APUSH UNIT 8 NOTES (copy)

Chapter 35

Truman: The Man from Missouri
Truman’s cabinet was made up of the “Missouri gang” from his time as a senator. He often stuck with a wrong decision just to prove his decisiveness, captured in his phrase, “The Buck Stops Here.” Over time, his confidence grew. Even if he was small on the small things, he was big on the big things.
Yalta: Bargain or Betrayal?
At the final Big Three conference at Yalta in February 1945, Stalin pledged that Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania would have representative governments and free elections, but he broke those promises. The Soviets also agreed to attack Japan three months after Germany fell, seemingly entering the war for territorial spoils. They gained control of the Manchurian Railway, the Kurile Islands, and privileges at other ports. Critics of FDR charged that he gave away too much, while supporters argued the Soviets could have taken even more.
The United States and the Soviet Union (and the Iron Curtain)
The United States and the USSR emerged as world superpowers, and conflict seemed inevitable. The U.S. had waited until 1933 to recognize the Soviet Union, the U.S. and Britain delayed opening a second front in WWII, the Western Allies froze the Soviets out of nuclear weapons development, and the U.S. withdrew lend-lease aid from the soviets after the war. Stalin wanted a protective sphere to the west, which meant controlling Eastern Europe. These tensions led to a political struggle that became the Cold War and lasted for decades.
Shaping the Postwar World
The United States helped establish postwar structures that reflected FDR’s vision of an open world. The United Nations opened in April 1945, forming a Security Council with five permanent members — China, the USSR, Britain, France, and the U.S. — each with veto power; the U.S. Senate approved membership 89–2. The UN worked to keep peace in Kashmir, helped create the state of Israel, and formed various international organizations. However, in 1946 U.S. delegate Bernard Baruch proposed a UN agency free from the five-power veto that could inspect nuclear facilities, but the USSR rejected the plan, contributing to the start of the arms race.
The Problem of Germany
The U.S. believed a healthy German economy was important for European recovery, but the USSR demanded heavy reparations. Germany was divided into four occupation zones controlled by the Allies, and when the U.S. moved toward unifying Germany, Stalin resisted, leaving Germany divided. In 1948 the Soviets cut off all rail and road access to Berlin, which lay deep in East Germany, hoping to starve out the Western Allies in West Berlin. The Allies responded with a massive airlift to supply the city, and in May 1949 the Soviets lifted the blockade. The Berlin Airlift became a symbol of democracy — an island of democracy in East Germany.
The Cold War Deepens
Truman adopted the containment policy developed by Soviet expert George F. Kennan, which argued that Soviet expansion had to be contained. In March 1947, Truman asked Congress for $400 million in aid for Greece and Turkey to resist communism; this became known as the Truman Doctrine, promising aid to nations fighting communist aggression. With France, Italy, and Germany struggling, Truman and Secretary of State George Marshall launched the Marshall Plan, sending $12.5 billion to 16 nations for recovery. Congress was initially reluctant after already spending $2 billion on UN relief, but a Soviet-backed coup in Czechoslovakia shifted opinion and the plan passed. Truman also recognized Israel in 1948 despite Arab opposition and their control of Middle Eastern oil, influenced by sympathy, Soviet positioning, and Jewish voters.
America Begins to Rearm
The National Security Act of 1947 created the Department of Defense, headquartered in the Pentagon. It also established the National Security Council (NSC) to advise the president and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to coordinate foreign intelligence gathering. In 1948, the U.S. joined Britain, France, and other nations to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), pledging that an attack on one member would be considered an attack on all, a major shift from America’s tradition of avoiding entangling alliances. NATO grew to 15 members when West Germany joined in 1955. In response, the Soviet Union formed its own alliance system, the Warsaw Pact.
Reconstruction and Revolution in Asia
The U.S. trialed the top Japanese war criminals, imposed a new constitution, and helped democratize Japan. In China, communist forces under Mao Zedong defeated nationalist forces led by Chiang Kai-shek, who fled to Taiwan in 1949, meaning one-quarter of the world’s population fell under communism; Truman faced heavy criticism. In September 1949, the Soviets detonated an atomic bomb. The U.S. tested a hydrogen bomb in 1952, and the Soviets followed the next year.
The Korean Volcano Erupts (1950)
After World War II, Soviet and American forces withdrew from Korea, leaving rival governments in the North and South. In June 1950, communist North Korea invaded South Korea. Truman responded by ordering U.S. military spending to be quadrupled, in line with NSC Memorandum No. 68, which urged strong containment rather than détente or rollback.
Military Seesaw in Korea
General Douglas MacArthur pushed North Korean forces back across the 38th parallel toward China and the Yalu River. Chinese “volunteers” then entered the war and drove U.S.-led forces back to the 38th parallel. MacArthur wanted to blockade and bomb China, but Truman refused. After MacArthur publicly criticized him, Truman removed him from command. MacArthur was celebrated by the public, Truman was criticized, but Truman’s decision proved correct. Truce talks began in July 1951 but dragged on for two more years.
The Cold War Homefront – Anti-Red Movement
The Loyalty Review Board investigated 3 million federal employees, while the attorney general listed 90 organizations as potentially disloyal without allowing them to defend themselves. The House of Representatives had established the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1939 to investigate subversion, and in 1948 Richard Nixon prosecuted Alger Hiss. In February 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed, without evidence, that numerous communists worked in the State Department, fueling national hysteria, especially after Soviet nuclear success, likely aided by spies. McCarthy accused Secretary of State Dean Acheson of employing 205 communists and pushed prosecutions of suspected communists, often targeting innocent people; blacklisting spread in Hollywood. President Eisenhower disliked McCarthy but failed to stop him, while many Americans supported McCarthy. His actions removed key State Department Asian experts who might have shaped better Vietnam policy. In 1954, McCarthy went too far by attacking the U.S. Army and was exposed as a liar and drunk.
Postwar Economic Anxieties
Although Americans celebrated the end of WWII, they feared another Great Depression. Inflation and labor strikes spread, and Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act, which outlawed closed shops and required union leaders to swear they were not communists. To prevent economic decline, the government sold factories and resources to private businesses and passed the Employment Act of 1946, declaring it national policy to promote maximum employment, production, and purchasing power. The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill of Rights) also helped by offering returning veterans free college education, keeping them temporarily out of the workforce.
Democratic Divisions in 1948
Republicans nominated Thomas E. Dewey, while Democrats chose Truman. Truman’s nomination split the Democratic Party, as Southern Democrats (“Dixiecrats”) ran Governor Strom Thurmond of South Carolina on a States’ Rights platform, fearing Truman would push civil rights reforms. The Democrats seemed disorganized and Dewey appeared certain to win, but Truman staged a surprise victory, and Democrats regained control of Congress, supported by farmers, workers, and Black voters. Truman proposed the “Point Four” program to aid developing nations and prevent communism. Domestically, his “Fair Deal” called for better housing, a higher minimum wage, farm aid, and expanded Social Security, though it achieved limited success.
The Long Economic Boom, 1950–1970
The U.S. economy boomed, the middle class more than doubled, and demand for consumer goods surged. Women also benefited from the expanding postwar economy, entering the workforce in greater numbers while balancing expectations to return to domestic roles; women may have benefited the most from this prosperity.
Roots of Postwar Prosperity
The prosperity of the 1950s and 1960s rested partly on military spending and funding related to the Korean War. Cheap energy infrastructure delivered oil, gas, coal, and hydroelectric power to homes and factories. Workers greatly increased productivity, as did farmers through new technologies like fertilizers, leading to soaring agricultural output even as the farming population declined.
The Smiling Sunbelt (Population Mobility)
Postwar mobility strained families, contributing to the popularity of Dr. Benjamin Spock’s The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (1945). Migration fueled rapid population growth in a 15-state region stretching from Virginia to California known as the Sunbelt, where people sought jobs in electronics and aerospace. Sunbelt growth shifted economic and political power away from the Northeast.
The Rush to the Suburbs
White Americans moved in large numbers to the suburbs, encouraged by Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Administration loans guarantees that made homeownership affordable; by 1960, one in four Americans lived in suburbs. Developers like the Levitt brothers built thousands of nearly identical, inexpensive homes in large developments. This “white flight” left poorer residents and people of color in cities, aided by expanding transportation networks. Federal policies worsened inequality, as agencies often refused to grant mortgages to Black families, citing financial “risk.”

Chapter 36

Affluence and Its Anxieties
The economy boomed during the 1950s, fueled by exploding growth in the electronics, computer, and aerospace industries, which helped create more than 40 million new jobs. In 1956, white-collar workers outnumbered blue-collar workers for the first time, signaling the end of the industrial era’s dominance and causing labor unions to suffer. Women increasingly entered the workforce despite television promoting the stereotype of housewives in shows like Ozzie and Harriet and Leave It to Beaver. Women often balanced being both homemakers and workers despite the lingering “cult of domesticity,” and Betty Friedan’s 1963 bestseller The Feminine Mystique became a classic work of modern feminist protest literature.
Consumer Culture in the Fifties
The 1950s saw the introduction of Diner’s Club credit cards, the opening of McDonald’s, the debut of Disneyland, and a rapid expansion of television stations across the country. Television and advertising became powerful forces shaping American culture. However, critics, especially literary figures, criticized this growing consumer culture and the increasing focus on acquiring material possessions.
The Advent of Eisenhower – Election of 1952
In 1952, Democrats nominated Adlai Stevenson, while Republicans chose the grandfatherly war hero Dwight D. Eisenhower, with anti-communist Richard Nixon as his running mate. Nixon faced accusations of maintaining a secretly financed “slush fund” but saved his political career with his televised “Checkers Speech,” demonstrating television’s growing influence on politics. Eisenhower won the election in a landslide, 442 to 89 electoral votes, and kept his campaign promise to visit Korea to help end the war. Though negotiations initially stalled, new U.S. threats helped bring about a signed armistice. The war had cost 54,000 American lives and billions of dollars, but Americans found reassurance in the success of containment. Eisenhower was an excellent commander who made cooperation seem possible; he was described as an unmilitary general and an unpolitical president who enjoyed public praise, though he could have used his popularity to advance civil rights more than he did, choosing social harmony over social justice.
Desegregating American Society
In the South, Black Americans lived under Jim Crow segregation in nearly all aspects of life, and only about 20 percent of eligible Black voters were registered due to intimidation, discrimination, poll taxes, and other suppression tactics. When laws were not enough to enforce white supremacy, vigilante violence, including lynchings, was used to terrorize Black communities. Organizations such as the NAACP, activists like Rosa Parks — who refused to give up her “whites only” bus seat in December 1955 — and leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. began drawing national attention to the suffering and discrimination faced by Black Americans.
Seeds of the Civil Rights Revolution
After the 1946 lynching of Black soldiers, Truman moved to desegregate the military, but Eisenhower did not continue pushing strongly for new civil rights laws, making it seem that the courts might be the most effective defenders of Black rights. Chief Justice Earl Warren surprised conservatives by strongly challenging racial injustice. In 1954, the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas overturned the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling, declaring that “separate but equal” schools were inherently unequal. The Deep South resisted or ignored the ruling, and even a decade later, fewer than 2 percent of Black students attended integrated schools. Eisenhower privately criticized the ruling. In September 1957, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus used the National Guard to block nine Black students from entering Little Rock Central High School, prompting Eisenhower to send federal troops to escort them — the Little Rock Nine — into school during the Little Rock Crisis. That same year, Congress passed the first Civil Rights Act since Reconstruction, establishing a permanent Civil Rights Commission to investigate civil rights violations, though the law was considered mild. Meanwhile, Martin Luther King Jr. helped form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to mobilize Black churches in the struggle for civil rights. In February 1960, four Black college freshmen began a sit-in at a whites-only Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, launching a broader sit-in movement. In April 1960, southern Black students formed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to coordinate their activism.
Eisenhower Republicanism at Home
Eisenhower entered office promising “dynamic conservatism” in economic policy. He worked to reduce military spending and tried to weaken government-run programs like the Tennessee Valley Authority by encouraging private competition. He also launched a crackdown on illegal Mexican immigration that he believed threatened the bracero program, deporting about one million people in “Operation Wetback.” Eisenhower proposed ending the long-standing federal approach to Native Americans, aiming for assimilation, but faced strong resistance. Despite his conservative stance, he kept many popular New Deal programs, including Social Security. He expanded some government initiatives, most notably supporting the 1956 Federal Highway Act, which funded the construction of 42,000 miles of interstate highways. Still, he balanced the federal budget only three times during his eight years in office.
A New Look in Foreign Policy
Secretary of State John Foster Dulles argued that containment alone was insufficient and that the U.S. should push back against communism while reducing defense spending by relying on a fleet of nuclear-armed bombers in the Strategic Air Command. This strategy of “massive retaliation” threatened overwhelming nuclear response but was itself very costly. Eisenhower sought to ease Cold War tensions, meeting Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev at the 1955 Geneva Conference, but Khrushchev rejected U.S. proposals. When Hungarians revolted against Soviet control and asked for American help, the U.S. did nothing, since massive retaliation was too extreme an option; however, the U.S. did admit 30,000 Hungarian refugees.
The Vietnam Nightmare
Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh had originally appealed to Woodrow Wilson for support against French colonial rule, but he increasingly embraced communism. In March 1954, French forces were defeated at Dien Bien Phu, and Vietnam was temporarily divided at the 17th parallel, with national elections promised in two years — elections that never took place because the U.S. feared a communist victory. Dulles created the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) to mirror NATO, but it proved largely ineffective.
Cold War Crisis in Europe and the Middle East
By 1955, Cold War tensions seemed to be easing as Eisenhower pushed for arms reductions and the Soviets appeared cooperative. However, in 1953 the CIA orchestrated a coup in Iran to protect Western access to Middle Eastern oil, reinstalling Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, which secured oil interests but angered many in the Arab world for years. The Suez Crisis further complicated matters: Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser sought funding for a dam on the Nile from both Western nations and the Soviets, but when Dulles withdrew U.S. support, Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, which had been controlled mainly by Britain and France, highlighting tensions between nationalism and communism in the Middle East. In 1960, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, and Venezuela formed OPEC.
Round Two for “Ike”
Eisenhower defeated Stevenson again in the 1956 election by a wide margin. In October 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I and then Sputnik II, shocking and demoralizing Americans. Many feared the Soviets might soon be able to launch missiles from space, raising concerns about technological superiority. Critics argued the U.S. had lagged in missile development while focusing on consumer goods like televisions. Although the U.S. eventually launched its own satellite, the perceived technology gap caused alarm. In response, Congress passed the 1958 National Defense and Education Act (NDEA), providing $887 million in student loans and school improvement grants.
The Continuing Cold War
In 1959, Khrushchev visited the United States at Eisenhower’s invitation, and disarmament talks began. However, tensions rose at the Paris Conference when the Soviets discovered the U.S. had flown a spy plane over their territory; Eisenhower accepted responsibility, worsening relations. Many Latin American countries resented the billions of dollars the U.S. sent to Europe while offering them little help, even as the U.S. supported harsh anti-communist dictators. In 1959, Fidel Castro overthrew the U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Batista and seized American property; the U.S. cut diplomatic ties in 1961. Eisenhower later proposed a modest $500 million aid plan for Latin America, but many viewed it as too little, too late.
Kennedy Challenges Nixon for the Presidency
In 1960, Republicans nominated Richard Nixon, while Democrats chose John F. Kennedy with Lyndon B. Johnson as his running mate. Kennedy may have lost some Southern support because he was Catholic but gained strong backing in the North. During four televised debates, Kennedy appeared more charismatic than Nixon, which may have helped him win the presidency as the youngest elected president in history. He won the popular vote by just 118,544 out of nearly 68 million votes cast.
A Cultural Renaissance
Postwar American creativity influenced global culture in painting, architecture, and literature, often exploring themes of new wealth and shifting values. Jackson Pollock pioneered abstract expressionism, emphasizing action and individuality. Despite mass-produced suburban housing, architect Frank Lloyd Wright continued designing innovative buildings such as the Guggenheim Museum with its curved walls. Writers examined the social challenges of mobility and affluence. Beat writers like Jack Kerouac, author of On the Road, rejected conformity and consumerism in favor of personal freedom. Playwright Arthur Miller explored American values in Death of a Salesman and The Crucible. Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun portrayed African American life, while J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye examined identity, belonging, loss, and alienation.
New Cultural Voices
After the Harlem Renaissance, more diverse voices gained national attention. Richard Wright’s Native Son (1940) became the first bestselling novel by an African American author, and James Baldwin earned acclaim for novels and essays addressing race. The Southern Renaissance in literature also highlighted the region’s historical burdens and racial issues.
Kennedy’s “New Frontier” Spirit (Camelot)
The early 1960s ushered in major social changes, including a sexual revolution, a civil rights revolution, the rise of youth culture, a deepening war in Vietnam, and the beginnings of a feminist movement. Kennedy delivered an inspiring inaugural address, appointed a young cabinet, and created the Peace Corps to send idealistic young Americans abroad to share skills. He also promoted the goal of landing Americans on the moon, though some mocked the idea. His domestic New Frontier programs, including proposals for medical care and education funding, faced resistance from conservative Democrats and Republicans in Congress.
Foreign Flare-Ups and “Flexible Response”
In August 1961, the Soviets began constructing the Berlin Wall to divide East and West Berlin. Western Europe was prospering, aided by the Marshall Plan, and the Kennedy Round of tariff negotiations improved U.S.–European trade. Global crises continued: Congo descended into violence after gaining independence from Belgium in 1960, and Laos, independent from France since 1954, faced communist threats. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara promoted a strategy of “flexible response,” developing a range of military options tailored to each crisis, including the use of Green Berets. In Vietnam, the U.S.-backed but corrupt Diem government struggled against the communist Viet Cong led by Ho Chi Minh. Kennedy gradually increased U.S. troop involvement to “maintain order,” and many Americans fought and died in what was essentially Vietnam’s war.
Cuban Confrontations
Kennedy’s Alliance for Progress aimed to counter communism in Latin America, though resentment of U.S. policies persisted. In April 1961, Kennedy approved a CIA-backed invasion by Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs; lacking air support, it failed and embarrassed the U.S., pushing Fidel Castro closer to the Soviets. In 1962, American spy planes discovered Soviet missile sites in Cuba, triggering the Cuban Missile Crisis and bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war. Kennedy addressed the nation on television and imposed a naval “quarantine” of Cuba. Ultimately, Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles, appearing weak and later losing power, in exchange for a U.S. pledge not to invade Cuba and the quiet removal of U.S. missiles from Turkey. Afterward, Kennedy promoted détente, or reduced Cold War tensions.
The Struggle for Civil Rights
Kennedy sought Black voter support but was often hesitant to push civil rights legislation, focusing first on medical and education bills. In the early 1960s, Freedom Riders challenged segregation in bus terminals and faced violent white mobs; in 1963 Kennedy sent federal marshals for protection and backed a Voter Education Project. When James Meredith tried to enroll at the University of Mississippi, Kennedy sent 400 federal marshals and 3,000 troops to ensure his admission. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led nonviolent protests in Birmingham, Alabama, where police responded brutally with high-pressure water hoses and other force, shocking television audiences. In June 1963, Kennedy publicly called civil rights a “moral issue” requiring action.
The Killing of Kennedy
On November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. He was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, who was himself killed soon after by Jack Ruby, a self-proclaimed avenger, fueling lasting controversy and conspiracy theories. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson became president, and the nation mourned the loss of its young, energetic, and charismatic leader.

Chapter 37

The LBJ Brand on the Presidency
1. LBJ pushed liberal measures, signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, banning racial discrimination in most private facilities open to the public, including theaters, hospitals, and restaurants and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), aimed at eliminating discriminatory hiring .
2. Johnson’s program was dubbed the “Great Society”, and reflected New Deal inspirations.
  1. Public support for the program was aroused by Michael Harrington’s The Other America, which revealed that over 20% of Americans suffered in poverty. It was more than just civil rights.

Johnson Battles Goldwater in 1964
1. In 1964, LBJ faced Republican AZ senator Barry Goldwater, who attacked the federal income tax, Social Security, civil rights, the nuclear test-ban treaty, and the Great Society.
2. Johnson used the Tonkin Gulf Incident, in which N. Vietnamese ships had allegedly fired on US ships, to move on Vietnam. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution gave him nearly unlimited control in Vietnam. Goldwater was portrayed as too willing to drop the bomb and Johnson won in a landslide.

The Great Society Congress
1. LBJ’s win came with huge Dem wins supporting the Great Society. Congress increased spending.
2. Johnson created the Department of Transportation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), headed by Robert C. Weaver, the first Black cabinet secretary.
3. LBJ wanted aid for education, medical care for elderly, immigration reform, and voting rights bill.
  1. In 1965, Medicare and Medicaid gave the elderly medicine and health maintenance.
  2. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 abolished the “national origin” quota and doubled the number of immigrants allowed to enter the US annually.
4. An antipoverty program, Head Start improved the performance of the underprivileged in education.

Battling for Black Rights
1. Johnson’s Voting Rights Act of 1965 attacked racial discrimination at the polls.
2. The 24^th Amendment eliminated poll taxes, and in the “freedom summer” of 1964, both Blacks and White students joined to combat discrimination and racism.
  1. In June 1964, a Black and two White civil rights workers were murdered and 21 White Mississippians were arrested, but were acquitted by an all-white jury.
3. Early in 1965, MLK, Jr. resumed a voter-registration campaign in Selma, Alabama, but was attacked. LBJ, “we shall overcome.” Eventually, white politicians had to court black voters.

Black Power
1. 1965 saw violent Black protests, like in the Watts area in LA, as Black leaders mocked MLK, Jr. like Malcolm X (Little) inspired by the Nation of Islam and its founder, Elijah Muhammed, urged for action, black self reliance and black separatism. X was killed in 1965 by followers of Muhammed.
2. The Black Panthers openly brandished weapons in Oakland, California.
3. Stokey Carmichael led the SNCC and urged an abandonment of peaceful demonstrations.
4. Black power became a call for Blacks who were frustrated by the slow progress in the 50s to early 60s.
5. On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.

Vietnam Vexations
1. In Vietnam, we slowly sent more men to fight, and the South Vietnamese became spectators.
2. By 1968, we had sent more than half a million troops, and were pouring in $30 billion annually.
3. The US floundered in Vietnam, was criticized for its actions, and there were protests against the draft.
4. Johnson also ordered the CIA to spy on domestic antiwar activists, and he encouraged the FBI to use its counterintelligence program (“Cointelpro”) against the peace movement.
5. America was trapped in the Vietnam War fueling hatred and resentment from the US public.

Vietnam Topples Johnson
1. LBJ suffered with the US casualties and prayed in a nearby church at night, secretly. The situation worsened with the Tet Offensive during the Vietnamese New Year that even threatened Saigon.
2. LBJ saw a challenge for the Dem ticket from Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy. The nation and the Dem Party was being split by Vietnam. In March of 1968, LBJ said he would stop sending in troops to Vietnam and that he would not run in 1968, shocking America.

The Presidential Sweepstakes of 1968
1. June 5, 1968, Robert Kennedy was shot fatally, and the Dem ticket went to Hubert Humphrey.
2. The Reps nominated Nixon, and there was a third-party (AIP) candidate: George Wallace, former Gov of AL who was a “states righter” and sought to protect segregation. Race in the South.
3. Nixon won the close race, and Wallace actually got electoral votes from the South.
4. LBJ committed to Vietnam with noble intentions, but was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t.

The Cultural Upheaval of the 1960s
1. In the 60s, the youth of America experimented with sex, drugs, and defiance. Counterculture
2. They protested against conventional wisdom and beliefs…against conformity.
  1. Poets like Allen Ginsberg and novelists like Jack Kerouac voiced these ideas.
3. At UC Berkeley, in 1964, a so-called Free Speech Movement began.
  1. Kids tried drugs, “did their own thing” in new institutions, and rejected patriotism.
4. In 1948, Indiana Univ. “sexologist” Dr. Kinsey wrote Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and estimated 10% of US males were gay. Mattachine Society, founded in LA (1951), pushed gay rights.
5. Students for a Democratic Society, once against war, projected their suspicion of the government.
6. Upheaval in the 60s was attributed to three P’s: youthful pop bulge, protest against racism and war, and the apparent permanence of prosperity, but in the 70s, this prosperity gave way to stagnation.

Nixon “Vietnamizes” the War
1. Nixon urged Americans to cooperate, but divided the US into his supporters and opponents.
  1. He was skilled in foreign affairs, and to cope with Vietnam, used a policy called “Vietnamization.” The S. Vietnamese would slowly fight their own war, and the US would only supply arms and money; the basis of the Nixon Doctrine.
2. The war was fought mostly by the least privileged Americans, since college students and critically skilled civilians were exempt, and there were reports of dissension in the army.
3. The My Lai Massacre of 1968, in which American troops had brutally massacred innocent women and children reflected the stress of war and led to more opposition to the war.

Cambodianizing the Vietnam War
1. North Vietnam was using Cambodia to funnel troops and arms, and in April 1970, Nixon ordered US troops to invade Cambodia to stop the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
2. Riots occurred at Kent State Univ and Jackson State. The issue split the “hawks” and “doves” more.
3. The Senate repealed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. And, in 1971, the 26^th Amendment, lowered the voting age to eighteen, too young to vote, but not too young to die in war.
4. In June 1971, The New York Times published The Pentagon Papers, a secret Pentagon study of US involvement in Vietnam leaked by former pentagon official Daniel Ellsberg, exposing the deceit of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.

Nixon’s Détente with Beijing (Peking) and Moscow
1. China and the Soviets were clashing over interpretations of Marxism. Nixon seized this chance for the US to relax tensions. Nixon made an historic trip to China in February of 1972.
2. Nixon traveled to Moscow in May 1972. The Soviets wanted foodstuffs, were alarmed over possible US-China relations, and made deals to buy $750 million worth grain and ushered in an era of détente..
3. The ABM Treaty (anti-ballistic missile treaty) and the SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) also decreased tension, but the US went ahead with new MIRV (Multiple Independently-targeted Reentry Vehicles) missiles, the USSR did the same. But, Nixon’s détente policy did work, at least a little.

A New Team on the Supreme Bench - Supreme Court
1. Earl Warren as Chief Justice, headed many controversial but important decisions:
  1. Griswold vs. Connecticut (65) struck down a state law banning contraceptive use, even by married couples, creating a “right to privacy.”
  2. Gideon vs. Wainwright (63) accused were entitled to legal counsel, even if too poor to afford it.
  3. Escobedo (1964) and Miranda (66) protected the right to remain silent.
  4. Engel vs. Vitale (62) and School District of Abington Township vs. Schempp (63) the Court ruled against required prayers and having the Bible in public schools - separation of church and state.
2. Nixon would have the opportunity to change this course by appointing Chief Justice Warren Burger along with three other members on the court, yet we got Roe vs. Wade in 1973.

Nixon on the Home Front
1. Nixon expanded Great Society programs like Medicare and Medicaid, as well as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), and created the Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which gave benefits to the indigent aged, blind, and disabled.
2. Nixon’s Philadelphia Plan (69) established “goals and timetables” for Black employment.
3. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created to help nature and the environment.
4. In 1962, Rachel Carson boosted the environmental movement with Silent Spring, exposing negative effects of pesticides. The Clean Air Act (70) and the Endangered Species Act (73) aimed to protect and preserve the environment, making notable progress.

The Nixon Landslide of 1972
1. Nixon was challenged by George McGovern in ‘72, who promised to end the war within 90 days and appealed to teens, women, and minorities, alienating traditional Dems. Henry Kissinger suggested that “peace is at hand” helping Nixon win.
2. Nixon started bombing and drove N. Vietnam to the bargaining table and a cease-fire in January 1973
  1. This peace was little more than a thinly-disguised US retreat.

The Secret Bombing of Cambodia and the War Powers Act
1. It was discovered the US was bombing Vietnamese forces in Cambodia in 1969, despite telling the public Cambodia’s neutrality was being respected. Distrust of the government increased, and Nixon ended this bombing in June 1973.
2. Destabilized, Cambodia led by Pol Pot, committed genocide and killed over 2 million people.
3. The War Powers Act of November 1973 required the president to report commitments of US troops to foreign exchanges within 48 hours, limiting presidential power.

The Arab Oil Embargo and the Energy Crisis
1. After the US backed Israel in aggression towards Syria and Egypt, Arab nations imposed an oil embargo, limiting oil and causing a crisis. A 55 mph speed limit was imposed, an Alaskan oil pipeline was approved, and alternative energy was pursued/discussed.
2. Since 1948, the US had been importing more oil than it exported. Oil production had gone down since 1970, ending an era of cheap energy. OPEC lifted the embargo in 1974, but prices still went up.