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).