Renaissance highlighted Black culture.

  • Truman desegregated the military (1948); Jackie Robinson integrated baseball (1947).

Civil Rights Movement Begins:

  • Brown v. Board of Education (1954): struck down segregation in schools.

  • Resistance included state defiance and resurgence of the KKK.

  • Eisenhower enforced school integration in Little Rock, Arkansas (1957).

2. MLK & the Civil Rights Movement

Key Figures & Events:

  • Rosa Parks (1955): Sparked Montgomery Bus Boycott.

  • Martin Luther King Jr.: Led the boycott, founded SCLC (1957) for nonviolent protest.

Major Tactics:

  • Sit-ins (1960), Freedom Rides (1961) tested integration.

  • Birmingham Campaign (1963): MLK jailed, wrote “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”

  • TV coverage of brutality galvanized support.

Legislation:

  • March on Washington (1963): MLK's “I Have a Dream” speech.

  • Civil Rights Act (1964): Ended segregation in public places.

  • Voting Rights Act (1965): Ended literacy tests; boosted Black voter turnout.

Other Leaders & Differences:

  • SNCC and younger activists also played a major role.

  • Malcolm X advocated for a more militant stance compared to MLK’s nonviolence.

3. The Cold War Begins – Chapter 36

Global Tensions:

  • U.S. (Capitalism) vs. USSR (Communism).

  • Truman Doctrine: $400M to Greece/Turkey to fight communism.

  • Marshall Plan: $12B to rebuild Europe and prevent communism.

  • Berlin Airlift (1948–49): U.S. response to Soviet blockade.

Alliances:

  • NATO (1949) vs. Warsaw Pact (1955).

Domestic Anti-Communism:

  • Red Scare: HUAC, Alger Hiss, Rosenbergs.

  • McCarthyism: Accusations without proof.

  • National Security Council Memo 68 (NSC-68): Major increase in defense spending.

Korean War (1950–1953):

  • North Korea (USSR-backed) invaded South Korea (U.S.-backed).

  • UN intervened; General MacArthur led forces.

  • Truman fired MacArthur for insubordination.

Economic Boom:

  • GI Bill, booming middle class, suburbanization (Levittown).

  • Credit cards, new appliances, consumerism exploded.

🇺🇸 Politics

  • Election of 1952: Eisenhower (R) vs. Stevenson (D); “I like Ike!” slogan.

  • "Dynamic Conservatism": Socially liberal, economically conservative.

  • Civil Rights:

    • Brown v. Board of Education (1954) – school segregation unconstitutional.

    • Little Rock Nine (1957) – Eisenhower sent troops to enforce desegregation.

    • Montgomery Bus Boycott and Rosa Parks (1955).

    • Termination Policy harmed Native Americans.

🧬 Society

  • Conformity & Suburbs: "Baby Boom," TV culture, suburban sprawl.

  • Women's Role: Return to domestic life, “Cult of Domesticity,” tranquilizer use.

  • Teen Culture: Rise of Rock & Roll (Elvis), beatniks, rebellion in youth, conformity pressures.

❄ Cold War Tensions

  • Massive Retaliation & Brinkmanship: Arms race (H-bomb, ICBMs).

  • Key Events:

    • Sputnik (1957) → NASA created.

    • U-2 Incident, Kitchen Debate, Suez Crisis, Hungary Uprising.

    • CIA interventions: Iran (1953), Guatemala (1954).

✌ The 1960s

🗳 Politics & Presidents

  • 1960 Election: JFK vs. Nixon – first televised debate.

  • Kennedy:

    • New Frontier: Peace Corps, space race, civil rights support.

    • Assassinated (1963) – LBJ takes over.

  • LBJ's Great Society:

    • War on Poverty (Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start).

    • Civil Rights Acts (1964, 1965), Voting Rights Act.

  • Nixon: Vietnamization and withdrawal from Vietnam.

⚔ Vietnam War

  • Origins: France lost control, U.S. steps in due to Domino Theory.

  • Escalation:

    • Gulf of Tonkin (1964)

    • Tet Offensive (1968) shook public confidence.

    • My Lai Massacre, Pentagon Papers, protests (Kent State).

  • End:

    • Paris Peace Accords (1973), Fall of Saigon (1975), War Powers Act.

🧑🏿‍🤝‍🧑🏽 Civil Rights

  • Key Events:

    • Sit-ins, Freedom Rides, March on Washington, Selma marches.

    • MLK, Malcolm X, Black Panthers.

    • American Indian Movement, Cesar Chavez, Stonewall Riots (LGBTQ+).

🌀 Counterculture

  • Hippies, Beatniks, New Left:

    • Opposition to war, materialism, and social norms.

    • Woodstock, free love, drug use, rebellion.

    • Artists: Joplin, Hendrix, Beatles, Warhol.

  • Women's Movement:

    • NOW, Equal Rights Amendment, Roe v. Wade (1973).

    • Backlash: Phyllis Schlafly and “Silent Majority.”

🌱 Environmentalism

  • Silent Spring by Rachel Carson.

  • Clean Air Act (1955), EPA established (1970).