history

Double V

1942- During WWII, the U.S was still undergoing racial inequalities. Through the 'double v' campaign, African Americans hoped that this campaign would raise awareness to segregation. The Pittsburgh Courier that was a newspaper for African Americans during this time started the term 'double v'. The 'double v' stood for victory against the axis power and victory at home against racial prejudice. In 1948, President Truman signed the Executive order 9981 which ultimately ended the practice of segregating troops by race in the American armed forces.

Korematsu vs. United State

1944- After the bombings of Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt signed the executive order 9066 allowing the U.S military to declare parts of the U.S as military areas and thereby exclude specific groups of people from them. Japanese people were sent to internment camps due to the scare. Frank Korematsu, an American-born Japanese man knew this order and defied it still. He was arrested and convicted. His case was sent to the Supreme Court where they ordered that he disobeyed the order and was guilty. The decision was significant because it ruled that the United State's government had the right to exclude and forcibly move people from designated areas based on their race.

Truman Doctrine

1947- After WWII, Britain assumed control over Greece and Turkey; however, they found it difficult to keep up with their commitments. Truman knew that if Britain withdrew from Greece and Turkey, then Russia would come and easily take them over, spreading communism. In 1947, President Truman gave a speech before a joint session of congress and told them that the Truman Doctrine stated that the U.S would assist any government-resisting communism. Truman signed the act in 1947, which granted $400 million in military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey.

George Kennan

1947-1948- Kennan was an American adviser who was best known as being the father of 'containment', Kennan was a key figure in the emergence of the Cold War. His leadership throughout the Cold War had a great impact on the Truman's presidency as he started to create new programs. One of the more notable programs that Kennan played a leading role in was the creation of the Marshall plan. The plan was a program that gave European countries after WWII monetary aid to help their economies in hope that they could fight off communism.

Dixiecrats

1948- Dixiecrats was a party that was formed in 1948 by diehard Southern democrats. The Dixiecrats were opposed to President Truman being nominated again as a Democratic candidate. These Dixiecrats were committed to the state's rights and the maintenance of segregation and opposed the federal intervention into race. They were very much against Truman's New Deal policies of labor reforms and civil rights programs. Their ultimate aim was to carry enough Southern states and thus deny either Harry Truman (Dem) or Thomas Dewey (Rep) enough Electoral College votes to win the election. This would force the election into the House of Representatives, where the Dixiecrats would hope to get a concession from either candidate to drop their civil rights policies in exchange for Southern votes.

The Third World

1950s- The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO, or communism and the Soviet Union. This definition provided a way of broadly categorizing the nations of the earth into three groups based on social, political, and economic divisions. It is significant because, nowadays the term third world countries stereotypically define those countries that are extremely poor and are undeveloped.

Great Society

1964- A set of domestic programs proposed or enacted by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The two main goals of this social reform was the elimination of poverty and racial injustices. During this period, new major spending programs that addressed education, medical care, urban problems, and transportation were launched. While some of the programs have been eliminated or had their funding reduced, many of them, including Medicare, Medicaid, and federal education funding, continue to this day. The Great Society had significant contributions to the protection of civil rights with the two major civil acts being passed in 1964 and 1965. However many argue that the attempt to eliminate poverty was unsuccessful with the cost of the programs and the emergence of the Vietnam War.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolutions

1964- Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolutions in 1964 that authorized military action in Southeast Asia. Without provocation, North Vietnamese torpedo ships attacked U.S destroyers and Johnson and his advisers decided on an immediate air strike on North Vietnam. Later on congress granted the U.S military to take action in North Vietnam. This resolution was significant because it was basically the congressional equivalent of a declaration of war against communism during the Vietnam War.

Supply-side economics

1980- President Ronal Reagan introduced supply-side economics or 'reaganomics' beginning in 1980. Reaganomics stressed lower taxes (would cause increase in work efforts) and higher defense spending (SDI- Star wars). Higher taxes will cause people to refuse to engage in the economy, which will lead to fewer transactions for the government to collect taxes. A reduction of growth in the money supply by the Federal Reserve Board combined with Reaganomics to produce a severe recession in 1981, the Reagan years were characterized by huge budget deficits, low interest, and inflation rates. With its emphasis on tighter money control, Reaganomics supported the action of the Federal Reserve to fight inflation, which had plagued the American economy for over a decade.

Christian Right

1980s- A right wing christian political group that strongly supported socially conservative policies that was led by Robert Grant. Mainly southern democrats who wanted unions and against African Americans.

No Child Left Behind

2001- Immediately after George W. Bush took office, he got the No Child Left Behind act of 2001 passed. This act was set into place to help improve educational outcome for poor and minority children. Through this act, states were to give their students standardized tests or assessments at a select level grade in order to receive federal funding for the many different programs that each school had. Ultimately it is significant because through this act, Bush was able to successfully help increase the education level in the U.S.