Period 8 Notes: 1945-1980
Key Concepts for Period 8
Key Concept 8.1: US policymakers engaged in a cold war with the authoritarian Soviet Union, seeking to:
Limit the growth of Communist military power and ideological influence.
Create a free-market global economy.
Build an international security system.
Key Concept 8.2: New movements for civil rights and liberal efforts to expand the role of government generated a range of political and cultural responses.
Key Concept 8.3: Civil rights activists and political leaders achieved some legal and political successes in ending segregation, though progress toward racial equality was slow, seeking to fulfill Reconstruction-era promises.
Key Concept 8.4: Postwar economic and demographic changes had far-reaching consequences for American society, politics, and culture.
Breaking Down Period 8
Period 8 covers the time the United States emerged from World War II as a global superpower but faced challenges at home and overseas.
Four main sections:
Beginnings of the Cold War
Post-WWII Domestic Policy (Truman & Eisenhower)
The Tumultuous Sixties
The 1970s: US Society in Transition
I. Beginnings of the Cold War
A. New Global Order
Victorious powers after WWII:
France
UK
USA
Soviet Union
China
Germany:
Greatly reduced in territory.
Divided into 4 occupation zones: British, American, French, and Russian.
Japan:
Occupied by US and British troops.
Forced to demilitarize and have no military.
The United Nations:
Formed at the end of WWII, replacing the League of Nations.
The United States was involved.
Had more power than the League of Nations, thanks to the Security Council.
Security Council could vote to impose a variety of options on a belligerent nation: diplomatic pressure, economic sanctions, sending in troops, etc.
The United States, along with Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and China, was a permanent member of the Security Council and had veto power over voting.
A. New Global Order: Bretton Woods Agreement 1944
Post WWII global economic system for trade, development, and economic growth, agreed to by some 45 allied nations
1) Fixed Currency Exchange Rates: all countries would fix their currency to the US dollar
2) Created the International Monetary Fund (IMF): would provide financial assistance to countries that were struggling to meet their financial needs
3) Creation of the World Bank: would provide funds to support economic development projects
The US would now take a leading role in the international monetary and financial system; Soviets would never join this system
B. Origins of the Cold War
Even before the dust had settled from WWII, the US and Soviet Union were suspicious of each others intentions
The 4 zones of occupation of Germany did not help to ease tensions
The Soviet Union wanted to:
Dominate Eastern Europe.
Punish Germany.
Spread communism where possible.
The US wanted a global order open to US trade so American economic growth could take place
The Soviets allowed for elections in Eastern European countries, as agreed with the US and British at Yalta, but only allowed communists to run: Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia
In 1946, Winston Churchill gave a famous speech in the US; his Iron Curtain speech
An iron curtain has descended upon Europe, splitting between east and west
B. Origins of the Cold War
US diplomat George Kennan, in 1946, wrote an essay about how the peaceful coexistence that FDR wanted with the Soviet Union after the war was naive.
Instead, he put forward the theory of containment with the Soviet Union.
The US should contain the potential spread of communism and influence of the Soviet Union.
In 1947, Truman put this theory into practice, Britain was no longer able to support the Greek government in their fight against communist guerilla fighters.
The United States replaced the British as the main supporter of the Greek government, aid was also extended to Turkey.
This became known as the Truman Doctrine: committed the US to contain the spread of communism throughout the world.
B. Origins of the Cold War: The Marshall Plan
By 1947, many European economies still had not recovered from WWII (UK, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, etc.).
Communist parties were on the rise in those countries offering solutions, especially France and Italy.
To prevent them from seeking aid from the Soviets, US Secretary of State George Marshall proposed a $13 billion economic recovery aid plan to any country in Europe that asked for support
Most went to Britain, France, Italy, and West Germany.
B. Origins of the Cold War: Berlin Airlift
The Marshall Plan drew the countries of Western Europe closer together, while also increasing tensions with the Soviets.
In 1948, the British, French, and Americans united their 3 zones of Germany into 1: West Germany, this also happened to West Berlin.
Stalin wanted western troops out of Berlin, so in mid-1948, Stalin ordered all traffic (cars, trucks, trains) into the city from West Germany.
Not wanting to be forced out of Berlin, the Americans and British responded with the Berlin Airlift. Massive sustained airlift to provide food and supplies to the people of Berlin: June 1948-May 1949.
Soviets backed down and reopened the roads and railroads into West Berlin.
B. Origins of the Cold War: Creation of new US government departments
New US government departments specialized in foreign affairs:
National Security Act 1947: reorganized the US military and intelligence agencies after WWII, created the Department of Defense
National Security Council (NSC): composed of senior national security advisors that would advise the president on foreign policy decisions
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): foreign intelligence service tasked with advancing US security and gathering intelligence overseas
B. Origins of the Cold War: New Alliances Develop
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO):
Founded in 1949, defensive military alliance amongst Western European countries, plus US and Canada, against the Soviet Union.
Warsaw Pact:
Founded in 1955, created as a defensive military alliance for communist countries in Eastern Europe, dominated by the Soviet Union.
New Developments in Weaponry:
In 1949, the Soviet Union successfully tests an atomic bomb, US is no longer the sole atomic power.
US responds by developing a hydrogen bomb, successful in 1952.
Arms race of nuclear weapons has now begun.
C. Cold War in Asia
After WWII, Japan is not divided up like Germany, US takes sole ownership of occupation.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur is in charge of US occupation forces.
US creates a democratic government, limits Japan’s military strength, and US invests heavily into Japan’s economy to revitalize it.
C. Cold War in Asia: Chinese Civil War
Chinese Nationalists: led by Chiang Kai-shek
Chinese Communists: led by Mao Zedong
During WWII, the Chinese Nationalists and Chinese Communists put aside their differences to fight Japan.
After WWII is over, Chinese Civil War resumes, Mao Zedong and communists win in 1949.
Chinese Nationalists flee to the island of Formosa (Taiwan), US and other Western allies refuse to recognize Mao and the communists and the legitimate government of China, Mao signs Treaty of Friendship with Stalin
C. Cold War in Asia: Korean War 1950-1953
Japan had occupied the Korean peninsula since 1910.
At the end of WWII, Soviet troops had entered northern Korea to accept the Japanese surrender, and US troops had landed in southern Korea to do the same.
Soviets and US agree to divide Korea temporarily until a unification process could be agreed, split the Korean peninsula along the 38th parallel.
Soviets set up a communist government in the north under Kim Il Sung; US set up a government in the south under Syngman Rhee.
C. Cold War in Asia
After being encouraged by Stalin and the Soviets, North Korean forces invade South Korea in June of 1950.
First real test for the new United Nations, they won’t make the same mistake as the League of Nations did with Italy and Ethiopia in 1936.
Soviets, not truly understanding the importance of the UN, miss the Security Council meeting on the situation in Korea; UN Security Council votes for military intervention against North Korea.
UN troops would be led by US General Douglas MacArthur.
C. Cold War in Asia: Timeline
North Korean forces are initially successful with their invasion, capture Seoul in June of 1950, and push South Korean and UN forces back to the southwestern city of Pusan.
MacArthur is able to land reinforcements at Pusan to hold the North Koreans back.
September 1950: US lands forces behind the North Koreans, causing them to retreat, Seoul is recaptured.
By October 1950, Pyongyang has been captured and UN troops are approaching the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China.
Concerned UN forces would keep going past the Yalu River, Mao ordered 260,000 Chinese troops to invade North Korea, they push the UN forces all the way back to the 38th parallel.
Stalemate for 3 years.
General Douglas MacArthur is fired from his command by Truman in 1951; MacArthur had publicly been calling Truman indecisive and weak, plus MacArthur had publicly called for the atomic bomb to be used against China.
Peace Agreement 1953: an armistice was signed to end the fighting, continued division of the Korean peninsula along the 38th parallel where the frontlines were, established a demilitarized zone between North and South Korea (DMZ).
D. Eisenhower and the Cold War
Election of 1952 sees Dwight Eisenhower win the presidency
Eisenhower years: 1953-1960
It was under Eisenhower’s presidency that the armistice to end the fighting in Korea was signed.
Eisenhower’s Secretary of State John Foster Dulles influenced his foreign policy approaches.
Dulles felt the theory of containment by Truman and the Democrats had been too weak on the Soviets and communism.
Dulles felt the US should “roll back” communism around the world.
Brinkmanship: arming up the US military and expanding the nuclear arsenal as if the US was on the brink of war
Massive Retaliation: using the threat of nuclear war to prevent Communist aggression
Domino Theory: fear that if one country fell to communism, then all eventually would
D. Eisenhower and the Cold War: Origins of conflict in Vietnam
Review: during WWII, Japan invaded French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia).
Once Japan surrendered, the French returned, even though there was a large home-grown movement for independence in the colony.
Viet Minh were a group of independence fighters that resisted the French returning in 1945.
Ho Chi Minh was a communist leader with the Viet Minh who was very successful fighting the French in northern Vietnam.
Battle of Dien Bien Phu: Viet Minh defeat and force the surrender of a French army in May 1954.
Geneva Accords 1954: independence was granted to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia; Vietnam would be divided along the 17th parallel and unification elections would take place in 1956.
However, these elections would never take place because Eisenhower and South Vietnamese leaders felt Ho Chi Minh and Communists would win
D. Eisenhower and the Cold War: CIA and the Cold War
CIA becomes more active during Eisenhower’s presidency.
CIA, along with British intelligence, stage a coup in Iran in 1953 after the Iranian prime minister nationalized all foreign oil interests.
CIA becomes active in Latin America fighting Communist guerilla forces.
Nuclear Buildup of the 1950s
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) are developed, greatly increasing the range in which a nuclear warhead could be delivered.
Sputnik was launched in 1957, first artificial satellite launched by the Soviets.
US freaks out, Eisenhower created NASA in 1958 in response
D. Eisenhower and the Cold War: World Conflicts and US Involvement under Eisenhower
Arab-Israeli Conflict
US recognizes Israel in 1949.
US Middle Eastern policy now centers around upholding Israel and protecting oil interests (think Iranian coup).
Revolution in Hungary 1956
Hungarian people rise up and attempt to kick the Soviets out of their country, ask for US assistance, Eisenhower refused as Hungary was clearly in the Soviet sphere of influence and did not want to provoke a full scale nuclear war.
This showed the limitations of Dulles’ “roll them back” approach to communism
Cuban Revolution 1956-1958
Fidel Castro and his Communist forces take control of Cuba.
Eisenhower orders a CIA mission to overthrow Castro, we’ll revisit this during JFK’s presidency
Suez Crisis 1956
Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal, removing all British and French interests
Britain, France, and Israel team up to invade the Suez Canal area
US and Soviet Union condemn this invasion, saw it as old-school European imperialism.
Britain and France were forced to withdraw their forces
D. Eisenhower and the Cold War
With a lot of tension in the Middle East, the Eisenhower Doctrine is put forward in 1957.
US would intervene in the Middle East if any government in threatened by Communist forces and is asking for assistance.
Emphasis put on the Middle East in order to secure US energy supplies for domestic consumption.
In 1953, Stalin dies, is replaced by Nikita Khrushchev.
Both leaders agreed to a summit in 1960 in order to address and solve disagreements.
U-2 Incident 1960: the summit never took place because in 1960, the Soviets shot down a US spy plane flying over the Soviet Union.
This created more divisions and tensions between the two sides
E. Assessing the Beginning of the Cold War
It is clear isolationism and neutrality are over, US is now a central player in global matters.
However, in Eisenhower’s farewell address, he warned the nations against “an immense military establishment and a large arms industry”.
Warned about the dangers of having “a large military-industrial complex exerting unwarranted influence in hall of Congress and the White House”.
II. Post-WWII Domestic Policy (Truman & Eisenhower)
A. Economic Concerns after WWII
Demobilization of the US military presented challenges for the US.
Difficult first year after the war as unemployment rose, reflected the return of servicemen to the workforce, reached around 5%.
Council of Economic Advisors set up to help manage the transition of the US economy from wartime to peacetime.
Improved and stabilized by the end of 1946, US then went onto have 25 years of economic growth and prosperity; US economy effectively doubles in size
A. Economic Concerns after WWII
GI Bill of Rights 1944
Federal government spent $13 billion on returning servicemen.
Education, vocational training, medical treatment, unemployment insurance, and loans for building houses and opening up businesses.
This helped to make the transition from soldier to civilian easier.
Taft-Hartley Act 1947
New Republican controlled Congress concerned with the increased number of strikes which they believed would slow economic growth after the war.
Passed Taft-Hartley which restricted the power of unions by ending “closed shops” (nonunion members could not be hired); unions around the US called it the “slave-labor act”.
Passed despite President Truman using his veto on the legislation
B. Civil Rights during the 1940s
Remember “Double Victory” campaign by African Americans during WWII.
This will not be a repeat of post-WWI.
Groups like NAACP were prominent in these early stages to get attention and keep awareness high.
President Truman did not like the news of returned black soldiers being treated unfairly by their home communities, particularly in the South.
In 1948, Truman did two executive orders to improve race relations in the US:
1) Banned racial discrimination in the hiring of federal employees
2) Ended the racial segregation of the US armed forces, the military
1947, Jackie Robinson breaks the color barrier in the MLB with the Brooklyn Dodgers
C. Truman’s Presidency
Truman took over the presidency when FDR passed away in 1945.
Foreign policy obviously dominated a lot of Truman’s presidency (WWII, Cold War, Korea) but he was determined to make his impact on the homefront like FDR did.
Truman was interested in social justice, social welfare, and the regulation of business.
A “new Liberalism for the new world”
Truman proposed his domestic policies as a “Fair Deal” for all.
Proposals: civil rights legislation, increases to social security, a national healthcare, minimum wage increase, federal aid for education
But, the election of 1948 loomed
C. Truman’s Presidency
Controversial election of 1948
Truman was not as popular with the Democratic base as FDR.
Democrats split into 3 camps:
1) Mainstream Democrats back Truman, official part nominee
2) Progressive Democrats run former VP during FDR’s 3rd term Henry Wallace
3) Southern Democrats who opposed Truman’s civil rights and integration policies ran Strom Thurmond (Dixiecrats)
Republicans nominate Thomas Dewey, New York governor
Looked like the Republicans would win due to in-fighting by the Democrats
C. Truman’s Presidency
However, in a shock result, Truman ends up winning; Dewey and the Republicans were not able to capitalize on the split in the Democratic Party
Fair Deal proposals do not go as far as Truman wanted in Congress, are watered down or are derailed due to the Korean War
22nd Amendment: ratified in 1951, “No person shall be elected to the office of President more than twice”
D. Another Red Scare
Beginning of the Cold War prompted fears of communists infiltrating US society at home
Federal Loyalty Programs
In 1948, Truman signed an executive order where every federal employee and applicant would be intensively screened and background checked
House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC): created in 1938, modified in the late 1940s to identify Communists within the US
Hollywood 10
Group of writers, actors, producers, and directors who refused to cooperate with HUAC, were imprisoned, this led to the blacklisting of suspected communists in the film industry
D. Another Red Scare
Alger Hiss Case 1948
Alger Hiss, ex-state department employee who, after investigation, supplied secrets to the Soviets at Yalta, accused of spying but only convicted of perjury
Rosenberg Case 1950
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of espionage with the Soviets about jet engine designs, radar, and atomic secrets
Executed in 1953
McCarran Act 1950: all registered Communist party members must make themselves known and register with the federal government; passed over Truman’s veto
D. Another Red Scare: McCarthy’s Witch Hunt
Wisconsin Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy began accusing many high ranking government officials of either being communists or being sympathetic to communism and the Soviet Union.
Accusations included George Marshall and other high ranking officials in the State Department.
Later accused the US Army of having been infiltrated by communists, Eisenhower then stepped in and called his bluff, asked him to show proof.
McCarthy’s witch hunt in the Senate ended after the Korean War
E. Changing Social Scene
Emergence of a strong middle class after WWII, many working class move up the rungs of society
More consumer spending in the years after WWII: television, cars, washing machines, fridges, and other household appliances.
Creation of shopping malls and centers.
Baby Boomer Generation 1946-1965: birth rate of the US increased after WWII
E. Changing Social Scene
The Golden Years of Television helped to shape a national culture, shows like “I Love Lucy”, “Leave it to Beaver”, and “Playhouse 90” and live shows like the Ed Sullivan Show.
Growth of Suburbs: massive housing boom after WWII, about 97% of the population growth in the US occurred in the suburbs in the 1950s and 60s, the mass buying of cars helped to spread the suburbs; William Levitt
Population of the US began to shift toward the sunbelt states: Texas, Arizona, California
E. Changing Social Scene
Conformist Culture
There were those that wanted the US to return to a more traditional society, especially gender roles
Most women returned home after WWII, some stayed and challenged the traditional roles of men go to work and women stay at home
Corporate “white-collar” jobs expanded after the war
Religious Revivals during the 1950s
Brought on by fear of nuclear warfare, church membership increased
Televangelists start to become popular
E. Changing Social Scene: The Beat Movement
Counter-culture movement of the 1950s and 1960s
Sometimes known as “Beats” or “Beatniks”
Literature: challenged the goodness and superiority of the American way of life
Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye (1951), James Jones’s From Here to Eternity (1951), Saul Bellow’s Seize the Day (1956)
Painting: abstract painters like Jackson Pollock dominated the scene, “the modern painter cannot express this atomic age”
Rock and Roll: new music style that took off with the younger generation of the 1950s and 1960s
People like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Ray Charles pioneered this, but Elvis Presley took it to new heights of popularity
Conformists and cultural conservatives railed against this new form of music: “promoted a pagan form of life”
F. Eisenhower’s Presidency
Eisenhower wins the election of 1952
“Time for Change” campaign during the election
Eisenhower was a nationally known figure, Democrat nominee, Adlai Stevenson, Illinois governor, wasn’t known outside of Illinois
Eisenhower championed a “Middle Way” presidency and “Dynamic Conservatism” at home
Do not dismantle the New Deal and Fair Deal programs, just modify them to meet the changing world
“Conservative with money, liberal with human beings”
Set out to lower tax rates, weaken government regulations on business, and restore power to the individual states
F. Eisenhower’s Presidency
Most significant of Eisenhower’s domestic achievements was the Federal-Aid Highway Act 1956
Massive nationwide interstate highway system
Created thousands of jobs and stimulated economic growth to new parts of the US
Helped to foster a car culture in the US
But, with more roads and cars, this increased the US’s dependency on imported oil
G. Struggle of Civil Rights in the 1950s
During the late 1940s and 1950s, the NAACP stepped up their efforts to challenge the constitutionality of “separate but equal”; Plessy v Ferguson (1896)
NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall made important strides on challenging the legality
Sipuel v Board of Regents of Oklahoma 1949
Ada Sipuel fought to allow blacks to attend the University of Oklahoma law school
Sweatt v Painter 1950
Herman Sweatt fought to attend the University of Texas law school, a separate law school had been created, but challenged this because the school set up was not equal under university law
Brown v Board of Education of Topeka 1954
Public school segregation declared unconstitutional, separate but equal declared unconstitutional, overturned Plessy v Ferguson
School across the nation forced to integrate starting in 1955
G. Struggle of Civil Rights in the 1950s
Backlash from white southerners
Citizens’ Councils formed in the South to resist this integration, middle-class version of the KKK
Grew to around 250,000 members
Southern politicians and members of the Congress supplied a rallying cry of “Massive Resistance” to the Supreme Court
Over 100 members of Congress signed a “Southern Manifesto” refusing to abide by the Brown v Board ruling
G. Struggle of Civil Rights in the 1950s: Incident at Little Rock, Arkansas 1957
Little Rock Central High School desegregated in the school year of 1957
9 black students attempted to enroll, became known as the Little Rock Nine
Massive backlash from the community as they were refused entry
President Eisenhower, who initially did not care for the Court’s ruling, deployed troops from the 101st Airborne to insure the safety of students at the school
Desegregation of the public schools will happen, with force if necessary
G. Struggle of Civil Rights in the 1950s: Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955-1956
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in the front of the bus to a white passenger
Police arrested her, her arrest sparked massive outrage in the black community
Organizers and leaders, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., organized a bus boycott
They realized that the majority of people that rode the Montgomery buses and who paid for bus transportation was the black community
For 381 days, African Americans used car pools, black-owned taxis, hitchhiked, or walked
Eventually, a federal court case ruled that racial segregation of buses was illegal
MLK took the success from this event and used it craft his nonviolent resistance movement
G. Struggle of Civil Rights in the 1950s
President Eisenhower, hoping to split the Democratic Party along Northern and Southern lines and to reclaim some the African American vote, supported the passage of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960
These Civil Rights Acts established the Civil Rights Commission and a new Civil Rights Division with the Justice Department to investigate any interference with a person's right to vote
These Civil Rights Acts ultimately fell short as they lacked the federal teeth and support to get the ball rolling on voting rights
III. The Tumultuous Sixties
A. Election of 1960
Democrats: Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy
Republican: VP Richard Nixon
Issues for Kennedy at the beginning of the election: youth (43), experience, family wealth, and Roman Catholic
However, this was the first presidential election with a televised debate with the candidates, JFK looked polished and confident on TV while Nixon looked nervous and uncomfortable
JFK wins a very narrow victory with Lyndon B. Johnson as his VP
“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”
Sidenote: first election with Alaska and Hawaii (both 1959)
B. JFK and the Cold War
Initially endorsed the theory of containment, but as his presidency went on, JFK developed a policy of flexible response
Willing to work or sit down with Soviet to achieve some common ground, keep communication lines open between the two sides
Peace Corps: founded in 1961, US sent skilled volunteers over to developing countries to help them in the areas of education, health, technology, agriculture, community development, etc.; seen as a good soft power of the US
Due to US economic interests, there was an increased aid to Latin American countries to help them in their internal fights or struggles against Communism
B. JFK and the Cold War: Bay of Pigs Invasion, April 1961
Inherited CIA plan from Eisenhower
CIA would train 1500 Cuban exiles, land them back in Cuba in order to overthrow Castro and the Communists
Ultimately failed because JFK refused to send in the US air force to support them
Led to Operation Mongoose: covert CIA operations within Cuba to destabilize the Castro regime and Communist government
Few months later, JFK met with Soviet leader Khrushchev in Vienna, meeting did not go well
In 1961, Soviets built the Berlin Wall, dividing East and West Berlin, in order to stop people from leaving East Berlin
US responded with increased troop presence in Berlin and increased the number of nuclear missiles fivefold
B. JFK and the Cold War: Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962
U-2 spy plane discovered mid-range Soviet missiles in Cuba, 50 miles off the coast of Florida
Top ranking military officers called for airstrikes followed up by an invasion of the island
JFK implemented a “quarantine” around Cuba, in other words, a naval blockade
Tensions extremely high throughout the whole episode
Deal struck between US and Soviets: Soviets agreed to remove missiles from Cuba so long as the US agreed to remove our missiles from Turkey
Also established a “hot-line” telephone between Washington and Moscow
Closest the world ever came to all-out nuclear war, brinkmanship
Made many people rethink their attitudes toward war; led to discussions between US and Soviets about nuclear weapons treaties
1963: Soviets and US agree to not conduct nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere
B. JFK and the Cold War: Growing tensions and escalating situation in Southeast Asia: Vietnam
JFK sent military advisers to help train and direct the South Vietnamese.
Protests erupted against South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem
South Vietnamese military leaders sides with the protests and murdered Diem in November 1963.
Instability within South Vietnam made many in Vietnam turn towards Communism and North Vietnam
C. JFK and Domestic Policy: New Frontier
JFK’s broad vision for progress within the US
Aimed at increased government assistance for those struggling or those starting out life: more funding for elder assistance, anti-poverty campaign, increased education funding, raise the minimum wage
Also wanted to reduce taxes for those at the bottom of society and increase defense spending to combat the Soviets
A lot of these proposals struggled through Congress, many Southern Democrats did not like JFK’s warm attitude toward MLK and desegregation
C. JFK and Domestic Policy: Intensified Space Race
JFK promises to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, 1960s
Increased funding and attention given to NASA
Alan Shepard: first US man in space 1961
John Glenn: first human to orbit the Earth 1962
Neil Armstrong: first human to walk on the moon 1969
D. The Warren Court
The Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren was one of the most active and decisive courts of all time; mid 1950s-1960s
Made many important decisions, including Brown v Board of Education
Baker v Carr 1962
Districts must be drawn according to population, ensuring each vote has equal weight
Engel v Vitale 1962
Banned government-sponsored prayer in public schools
Gideon v Wainwright 1963
Defense must be provided with free legal counsel if needed
Escobedo v Illinois 1964
Lawyer must be present when being questioned by police
Miranda v Arizona 1966
Those accused of a crime must be informed of their legal rights
E. Expansion of the Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights movement expands throughout the US, JFK and his Justice Department becomes more involved in helping to further this cause
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
Founded by MLK and other civil rights leaders in 1957, focused on coordinating nonviolent civil rights protests
Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
Staged sit-ins at segregated restaurants and businesses
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
Founded in 1942, nationwide civil rights organization that adopted nonviolent tactics
Helped to organize the Freedom Rides: series of bus rides throughout the South to check on integration and desegregation across state lines
E. Expansion of the Civil Rights Movement
Increased emphasis on African American voter registration during the 1960s, especially in the Deep South
The SNCC would conduct voter registration drives to increase the number of African American voters in the South
James Meredith 1962: first African American to attend the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), escorted by Federal Marshalls
E. Expansion of the Civil Rights Movement: Incidents in Birmingham, Alabama 1963
MLK and other civil rights leaders lead a nonviolent protest march through Birmingham
Police start beating up marchers, MLK is arrested
16th Street Baptist Church Bombing: white supremacist terrorist group planted a bomb in a historic black church, killing 22
Children’s March: thousands of African American children and students march through Birmingham protesting segregation, police beat and used fire hoses to break up the marchers, children
JFK and many others in the North were appalled by this, called for a comprehensive Civil Rights Act
E. Expansion of the Civil Rights Movement: March on Washington, August 1963
Largest Civil Rights demonstration in US history; estimated 250,000
Advocated for civil and economic rights for African Americans
Demanded the end of segregation throughout the US
MLK famous speech “I Have a Dream”
F. Kennedy Assassination
November 22, 1963; Dallas, Texas
Lee Harvey Oswald assassin from building overlooking JFK’s route
Warren Commission: set up to investigate the assassination, concluded Oswald acted alone
VP Lyndon B. Johnson, LBJ, becomes president
G. LBJ’s Presidency at Home: LBJ’s domestic programs nicknamed The Great Society
Increased government spending and involvement in society to alleviate and solve problems
Medicare: federal health insurance program for those 65 and older
Medicaid: federally sponsored health and medical care for low-income people
Clean Air Act 1963 and Clean Water Act 1966: allowed the federal government to regulate pollution of the air and water
Fair Packaging and Labeling Act 1966: protect consumers by making sure businesses label and package their products in a way that is non