AMH 2020 Final

The Federal Loyalty Program

Partly to protect itself against Republican attacks, partly to encourage support for the president's foreign policy initiatives, the Truman administration felt compelled to take protective measures, thus lending substance to the charges of subversion. In March 1947, Truman had initiated a loyalty program, ordering security checks of government employees in order to root out communists. Originally intended to remove subversives for who "reasonable grounds exist for belief that the person involved is disloyal", within 4 years the Loyalty Review Board was dismissing workers as security risks if there was a "reasonable doubt" of their loyalty. By 1951 more than 2,000 government employees had resigned under pressure and 211 had been dismissed. Often those who were charged had no chance to face their accusers.

Dwight D. Eisenhower: Religion

Presbyterian. Eisenhower was raised in a strict religious environment and joined in family daily Bible reading but did not formally join a church until he became president. He was baptized into the National Presbyterian Church in Washington in 1953. Eisenhower asserted in 1948, "I am the most intensely religious man I know. As president, he instituted the interdenominational White House Prayer Breakfast and the practice of opening cabinet meetings with prayer.

Religious Beliefs

Quaker. Nixon belonged to the Friends Meeting of East Whittier, California, but as president attended services of various denominations. He rejected the Quaker tenet of pacifism, enlisting in the navy during World War II. He also ignored the Quaker ban on swearing oaths on taking office as vice president and president. Under the Constitution, he could have substituted the word affirm for swear, as Quaker Herbert Hoover had done in 1929. Nixon cited religious and moral grounds in opposing abortion.

MacAruthur command in the Korean War

Ridgway took MacArthur's command and held off the Communists with strong fortifications and entrenchments just north of the 38TH Parallel, sending occasional offensives against the Iron Triangle, the Communists staging area for attacks into South Korea. Peace negotiations dragged on at Kaesong, then moved and continued to drag at Panmunjom through 1951 and 1952. The US tried using strategic bombing to intimidate the Communists into negotiating a peace treaty, but they wouldn't budge, particularly on the issue of POW (Prisoner of War) repatriation. Neither side wanted to appear weak, and so the talks went on, occasionally breaking down for months. Only after Eisenhower, who was a war hero and was unafraid of Republican criticism (since he himself was a Republican), became President, could the US make substantial concessions to the Communists. In 1953 a peace treaty was signed at Panmunjom that ended the Korean War, returning Korea to a divided status essentially the same as before the war. Neither the war nor its outcome did much to lessen the era's Cold War tension.

Kennedy's Religion

Roman Catholic. Kennedy, the only Catholic president rarely spoke of his religious beliefs. He did not accept completely the teachings of the Catholic church. For example, he supported the use of birth control devices and opposed federal aid to parochial schools. To many, the religious issue seemed an overwhelming barrier to the Kennedy candidacy in 1960. Kennedy confronted the issue in a speech before the Greater Houston Ministerial Association during the campaign. He said, "I believe in an America where the separation of Church and State is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the President, should he be a Catholic, how to act and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote." He went on to say that he was prepared to accept defeat on the basis of the issues. "But if this election is decided on the basis that 40 million Americans lost their chance of being president on the day they were baptized than it is the whole nation that will be the loser in the eyes of Catholics and non-Catholics around the world, in the eyes of history, and in the eyes of our own people." As president, Kennedy declined to raise relations with the Vatican to the ambassadorial level and attended Protestant services from time to time.

Who were the attacks against in the McCarthy era?

These attacks on the wealthy, famous, and privileged won McCarthy a devoted national following, though at the height of his influence in early 1954, he gained the approval of only 50% of the respondents in a Gallup poll. He offered a simple solution to the complicated Cold War: defeat the enemy at home rather than continue to engage in costly foreign aid programs and entangling alliances abroad. For a time, McCarthy intimidated all but a few people from opposing him. Even the highly popular Dwight D. Eisenhower, running for president in 1952, did not speak out against him, even though he disliked McCarthy's tactics and was outraged at, among other things, his attacks on General George Marshall.

Marshall Plan

This came about to aid Europe due to the crumbling relations between the Allies (Britain, U.S. and the Soviet Union) and the U.S. needed to contain the spread of Soviet power. Aid program begn in 1948 to help European economies recover from WWII. The U.S. provided $13 billion to seventeen Western European nations that helped their economy too.

Consumer Product Safety Act, 1972

This law created the Consumer Product Safety Commission, an independent regulatory agency, empowered to set product safety standards and ban unsafe products from the marketplace.

Impact of TV

We live in a world where few of us "listen" to the radio in our home for non-music entertainment. Sure you may turn to the AM dial while you are in the car and listen to a political commentator. But how many turn in every night while at home? Chances are you flip on the TV for your news and settle in to catch your favorite episode of network TV. Maybe you hit the Internet to check the news and chat a bit. Well, before the spread of television - radio was a prime source of news and in home entertainment. Before TV there were regular radio shows - Amos and Andy, Abbott and Costello, Ellery Queen, Mercury Theater and yes even soap operas such as the Guiding Light - all broadcast to you on the radio networks. Yep, I said networks - before NBC and CBS were TV networks they were radio networks broadcasting on radio pretty much what the do on television today - comedy, adventure, quiz and game shows, soap operas, music and the news.

More TV shows of the 1950s

Westerns abounded as the decade progressed. By 1957, Gunsmoke was in the second year of its twenty year run and westerns like Gunsmoke accounted for almost one-third of all network programming. Even Ronald Reagan joined the TV West in Death Valley Days. As big as westerns were - there was a craze that swept the television viewing audience in the 1950s. It is a craze that we should all be able to relate to - that of prime-time game/quiz shows. Just like recent audiences were hooked on quiz shows like Who Wants to be a Millionaire or The Weakest Link, so were audiences in the Fifties with The $64,000 Question and Twenty-One. But dark reality crept into the "innocent" 1950s with the quiz show scandals.

In 1946, the wartime Allies contended over Germany's fututre

Both sides wanted to demilitarize Germany, but U.S. sought rapid industrial revival there to foster European economic recovery and thus America's own long-term prosperity. While Soviet Union wanted Germany weak both military and economically since he wanted Germany to rebuild the Soviet economy. So it was decided to divide up Germany. Britain, France, and U.S. began to unify their occupational zones establishing Federal Republic of Germany which is West Germany in 1949. Soviet Union installed a puppet Communist government in East Germany.

Energy

Energy will be the immediate test of our ability to unite this nation," President Carter asserted in a major address in July 1979, "and it can also be the standard around which we rally. On the battlefield of energy we can win for our nation a new confidence and we can seize control again of our common destiny." In a protracted 18-month struggle with Congress, the Carter administration had won a watered-down version of its energy bill in November 1978, providing for decontrol of natural gas prices, tax credits for the installation of insulation and other fuel-conservation measures, and requirements for business and industry to convert from oil or as to coal. In 1980 Congress enacted the administration-sponsored windfall-profits tax on oil companies. Carter also promoted the development of synthetic fuels.

What was Ford's religion?

Episcopalian. As president he prayed for guidance in making particularly difficult decisions, notably the pardon of his predecessor, Richard Nixon.

What are Citizens Councils?

Essentially they are a middle and upper class version of the KKK. Many were businessmen who believed in economic coercion rather than physical intimidation. What that means is rather than beating an African-American who is seeking to increase their civil rights, they would apply economic pressure. Perhaps cutting off credit or laying off that worker or if not directly employed then a family member who they emplo

Cold War

Even before WWII ended where the U.S. and the Soviet Union had fought together as allies there were signs of tension between two nations. Once the hostilities were over the tensions grew to create the "Cold War" a tense and dangerous rivalry that would have profound effects on American domestic life. As well as the most corrosive outbreak of anti-radical hysteria of the century.

Rise of the Automobile

Fins and chrome - those big boat cars of the 1950s are an icon of the decade. But the importance of those automobiles are far greater than just an image in the mind's eye - the automobile came into its own in the 1950s. While Henry Ford permitted the average American to purchase a car in the 1920s, it was an entry into the market and average consumers were excited to have a car - even if they all looked pretty much alike. The 1930s and early 1940s did not permit serious growth of the car market. Once the Second World War was over the people were clamoring for new cars. For those that had kept their old cars together with spit and bailing wire during the Depression and the War, a new car was not a luxury it was a necessity. But there were several new markets for the automobile in the Fifties and these new markets would fuel Detroit and in turn fuel the economy and society of the 1950s.

the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways

How is this massive piece of spending legislation pushed through? It did not just fly through - there were speed bumps. A deciding factor was the systems value in defense. Remember this is the 1950s and the threat of nuclear war is a constant specter. The highway system was sold as a defense in the event of nuclear war. The new highways would enable people to flee the big cities if the Soviet bombers were on the way. I know this sounds laughable - but remember this is before Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles and death in 30 minutes or less. Just say it is for defense and it makes it acceptable to many who would normally oppose such legislation.

On 29 June 1956

Ike signed the highway bill into law. Two months later the first ribbons of interstate concrete were being poured in Kansas. Hold the phone, did I say Kansas??? Yep, the flatlands of Kansas - care to guess the home state of Eisenhower?

Mexicans after WWII

In 1939, they formed the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) to combat discrimination and segregation. Mexican soldiers felt that they weren't getting their veteran benefits from a new organization formed in 1948 in Corpus Christi, Texas called the American GI Forum. Dr. Hector Perez Garcia president of the local LULAC and a combat surgeon led the GI Forum which became a national force for battling discrimination and electing sympathetic officials.

Campaign and Election of 1960

In this pitched battle in which the lead, according to the polls, seesawed back and forth between the candidates, the dominant issues were the economy and the communist challenge. Kennedy, hammering away at the theme "Let's get America moving again", vowed to close the missile-gap and denounced the Eisenhower-Nixon administration for permitting a Communist regime to come to power 90 miles from American shores in Cuba. Nixon, referring to Kennedy's youth and limited experience in government, warned that the presidency was no place for on-the-job training. Nixon vowed to maintain a strong stand against communism around the world. Although Nixon forbade his staff to raise the religious issue, some Protestant clergy publicly questioned whether Kennedy would be able to divorce his Catholicism from his secular duties as president.

Alliance for Progress

Kennedy sought to build on the Good Neighbor policy for President Roosevelt by establishing the Alliance for Progress, in which the U.S. provided billions in aid to Latin America. The Alliance charter was signed at the Inter-American Conference at Punta del Este, Uruguay, in August 1961. Used as an anti-communist measure.

Dwight D. Eisenhower: Marriage

Lieutenant Dwight D. Eisenhower, 25, married Marie "Mamie" Doud, 19, on July 1, 1916 at the home of the brides parents in Denver, Colorado. It was soon after completing her education at finishing school that she met Eisenhower at San Antonio in October 1915. Introduced by Mrs. Lulu Harris, wife of a fellow officer at Fort Sam Houston, the two hit it off at once, as Eisenhower, officer of the day invited Miss Doud to accompany him on his rounds. Eisenhower found her vivacious, attractive, and saucy.

Yalta

More than a year after the Teheran Conference the Grand Alliance among the U.S., British, and Soviet Union altered from tension to friendship In the Fall of 1944, Churchill flew by himself to Moscow for a meeting with Stalin to resolve issue arising from a proposed that the control of Eastern Britain and the Soviet Union. To Roosevelt, the Moscow agreement was evidence of how little the Atlantic Charter principles seemed to mean to Roosevelt's allies.

Nixon's Career Before the Presidency

Nixon served in the navy from June 1942 to March 1946, rising from lieutenant junior grade to lieutenant commander. 1947-1950 U.S. Representative 1951-1953 U.S. Senator 1953-1961 Vice President 1960 Republican Presidential Nomination 1962 Defeated for Governor of California

Television: The Boob Tube Arrives

Whatever you want to call it - the Idiot Box, Boob Tube - prior to the Internet, television was the most powerful medium of mass communication. It is not an invention of the 1950 - the roots of TV are firmly planted in the 1920s. Who invented the television? Well that has been a subject of debate since the 1920 - some claim Philo T. Farnsworth, others say Vladimir K. Zworykin. What it comes down to is Zworykin was working for Westinghouse Corporation (and later RCA) and Farnsworth was independent inventor. Zworykin applied for a patent for an important component of television first, the iconoscope. But Farnsworth actually developed a whole working TV first - using a iconoscope that he designed. The new invention was promoted to the general public at the 1939 New York World's Fair with the broadcast of President Roosevelt's opening of the fair.

Whip Inflation Now, 1974

With great fan fair President Ford in October 1974 launched a Whip Inflation Now (WIN) campaign, complete with WIN buttons. The deepening recession of 1974-1975, however, forced him to abandon the program and stimulate the economy. Ford later conceded that the WIN effort was "probably too gimmicky"

Did motels exist before the 1950s?

Yep, they sure did - most were mom and pop motels on the outskirts of town and often respectable folk believed these seedy looking motels attracted the wrong crowd. What Americans yearned for in this car loving decade was uniformity. What a secure feeling knowing that where ever you were if you saw this sign you knew that you would find a safe haven - rooms that all pretty much looked the same no matter if you were in New York or Idaho. Enter Kemmons Wilson and the Holiday Inn. In short that was the attraction of Holiday Inn - those cookie cutter rooms brought stability and piece of mind. They were clean and had a pool to keep the kids occupied so you could unwind from the long days travel.

In February 1960, black college students in Greensboro, North Carolina,

staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter; and in the following weeks, similar demonstrations spread throughout the South, forcing many merchants to integrate their facilities. Take a close look at the photo in your text on page 1034. This photo shows a sit-in at a lunch counter. The three people sitting at the counter are practicing King's policy of non-violent resistance, in other words turn the other cheek. Now, place yourself in that photo, could you sit there and have people pour mustard, ketchup, sugar, salt, pepper, soda on you and not react? You can imagine the name calling that was going on as well. Could you turn the other cheek? I know I would probably have a hard time doing so. When we speak of heroes, generally soldiers and their bravery on the field of battle comes to mind. Those folks who sat at those lunch counters are heroes as well. They took the abuse to improve us as a society. Shortly after this picture was taken the two women were dragged from their stools out into the street by their hair and thrown in jail.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

third component of containment strategy in the U.S. military alliance formed in 1949 among the U.S., Canada, and Western European to counter any possible Soviet threat. It represented an unprecedented commitment to go to war if any of its allies were attacked.

An important item to note is world reaction to the murder of Emitt Till

throughout Europe headlines of racial violence in America appeared. This is EXTREMELY important in regard to the politics of the Cold War. The treatment of African-American in the South is an embarrassment to the United States and makes it very difficult for to win over the newly emerging African republics. The Soviets often compared the treatment of blacks in the South to that of Jews in Nazi Germany Bryant and Milan are arrested and placed on trail in September 1955. The men are acquitted of murder after only 67 minutes of juror deliberation. In January 1956, Bryant and Milan receive $4,000 from Look magazine to tell their story where they provide details to the death of Till.

Cultural exchanges and propaganda

another strategy used to promote U.S. intervention as positive was expanding the Voice of America, sending books, exhibits, jazz musicians, and other performers to foreign countries as cultural ambassadors.

Cold War Politics in the Truman Years lasted between

1945-1953

Campaign Reform Law, 1974

A reaction to the campaign finance abuses of Watergate, the bill, signed by Ford in October 1974, provided for public funding of presidential campaigns and strict limits on individual contributions to such campaigns as well as campaign expenditures. Funds for the program were to be derived form the $1 check off on federal income tax returns.

When was Ford in office from when to when?

Administration: August 9, 1974 - January 20, 1977

Eisenhower was in office from to when? What did his administration consists of?

Administration: January 20, 1953 - January 20, 1961 Conclusion of the Korean War, 1953 Cold War and the Eisenhower Doctrine Fall of McCarthy, 1954 Civil Rights Interstate Highway System

How long was Kennedy in office?

Administration: January 20, 1961 - November 22, 1963

Nixon in office

Although reform slowed during the Nixon Administration, a number of factors contributed to the persistence of reform efforts during his presidency. Under Nixon, continued pressure from popular movements, a Democratic majority in Congress, and a number of Supreme Court rulings ensured that reform did not come to a complete halt. During Nixon's presidency, environmental protection and women's rights actually gained strength.

Dwight D. Eisenhower: Wife

As First Lady, she was a gracious hostess but carefully guarded her privacy. A victim of an inner-ear disorder that affects equilibrium, Mrs. Eisenhower was at times unsteady on her feet, something that fed baseless rumors that she had a drinking problem. In 1961 she retired with the former president to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, their first permanent home. She suffered a stroke in September 1979 and died on November 11.

When did serious issues begin to develop in the alliance with the Soviet Union?

As early as 1942, a result of Stalin's irritation to the delays in opening the second front and his resentment of the Anglo-American decision to invade North Africa before Europe.

Johnson's Education

At his mother's coaching, Johnson learned the alphabet at age two and to read at four. He attended public elementary schools near his home in Johnson City. Although bright, he disliked schoolwork, especially math, and was often cited for misbehavior. He took dancing lessons for a time but quit after being spanked for teasing the girls. He also studied violin for several months. At Johnson City High School 1921-1924, he was on the two-man debating team that won the county title during his final year. He graduated the youngest of the six-member class of 1924.

Prior to TV

Before television America was a highly regionalized nation. Many smaller communities were isolated from the outside world. After television regionalism declined as more and more Americans watched the same shows and news. To even further homogenize the nation, networks preferred announcers and actors that spoke without thick regional accents. And while we still have regions in the United States - we are not a regionalized as our grandparents and great-grandparents.

Campaign and Election of 1952

Both candidates campaigned extensively; Eisenhower traveled 50,000 miles to deliver 228 speeches; his opponent Adlai Stevenson of Illinois 32,000 miles for 203 speeches. Republican literature labeled the opposition the party of "Communism, Corruption, and Korea. Joseph McCarthy caused problems for both candidates. Eisenhower, sickened by the senators attack on the patriotism of George C. Marshall, tried, unsuccessfully, to avoid appearing on the same platform with him in Wisconsin. Stevenson drew blasts from McCarthy for having appeared as a character witness for suspected spy Alger Hiss. Stevenson countered with swipes at the Republican party for having "to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 20th century"

Who met at Casablanca, Morocco on January 1943 to discuss Allied Strategy?

Churchill and Roosevelt only because Stalin declined Roosevelt's invitation to attend due to it being discussed that the Allies would not accept anything less than unconditional surrender of the Axis powers. This was to reassure Stalin that the U.S. and British will not abandon the Soviets to fight alone.

In 1947, a new term described the hostility that had emerged between the U.S. and the Soviet Union called the ______ which lasted until 1989

Cold War

Southeast Asia

Communist guerrillas in Vietnam were making headway in the Mekong Delta region of the South despite the Diem government's strategic-hamlet program, in which peasants were evacuated from their villages and herded into fortified camps in an attempt to isolate the insurgents from popular support. President Kennedy had little taste for the draconian methods of the Diem regime. After government opened fire on unarmed Buddhist demonstrators in Hue in May 1963 and conducted raids on pagodas in other cities. Kennedy tacitly supported a military coup in November 1963, led by Major General Duong Van Minh, which ended in Diem's murder. Despite Kennedy's rhetoric about Vietnam being "their war to fight and win" the numbers of U.S. military advisors grew from less than 1,000 to more than 16,000 at the time of his death.

Truman and the Fair Deal at Home: Reconverting to a Peacetime Economy

Congress approved one of Truman's key proposals, full time employment legislation such as the employment Act of 1946 which called on the federal government to promote maximum employment, production, and purchasing power. Inflation was the biggest problem though not unemployment. Organized labor emerged from the war and women workers wanted to keep their jobs but they were getting paid poorly.

Containing the Soviet Union

Containment of the Soviet Union, as much as possible, within the confines of Europe became American policy in the postwar years. George Kennan, a top official at the U.S. embassy in Moscow was asked by the State Department to assess Soviet foreign policy. Kennan defined the new approach in a long telegram he sent to the State Department in 1946.

What was the last democracy in Eastern Europe before Stalin took over it?

Czechoslovakia, where a communist regime was installed. Next Stalin would take control of Berlin since it was in Eastern Germany where Soviet were granted that part, even though all Allies had control of it. Truman was not budging though, and eventually Berlin was divided up. East Berlin became under Soviet control and West Berlin under American influence.

Johnson's Religion

Disciple of Christ. At 18 Johnson joined the Christian Church, or Disciple of Christ, in Texas. As president he worshipped a churches of various denominations. Late one night in June 1966, Johnson, worried that bombing raids over Hanoi and Haiphong might bring the Soviets into the Vietnam War, sneaked out with daughter Luci to pray at St. Dominic's Chapel. In 1966 Johnson conferred with Pope Paul VI; he was the first incumbent president to meet a pontiff.

Physical Description and Personality

Dr. David Abrahamsen, a psychoanalyst, described him as a man torn by inner conflict, lonely, hypersensitive, self-absorbed, suspicious, and secretive. Bruce Mazlish, a historian trained in psychoanalysis concluded in his book, In Search of Nixon (1972) that the predominant characteristic of the "real" Nixon behind the public figure was a fear of passivity, of appearing soft, of being dependent on others. In Richard Nixon: The Shaping of His Character (1981), historian Fawn Brodie painstakingly sought to demonstrate that he was a compulsive liar and concluded: "Nixon lied to gain love, to shore up his grandiose fantasies, to bolster his ever-wavering sense of identity. He lied in attack, hoping to win...And always he lied, and this most aggressively, to deny that he lied."

Eisenhower stepped up to do what while in office?

Eisenhower stepped up and ordered a total desegregation of Veteran's Hospitals. But he did not come out and aggressively attack segregation as a whole. In general, Eisenhower believed in state and local action over that of the Federal government and that included the arena of Civil Rights. Ike stated "I don't believe you can change the hearts of men with laws or decisions." In short, Eisenhower would act when the moment forced the action.

Career Before the Presidency

Eisenhower was a professional soldier. He served in the army during 1915-1948 and 1951-1952, rising from second lieutenant to five-star general 1948-1950 President of Columbia University 1951-1952 Supreme Commander of NATO

Dwight D. Eisenhower: Sports

Eisenhower's favorite pastime was golf. The U.S. Golf Association installed a putting green for him near the Rose Garden, and he practiced chip shots on the south lawn of the White House. He usually scored in the 80s. He also enjoyed fly fishing and hunting. Besides sports, his favorite recreation was landscape painting; he maintained a studio in the White House.

Eisenhower Electoral and Popular Vote Status: beat Stevenson

Electoral Votes: Eisenhower, 442 Stevenson, 89 Popular Vote: Eisenhower (Republican) 33,936,234 (55%) Stevenson (Democrat) 27,314,992 (44%)

Marriage

Ensign Jimmy Carter, 21, married Rosalynn Smith, 18, on July 7, 1946 at the Plains Methodist Church. Rosalynn grew up amid hardship following the death of her father when she was 13 years old. To supplement her mother's income as a postal clerk and at-home seamstress, Rosalynn worked in the local beauty parlor and helped with the sewing. Meanwhile she maintained an excellent scholastic record, graduating valedictorian of her high school class. She went on to study interior decorating for two years at Georgia Southwestern College. From childhood she was best friends with Ruth Carter, Jimmy's sister, and often visited the Carter home. But Jimmy never showed much interest in her until 1945, when, home on leave from Annapolis, he suddenly asked his sister to fix him up with her

Ford's Marriage

Gerald R. Ford, 35, married Elizabeth "Betty" Anne Bloomer, 30, on October 15, 1948 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Betty grew up wanting to be a dancer. She graduated from the Cella Travis Dance Studio in 1937 and attended the Bennington Vermont School of Dance during in 1936-1937. She studied dance under Martha Graham, who invited her to join her New York Concert Group in 1939. She also worked as a Powers model. At her mother's repeated urging, she moved back to Grand Rapids in 1941, where she became fashion coordinator at a local department store.

European Recovery Program

Greece was one of sixteen nation to receive aid from the U.S., Greece children were feed bread through the shipment of flour through the Marshall Plan.

The Souring of the Peace

Harry S. Truman, who became president on Roosevelt's death, had almost no familiarity with international issues. Nor did he share Roosevelt's faith in the flexibility of the Soviet Union. Roosevelt had believed that Stalin was, essentially, a reasonable man with whom an agreement could be reached, a belief he was beginning to question at the time of his death, but had not abandoned. Truman, in contrast, sided with those in the government (and there were many) who considered the Soviet Union fundamentally untrustworthy and viewed Stalin himself with suspicion and loathing. History has shown Truman's assessment of Stalin's personality to have been correct.

Undersecretary of Sate Dean Acheson

He predicted that if Greece and Turkey fell to the rebels, confusion and disorder might well spread throughout the entire Middle East. In May 1948, Acheson described a war-ravaged Western Europe, with factories destroyed, fields impoverished, transportation systems wrecked, populations scattered and on the borderline of starvation.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, 1963

In July 1963 the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain agreed to end atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. Although underground testing was allowed to continue, the ban on nuclear explosions in the skies greatly reduced the danger from radioactive fallout. Eventually the treaty was ratified by more than 100 other nations, with the notable exception of Communist China and France.

When did the militarization of America's containment policy come into reality?

In June 1950, when the Communist North Korea invaded South Korea

Pardon of Draft Evaders, 1977

In his first full day as president, Carter redeemed his campaign pledge to pardon the estimated 10,000 draft evaders of the Vietnam War era. The pardon did not extend to wartime deserters. The act was condemned by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

Chapter 27

In this chapter begins with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev and Vice President Richard Nixon at the American National Exhibition in Moscow in 1959. As they wander through the display of American consumer goods, the two men debated the merits of their competing Democratic and Communist societies. During the 1950s, President Eisenhower administered his "moderate Republicanism" by continuing many New Deal/Fair Deal programs, favoring the business community, continuing Truman's containment policy, and dealing with the renewed civil rights movement.

Housing Act of 1949

Law authorizing the construction of 810,000 units of government housing. This landmark effort marked the first significant commitment of the federal government to meet the housing needs of the poor.

What do these things mean?

It means prior to 1954 - Atomic War was in many ways survivable for many. There were no ICBMs that could hit you within 30 minutes therefore you could get to a fallout shelter with proper warning. And with only Atomic bombs the actual blast area was smaller, therefore less died directly from the blast. Fallout is another matter. Therefore, that while the idea of Civil Defense way sound wacky today - it wasn't up through 1954. And the message from CD helped to calm nervous folk.

Who are the big three?

Josef Stalin, Winston Churchill,and Franklin D. Roosevelt

John F. Kennedy birth and Childhood

Kennedy was born at home in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 29, 1917, He was the first president born in the 20th century. Kennedy grew up in comfort in Brookline, 1917-1926, New York City 1926-1929, and Bronxville, New York, from 1929, as well as the Kennedy summer home in Hyannis Port, Cape Cod, and the family's winter vacation quarters in Palm Beach, Florida. He spent much of his childhood recuperating from a host of ailments, including scarlet fever, whooping cough, measles, chicken pox, bronchitis, tonsillitis, appendicitis, jaundice, and a bad back. His brothers used to joke that Jack was so sickly that a mosquito took a big risk biting him. Still, he was an active child, a scrapper who took a lot of pounding from his big brother Joe.

Johnson's Marriage

Lyndon B. Johnson, 26, married Claudia "Lady Bird" Taylor, 21, on November 17, 1934. Just five years old when her mother died, Lady Bird was raised by her father and aunt. In 1934 she graduated near the top of her class from the University of Texas. That same year she met Johnson, then a secretary to a congressman, at the home of a mutual friend. Johnson invited her to breakfast the following morning, poured out his life story to her there, and proposed marriage later that day. Unsure of just what to make of such forward behavior, Lady Bird refused but confessed to having a "moth to flame" feeling about him. After much soul searching, she heeded the advice of her father, who wholeheartedly approved of Johnson, and agreed to marry him. As First Lady, she traveled some 200,000 miles promoting a campaign to improve the landscape of America, the so-called beautification program, a term she disliked because it sounded cosmetic and trivial.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s comment on Rosa Park's arrest

Martin Luther King, Jr., minister at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, thought that "if we could get 60 percent cooperation the protest would be a success." He was pleasantly surprised when bus after empty bus rolled past his house that morning. "A miracle had taken place," King would later write. "The once dormant and quiescent Negro community was now fully awake." The group from Friday night met again that afternoon and decided to call themselves the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). They elected King as president. The next decision was whether or not to end the boycott. Some ministers wanted to end it as a one-day success. Then E.D. Nixon rose to speak: What's the matter with you people? Here you have been living off the sweat of these washerwomen all these years and you have never done anything for them. Now you have a chance to pay them back, and you're too damn scared to stand on your feet and be counted! The time has come when you men is going to have to learn to be grown men or scared boys.

McCarthy's technique

McCarthy's basic technique was the multiple untruth. He leveled a bevy of charges of treasonable activities in government. While officials were refuting his initial accusations, he brought forth a steady stream of new ones, so he corrections never caught up with the latest blast. He failed to unearth a single confirmed communist in government, but he kept he Truman administration in turmoil. Drawing on an army of informers, primarily disgruntled federal workers with grievances against their colleagues and superiors, he charged government agencies with harboring and protecting communist agents, and he accused the State Department of deliberately losing the Cold War. His briefcase bulged with documents, but he did very little actual research, relying instead on reports (often outdated) from earlier congressional investigations. He exploited the press with great skill, combining current accusations with promises of future disclosures to guarantee headlines.

the basics of Kennedy's domestic agenda.

Medical assistance for the elderly Federal aid to education A tax cut Civil Rights

iron curtain

Metaphor coined by Winston Churchill in 1946 to demark the line dividing Soviet controlled countries in Eastern Europe from democratic nations in Western Europe following WWII. Truman and Churchill met so that they can denounce Soviet interference in Eastern and central Europe.

Yalta Conference as it relates to the issue of Germany

Nor was there agreement about the future of Germany. Stalin wanted to impose $20 billion in reparations on the Germans, of which Russia would receive half. Roosevelt and Churchill agreed only to leave final settlement of the issue to a future commission. A more important difference was in the way the leaders envisioned postwar Germany politics and society. In 1944 Churchill and Roosevelt had met in Quebec and agreed to a plan for the "pastoralization" of Germany. In other words dismantling its industry and turning it into a largely agricultural society. By the time of the Yalta meeting, Roosevelt had changed his mind. He now wanted a reconstructed and reunited Germany, one that would be permitted to develop a prosperous, modern economy while remaining under careful supervision of the Allies. Stalin wanted a permanent dismemberment of Germany.

The 1952 Election: Ike vs Stevenson

One of the most important themes to keep in mind when examining the 1952 Presidential Election is -- the Democrats have held the office for twenty years. Franklin Roosevelt came in with the 1932 election and upon his death in 1945 Harry Truman held the office. Truman had also narrowly escaped defeat in the 1948 election. By 1952 many Americans were simply ready for a change, plain and simple. Compound this desire with the prolonged War in Korea, add in a pinch of economics and a peck of politics and you have a recipe for Democrat defeat.

Campaign and Election of 1968

Opponents, Democrat Hubert Humphrey. He was Johnson's vice president 1965-1969. The Democratic party was bitterly divided over the Vietnam War. The focus of the election shifted abruptly on March 31, when President Johnson declared that he would not seek reelection. Humphrey's biggest handicap was his association with the administration's conduct of the war. But after the assassination of Robert Kennedy in June, he emerged as the frontrunner.

Campaign and Election of 1976

President Ford, the only man to enter the White House without having won a national election as president or vice president, began the campaign more than 30 points behind in the polls. Capitalizing on the powers of incumbency and exploiting Carter's image as a man "fuzzy on the issues", he managed to close the gap by election day to "too close to call". The most damaging issue to Ford's campaign was his pardon of former president Richard Nixon for crimes relating to the Watergate scandals. The Carter campaign was sidetracked temporarily on publication of a controversial interview with Playboy magazine. In it Carter candidly confessed: "I've looked on a lot of woman with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times." With Ford steadily gaining in the polls, the outcome seemed to depend on the debates. Most observers believed Ford outperformed Carter in the first debate, in Philadelphia September 23, limited to domestic issues, an encounter best remembered for a 20-minute loss of the audio portion of the program caused by a defective amplifier. In the second debate, in San Francisco October 7, on foreign policy, Ford stumbled badly, asserting that Eastern Europe was free of Soviet domination. Carter, pointedly addressing ethnic voters, responded, "I'd like to see Mr. Ford convince Polish-Americans that they're not under Russian domination." Carter continued to take the offensive in the third debate, in Williamsburg, Virginia, October 22, on general issues. Meanwhile, in the first nationally televised vice presidential debate, Senator Robert Dole, to the chagrin of his party, reinforced his image as the Republican hatchet man in blaming the Democrats for all the wars of the twentieth century. In the end, Carter was able to combine support in the South, the industrial North, and among blacks, white ethnics, and labor to offset narrowly Ford's strength in the West and among upper-income white-collar voters. Carter was the first man from the Deep South elected president since Zachary Taylor in 1848.

Law and Order

Redeeming his pledge to strengthen law enforcement, Nixon won approval of three major crime bills in 1970 The Organized Crime Control Act - Authorized more severe penalties for "dangerous special offenders" and barred the use of organized crime money in legitimate businesses. The Drug Abuse Control Act - Reduced penalties for simple possession but increased penalties for trafficking; it also contained a controversial "no-knock" provision enabling authorities to break in unannounced to capture evidence that otherwise might be hastily destroyed. The District of Columbia Criminal Justice Act - In addition to the "no-knock" provision, authorized "preventive detention", pretrial incarceration up to 60 days for defendants deemed dangerous; the law applied only to Washington D.C.

But the impact of television on the entertainment industry does not stop at radio. What did it damage?

TV seriously damaged ticket sales at the movies. Earlier in this module I mentioned "you did not have to dress up to go see a movie" that was not just a phrase - the 1950s were far less casual than today. For middle class Americans going to the movies required jackets and ties for the guys and nice dress or shirt outfit for the gals. No shorts, jeans, halter tops or t-shirts. Hats were in - but not baseball caps - honest to goodness hats. So why get dressed to go to a film, walk or drive down to the theater and PAY for a film, when you can stay in comfort of your own home and watch television? And stop coming they did - by the mid 1950s it was all out war between the Hollywood motion picture studios and TV.

The age of the 1950s became what?

The 1950s became an age of prosperity for most Americans. It was also a time of marriage, family and religious moderation, television, and a growing consumer consciousness. Rebelliousness was minimized, and complacency became the norm. His enourmous popularity gave confidence to the decade, but Eisenhower failed to use his influence to help end racism or poverty in America. His successors would have to deal with these issues, along with continuing Cold War battles.

Berlin Airlift

The Berlin Blockade (1 April 1948 - 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under allied control.

Factors that fuel the fifities

The GI Bill - opportunity for college and vocational education and accompanying rise in household income and the opportunity for low interest loans. Baby Boom - the sharp and sustained increase in the birth rate means you need to buy, buy and buy. And with that build - new homes, schools, medical facilities, etc. Cold War - spend, spend and spend to develop and manufacture better weapons to defend the Free World from the Communist threat. Technology - Two creatures of technology come into their own in the 1950 - the automobile and television. The car permits you to spread into the suburbs and then support businesses follow as well. And television brings a new form of advertising into the home and turns Americans into purchasing zombies.

What conflict was the first major test of the United Nations?

The fight in South Korea to push communist troops back over to the 38th parallel. United Nation forces had the U.S. general Douglas MacArthur. The conflict ended with a truce with Korea nation to this day still divided into two.

Three Mile Island

The future of nuclear power became clouded in the wake of the accident at the Three Mile Island (Pennsylvania) nuclear power plant in March 1979. A breakdown in the cooling system of the number two reactor was blamed on a combination of human, mechanical, and design error. A commission appointed by Carter to investigate the incident and make recommendations urged suspension of nuclear plant construction pending adoption of stricter safety standards. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission concurred.

Origins of the Cold War

There has been debate about the origins. Some claim that the Soviet treachery and expansionism created international tensions, while the others have proposed that American provocations and imperial ambitions were as equally to blame. But historians agree that both the U.S. and the Soviet Union are to have equal part in it.

What was the other important ingredient?

There is also one other very important ingredient to the recipe - Dwight David Eisenhower. After the war Eisenhower retired from the military, wrote his memoirs and accepted the presidency of Columbia University. Both parties realized the political value of having Ike on their team and both parties actively courted the former five star general. In 1948, President Truman went so far as to tell Eisenhower he would remove himself as a candidate in 1948 if Eisenhower would accept the Democrat nomination. But Eisenhower, unlike the egotistical giant Douglas MacArthur, believed military men should stay out of politics. Historians are uncertain if Eisenhower even voted before the 1948 election.

Wage-Price Controls, 1971-1973

To combat inflation, the Nixon administration in 1971 imposed a freeze on wages and prices, replaced after 90 days with a complex system of wage-price controls. Most controls were removed by the end of 1973.

The Domestic Chill: McCarthyism

Truman's domestic program also suffered from a wave of anticommunism that weakened liberals. Red baiting and official retaliation against leftist critics of the end of WWI. A second Red scare followed WWI. A second red scare followed WWII born of partisan politics, the collapse of the Soviet-American alliance, foreign policy setbacks, and disclosures of Soviet espionage.

Ike Becomes President

When Ike became President in 1953 the Supreme Court was about to hear a challenge to segregation in the area of education. Before the case was heard by the court, President Eisenhower appointed Earl Warren, the former Republican governor of California, as Chief Justice. At that moment no one knew how important the selection of Warren would pose for the future of the Civil Rights Movement in America.

What slowed the natural progression of TV?

World War II slowed what would have been the natural progression of television in the 1940 - in 1946 only 16,000 TV sets existed in the United States. By 1950 almost 4 million sets were sold - as the 1950s progressed on average 5 million sets a year were sold. Statistics reveal by decades end more American families owned a TV than had a refrigerator or indoor plumbing and that includes a toilet.

Jimmy Carter Physical Description and Personality

Yet for all his outward simplicity, Carter is a complex personality. Bruce Mazlish, a historian trained in psychoanalysis, concluded that a "fusion of contradictions" runs deep in Carter character and added, "The ambiguities that could tear another person apart are held together in Jimmy Carter." Indeed, Carter has been described variously as shy yet supremely self-confident, compassionate and tender but also at times inconsiderate and steely. Only occasionally did he explode in anger in front of others. Usually he expressed displeasure with an icy stare or a searing bit of sarcasm.

Unlike many European countries, television broadcasting was

a business affair. Contrast this to Britain where viewers paid a television tax to the government each each and with those funds the BBC produced television programs. As a business affair there would be the existence of networks and commercials. And what sold the products dictated what would be broadcast. There was little balance between entertainment and education - not until the arrival of PBS in the late 1960s

Second component of containment in the U.S.

beefed up its conventional military power to deter Soviet threats that might not warrant nuclear retaliation. The National Security Act of 1947 united the military branches under a single secretary of defense and created the National Security Council (NSC) to advise the president. During the Berlin crisis in 1948, Congress hiked military enacted a peace draft that allowed women in uniform in 1950.

Dwight D. Eisenhower: Birth-Early Childhood

born on October 14, 1890, in a rented room near the railroad tracks in Denison, Texas. In 1891. To earn spare cash, Eisenhower peddled produce from the family garden and worked in the local creamery, hauling ice and shoveling coal. At age six he marched in a torchlight parade for Republican presidential nominee William McKinley. In the most traumatic experience of his childhood, at 15 he developed blood poisoning after scraping his knee. A mediocre student, Eisenhower blamed his misbehavior on a lack of interest in anything but athletics.

Kennedy's Marriage

enator John F. Kennedy, 36, married Jacqueline Bouvier, 24, on September 12, 1953, at St. Mary's Church in Newport, Rhode Island. Jackie Bouvier was raised among wealth and refinement. Her parents divorced in 1940; Jackie lived with her mother in Newport but also remained close to her father.

The McCarran-Walter Act of 1952

ended the outright ban on immigration and citizenship in Japanese and other Asians, but it authorized the government to bar suspected Communists and homosexuals and maintained the discriminatory quota system established in the 1920s. By late 1950, the Korean War embroiled the president in controversy and depleted his power as a legislative leader. Truman's failure to make good on his domestic proposals set the U.S. apart from most European nations, which by the 1950s had in place comprehensive health, housing, and employment security programs.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

held widely publicized investigations to prove that, under Democratic rule, the government had tolerated (if not actually encouraged) communist subversion. The committee turned first on the movie industry, arguing that communists had infiltrated Hollywood and had tainted America with propaganda. Writers and producers, some of them former communists, were called to testify; and when some of them (The Hollywood Ten) refused to answer questions about their own political beliefs and those of their colleagues, they were jailed for contempt. Others were barred from employment in the industry when Hollywood, attempting to protect its public image, adopted a blacklist of those "suspicious loyalty".

Taft-Hartley Act

law passed by the Republican controlled Congress in 1947 that amended the Wagner Act and placed restrictions on organized labor that made it more difficult for unions to organize workers. President Truman vetoed in 1947.

Blacks after WWII

many soldiers were poorly treated and returned to a still racially heated South. However, many Blacks have made names for themselves such a s Jackie Robinson who played baseball or the Brooklyn dodgers and won Rookie of the Year award in 1947. Gwendolyn Brooks won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, while others were being persecuted for trying to vote in Mississippi like Medgar Evers. a mob lynched Issaac Newton for voting in Georgia.

After WWII, there was not a_____ but instead a deterioration of wartime alliance and a growing fear of the power of the _______.

normal postwar peace; Soviet Union

Intelligence (Cold War Spying)

the gathering of information about the enemy, took on new importance with the Cold War and the creation of the CIA in 1947 by the National Security Act of 1947.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

the fourth element of defense strategy involved in foreign assistance programs to strengthen countries created to gather information and perform any activities that will aid in national secuirty

containment

the post WWII foreign policy strategy that committed the U.S. to resist the influence and expansion of the Soviet Union and communism This shaped American foreign policy throughout the entire Cold War.

Prior to 1957

there were no Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMS) yet - meaning there could be ample time to detect slower moving Soviet long range bombers and then alert the public to take cover.

In response, the MIA worked out a "private taxi" plan,

under which blacks w ho owned cars picked up and dropped off blacks who needed rides at designated points. The plan was elaborate and took a great deal of planning; consequently, the MIA appointed a Transportation Committee to oversee it. The service worked so well so quickly that even the White Citizens Council (whose membership doubled during one month of the boycott) had to admit that it moved with "military precision."

Religion

Baptist. Baptized at age 11, Carter was what he called a superficial Christian until early 1967, when, in despair over his gubernatorial defeat, he communed with his sister Ruth Carter Stapleton, an evangelist, and became a born-again Christian. He said of the experience, "I formed a very close, intimate personal relationship with God, through Christ that has given me a great deal of peace, equanimity, and the ability to accept difficulty without unnecessarily being disturbed." He subsequently volunteered for Baptist missionary work among the poor in New York and elsewhere. President Carter taught Bible class at the First Baptist Church in Washington. He and the First Lady nightly took turns reading the Bible to each other in bed. He does not adhere to a completely literal interpretation of the Bible.

Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1961 - On April 17, 1961

Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1961 - On April 17, 1961, 1,500 Cuban exiles, trained and armed by the CIA, invaded Cuba at Cochinos Bay (Bay of Pigs). Their mission was to establish a beachhead and spark a popular uprising that would topple the Communist regime of Fidel Castro. The invaders were led to believe that U.S. forces would follow in support if they met overwhelming resistance. The support never came. Castro's tanks and soldiers pinned them to the sea, making it impossible for them to establish themselves securely on shore. After three days of fighting, 1,100 survivors surrendered. The United States paid Cuba $53 million in food and medical supplies for their release in 1962. The invasion had been planned by the Eisenhower administration, but President Kennedy approved its execution and accepted full responsibility for its failure.

Why did Stalin call U.S. a hypocrite?

Because while he wanted to install Communist governments in neighboring Poland and Bulgaria elsewhere Stalin initially tolerated non-Communist governments in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. In early 1946, he responded to pressure from the West and removed troops from Iran so that the U.S. can go in and retrieve oil from there. Stalin saw hypocrisy when U.S. officials demanded democratic elections in Eastern Europe while supporting dictatorships friendly to U.S. interests in Latin America. The U.S. wanted to keep their own sphere of influence while opposing Soviet efforts to create its own.

Harley Earl

A few years ago General Motors embarked on a new ad campaign. The television advertisements depicted a man dressed in an old fashioned suit. Clearly the man was out of the past - then the character spoke and said "Hi, I'm Harley Earl and I've come back to build you a better car." Now I about fell out of my seat when I first saw the commercial. General Motors was evoking the memory of one of the finest automobile designers to hawk their latest products. OK, so he is a designer.

Nixon won again he served this time from to what?

Administration: January 20, 1969 - August 9, 1974

When was Carter in office?

Administration: January 20, 1977 - January 20, 1981

When was Johnson in the office from when to when?

Administration: November 22, 1963 - January 20, 1969

Johnson's Death

After attending the inaugural of his successor, Richard Nixon, Johnson retired to the LBJ Ranch in Texas. He held a three-part series of televised interviews, December 1969-May 1970, with broadcaster Walter Cronkite. He wrote his memoirs and tended the-day-to-day operations of the ranch and seemed to find an inner peace that had eluded him as president. In his last public appearance six weeks before his death, he addressed a civil rights symposium at the LBJ Library in Austin, Texas. Johnson's death occurred January 22, 1973, about 4P.M., enroute from the LBJ Ranch to San Antonio, Texas. Johnson, plagued by hardening of the arteries, had been hospitalized for chest pains in March 1970 and survived a second heart attack in April 1972. He was stricken by a third attack while napping about 3:30P.M. on January 22, 1973. He groped for the telephone and summoned a Secret Service agent. He died on the way to the hospital.

The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 created the Office of Economic Opportunity which, under its first director R. Sargent Shriver, administered and/or funded several antipoverty programs:

The Job Corps provided vocational training to disadvantaged youth aged 16-21 Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), a domestic Peace Corps, enlisted volunteers to work and teach in ghettos The Work-Study Program provided jobs to enable students of low-income families to work their way through college The Work Experience Program provided child day-care and other support services to the heads of poor households The Community Action Program administered Head Start, instruction for disadvantaged preschoolers; Upward Bound, tutoring for disadvantaged high school students; Foster Grandparents, elderly volunteers to befriend institutionalized children; and legal aid services to the poor.

K.K.K. involvement and MIA final decision

The KKK also tried to scare the blacks, but "it seemed to have lost its spell," King wrote. "One cold night a small Negro boy was seen warming his hands at a burning cross." The violence died down after several prominent whites spoke out against it, and the integration of the Montgomery buses was ultimately successful. On January 10 and 11, 1957, ministers from the MIA joined other ministers from around the South in Atlanta, Georgia. They founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and elected Martin Luther King, Jr., as president. SCLC would continue to work in various areas of the South for many years, continuing the nonviolent fight for civil rights started in Birmingham. Although the gains of the Montgomery Bus Boycott were small compared with the gains blacks would later win, the boycott was important start to the movement. The lasting legacy of the boycott, as Roberta Wright wrote, was that "It helped to launch a 10-year national struggle for freedom and justice, the Civil Rights Movement, that stimulated others to do the same at home and abroad."

What did the Korean War bring?

The Korean War brought armed conflict between the United States and China. The Allies had divided Korea along the 38th parallel after liberating it from Japan at the end of World War II. The Soviet Union accepted Japanese surrender north of the 38th parallel; the United States did the same in the south. Originally intended as a matter of military convenience, the dividing line became more rigid as Cold War tensions escalated. Both major powers set up governments in their respective occupation zones and continued to support them even after departing in 1949. The war seesawed back and forth. U.S. and Korean forces were initially pushed far to the south in an enclave around the city of Pusan. A daring amphibious landing at Inchon, the port for the city of Seoul, drove the North Koreans back; but as fighting neared the Chinese border, China entered the war, sending massive forces across the Yalu River. U.N. forces, largely American, retreated once again in bitter fighting and then slowly recovered and fought their way back to the 38th parallel.

And if all of that still isn't enough - there is one more impact of television:

The TV Dinner. We may no longer call them TV Dinners, but all those pre-made meals in the freezer section are TV Dinners. The first of these pre-made feasts was developed by Swanson. It consisted of Turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, peas and gravy and came in a compartmented stiff metal tray. The idea of giving mom a night off and having a leisurely dinner in front of the TV caught on. The TV was without doubt the center of the home.

Chemical Weapons Treaty, 1971

The United States and the Soviet Union agreed from 1972 to destroy stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and ban their further development.

Yalta accords and Roosevelt's death

The Yalta accords, in other words, were less a settlement of postwar issues than a set of loose principles that sidestepped the most troublesome issues. Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin returned home from the conference apparently convinced that he had signed an important agreement. But the Soviet interpretation of the accords differed so sharply from the Anglo-American interpretation that the illusion lasted only briefly. Roosevelt watched with growing alarm as the Soviet Union moved to establish pro-communist governments in one Eastern European nation after another. But Roosevelt did not abandon hope. Still believing the differences could be settled, he left Washington early in the spring for a vacation at his retreat in Warm Springs, Georgia. There on April 12, 1945, he suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage and died.

What is going on and why all the cars?

The answer is suburban sprawl. All those Levittown and Levittown knock-offs around the country mean folks are moving further and further away from mass transit. They need to get to work somehow and the personal automobile is the transport of choice. What comes with suburban sprawl? Shopping centers and a whole new generation of businesses - those catering to the automobile. Sure, everyone is familiar with the drive-in movie theater - but what of drive-in restaurants? Sure, you've seen those. Well, then what about drive-in churches? Seen those too, eh? Ok, then what about drive-up mortuaries? No, I am not kidding you - these and a host of other drive-up style businesses became the norm in the Fifties. What I am getting to here is the car motivates a change in business and that change embodies the importance the automobile reached in the decade.

The domestic counterpart to the Cold War was the second Red Scare which resulted in

The breakup of the Grand Alliance after WWII, foreign policy failures, Soviet spy scandals in the West, and the partisan political maneuverings. It spawned a "witch hunt" for communists in every walk of American life, bringing fear and insecurity to the American public.

The Court Steps In

The case the Supreme Court was about to hear when Eisenhower became President was Brown v Board of Education of Topeka. The suit involved the case of an African-American girl who had to travel several miles to a segregated public elementary school when she lived within a few doors of a white elementary school. When the case came before the court in 1954, the justices examined it terms of legal precedent, history, sociology and psychology. They decided that school segregation inflicted unacceptable psychological damage on individuals. The opinion from the justices was unanimous "We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." With that the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case had been overturned.

Human Rights

The cornerstone of the Carter administration's foreign policy was a call for human rights around the world. Carter denounced the trials of Soviet dissidents. In Warsaw in 1977 he spoke out for the rights of Eastern Europeans. He condemned racism in South Africa and endorsed black attempts to gain majority rule in Rhodesia. He criticized the repressive regimes of Castro in Cuba and Idi Amin in Uganda. He suspended foreign aid to Argentina, Uruguay, and Ethiopia.

Did burger joints exist before the 1950s?

Yep again, they sure did. There were thousands of mom and pop burger places and also the White Castle and Steak and Shake chains had been around for awhile. But none had that special something that made them household names. This time enter Ray Kroc, a malt-mixer salesman who came calling on the McDonald Brothers out in California. Kroc looked at the McDonald Brothers set up and then added a few ideas and thus the McDonald's chain was born. The burger stands catered to the car crowd - you walked up to the window gave your order and within a few short minutes were on your way back to your car to eat or drive off. Beyond the speed of the service, the most important aspect of McDonald's was the sense of sameness. No matter where you got that burger it was ALWAYS the same - a beef patty sandwiched in a seedless bun topped with pickle, a sprinkle of onion, ketchup and mustard. The company held its franchisees to very strict rule that guarded against owners doing what they wanted to do and held them to strict guidelines. It was done the McDonald's way - period, end of story. This conformity provided traveling Americans with a sense of security when they walked up to the golden arches.

All these factors - the HUAC investigations, the Hiss trial, the loyalty investigations, the McCarran Act, the Rosenberg case - combined with the concern about international events to create

a fear of communist subversion that by the early 1950s seemed to have gripped virtually the entire country. State and local government, the judiciary, schools and universities, labor unions - all sought to purge themselves of real or imagined subversives. A pervasive fear settled on the country - not only the fear of communist infiltration but also the fear of being suspected of communism. It was a climate that made possible the rise of an extraordinary public figure, whose behavior at any other time might have been dismissed as preposterous.

"I married a communist"

a film by producer Howard Hughes provided fodder fr the Red scare with a featured all star cast

The Civil Rights Act of 1957 did not resolve many of the issues of black inequality in the South, but did what?

but it was a significant piece of legislation. The 1957 Civil Rights Bill aimed to ensure that all African Americans could exercise their right to vote. It called for the created of a new division within the federal Justice Department to monitor civil rights abuses. Once introduced the bill faced fierce opposition by Southern Democrats. (In the 1950s the South was still solidly Democratic) Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson (D-TX) realized as proposed the bill had little hope of gaining the necessary Southern support for passage. With his tremendous political abilities, Johnson set out to alter the bill to obtain Southern support - no easy task. Johnson reasoned if he watered the bill sufficiently, he could convince Southerners that the bill was so weak it would not really change anything in the South. In fact their support of the final watered down bill would help their image throughout the nation. The plan worked as Johnson cobbled together enough support in the South to obtain the bill's passage. However, Johnson's plan was far more cleaver that what the Southern delegates had ever realized. By gaining passage of any Civil Rights Bill, regardless of its strength, that bill was a foundation that future and stronger pieces of Civil Rights legislation could be built upon. While the watered down act did not guarantee the voting rights of blacks, it did create a Civil Rights division within the Justice Department and it was the first piece of Civil Rights legislation passed since the end of Reconstruction.

The successful Soviet detonation of a nuclear weapon in 1949

earlier than expected, convinced many people that there had been a conspiracy to pass American atomic secrets to the Russians. In 1950, Klaus Fuchs, a young British scientist, seemed to confirm those fears when he testified that he had delivered to the Russians details of the manufacture of the bomb. The case ultimately rested on an obscure New York couple, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, members of the communist party, who the government claimed had been the masterminds of the conspiracy. The case against them rested largely on the testimony by Ethel's brother, David Greenglass, a machinist who had worked on the Manhattan Project. Greenglass admitted channeling secret information to the Soviet Union through other agents (including Fuchs). His sister and brother-in-law had, he claimed, planned and orchestrated the espionage. The Rosenbergs were convicted and, on April 5, 1951, sentenced to death. After two years of appeals and protests by sympathizers, they died in the electric chair on June 19, 1953, proclaiming their innocence to the end.

Assassination

gone to Texas to reconcile differences between opposing factions of the Democratic party in the state. The presidential party flew into Dallas's Love Field from Fort Worth at 11:37A.M. President and Mrs. Kennedy and Governor and Mrs. John Connally then proceeded in an open limousine to the city for a scheduled luncheon address at the Dallas Trade Mart. As the motorcade made its way through Dallas, the reception from the crowds lining the streets was enthusiastic. Mrs. Connally turned to Kennedy and said, "Mr. President, you can't say Dallas doesn't love you." The president replied, "That is very obvious". Moments later, after the president's car passed the Texas School Book Depository, shots rang out. One bullet passed through Kennedy's neck, a second, fatal bullet tore away the right side of the back of his head. Governor Connally was also wounded. The president was rushed to the hospital, where Dr. Malcolm Perry performed a tracheotomy and administered blood infusions and oxygen. The president's heart stopped; cardiac massage failed to revive him.

JFK's Domestic Agenda: More style than substance

he label put on the Kennedy administration was "The New Frontier." The American people were excited by this new, young president. Kennedy proposed various pieces of legislation, but they make little to no progress in Congress. Kennedy will always be remember more as a foreign policy president, than a domestic agenda president. He simply did not place as much importance on the homefront as he did world affairs. We will never know if he would have been able to build a coalition to pass his agenda due to his assassination in November of 1963.

he Interstate Highway Act

here is one last item we need to discuss - how the car gets to where you need to be. Like the GI Bill, the Interstate Highway act is an uncelebrated piece of legislation that was instrumental in forging post-war America. How many of us hop on I-95 or I-4 and just take it for granted that it was always there? Well, it hasn't always been there - imagine trying to drive to New York or Los Angeles on roads like US 1 or 441. There you are crusing along until you hit a town and then it is stop lights and stop signs and traffic. It would truly add to your cross country travel time or your travel time to work. The free interstate highway system is one of the truly great legacies of the Eisenhower Administration - hence why you see those little blue signs with five stars that say Eisenhower Highway System.

Earl was as much interested in the automobile as an art form as he was

in finances of GM. In many respects he was responsible for transforming the car from a simple mode of transport into an expression of individuality. His flare for high fins, wrap around glass and lots of chrome transformed the car from a box on wheels to a work of modern art. Harley Earl's influence still resonates today - he is the father of the Corvette.

The nation's most important domestic initiative in the 1960s

The nation's most important domestic initiative in the 1960s was the effort to provide justice and equality to African Americans. It was the most difficult commitment, the one that produced the severest strains on American society. It was also unavoidable. Black Americans were themselves ensuring that the nation would have to deal with the problem of race. John Kennedy had long been vaguely sympatric to the cause of racial justice, but he was hardly a committed crusader. True his intervention to win the release of Martin Luther King Jr from jail helped him win the black vote. But like many presidents before him, he feared alienating southern Democrats in Congress. He needed their support to pass other items on his domestic agenda. However, the pressure for more change could not be contained.

What was the other reason?

The next piece of the puzzle comes from the location of Columbia University - New York City. If he had accepted the presidency of a smaller institution in podunksville USA then our story might be different. But being in NYC, Eisenhower fell into company with many moderate Republican businessmen. These were the real movers and shakers of the business world who courted him. For two years Ike stayed at Columbia - but with the outbreak of the Korean War, the old soldier could not resist the pull of contributing in some fashion. While he did not command UN troops in the field such as MacArthur - he did go to Europe to command the new NATO forces there. And this is where the final piece of the puzzle drops into place. While in Europe Eisenhower was shocked at the rise of Joseph McCarthy and the more conservative elements of the Republican Party. He was appalled at the insubordination of MacArthur to President Truman and could not believe the popularity of MacArthur upon his return to the US. Eisenhower was concerned with the possible candidacy of MacArthur on the Republican ticket. He also disliked the conservative direction the party underwent the leadership of Ohio Senator Robert Taft (who ran for the Republican nomination in 1940, 1948 and again in 1952) and he was repulsed by the red baiting of Republican Senator McCarthy. His business friends asked Ike to consider running - they wanted a moderate in the White House. Eisenhower was not a free enterprise Republican, nor did he wish to see the Democratic New Deal programs ended. After extensive lobbying by moderate elements within the Republican Party - Ike agreed to seek the party's nomination for the presidency in 1952.

What was McCarthy's secret into creating fear in his Senate colleagues?

The secret of McCarthy's power was the fear he created among his Senate colleagues. In 1950, Maryland Senator Millard Tydings, who headed a committee critical of McCarthy's activities, failed to win reelection when McCarthy opposed him; after that, other senators ran scared. McCarthy delighted in making sweeping, startling charges of communist sympathies against prominent public figures. A favorite target was the Secretary of State Dean Acheson, who McCarthy ridiculed as the "Red Dean" with his "cane, spats, and teasipping little finger"; he even went after General George Marshall, claiming that the wartime army chief of staff was an agent of the communist conspiracy. Nor were fellow Republicans immune. One GOP senator was described as "a living miracle in that he is without question the only man who has lived so long with neither brains nor guts."

The interstate is more than just a manner of getting from point A to point B.

The system is one of the largest public works projects of all time. In some ways it can be called one of the greatest engineering accomplishments of humanity. There is nothing that can compare with it. It is wayyyyyy bigger than the pyramids and impacts more lives of average citizens then the pyramids. The system has become bigger than the train and plane combined - it has pulled this vast nation and its people together.

While all Americans, regardless of age, social standing, education, race, sex or geographic region, accepted television , who was hooked on TV the most?

it was 1950s youth were absolutely hooked on TV. The networks and local stations catered to children - with after school programming and Saturday morning cartoons. Sponsorship of such programs was no problem at all as advertisers quickly understood the influence of children in household purchasing - ads for sweet cereals, candy, snacks and of course toys dominated these time slots. Many feared television and children would translate into an illiterate generation of Americans. In 1955, Rudolf Fleisch published Why Johnny Can't Read citing television as a prime cause in the decline of communication skills amongst the youth.

On other issues, the Yalta Conference

left fundamental differences unresolved or papered them over with weak compromises. Disagreement remained about the postwar Polish government. Stalin, whose armies now occupied Poland had already installed a pro-communist government. Roosevelt and Churchill insisted on free and democratic elections. Stalin agreed to a vague compromise that would grant an unspecified number of places in the government to pro-Western Poles and reluctantly consented to hold "free and unfettered elections" in Poland. But he made not commitment to a date for them. They did not take place for more than 40 years.

The significance of Little Rock

lies in the President's action to enforce the law of the land regardless of regional/local sentiment. The national television of the event is equally significant in that many in the North and West had no true idea of what state sanctioned segregation was. To have someone say the South in segregated is one thing - to actually see the event unfold before your eyes and witness the hatred on the part of the whites toward the Little Rock Nine is another matter.

The main focus of Kennedy's campaign was

the nationally televised debates of September 26 and October 7, 14, and 21; an estimated 115 million people watched at least one of them. The first was the most important, because it fixed perceptions of the two candidates and drew the largest audience, 70 million viewers. To most observers the confrontation appeared to be a draw. Yet a draw was a plus for Kennedy, for it demonstrated that he had mastered the issues as well as his more experienced opponent. But it was the physical comparison of the two men that most hurt Nixon. Kennedy appeared tan, fit, composed; Nixon, having lost weight in the hospital, appeared haggard, pale, menacing. Kennedy himself believed that without the debates he would have lost the election. Kennedy also enhanced his standing among blacks in October when civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested in Atlanta during a sit-in. Kennedy personally called Mrs. King to express sympathy and offer assistance, while brother Robert Kennedy interceded with a local judge to arrange for King's release on bail. Soon after the civil right leader's father issued a statement that he had intended to vote for Nixon but was switching to the Democratic nominee because "Jack Kennedy has the moral courage to stand up fro what he knows is right." Vice presidential nominee Lyndon Johnson was instrumental in carrying the state of Texas, where Nixon won a majority of the Anglo vote, but the Democratic ticket swept the Chicano barrios to carry the state by less than 50,000.

What does television do to radio?

The two big radio networks of NBC and CBS transition to the new medium of TV - it is not the demise of the companies but it is the end of network radio. Who wants to listen to the Lone Ranger on the radio when you can SEE cowboys on TV? Many of the big early television stars transition from radio to TV - Milton Berle, Jack Benny and George Burns all were successful on radio. Lucrative sponsors all transitioned their advertising dollars to television. And thus radio is transformed primarily into a music box.

Introduction to Chapter 28

This chapter begins by recalling the career of Fannie Lou Hammer, an African American civil rights worker and her attempts to register to vote. During his term in office, President John F. Kennedy vigorously pursued foreign policy issues. On the domestic front, he asked Congress for broad-ranging reform legislation to combat the country's problems of racism and poverty. At the time of his death, Kennedy's domestic agenda had made little to no progress in Congress. It was President Johnson who took major steps to accomplish the American ideal of equality when he launched the Great Society. In addition to the civil rights movement, feminists and other ethnic minorities began to articulate their political and economic needs. President Johnson had great plans for America; he hoped to make it a country free of poverty and racial discrimination. Even though he worked harder at it than any president before or since, he failed to end poverty. Despite all that he did or tired to do, Lyndon Johnson was hated by many before the elections in 1968, so much so that he decided not to run for reelection. The lack of funding for his war on poverty, his unpopular Vietnam War policy, and ultimately his pursuit of a victory in Vietnam that could not be achieved caused his presidency to collapse. With it sent many noble efforts to better American society.

Johnson's perosnaility

By all accounts Johnson was a complex personality, fiercely competitive, "always in a rush," said his wife, a man who relished power, a master manipulator who harnessed his finely tuned political instincts to achieve lofty goals. Journalists Rowland Evans and Robert Novak said of him during his term, "He could be as gentle and solicitous as a nurse, but as ruthless and deceptive as a riverboat gambler." Others described him as secretive and stubborn. First Lady Lady Bird Johnson regrets that the public did not get to see the soft side of the president. "He was a warm and mellow man in so many ways, gentle and extremely loving. But he was not eager to get up in front of thousands or millions of people and act that way. He was that way with his neighbors, his friends, and in his home."

Ford's Physical Description and Personality

By all accounts, Ford is open, friendly, forthright, honest, and considerate. He appears to genuinely like people and , although a 30-year veteran of the political wars, made remarkably few enemies along the way. Bud Vestal, a Grand Rapids reporter observed, "He never in his life tried to outsmart anybody. But if from intellectual hubris a tormentor gave him a chance, Jerry would outdumb him, swiftly and deadpan. It might be days before the attacker would realize he'd been had." Ford is 6 feet and weighed about 195 as president. He had blond hair, which he combed straight back. He has blue eyes, and has managed to retain the trim figure of his youth. Except for weak knees, the result of football injuries, his health generally has been sound. Although he took a lot of kidding in the press and from comedians for lack of physical coordination, he described himself as "the most athletic president to occupy the White House in years." Ford is a right-handed sportsman but writes and eats with his left hand.

Little Rock High School

By the fall of 1957 only 684 of 3,000 school districts in the South had initiated any form of desegregation. What was emerging was a struggle between Federal authority and state and local governments. This struggle came to a boiling point in September 1957 when nine African American high school students were set to enter formerly all white Little Rock High School in Arkansas. Governor Orval Faubus sent Arkansas National Guard troops to prevent the student's enrollment citing their presence would cause public disorder. After three weeks Faubus permitted the students to attend and with the troops. Without the presence of the troops angry white mobs taunted the nine students - television cameras projected the scene across the nation and did much to awaken those outside the South to the fate of blacks in that region. President Eisenhower was forced to to act - he seized control of the Arkansas National Guard and brought in 1,000 regular US army troops. Ike stated his actions were to enforce the law.

Jimmy Carter

Carter attended public elementary and high school in Plains. He was remembered as a model student, well behaved and eager to read. His favorite subjects included history and literature. The greatest educational influence on Carter was Julia Coleman, his English teacher. She encouraged his interest in literature, drew up reading lists for him, and, when he was 12, introduced him to War and Peace, a work that Jimmy was disappointed to learn was not about cowboys and Indians. President Carter paid tribute to Miss Coleman in his Inaugural Address. At Plains High School, Carter played on the basketball team. After graduation in 1941, he attended Georgia Southwestern College in Americus, Georgia. He applied to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis and, after taking additional math courses at Georgia Institute of Technology in 1942, was admitted in 1943. At Annapolis, Plebe Carter underwent the traditional hazing. He was reportedly whacked in the rear with serving spoons for failing to wipe that irrepressible smile off his face to the satisfaction of upperclassmen.

Jimmy Carter Birth and Childhood

Carter was bon October 1, 1924, at Wise Hospital in Plains, Georgia. He was the first president born in a hospital. When Carter was 4 years old the family moved from Plains to a farm at nearby Archery, a largely black community, where Jimmy spent the rest of his childhood. He early encountered racial discrimination as he was free to play with black children but attended segregated schools and church services. Although the Carters were well-off by community standards, they had neither electricity nor running water. Home entertainment was limited to reading or listening to a battery-operated radio. Carter was a well-behaved, industrious youngster. At age 5 he was selling boiled peanuts on the streets of Plains. He also helped work the fields. Still, he occasionally got into trouble and later recalled that between the ages of 4 and 15 he was whipped six times by his father, once for stealing a penny from the church collection plate, another for shooting his sister with a BB gun. His hero as a child was his maternal uncle Thomas Gordy, a navy radioman. It was his influence that prompted Carter to attend the naval academy.

Duck and Cover

Chances are if you grew up in the 1950s and 1960s you are familiar with Duck and Cover. The concept of Duck and Cover is simple - children and adults were instructed in the event of hearing the loud blasts of the attack warning sirens or in there was a bright flash off in the distance you were to not too look toward the flash and proceed to Duck and Cover. In the case of school children this would be hiding under the desk, if you are out in the street walking about it could mean laying on the sidewalk with your hat or a newspaper or whatever you had handy to cover your head, if you were out in the middle of the park you were told to grasp the picnic blanket and use it as a shield. Now back in the 1950s men wore hats - real hats with brims - and in the event of nuclear attack it was thought the brim of the hat could protect the facial area if the man directed the top of the hat toward the blast. Sure this all sounds silly to us today but remember the idea with all Civil Defense was to reassure the public that nuclear war was survivable. And in many senses the nuclear attack could be survivable if you were not in the immediate blast area. That is what Civil Defense was alluding too - they would never publicly say "your goose is cooked if you are in the blast area," but you can survive if you are in the outer areas of the blast. They simply said if this happens, then do this and you could survive. And if you are a mile or two from an atomic blast you could survive the initial blast, the question then became for how long and that depended on your level of exposure. They next question was also - for how long? That was another message of Civil Defense - after the blast. CD published many brochures and pamphlets on how to build and stock a fallout shelter.

What is Civil Defense?

Civil Defense or CD is what we had before Homeland Security. Civil Defense as we know it was a product of the Second World War, but really came into its own during the Cold War. In 1950 Congress passed the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950, creating a formal agency to direct and coordinate a national Civil Defense effort following the 1949 acquisition of the Atomic Bomb by the Soviet Union. As the name suggests it is designed to protect the civilian population. In World War II it was protection from the Axis powers and during the Cold War it was against those dirty, nasty, evil, filthy and stinky Commies - I.E. the Soviets. Protection came in the form of alerting the population of an impending attack and educating the public about how to prepare for and survive an atomic attack. Well, you really did not have to wait until the Soviets lobbed a nuke our way to see Civil Defense in action - Civil Defense was there in all times of national emergency including flood, hurricanes, and other natural disasters.

Blacks reactions

Despite all the pressures to end the boycott, blacks continued to stay off the buses. One white bus driver stopped to let off a lone black man in a black neighborhood. Looking in his rear view mirror, he saw an old black woman with a cane rushing towards the bus. He opened the door and said, "You don't have to rush auntie. I'll wait for you." The woman replied, "In the first place, I ain't your auntie. In the second place, I ain't rushing to get on your bus. I'm jus' trying to catch up with that ****** who just got off, so I can hit him with this here stick." By this point, some members of Montgomery's business community were becoming frustrated with the boycott, which was costing them thousands of dollars because blacks were less likely to shop in downtown stores. Although they were as opposed to integration as the next white Montgomery resident, they realized that the boycott was bad for business and therefore wanted the boycott to end. They formed a group called the Men of Montgomery and tried negotiating directly with the boycotters. Eventually, however, these discussions broke down, and the boycott continued. But blacks had already begun to fight to end the boycott in court. They would no longer settle for the moderate desegregation plan that they had first proposed. Now, they would accept nothing less than full integration. The city was fighting a losing battle. The blacks were armed with the Brown decision, less than two years old, which said that the "separate but equal" doctrine had no place in public education. Surely it must follow that the doctrine had no place in any public facilities. In addition, the city was not in the prejudiced local courts but in federal court, where even a black man could hope to have a fair trial. When the city defended segregation by saying that integration would lead to violence, Judge Rives asked, "Is it fair to command one man to surrender his constitutional rights, if they are his constitutional rights, in order to prevent another man from committing a crime?" The federal court decided 2-1 in favor of the blacks, with the lone dissent coming from a Southern judge. The city, of course, appealed the ruling, but on November 13, 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal court's ruling, declaring segregation on buses unconstitutional. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was officially over.

Eisenhower: Retirement and Death

Eisenhower had supported Richard Nixon for president in 1960. After attending he inauguration of his successor; John F. Kennedy, Eisenhower retired to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and wrote his memoirs. Despite arthritis, he golfed regularly. He supported the Vietnam War. He reluctantly endorsed Barry Goldwater for president in 1964 and, breaking his long-standing rule against endorsing candidates before the convention, came out for Richard Nixon for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968. Having survived a heart attack in office, Eisenhower suffered several more in retirement, two in November 1965, one in March 1968, another in June 1968, and two more in August 1968. Each time he rallied, but with a progressively weaker heart. In February 1969 he contracted pneumonia following surgery for the removal of a scar-tissue obstruction of the intestine. From March 15, he steadily declined from congestive heart failure and died on March 28, 1969. He was buried in military uniform in an army coffin at Abilene, Kansas.

President t Nixon n his rerunning campaign

For his part, President Nixon, far ahead in the polls throughout the campaign, confined his activity to a few carefully chosen personal appearances and television addresses. He relied on "surrogate" speakers, cabinet members and Vice President Agnew to bear the brunt of the campaign. This was the first presidential election in which 18 year-olds were allowed to vote. Their participation, at first expected to be a boon to McGovern, had no effect on the outcome

Gerald Ford Eductaion

Ford attended Madison Elementary School for kindergarten, East Grand Rapids Elementary School for grades one through six, and South High School for seventh grade through senior year. At South High, he excelled in history and government, performed well in math and sciences, but did poorly in Latin. At the end of his junior year he made the National Honor Society and ranked in the top 5% of his class. He also held down part-time jobs, working at an amusement park and frying burgers at a local restaurant. He also was a star center for the South High Trojans football team and was named to the all-city squad. Following his graduation in 1931, he entered the University of Michigan on a partial scholarship as a prelaw student majoring in economics and political science. Generally a B student, he earned As in four courses - money and credit, European history from the decline of Rome to 1648, organized labor, and American government.

Gerald Ford: Younger Years

Ford was actually born as Leslie Lynch King Jr. on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska. His mother first married Leslie King in 1912, reportedly beaten at times by her husband, she fled with her infant son to the safety of her parent's home in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1916, the year after her divorce, she married Gerald R. Ford. Leslie King Jr. was then renamed after his adoptive father, Gerald Rudolf Ford, Jr. He later changed the spelling of his middle name to Rudolph. From the age of 2 Ford grew up in modest circumstances un Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was a spirited, industrious, and athletic youngster. He helped out with chores, tending to the coal furnace, mowing the lawn, and washing dishes. As a teenager he drove a Model T Ford with a rumble seat but one day he threw a blanket atop the overheated engine and returned to find the car destroyed in flames.

Ford Retires

Having been defeated for election in his own right, Ford attended the inaugural of his successor and retired to Rancho Mirage, California. He wrote his memoirs, maintained an active speaking schedule, earning a reported $10,000-$15,000 per appearance, and lectured on college campuses under a program sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based think tank. He served on the boards of several corporations and also earned liberal consulting fees. He became co-chairman of People for the American Way, founded by television producer Norman Lear to counter the influence of the ultraconservative Moral Majority. He briefly considered running as vice president on the ticket with Ronald Reagan in 1980.

Carter's Retirement

Having been defeated for reelection, Carter retired to Plains, Georgia, to learn that the family peanut warehouse had fallen deeply in debt while in blind trust during his presidency. Since leaving office, Carter has been active in international human-rights efforts, often as an impartial observer of first-time free elections. He has served as an international mediator in North Korea, Haiti, Bosnia, Venezuela, and elsewhere, and has worked to focus world attention on epidemics in Africa. He made a highly publicized trip to Cuba in May, 2002, becoming the most prominent American to visit the nation since Castro came to power. The Carter Center in Atlanta, founded in 1986, became an important arena for the discussion of international affairs. Carter also has been deeply involved with Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization that helps working-class people in North America and abroad build and finance new homes. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts to advance peace, democracy, human rights, and economic and social development.

Truman on Civil Rights

He beloved that all Americans should have equal rights to housing, education, employment, and the ballot. The first president to address the NACCP, he pushed to create the President's Committee on Civil Rights risking the support of the Southern white voter. When he ran again in the election of 1948 he hoped to appeal to northern blacks and liberal voters. The desegregation of the military and and the administration's support of civil rights laws did not become effective until the late 60s ad early 70s.

Excerpts from Kennan's Long Telegram

He extended his analysis after he returned home in an article published under the signature "X" in the prestigious journal Foreign Affairs. Pointing to Russia's traditional sense of insecurity, Kennan argued that the Soviet Union would not soften its stance under any circumstances. Moscow, he wrote, was "committed fanatically to the belief that with the U.S. there can be no permanent modus vivendi, that it is desirable and necessary that the internal harmony of our society be disrupted." Moscow's pressure to expand its power had to be stopped through "firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies...."

John F. Kennedy: Education

He studied briefly at the Canterbury (Catholic) school in New Milford, Connecticut, until an attack of appendicitis forced his withdrawal in the spring of 1931.His headmaster reported "Jack has a clever, individual mind. When he learns the right place for humor and learns to use his individual way of looking at things as an asset instead of handicap, his natural gift of an individual outlook and witty expression are going to help him....Jack is not as able academically as his high IQ might lead us to think." The Inevitable Results of the Slowness of the British Democracy to Change from a Disarmament Policy." Later published as Why England Slept (1940), it won wide acceptance and earned the young author $40,000, which he donated to the bombed out town of Plymouth, England. In extracurricular activities, Kennedy played end on the freshman and junior varsity football team and held a place on the 1938 champion sailing crew. He also was on the freshman swim and golf teams and took part in

Dwight D. Eisenhower: Personality

His most distinctive feature was his broad grin. He wore reading glasses. He had a trick knee, the result of a football injury. He caught cold easily and suffered from bursitis and ileitis from time to time. While president, in 1955 he suffered a heart attack, described by doctors as "moderate". In 1956 he underwent an intestinal bypass operation, and had a slight stroke in 1957 that impaired his speech for 24 hours. A bit superstitious, he carried in his pocket three lucky coins, a silver dollar, a five-guinea gold piece, and a French franc. Eisenhower was a rather poor speaker, notorious for his fractured syntax. Sometimes, however, he hid behind this reputation when he wanted to avoid responding directly to a question.

Johnson's opposition to civil rights aid

His opposition to civil rights legislation reduced his support among black voters to just 3 percent. But it was Goldwater's foreign policy statements that most alarmed the nation. He spoke casually of "conventional nuclear weapons" and raised the prospect of nuclear war. He denounced the administration's restrained policy in Vietnam and pledged to drive the communists in the South. For his part, Johnson remained aloof of the campaign. He refused Goldwater's challenge to debate. Compared to Goldwater, he appeared to be the peace candidate and seemed to promise no wider war in Vietnam. Democratic ads portrayed Goldwater as an apostle of war. One notorious TV commercial associated the Republican candidate with a tranquil scene suddenly obliterated by a rising mushroom cloud. Goldwater objected to such tactics but never managed to shake his hawkish image. In the end voters repudiated Goldwater's call to the right. His support was limited to the Deep South and his home state of Arizona.

Alger Hiss

Hiss left the government in 1946 to become president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a foundation which under his leadership became a leading supporter of the U.N. He was serving in that capacity when before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1948, Whittaker Chambers first made his public charges that Hiss was a secret communist. Hiss denied the charge and filed a libel suit against Chambers, but after Chambers produced a number of copies of State Department documents and said they were given to him by Hiss for transmission to the Soviet Union, perjury charges were brought against Hiss when he denied before a grand jury that he had committed espionage. The Hiss-Chambers affair would prove to be the watershed case of the McCarthy period and one of the most important of the century.

Mao Zedong

In 1949, there was a civil war in China, where the Communists fought the official Nationalist government under Jiang Jieshi. Zedong was leader of China's Communist Party mobilized peasants by implementing land reform. The U.S. supported the nationalists, by giving them $3 million. In October 1949, Mao established the People's Republic of China (PRC) which made Nationalists flee to Taiwan. Mao signed a mutual defense treaty with the Soviet Union while the U.S. supported Nationalist in Taiwan.

The fallout of the Cuban Missile Crisis

In 1963 Khrushchev falls from power in the Soviet Union Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Hotline between Moscow and Washington D.C. allowing for instant communications June of 1963 Kennedy gave a speech, change in the tone of the rhetoric, soften it, starts laying the ground for the foundations of the policy of Peaceful Co-Existence

Communist Victory in Southeast Asia, 1975-1976

In 1974 Congress denied President Ford's request for more aid to South Vietnam. In April 1975 the Communist Pathet Lao gained power in Laos, the Communist Khmer Rouge overthrew the government in Cambodia, and Communist forces in Vietnam captured the capital of Saigon. During the fall of Saigon, the U.S. embassy was besieged by hordes of South Vietnamese rushing to flee the country ahead of the Communist advance. More than 5,000 refugees managed to escape, some clinging to the runners of helicopters. More than 100,000 others fled to safety in boats or other means. By July 1976 the Communists had sufficiently consolidated their gains in the South to unify the two Vietnams into one nation, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, with Hanoi as its capital. Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City.

Consumerism

In 1975 four bills were passed to enable consumers to make informed decisions and provide equity in the marketplace: the Fair Credit Billing Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

China

In 1979 the U.S. established diplomatic relations with China and withdrew its forces from Taiwan. Although trade and cultural exchanges with Taiwan were to continue, the United States had thus formally recognized Peking as the legitimate government of China. Also that year Deputy Premier Teng Hsiao-ping became the first Chinese Communist leader to visit the United States, the two countries signed scientific, cultural, and trade agreements.

Emitt Till

In August 1955, two white men from Mississippi murdered a 14 year-old African American. Emitt Till was not a native of Mississippi, he was from Chicago and visiting his great uncle Moses Wright in Money, Mississippi. He arrived in Money on August 21. Three days later he and several other black youths gathered at Bryant's Grocery and Meat Market - what happened exactly is not clear. Some of the youths present claim Till whistled at the white owner's wife, Carolyn Bryant. In the early morning hours of August 28: Carolyn's husband, Roy Bryant and his half brother J. W. Milam, kidnap Emmett Till from the Wright's home. The men brutally beat Till, shot him in the head, a large metal cotton gin fan is tied to his neck with barbed wire and the body is then disposed of in the Tallahatchie River. Three days later Till's body is found and sent to Chicago for burial. Till's mother elects to have an open casket so the world can see what has happened to the youth. Jet Magazine published photographs of Till's badly mutilated body. The photographs outrage African-Americans around the nation.

Berlin Crisis

In August 1961 Berlin again became the focus of East-West tensions, as East Germany erected a wall sealing off East Berlin from the free city of West Berlin. President Kennedy made it clear that he was prepared to go to war to keep West Berlin free. (Purely anticommunist rhetoric, Kennedy had no desire to start World War III over Berlin) But because the wall had been built entirely on East German soil and appeared to be designed to keep East Berliners from escaping rather than as a threat to West Berlin itself, it was allowed to stand, a grim reminder of the isolation and vulnerability of that democratic enclave and the frustrated impulse of Iron Curtain peoples to seek freedom.

What was the great peace conference in the Soviet Union in the Soviet city of Yalta about?

In February 1945, Roosevelt joined Churchill and Stalin for a great peace conference where Stalin agreed to enter the war against Japan. Roosevelt agreed that the Soviet Union should receive the Kurile Islands north of Japan; it should regain Sakhalin Island and Port Arthur (both which Russia lost in 1904 Russo-Japanese war. The three also agreed to accept a plan for a new international organization the new United nations would contain a general assembly, in which every member would be represented, Security council with a permanent representatives of five major powers (the U.S.,Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and China.) each of which would have power and delegates from other conferences.

The solution to the Vietnam War

In February 1971 the U.S. provided air and artillery support for a South Vietnamese invasion of Laos, but Communist forces quickly threw them back. In March 1972 the North Vietnamese launched an offensive across the demilitarized zone into the South. President Nixon responded by resuming massive bombing of the North and mining Haiphong Harbor. In August 1972 the last U.S. ground combat troops were withdrawn, leaving behind only military support personnel. The main obstacle to complete U.S. withdrawal was the U.S. prisoners of war held in North Vietnam. This issue was finally resolved in protracted negotiations between Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Le Duc Tho. The peace agreement, signed in Paris in January 1973, provided for simultaneous withdrawal of all U.S. forces and release of the prisoners. Although the agreement enabled the United States to end its involvement and retrieve prisoners, fighting between North and South quickly resumed eventually ending in a Communist victory. The Vietnam War cost the U.S. 58,000 dead, 304,000 wounded, and $110 billion.

SALT Agreement, 1972

In May 1972 President Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed two agreements concluded at the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT): 1) The United States and the Soviet Union were limited to two antiballistic missile (ABM) sites each, one to protect the capital city, the other to guard an offensive missile site at least 800 miles away. In addition, the number of ABM weapons were limited to two each site. 2) The two countries agreed to freeze the number of strategic offensive ballistic missiles roughly at current levels. Neither agreement provided for on-site inspection to ensure compliance.

Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 -

In October 1962 U.S. intelligence learned that the Soviet Union was constructing offensive nuclear missile bases in Cuba capable of striking the eastern two thirds of the United States as well as much of Latin America. Although the Soviet Union steadfastly maintained that the weapons were defensive, aerial photographs proved otherwise. In a solemn television address on October 22, President Kennedy condemned the Soviet Union for lying about the nature of the buildup and ordered a quarantine for Cuba, in which, he said, "All ships of any kind bound for Cuba from whatever nation or port will, if found to contain cargoes of offensive weapons, be turned back." He then warned Moscow, "It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union." He also called for "the prompt dismantling and withdrawal of all offensive weapons in Cuba." Tense days followed as Soviet ships steamed toward the American blockade. Finally, in an exchange of notes that reflected indecision in the Kremlin, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev agreed to dismantle the missile sites and return the weapons to the Soviet Union in exchange for a U.S. pledge not to invade Cuba. By the end of 1962 U.S. intelligence confirmed their removal.

Nixon Pardon, 1974

In September 1974 President Ford granted "a full, free and absolute pardon" to the former president Nixon "for all offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in" during his term in office. He did so, he said, because during the long period of delay and protracted litigation that would precede Nixon's trial, should he be indicted, "ugly passions would again be aroused. And our people would again be polarized in their opinions. And the credibility of our free institutions of government would again be challenged at home and abroad." The pardon drew a firestorm of criticism Ford's press secretary Jerald Horst, resigned in protest. To those who believed Ford had shown favoritism in pardoning Nixon before he was even indicted while his agents were tried, convicted, and sent to prison, Ford responded that the humiliation of resigning the presidency in disgrace was punishment enough, "equivalent to serving a jail term," Ford argued.

New China Policy

In a dramatic departure in U.S. foreign policy, President Nixon set aside his long-standing hostility to Communist China to support its admission to the United Nations in October 1971, while trying in vain to persuade the world body to permit Taiwan to retain its seat, too. In February 1972 he undertook what he called "a journey for peace", a widely publicized visit to China where he was received warmly by Chairman Mao Tse-tung and Premier Chou En-Lai. In a joint communique following the talks, the two governments agreed to broaden scientific, cultural, and trade contacts. Nixon was the first U.S. president to visit China and the first to visit a nation with which it had no formal diplomatic relations.

So what made Ike change his mind a run for the presidency?

In large part he hated the academic life at Columbia. He was a military man accustomed to giving orders and having them followed out then and there and that isn't the case in the academic world. The world of academia is run by committees and committees and then even more committees before anything gets done - Eisenhower simply could not stand it.

Assassination Attempts

In separate incidents in September 1975, two women tried and failed to shoot President Ford. On September 5, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, 26, a disciple of mass-murder Charles Manson, drew a Colt .45 from her thigh holster and squeezed the trigger just as Ford reached to shake her hand in a crowd outside the Senator Hotel in Sacramento, California. The gun failed to fire because, although it contained a clip of ammunition, there was no bullet in the chamber. She was the first person convicted under the 1965 statute making attempted assassination of a president a federal offense punishable by life imprisonment. She was sentenced to life. In San Francisco, on September 22, Sara Jane Moore, 45, a political activist and one-time FBI informant pulled a .38 revolver from her purse and fired one shot at President Ford from about 40 feet away. An alert bystander spoiled her aim and she was quickly subdued. The shot missed Ford by a few feet. Miss Moore was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. In 1979 she was recaptured hours after escaping from the Federal Correctional Institution at Alderson, West Virginia. This is where Martha Stewart is currently spending her time, wonder if they have met each other?

Civil Rights in the South

In some areas of the South desegregation came quickly with little need for further Federal government action. However, in many areas of the South - Brown v. Topeka acted as a lightening rod for opposition. When many Southern states refused to implement a policy of desegregation or just complied in a token fashion the Supreme Court issued another decision known as Brown II. The decision provided rules for implementing desegregation"with all deliberate speed," but it set no timetable and left specific decisions up to lower courts. In 1956, 101 Southern members of Congress signed the "Southern Manifesto denouncing the Brown decision as "a clear abuse of judicial power." Southern Governors, mayors, local school boards and "Citizens Councils" all worked to block desegregation. Many school districts enacted "pupil placement laws" that permitted school officials to place students in schools based on their scholastic ability and social behavior. Such 'laws' were nothing but thinly veiled attempts to maintain segregation.

Impeachment Proceedings

In televised proceedings in July 1974, the House Judiciary Committee, approved three articles of impeachment against President Nixon Obstruction of Justice - making false or misleading statements to investigators, withholding evidence, condoning and counseling perjury, interfering with lawful investigations, approving payment of hush money, attempting to misuse the CIA, using the Justice Department information to help subjects of investigation avoid criminal liability, making false or misleading statements to the public, holding out the prospect of favored treatment to those convicted in exchange for their silence Abuse of power - misusing the IRS, FBI, Secret Service, and other executive personnel; maintaining an unlawful secret investigative unit within the office of the president; failing to prosecute the criminal acts of subordinates interfering with the Watergate investigation. Failure to comply with congressional subpoenas The committee concluded, "In all of this Richard M. Nixon has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore, Richard M. Nixon by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office."

Who was Nixon's opposing running mate?

Independent George Wallace. He gained national attention in 1963, when he stood at the door of the University of Alabama to prevent the enrollment of blacks there. Although he gave way to the National Guardsmen and admitted the students, his dramatic stand made him a hero in much of the white South. Running on a platform of victory in Vietnam, law and order at home, and against busing to achieve racial balance, he mounted a third-party bid for president, under the banner of the American Independent Party, and got on the ballot in all 50 states.

Lyndon B. Johnson: Birth and Childlhood

Johnson was born in a three-room farmhouse on the Pedernales River between Stonewall and Johnson City, Texas, on the morning of August 27, 1908. He weighed 10 pounds at birth. Johnson grew up amid hardship in and around Johnson City, Texas. Besides doing household chores, Johnson earned spare cash as a hired hand on neighboring farms, a printer's helper on a local paper, and a shoeshine boy in a barbershop and trapped and sold animal skins. He was a crack marble shooter and used his lanky frame to good advantage as first baseman at area ballgames. The most thrilling experience of his childhood was a trip to the Alamo with his father.

McCarthyism

Joseph McCarthy was an undistinguished first-term Republican senator from Wisconsin, when on February 12, 1950 he delivered a routine Lincoln's Birthday speech in Wheeling, West Virginia. This little known Republican suddenly attracted national attention when he declared, " I have here in my hand a list of 205 - a list of names that were made known to the secretary of state as being members of the communist party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping the policy in the State Department." The charge that there were communists in the State Department- repeated on different occasions with the number changed to 57, then 81 - were never substantiated. But McCarthy's Wheeling speech triggered a four-and-a-half-year crusade to hunt down alleged communists in the government. The harshness and sensationalism of the senator's accusations soon won the name "McCarthyism".

TRIAL OF THE ROSENBERGS: AN ACCOUNT

Julius Rosenberg was arrested in July 1950, a few weeks after the Korean War began. He was executed, along with his wife, Ethel, on June 19, 1953,The Rosenbergs were tried and found guilty in March 1951. Federal Judge Irving R. Kaufman pronounced the death sentence in early April. The Rosenbergs' attorneys worked for over two years to have the verdict overturned. They appealed to the Supreme Court nine times, but the Court refused to review the record. Neither President Truman nor President Eisenhower granted their requests for clemency. Because the charge was conspiracy, their conviction required no tangible evidence that they had stolen anything or given it to anybody. The key government witnesses were all charged with the same conspiracy and received more favorable treatment in return for testifying that the Rosenbergs were guilty. David and Ruth Greenglass, Ethel Rosenberg's brother and sister-in-law, testified that Julius with Ethel's help recruited David into an atomic spy ring in 1944.The Rosenbergs testified in their own defense and denied all charges. They invoked their Fifth Amendment rights and refused to answer repeated prosecution questions about their political affiliations. During the McCarthy period, many felt that such a refusal to answer was an admission of Communist Party membership and that all Communists were spies for the Soviet Union.

Kennedy's Recreational Life

Kennedy enjoyed sailing, swimming, golf, and an occasional touch-football game with family and friends. As president he swam 20-30 minutes before lunch and again in the early evening in the White House pool, heated to 90 degrees to soothe his chronically ailing back. He also performed a daily regimen of exercises to strengthen his back muscles. He was a superb golfer, generally shooting in the high 70's or low 80's. After dinner he often had movies screened in the White House. Unless the film was very good, however, he usually left in the middle. His favorites included Bad Day at Black Rock with Spencer Tracy and Casablanca. He also attended the theater frequently. He read newspapers voraciously every morning. Kennedy also enjoyed smoking cigars.

Career Before the Presidency

Kennedy served in the navy from September 1941 to April 1945, rising from ensign to lieutenant Following his discharge from the navy, Kennedy worked briefly as a journalist. He covered the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco, April-June 1945, for the Chicago Herald-American and the Potsdam Conference July-August 1945, for the International News Service 1947-1953 U.S. Representative 1953-1961 U.S. Senator

John F. Kennedy: Physical Description and Personality

Kennedy stood 6 feet 1/2 inch tall and weighed 170 pounds at the time of his death. Strikingly handsome and youthful in appearance, he had blue eyes, and a mass of reddish-brown hair. He wore reading glasses from he age 13. His right leg was 3/4 inch longer than his left; he wore corrective shoes to compensate. Although he was muscular and athletic, his health was generally poor. He suffered from chronic backache and was in pain much of his adult life. Kennedy described himself as "an idealist without illusions" and considered his best quality to be curiosity, his worst irritability. Kennedy's charm, grace, and wit were to a great extent responsible for his immense popularity as president. To some he seemed distant, but, according to historian and Kennedy aide Arthur Schlesinger, he remained a bit detached in order to counter his extremely sensitive nature. For the most part he controlled his temper

McGovern campaign

McGovern never was able to shake his image as a radical leftist. His proposal that the government give everyone $1,000, offered during the primaries and in the face of harsh criticism from fellow Democrats largely abandoned, and his call for a minimum income floor and public-service jobs for the needy were ridiculed by Republicans as unsound. His call for immediate withdrawal from Vietnam was derided as a "cut-and-run" strategy that would undermine U.S. prestige abroad and destroy chances for retrieving prisoners of war. He also campaigned for tax reform and sharp cuts in defense spending. The AFL-CIO, long an important source of campaign strength for Democrats, this time declined to endorse either candidate for president. The Eagleton affair consumed valuable time at the beginning of the campaign and squandered McGovern's most precious asset, his reputation for refusing to compromise for political advantage, as he at first supported then dumped his beleaguered running mate. Many dismissed as campaign rhetoric McGovern's charge that the administration was deceiving the American public when, less than two weeks before the election, national security advisor Henry Kissinger announced that peace was "at hand" in Vietnam (turned out to be untrue) And although most of the most important facts of Watergate had already been disclosed, few listened when McGovern described the Nixon administration was "the most corrupt" in U.S. history (turned out to be true).

What was alarming about HUAC?

More alarming to the public was HUAC's investigation into charges of disloyalty leveled against a former high-ranking member of the State Department: In 1948, Whittaker Chambers, a self-avowed former communist agent who had vehemently turned against the party and become an editor of Time magazine, told the committee that Hiss had passed classified State Department documents through him to the Soviet Union in 1937 and 1938. When Hiss sued him for slander, Chambers produced microfilms of the documents (called the "pumpkin papers," because Chambers had kept them hidden in a pumpkin in his garden). Hiss could not be tried for espionage because the statute of limitations (a law that protects individuals from prosecution for most crimes after seven years have passed) But largely because of the relentless efforts of Richard M. Nixon, a freshman Republican congressman from California and a member of HUAC, Hiss was convicted of perjury in 1905 and served five years in prison. The Hiss case not only discredited a prominent young diplomat; it cast a suspicion on a generation of Democrats and made it possible for many Americans to believe that communists has actually infiltrated the government.

How does Hollywood strike back?

More and more movies were produced in color to attract TV viewers who saw the world in glorious black and white. Hollywood invested in new wide screen technology - CinemaScope. Why watch a tiny 19" or 21" screen when you can EXPERIENCE a movie in CinemaScope? 20th Century Fox was first to invest in CinemaScope and to no surprise Marilyn Monroe would star in one of the first movies in the format, How to Marry a Millionaire. And if you can experience a film in CinemaScope then 3-D makes you part of the film. The House of Wax, Creature from the Black Lagoon and Dial M for Murder all did their part to help lure patrons back into the theater and away from their TV sets. Smaller studios who could not afford to invest in the new technologies went under. By the 1960s many of the larger studios decided why fight television and they began to produce television shows themselves.

What was the second issue?

More troubling was labor unrest. As war production ceased, many workers found themselves without jobs. Others wanted pay increases they felt were long overdue. In 1946, 4.6 million workers went on strike, more than ever before in American history. They challenged the automobile, steel and electrical industries. When they took on the railroads and soft-coal mines, Truman intervened, but in so doing he alienated millions of working-class Americans. While dealing with immediately pressing issues, Truman also provided a broader agenda for action. Less than a week after the war ended, he presented Congress with a 21-point program, which provided for protection against unfair employment practices, a higher minimum wage; from 40c to 65c an hour, greater unemployment compensation, more public housing and slum clearance, and federal aid to education. In the next several months, he added other proposals for health insurance for all Americans (the first president to do so. Why are we still debating this issue?) and atomic energy legislation. Republicans were quick to attack. In the 1946 congressional elections they asked, "Had enough?" and voters responded that they had. Republicans, with majorities in both houses of Congress for the first time since 1928, were determined to reverse the liberal direction of the Roosevelt years.

Nixon shadiness

Nixon, far ahead in the early polls, carefully avoided offering specific solutions to the main issues. Said to have a "secret plan" to end the war in Vietnam, he promised an honorable peace settlement. He called for the restoration of law and order while upholding the rights of minorities and dissidents, a crackdown on narcotics traffic, and end to the draft and creation of a volunteer army, and a reduction of taxes and inflation. Humphrey, beset by lack of funds, deep divisions within the party, and the lingering specter of violence in the streets of Chicago, set out to put some distance between himself and the unpopular Johnson administration on the war issue. He announced, "As president I would be willing to stop the bombing of North Vietnam as an acceptable risk for peace." He repeated his long-standing commitment to civil rights and enjoyed the support of organized labor. Wallace, building from a strong base in the Deep South, pitched his law and order, anti busing campaign to blue-collar voters. Aided by President Johnson's October 31 order to halt the bombing of North Vietnam, Humphrey rapidly closed the gap in the polls during the final days but failed to overcome Nixon's lead.

When and where did Roosevelt & Churchill get to meet up with Stalin for their very first meeting? And why was this meeting called for?

November 1943, Teheran, Iran At this point Roosevelt's most effective bargaining tool (which was Stalin's need for American aid in his struggle against Germany) was rendered useless because the German advance inn Russia had failed. So Soviet forces were launching their own westward offensive, As well as the U.S. and Britain's decline to have Soviet participation in the creation of a new Italian government following the fall of Mussolini. Stalin felt that the unity was not there, Thus, a meeting needed to take place to clarify intentions.

Watergate and other scandals -

On June 17, 1972, five agents of the Committee to Reelect the President (CREEP) were arrested in the act of burglarizing the Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington D.C. What was dismissed by the White House as a "third-rate burglary attempt" touched off a chain of events that was to unravel the worst political scandal in U.S. history and for the first time force a president to resign in disgrace. Over the next two years numerous misdeeds committed by or in the name of President Nixon were disclosed by investigative reporters, notably Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post, and the Senate Select Committee on Watergate, chaired by Democratic Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina:Nixon campaign officials had installed eavesdropping devices inside Democratic headquarters at Watergate A Republican dirty tricks squad had attempted to sow dissension among Democratic candidates White House officials, including the president, authorized payment of hush money to Watergate defendants and otherwise attempted to cover up criminal acts A White House unit created to plug leaks of classified information, had burglarized the office of psychiatrist Daniel Ellsberg, the former government official who had distributed the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret study of the origins of the Vietnam War, to the press The Nixon administration had drawn up an Enemies List in order to, according to a White House memo, "use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies." Including on the list were black Representative John Conyers of Michigan, with a notation "Has known weakness for white females"; CBS newsman Daniel Schorr "a real media enemy"; show business celebrities Carol Channing, Bill Cosby, Jane Fonda, Paul Newman, and Tony Randall; businessmen and academics. President Nixon repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. His principle accuser, White House counsel John

Afghanistan

On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Teheran and took more than 60 American hostages. For their safe return, the militants demanded that the deposed Shah Reza Pahlevi, then in New York undergoing medical treatment, be returned to Iran to stand trial. On the order of Iranian leader the Ayatollah Khomeini, nearly all the women and blacks plus one very ill hostage were released. The remaining 52 Americans were held captive for more than a year, pawns in a global war of nerves that outraged and frustrated the American government, provided an anti-American focus to the chaotic Islamic revolution in Iran, and contributed to the 1980 defeat of President Carter. Following the embassy takeover, the Carter administration undertook a massive diplomatic, economic, and, eventually, military offensive to win release of the hostages. In November 1979 President Carter suspended oil imports from Iran and froze Iranian assets in the United States. In December 1979 the UN Security Council called for the immediate release of the hostages, and President Carter expelled all 183 Iranian diplomats in the United States. Canadian embassy personnel hid six Americans who had eluded capture in the embassy takeover and in January 1980 arranged for them to slip out of Iran posing as Canadian diplomats. In early April 1980 Carter imposed more economic sanctions and barred all Americans except journalists from traveling to Iran. With no resolution in sight, Carter on April 24, 1980 dispatched a military force to rescue the hostages. The unit landed in Iran, but the malfunction of three helicopters caused the commander to abort the raid prior to the assault on Teheran. During the evacuation, two aircraft collided, killing eight servicemen. To foil any such future raids, the Iranians scattered the hostages among locations throughout Iran. The death of the shah in Cairo in July 1980 spurred hopes that the hostages might soon be freed, but Khomeini now demanded return of the late shah's assets, cancellation of all U.S. claims against Iran, unfreezing Iranian assets in the United States, and a U.S. pledge of noninterference in Iranian affairs (See how what we did in Iran in the 50s came back to bite us?) Meanwhile war broke out between Iraq and Iran, making the latter now even more vulnerable to economic pressure. In November 1980 the militants relinquished the hostages to the Iranian government. With Algeria acting as intermediary, a deal was stuck. Khomeini agreed to release the hostages in exchange for unfreezing Iranian assets in the United States, thus dropping his other demands. The hostages left Iran on January 20, 1981, ending 444 days of captivity, as President Carter turned over the government to Ronald Reagan.

What makes Harley Earl so special?

One of the coolest aspects of 1950s and 1960s automobiles was the distinctness of each model year. You could look at a 1955 model and tell that it was a '55, just as you could look at the '57 and tell it was a '57. Was this a strike against the conformity of the decade? Perhaps in part, but there was a more important motivator in making each year look so distinct that anyone could tell this year's model from the last. That motivator was trying to tap into that "keeping up with the Joneses" mentality that had swept the nation. The idea was a simple one - if John Jones down the block pulled into his driveway in a brand spanking new 1955 Pontiac - you didn't not want to look like a loser stuck in an old 1953 Ford. So to show the neighbors you were just as financially well off as John Jones you trotted down to the local Ford or better yet Mercury dealer and proceeded to drive home in your own new car. Sound crazy? Perhaps it might in today's car world where the 2000 Miata looks pretty much like the 2004. Making distinct changes motivated some folks to buy the latest car out there and motivated others to buy a new car because Mr. Jones just bought one.

Campaign and Election of 1972

Opponent Democrat George McGovern. The Democratic national convention in Miami Beach in July was notable for the large representation of women and minorities. McGovern selected Senator Thomas Eagleton of Missouri as his vice presidential running mate. Soon after the convention, however, it was disclosed that Eagleton had undergone electric shock therapy for mental depression. McGovern at first stood behind his running mate "1,000 percent". But under intense pressure from party leaders he dumped him from the ticket. He next chose, former Peace Corps director R. Sargent Shriver of Maryland. The Democratic platform called for "immediate total withdrawal of all Americans from Southeast Asia," reduced defense spending, congressional participation in decisions involving war and peace, full employment, tax reform, desegregation, including busing to achieve racial balance, an end to capital punishment, and a ban on handguns.

President Carter

President Carter attempted to establish an honest, open, and compassionate government. But despite being hard working, well intentioned, and well informed, Congress worked poorly with Carter and failed to achieve many of his domestic initiatives. Economic problems forced Carter to cut taxes and create public works projects. While unemployment temporarily dropped, inflation grew steadily to over 13% as the Federal Reserve tightened the money supply. Carter disappointed Democrats who were pressing for national health insurance and welfare reform by his insistence on holding down he federal budget. Business was less disappointed as Carter worked for the deregulation of the airline industry, tax reductions for the wealthy, and federal loan guarantees for a bankrupt Chrysler Corporation. Carter sensing the mood of the American public attempted to move the Democratic party from the left to the center of the political spectrum.

Recreation

President Carter kept fit by jogging, hiking, bicycling, playing tennis, cross-country skiing, and bowling (about 160 average). He also was an avid fisherman. A speed-reader clocked at 2,000 words per minute with 95% comprehension, Carter regularly devoured three or four books a week in addition to work-related material. He had classical music (Bach, Vivaldi) piped into the Oval Office but appreciated such modern musicians as Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, and the Allman Brothers. With the First Lady he screened about two motion pictures a week in the White House. He drank moderately, usually Scotch. He smoked an occasional cigar.

Environmental Protection

President Carter signed into law a ban on the dumping of raw sewage in the ocean in 1977, the Strip Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, and the Alaska Land Act of 1980, setting aside 104 million acres in national parks, wildlife refuges, and wilderness areas (This is the area Bush wants to start drilling looking for gas and oil)

Deregulation

President Carter signed legislation providing for the deregulation of cargo airlines - 1977, commercial airlines - 1978, natural gas prices - 1978, and the trucking industry - 1980.

New York City Bail Out Bill, 1975 -

President Ford at first refused to lend federal funds to financially strapped New York City. But in November of 1975, after the city itself raised taxes and cut spending, Ford signed legislation extending $2.3 billion in short-term loans, enabling New York to avoid default.

Recreational Life of Ford

President Ford enjoyed swimming, playing golf, and skiing, usually at Vail, Colorado. Before breakfast he rode an exercise bike and lifted weights in the president's study. He followed football closely and remained a loyal fan of the Michigan Wolverines, He smoked a pipe, about 8 bowls of Sir Walter Raleigh or other blends a day.

The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan

President Harry S. Truman's commitment to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures. First applied to Greece and Turkey in 1947, it became the justification for U.S. intervention into many countries during the Cold War.

Vietnam War

President Johnson escalated the U.S. role in Vietnam. In August 1964 North Vietnamese torpedo boats reportedly attacked the U.S. destroyer Maddox and, possibly, the Turner Joy, in the Gulf of Tonkin. The United States promptly retaliated with air strikes against naval installations in North Vietnam. In a televised address, President Johnson condemned North Vietnam for "open aggression on the high seas," defended U.S. reprisals as "limited and fitting," but reassured his audience, "We will seek no wider war." Within days of the attack Johnson requested and received broad, open-ended congressional authority to "take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression." The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed both houses of Congress. The Congress gave the administration and our military a "blank check" to conduct the Vietnam War. In February 1965 the United States launched Operation Rolling Thunder; air raids over North Vietnam. The next month President Johnson dispatched the first contingent of 3,500 Marines to Danang, marking the beginning of 8 years of U.S. ground combat in South Vietnam, a war of attrition that was to spark violent antiwar protests in the United States and ended in a Communist victory. The number of US troops in Vietnam reached 180,000 by the end of 1965, 400,000 at the end of 1966, 470,000 by late 1967, and peaked at 550,000 in 1968. Even while escalating the war, the Johnson administration continued to press for a negotiated settlement, but the North Vietnamese refused to talk until the US unconditionally stopped bombing the North. In January 1968 the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong launched the Tet Offensive. Although the campaign failed to topple the government in South Vietnam, its intensity and scope dealt a severe psychological blow to an administration that had been predicting victory. In March 1968 President Johnson, handicapped by the "credibility gap" between promise and performance, announced a halt to the bombing of North Vietnam and his decision not to seek reelection in order, he said, to devote his full energies to achieving peace. Meanwhile the antiwar movement continued to grow. In 1967 demonstrators marched on the Pentagon; an antiwar rally in New York attracted 125,000 protesters. Young men openly burned their draft cards in defiance.

Johnson Recretaion

President Johnson relaxed playing dominoes or an occasional hand of poker. He enjoyed life on the 415-acre LBJ Ranch in Texas. He was notorious for taking guests on 90-mph rides around the ranch in his Lincoln Continental. He also golfed but, unlike his predecessors, kept his score secret. He swam regularly in the White House pool. He read little besides daily newspapers and work-related material. He drank moderately, usually Cutty Sark and soda. Once a three-pack-a-day cigarette smoker, he quit following his heart attack in 1955.

War on Poverty

President Johnson said in his 1964 State of the Union address, "Unfortunately many Americans live on the outskirts of hope, some because of their poverty and some because of their color, and all too many because of both. Our task is to help replace their despair with unconditional war on poverty in America." :

Campaign and Election of 1964

Republican opponent Barry Goldwater kept his pledge to offer the people "a choice, not an echo" Throughout the campaign he continued to call for deep cuts in social programs and an increase in teh defense budget. A longtime opponent of civil rights bills, he spurned bigotry but stressed the need to restore freedom in American life - "freedom of association," the right not to associate with minorities if one so chooses. Goldwater said, "Our aim, as I understand it is neither to establish a segregated society nor to establish an integrated society as such. It is to preserve a free society.... One thing that will surely poison and embitter our relations with each other is the idea that some predetermined bureaucratic schedule of equality - and, worst of all, a schedule based on the concept of race, must be imposed." Although Goldwater's hard core of right-wing supporters were gratified that he did not substantially alter his conservatism to suit a national campaign, his uncompromising position hurt him among certain blocs of voters. His proposal to sell the Tennessee Valley Authority undermined his strength in that region. His suggestion that Social Security be made voluntary frightened senior citizens.

Marriage

Richard M. Nixon, 27, married Thelma "Pat" Ryan, 28, on June 21, 1940. Pat was 13 when her mother died of cancer, 17 when he father passed away. She worked her way through one year year at Fullerton Junior College as a bank clerk. In 1930 she hitched a ride to New York with an elderly couple and found work as a secretary, then as an X-ray technician. Two years later she used her savings to enroll as a merchandising major at the University of Southern California. She continued to work part time at a variety of jobs, including as a movie extra. In 1935 she was paid $25 for a walk-on and one-line speaking part (later cut from the final version) in Becky Sharp. She also appeared as an extra in The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and a few other films. Graduating cum laude from the University of Southern California in 1937, she taught typing and shorthand at Whittier High School and continued acting, as an amateur at the Whittier Little Theater.

Richard Nixon wins election

Richard Nixon won an overwhelming landslide victory in 1972. Twenty-one months later, he was forced to resign as a result of his abuse of presidential power. Vice President Gerald Ford succeeded Nixon as president in August 1974. As Ford tried to restore a measure of confidence in the executive branch, Congress created laws to avoid future presidential abuses. Public cynicism about government remained high, especially after the economy began to slump. President Ford and Congress disagreed on the correct economic course, leading to a stalemate and more public distrust. In the 1976 Republican campaign, President Ford narrowly escaped Ronald Reagan's conservative challenge to his nomination. The Democrats nominated former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter, who benefited from the Watergate backlash and his reputation as a Washington outsider who would "never tell a lie to the American people." President Ford's economic problems and Carter's ability to reestablish the traditional Democratic coalition helped Carter to win the election.

Campaign and Election of 1956: Again Eisenhower won the Popular Vote: Eisenhower (Republican) 35,590,472 (57%) Stevenson (Democrat) 26,031,322 (42%)

Stevenson faced an uphill struggle against the popular incumbent president. The Democrats strongest issue, one addressed indirectly, was the state of Eisenhower's health following his heart attack. To quiet rumors, Eisenhower undertook a reasonably active campaign schedule, covering 14,000 miles and 13 states. Stevenson called for an end to the draft in favor of an all-volunteer army and a halt to atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. Eisenhower opposed both as serious threats to national security. It was Stevenson who coined the phrase "quality of life" in this campaign. Republicans sought to woo back the black vote lost to Democrats during the New Deal. Pointing to Eisenhower's efforts to enforce school desegregation orders in Little Rock, the GOP launched Task Force '56 to campaign in black neighborhoods. Prominent among blacks for Eisenhower was Democratic Representative Adam Clayton Powell of New York. As a result Eisenhower received 40% of the black vote, more than any other Republican presidential nominee since. Ironically, at the same time, he cracked the traditionally democratic South, becoming the first Republican since Rutherford B. Hayes to carry Louisiana.

The National Energy Act of 1978

Stressing the need for a comprehensive energy program, President Carter wanted to limit American dependency on foreign oil and to limit energy consumption; in response Congress passed the National Energy Act of 1978. Before its effects could be felt, oil production aboard declined with the Iranian Revolution, and energy shortages increased, gas lines escalated, and gas prices soared. Carter responded with more demands for stronger energy measures, demands that Congress translated into the nation's first comprehensive energy program. The public seemed unimpressed or unwilling to sacrifice, coupled with the Iranians fundamentalists taking our embassy hostage, President Carter's approval rating sank to 25 percent.

What did TV bring?

Television was a window to the world. Imagine being able to watch moving pictures in the comfort of your home - you did not have to dress up to see a movie and you could now see the broadcasters that before you could only hear. But keep in mind that in that satellites and with them satellite TV communication are not yet a reality.

One final item - while today we have a TV in several rooms of the home, that was not the case in the 1950s.

Televisions were expensive even by today's standards they were expensive. If you purchase a standard set today - that is a good old fashioned standard tube 20" TV for less than $150.00 and a 32" for less than $250.00. In 1954 when color TV was introduced a 21" color set was $1,000 and when the average household income was just under $5,000 - that is quite a tidy sum. Even a B&W set cost anywhere from $300 to $450.00 for a 19" or 21" model. Clearly, most families could afford only one set. And as a result watching TV was truly a family experience as everyone gathered to watch the same set.

What Johnson's Adminstration did about Civil Rights

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned racial discrimination in facilities open to the public, strengthen the federal government to end segregation in the schools, created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Title VII, no discrimination based on gender. The growing women's rights movement will use Title VII to break down barriers. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed literacy tests and authorized the federal government to promote voter registration; it resulted in a marked increase in minority voting. The Civil Rights Act of 1968 barred discrimination in the sale and rental of housing and stiffened federal criminal penalties for civil rights violations.

The Cold War Begins

The Cold War first emerged over clashing Soviet and American interests in Eastern Europe, then it was because of the Western Allies delay in opening a second front in Western Europe that infuriated Stalin since it was his hopes that the Allies would go through with this. Josef Stalin wanted to make Germany pay for Soviet reconstruction and to expand Soviet influence in the world, he also wanted friendly governments on the Soviet Union's borders in Eastern Europe. Stalin wanted to have his own power overall.

Environmental Protection

The Environmental Quality Policy Act of 1969 - Required the filing of an environmental impact statement for each new federal program The Environmental Protection Agency - Was established in 1970 to monitor, regulate, reduce, and control pollution The Water Quality Improvement Act of 1970 - Curbed water pollution from nuclear power plants and offshore oil rigs and tankers The National Air Quality Standards Act of 1970 - Restricted auto emissions and established federal clean air standards to be met by states The Resource Recovery Act of 1970 - Encouraged recycling The Water Pollution Act of 1972 - Passed over Nixon's veto, provided federal funds for the construction of local waste treatment plants and sharply curtailed the discharge of industrial waste into the nation's waterways. Endangered Species Act of 1973

The Fair Deal

The Fair Deal was the name given to Harry Truman's domestic program. Building on Roosevelt's New Deal, Truman believed that the federal government should guarantee economic opportunity and social stability, and he struggled to achieve those ends in the face of fierce political opposition from conservative legislators determined to reduce the role of government.

The cornerstone of the Carter administration's foreign policy was a call for human rights around the world. Carter denounced the trials of Soviet dissidents. In Warsaw in 1977 he spoke out for the rights of Eastern Europeans. He condemned racism in South Africa and endorsed black attempts to gain majority rule in Rhodesia. He criticized the repressive regimes of Castro in Cuba and Idi Amin in Uganda. He suspended foreign aid to Argentina, Uruguay, and Ethiopia.

- After 13 years of negotiations begun under the Johnson administration, the United States and Panama concluded a treaty in September 1977 providing for the return of the Panama Canal and the Canal Zone in December 31, 1999. Panamanian voters ratified the treaty in referendum by a 2-1 majority. In the U.S., however, there followed months of debate during which prominent conservatives, among them former Governor Ronald Reagan of California and some retired military leaders, condemned the treaty as a giveaway that would undermine hemispheric security. Amid intense lobbying from the White House, the Senate ratified the treaty in April 1978, just 1 vote to spare for the necessary two thirds. In October 1979 the U.S. relinquished the Canal Zone to Panama while retaining rights to operate and defend the canal itself until 1999.

Resignation

- Realizing that he faced almost certain impeachment, Nixon resigned the office of president, effective August 9, 1974. In his farewell address he admitted nothing but errors of judgment. He decided to quit, he said, because "to continue to fight through the months ahead for my personal vindication would almost totally absorb the time and attention of both the President and Congress in a period when our entire focus should be on the great issues of peace abroad and prosperity without inflation at home."

Building National Security State

1) developing of atomic weapons 2) strengthening traditional military power 3) military alliances with other nations 4) military and economic aid to friendly nations 5) espionage network and secret means to subvert Communist expansion 6) a propaganda offensive to win friends around the world **September 1949, Soviet Union detonated its own atomic bomb and Truman thus created one for America and thus the superpowers became locked in an ever-escalating nuclear weapons race.

Johnson's Career Before the Presidency

1930-1931 Johnson taught public speaking in Pearsall, Texas and debate and public speaking at Sam Houston High School in Houston 1931-1933 He quit education to become secretary to Democratic Representative Richard Klebery of Texas 1935-1937 Director of National Youth Administration in Texas 1937-1949 U.S. Representative Johnson served as a lieutenant commander in the navy from December 1941 to July 1942. He served in the Pacific. During his service, Johnson retained his House seat. He resigned his commission in 1942 in compliance with President Roosevelt's order that all congressmen in the service resume their legislative duties 1949-1961 U.S. Senator 1961-1963 Vice President

But there is one more value to Civil Defense.

And in the context of the Cold War it is a very important item. CD with all their brochures and films and such kept people alarmed, which in turn, kept them thinking about the Cold War. Big deal you say? Well, look at World War II it was easy to know there was a war going on, but the Cold War was different it was a long protracted affair touched with hot spots. And with Americans having notoriously short attention spans, even back then, the government needed something to constantly keep the public aware of the Soviet threat. And that in part is what Civil Defense did - by telling you that Atomic war is survivable and this is how, the government is also keeping you aware of a threat - that while there are no direct front lines like in World War II - there is a war going on and the future of the Free World is at stake. It may not be like WWII, but there is a constant threat by the Soviet Union "do not let your guard down."

What fuels the fifties?

As has been discussed, the fear of Communism fueled the politics of the Fifties. But there is far more to the decade than the fear of Reds. The 1950s were generally a period of tremendous economic growth. Certainly, there were a few economic hiccups and true not everyone shared in the Great American Dream that blossomed from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. This period and its economic growth were far more balanced than the boom that swept America in the 1920s

At the Republican convention Eisenhower, what happened?

At the Republican convention Eisenhower beat Senator Taft's bid for the nomination but had to make some form of concession to the conservative wing of the party. That concession was the acceptance of Richard Nixon as the VP running mate. The former general never personally like Nixon nor his politics. Nixon made his way into the House of Representatives in 1946 and make quite a name for himself with HUAC (House UnAmerican Activities Committee). The freshman Congressman jumped into the headlines in the late 1940s with his work with HUAC and the Alger Hiss - Whittaker Chambers Affair. Images of Nixon reading the "Pumpkin Papers" microfilm and his rapid anti-Communist speeches made the young Congressman known to Americans across the nation. With only four years under his Congressional belt, Nixon saw opportunity in the 1950 Senatorial election. A fairly liberal female Democratic candidate, Congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas, fell victim to the extremely nasty campaign run by the Nixon camp. Nixon inferred Douglas was sympathetic to the Communist elements in the nation and went to far to publicly state Douglas was "pink right down to her underwear." Nixon trounced Douglas and went on to continue his extreme anti-Communist tactics in the Senate. And with the Eisenhower-Nixon ticket, Republicans seemed assured victory over Adlai Stevenson and the Democrats. There were a few bumps in the campaign - the Republicans soon found out the Ike was not the most comfortable nor fluid on the campaign circuit. But most biggest bump would come from Nixon...

Blacks continued to stay off the bus

Blacks continued, however, to stay off the city buses until the mandate from the Supreme Court arrived. During that time, MIA officials tried to prepare blacks as best they could for integrated buses. But, as Martin Luther King, Jr., noted wryly, "not a single white group would take the responsibility of preparing the white community." Blacks returned to the buses on December 21, 1956, over a year after the boycott began. But their troubles were not over. Snipers shot at buses, forcing the city to suspend bus operations after 5 P.M. A group tried to start a whites-only bus service. There was also a wave of bombings. The homes of two black leaders, four Baptists churches, the People's Service Station and Cab Stand, and the home of another black were all bombed. In addition, an unexploded bomb was found on King's front porch. Seven white men were arrested for the bombings, and five were indicted. The first two defendants, Raymond D. York and Sonny Kyle Livingston, were found not guilty, even though they had signed confessions. The remainder of the bombers were set free under a compromise that also canceled the cases of blacks arrested under the anti-boycott laws, although King still had to pay his $500 fine.

Harry S. Truman

Born in Lamar, Missouri on May 8, 1884.He lived on a farm before moving to Independence, Missouri. He had to wear thick glasses meaning he had poor vision. He never got into a fist fight and was referred to himself as a sissy. He was teased for playing the piano and he was also an accident-prone kid. he contracted diphtheria at nine and was paralyzed in his arms and legs temporally. He is an avid reader, his favorite book by Charles Francis Horne called Great Men & Famous Women got him interested in politics, biographies, and the principles of leadership and government. Is early heroes were Hannibal and Robert E. Lee and not Alexander the Great or Napoleon because they fought for the sake of conquest and not the principle. His personality can be described as humble, he never spoke with out humility. He had an explosive temper and salty language. He was a Baptist, believed in praying and the bible teachings. He was a talented pianist.

The Great Society's

If there is a prize for the political scam of the 20th century, it should go to the conservatives for propagating as conventional wisdom that the Great Society programs of the 1960s were a misguided and failed social experiment that wasted taxpayers' money. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, from 1963 when Lyndon Johnson took office until 1970 as the impact of his Great Society programs were felt, the portion of Americans living below the poverty line dropped from 22.2 percent to 12.6 percent, the most dramatic decline over such a brief period in this century. The Great Society's main contribution to the environment was not just passage of laws, but the establishment of a principle that to this day guides the environmental movement. The old principle was simply to conserve resources that had not been touched. Lyndon Johnson was the first president to put forth a larger idea: "The air we breathe, our water, our soil and wildlife, are being blighted by poisons and chemicals which are the by-products of technology and industry. The society that receives the rewards of technology, must, as a cooperating whole, take responsibility for [their] control.

What was President Truman's greatest frustrations, in addition to the Soviet threat?

It was Truman's desire to continue Roosevelt's domestic reforms. Under Truman, Roosevelt's New Deal became a consolidation of programs already in place of what now came to be known as Truman's New Deal.

Teheran Conference

It was a success where Stalin and Roosevelt established a cordial personal relationship. Stalin agreed to the request to have the Soviet enter the war in the Pacific soon after the end of hostilities in Europe. Roosevelt in turn promised that an Anglo-American second front will be established within six months. All three leaders agreed in principle to postwar international organization and efforts to prevent a resurgence of German expansionism.On other matters, the origins of future disagreements were already visible issue of Poland. Churchill and Roosevelt agreed to move the Soviet border westward, allowing Stalin to annex some Polish territory. Stalin wished to install another, a pro-communist government whereas the other two wanted to support the Polish government already in place. This lead to even more conflict so the issue was left unresolved even when the Teheran Conference ended.

Johnson's Domestic Program

Lyndon Johnson idolized Franklin Roosevelt. He wanted history to remember him as the president who completed the social programs of the New Deal had started, for making an America "where no child will go unfed and no youngster will go unschooled; where every child has a good teacher and every teacher has good pay, and both have good classrooms; where every human being has dignity and every worker has a job; where education is blind to color and employment is unaware of race; where decency appeals and courage abounds." Johnson's "War on Poverty" directed by the Office of Economic Opportunity, funded the Job Corps, which retrained the unemployed for the new kinds of jobs available in high-technology industries. The Office of Economic Opportunity provided catch-up education in "Head Start" schools for boys and girls from impoverished families, white as well as black, and tutored inadequately prepared students so they could attend universities. Volunteers in Service to America was a domestic Peace Corps. It sent social workers into decaying inner cities and poor rural areas. Medicare provided government-funded health insurance for the elderly, chronically ill, and very poor. For working-class and middle-class families, the Great Society generously funded schools, colleges, and universities, and provided low interest student loans that made higher education possible for hundreds of thousands of young people who, otherwise, could not have afforded it.

Nixon's Death

Nixon retired to San Clemente, California, reportedly in deep depression. In September 1974 he accepted from his successor, President Gerald Ford, a "full, free and absolute pardon" for all federal crimes that he "committed or may have committed or taken part in" while president. He attempted to take possession of the White House tapes but was thwarted by an act of Congress. In his last years Nixon succeeded in rehabilitating his public image to some extent, and gained respect as an elder statesman in the area of foreign affairs, being consulted by both Democratic and Republican successors to the Presidency.Nixon died on April 22, 1994 in New York City at the age of 81, from complications related to a severe stroke, and was buried beside his wife Pat Nixon on the grounds of the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California. Per his request, Nixon did not receive a state funeral, as customary for former presidents. However, President Bill Clinton spoke at the April 27 funeral, and former presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush and their respective first ladies were also in attendance. This was the first gathering of five presidents in one place.n.

Education

Nixon was a hardworking, serious, prompt student throughout his school years. He attended elementary schools in Yorba Linda and Whittier, California. He entered Fullerton High School and in his junior year transferred to Whittier High. At Fullerton he won the Constitutional Oratorical Contest and represented the West Coast in the National Oratorical Contest. His Whittier High debate coach commented, "He had this ability to kind of slide round an argument instead of meeting it head on, and he could take any side of a debate." He graduated from Whittier High first in the class of 1930. At Whittier College 1930-1934, he majored in history and was captain of the debating team. In extracurricular activities, he played second-string tackle on the football team, belonged to the drama and glee clubs. To help meet expenses he did research at the law library for 35c an hour under a program sponsored by the New Deal's National Youth Administration and shared a rundown off-campus farmhouse, without running water and electricity, with three other students. His sober demeanor and preoccupation with his studies earned him the nickname Gloomy Gus. He graduated from Duke Law School third of 25 students of the class in 1937. He was admitted to the California bar in November 1937.

Richard M. Nixon: Younger Years

Nixon was born the evening of January 9, 1913, in the small frame house his father had built in Yorba Linda, California. He weighed 11 pounds at birth. Nixon grew up amid poverty in Yorba Linda, 1913-1922, and Whittier, California, from 1922. At age 3 he fell out of a buggy and gashed open his scalp on the wheel. He nearly bled to death during the 25-mile trip to the nearest hospital. At 4 he almost died again, this time from pneumonia. He was a quiet, obedient child, dutifully helping out with chores and keeping out of mischief. Every morning before school he trucked produce in from Los Angeles, washed it, and mounted it for display in Nixon's Market. At night he lay in bed listening to the trains pass by and dreamed of becoming a railroad engineer. When the Teapot Dome scandal engulfed the Harding administration, 10-year-old Richard looked up from the newspaper on day to tell his mother, "I would like to become a lawyer, an honest lawyer, who can't be bought by crooks."

Civil Rights Act of 1957

Ratified in 1870, the 15th Amendment provided the "The rights of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of race, color, or previous conditions of servitude. Thereby in theory every US citizen had the right to vote. However, as Reconstruction ended and the former ruling classes of the South regained their political clout little by little many rights of blacks had been systematically stripped away. One important right being that of voting. Through poll taxes and literacy tests many blacks found their right to vote 'legally' stripped from them. By the turn of the century "Jim Crow" laws had turned the American South into a legally segregated society. And the 1896 Supreme Court case of Plessy v. Ferguson upheld the doctrine of "Jim Crow" with its approval of "Separate but Equal" ruling. By the 1950s the American South denied blacks a host of rights including segregated public public facilities, forbid interracial marriage, and most blacks were denied their right to vote.

Vietnam War: Overview

President Nixon both steadily reduced U.S. involvement in the war and expanded the fighting beyond the borders of Vietnam into Cambodia and Laos, a policy critics dubbed "widening down" the war. Under the Vietnamization program, South Vietnamese forces were trained and equipped to take over for U.S. troops as they were withdrawn. From a 543,000 man contingent in 1969, U.S. forces in Vietnam were cut to 340,000 in 1970, 177,000 in 1971, and 25,000 in 1972. To coincide with Vietnamization, the president also announced the Nixon Doctrine, which called for reduced presence of U.S. forces in Asia generally. On April 30, 1970, 70,000 U.S. and South Vietnamese forces invaded Cambodia to strike enemy sanctuaries along the border and disrupt supply lines. A main objective, to capture the Communist headquarters in Cambodia, failed. President Nixon justified the raid as necessary to protect the dwindling ranks of U.S. forces in Vietnam and to ensure the success of the Vietnamization program. But it drew a firestorm of protest in the United States, most dramatically on the campus of Kent State University, where the Ohio National Guardsman fired into a crowd of 2,000 demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine. To counter the growing wave of violent protests on campuses and in cities across the country, President Nixon considered but never carried out the hiring of Teamster union "thugs" to "go in and knock their heads off", according to a transcript of a White House tape recording obtained by the New York Times in 1981. Meanwhile doves in Congress stepped up the pressure to end the war. In 1970 the Senate repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which had been cited as equivalent to a congressional declaration of war. Adding to the growing American distaste for the war was the disclosure of the My Lai massacre of March 1968, in which unarmed South Vietnamese civilians were slaughtered by U.S. troops.

Recreation

President Nixon played golf (low 90s), bowled (about 175 average), and swam occasionally. He especially liked the seashore. He was from his navy days a sharp poker player. He reportedly won several thousand dollars in the service, money he used to help finance his first campaign for Congress. He enjoyed reading history. Among his favorite films was Patton.He occasionally smoked a pipe.

President Nixon's Reaction to Watergate Scandal

President Nixon repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. His principle accuser, White House counsel John Dean, maintained that although the president may not have authorized the Watergate break-in, he did direct the cover-up that followed. The truth probably never would have been known were it not for the existence of an elaborate White House taping system installed by President Nixon, presumably as an aid in reconstructing the events of his administration for his memoirs. While vowing his innocence, Nixon at first refused to turn over the tapes to the Senate investigating committee, citing executive privilege. Only after the Supreme Court unanimously ordered him to release them did he do so. One tape arrived with a mysterious 18 1/2 minute gap that sound experts concluded had been deliberately erased. The tapes generally supported Dean's version of events and thoroughly discredited the president. Nixon later regretted not having destroyed the tapes. Meanwhile, special prosecutor Archibald Cox and successor Leon Jaworski proceeded with prosecution of Nixon officials. Besides the original burglars and John Dean, those convicted of or pleading guilty to unlawful activity were secretary Dwight Chapin, special presidential counsel Charles Colson, adviser John Ehrlichman, chief of staff Bob Halderman, White House consultant E. Howard Hunt, personal attorney to the president Herbert Kalmbach, White House aides Bud Krogh and Fred Larue, CREEP counsel G. Gordon Liddy, CREEP director Jeb Magruder, attorney general John Mitchell, CREEP director, Herbert Porter, CREEP dirty trickester Donald Segretti, commerce secretary and CREEP finance director Maurice Stans. President was named an unindicted co-conspirator.

President Truman take on Civil Rights

President Truman attempted to persuade Congress to create legislation to protect blacks from lynching, declare an end to the poll tax and protect high paying jobs acquired by blacks during the war. Much to the dismay of Truman Southern Democrats joined forced with Northern Republicans and defeated the bill. In 1948 President Truman banned racial discrimination in the hiring of Federal employees and then through Executive Order he ended segregation in the military. Like Lincoln, Truman did not personally believe in the equality of the races, but he did believe in equal treatment under the law.

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks is probably the most romanticized personage in the Montgomery cast of characters. She is often portrayed as a simple seamstress who, exhausted after a long day at work, refused to give up her seat to a white person. While this is not untrue, there is more to the story. Parks was educated; she had attended the laboratory school at Alabama State College because there was no high school for blacks in Montgomery at that time, but had decided to become a seamstress because she could not find a job to suit her skills. She was also a long-time NAACP worker who had taken a special interest in Claudette Colvin's case. When she was arrested in December 1955, she had recently completed a workshop on race relations at the Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, Tennessee. And she was a well-respected woman with a spotless record.On Thursday, December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a city bus and sat with three other blacks in the fifth row, the first row that blacks could occupy. A few stops later, the front four rows were filled with whites, and one white man was left standing. According to law, blacks and whites could not occupy the same row, so the bus driver asked all four of the blacks seated in the fifth row to move. Three complied, but Parks refused. She was arrested.

Helen Gahagan Douglas

She served on Congress from 1945 to 1951 when the fate of the New Deal was in question and the nation charted an unprecedented course in foreign policy. A featured speaker at the Democratic National Convention. Douglas was drawn to the plight of poor migrant farm workers, visited migrant camps which led her to testify before Congress and became a friend of Roosevelt. She was a liberal and admired FDR. When he died she was saddened and not sure of his successor Harry Truman would be like since he had to deal with new international challenges that threatened to undermine the nation's security. She was a member of the Hose of Foreign Affairs Committee, and urged cooperation with the Soviet Union and opposed aid to Greece and Turkey.

Who defeated Helen Gahagan Douglas in the U.S. Senate in 1950 and how was she defeated?

She was defeated by Republican Richard M. Nixon, who had been gaining attention for his efforts to expose communism in government, because he made a snide comment about Douglas insinuating that she was a communist (liberals were prone to this accusation).

Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) decision

The MIA decided to let the people vote on whether or not to continue the boycott at the mass meeting that night. There, the decision was unanimous. The boycott would continue. When the boycott began, no one expected it to last for very long. There had been boycotts of buses by blacks before, most recently in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1953. A one-day boycott, followed three months later by a week-long boycott, resulted in buses that were more desegregated but that still had some seats reserved for whites as well as some for blacks. On Thursday, December 8, the fourth day of the boycott, King and other MIA officials met with officials and lawyers from the bus company, as well as the city commissioners, to present a moderate desegregation plan similar to the one already implemented in Baton Rouge and other Southern cities, including Mobile, Alabama. The MIA was hopeful that the plan would be accepted and the boycott would end, but the bus company refused to consider it. In addition, city officials struck a blow to the boycott when they announced that any cab driver charging less than the 45 cent minimum fare would be prosecuted. Since the boycott began, the black cab services had been charging blacks only 10 cents to ride, the same as the bus fare, but this service would be no more. Suddenly the MIA was faced with the prospect of having thousands of blacks with no way to get to work, and with no end to the boycott in sight.

Camp David Accords, 1978

The Middle East peace process, begun with a bold gesture by Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in his historic visit to Jerusalem in November 1977, had stalled in September 1978, when President Carter invited Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to Camp David. During 13 days of intense, highly personal negotiations in the seclusion of the Maryland retreat, the three heads of state hammered out two documents, signed amid great fanfare before television cameras - a Framework for Peace in the Middle East and a Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel. Although snags later developed, chiefly over the issue of Palestinian autonomy, the Camp David Accords led to a formal peace treaty in March 1979, ending a 31-year state of war between Egypt and Israel, and the return of occupied Sinai to Egypt, completed in stages by April 1982.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The Montgomery Bus Boycott officially started on December 1, 1955. That was the day when the blacks of Montgomery, Alabama, decided that they would boycott the city buses until they could sit anywhere they wanted, instead of being relegated to the back when a white boarded. It was not, however, the day that the movement to desegregate the buses started. Perhaps the movement started on the day in 1943 when a black seamstress named Rosa Parks paid her bus fare and then watched the bus drive off as she tried to re-enter through the rear door, as the driver had told her to do. Perhaps the movement started on the day in 1949 when a black professor Jo Ann Robinson absentmindedly sat at the front of a nearly empty bus, then ran off in tears when the bus driver screamed at her for doing so. Perhaps the movement started on the day in the early 1950s when a black pastor named Vernon Johns tried to get other blacks to leave a bus in protest after he was forced to give up his seat to a white man, only to have them tell him, "You ought to knowed better." The story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott is often told as a simple, happy tale of the "little people" triumphing over the seemingly insurmountable forces of evil. The truth is a little less romantic and a little more complex.

Peace Corps

The Peace Corps was established in March 1961 as an agency of the State Department to enlist volunteers in teaching and providing technical manpower to underdeveloped countries. Some 85,000 Americans served in the corps over the next 20 years. In 1971 it and other volunteer service agencies were merged to form an independent agency, Action. Used as an anti-communist measure.

FBI, J. Edgar Hoover

The employee loyalty program became a signal throughout the government to launch a major assault on subversion. The attorney general established a widely cited list of supposedly subversive organizations. The director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, investigated and harassed alleged radicals. The anticommunist frenzy quickly grew so intense that even the Democratic Congress felt obliged to bow to it. In 1950, Congress passed the McCarran Internal Security Act, requiring all communist organizations to register with the government and to publish their records, and creating other restrictions on "subversive" activity. Truman vetoed the bill. Congress easily overrode his veto.

Results of China going communist

The fallout from China going communist was, now, losing a country to communism was used as a partisan political weapon. Truman was blamed for "Losing China" as if he had a hole in his pants pocket, had put China in there and they fell out. Republicans were merciless in their criticisms of Truman, the Democrat. In the future both political parties will hammer on each other for being "soft on communism". Kind of the way things are now with the issue of terrorism. This "loss" of China will have repercussions down the road, especially for President's Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. Each one of them did not want to be known as the man who "lost" Vietnam to communism.

The final agreement at the Yalta Conference

The final agreement, like the Polish accord, was vague and unstable. The US, Great Britain, France and Soviet Union would each control its own "zone of occupation" in Germany, the zones to be determined by the positions of troops at the end of the war. Berlin, the German capital, was already well inside the Soviet zone, but because of its symbolic importance it would be divided into four sectors, one for each nation to occupy. At an unspecified date, the nation would be united, but there was no agreement on how the reunification would occur. As for the rest of Europe, the conference produced a murky accord on the establishment of interim governments, that would be replaced by permanent ones created through free elections. Once again no timetable accompanied the agreements.

Introduction to Chapter 29

To offset his youth and inexperience in foreign affairs, President Kennedy decided to take a tough stand against Communism. This led him to expand America's nuclear arsenal, to redesign America's fighting forces, to speed up America's space program, and to attend to the third world with a program of economic development. Although Lyndon Johnson pledged to concentrate on domestic affairs, the threat of communism led him to commit increasing attention and resources to skirmishes in Vietnam and Latin America. The war in Vietnam was like no other. Soldiers were transported to war in commercial airliners. In Vietnam, enemy bombings occurred on America's military bases, carried out by harmless-looking villagers. The Vietnam War was a civil war, in which American soldiers often could not distinguish friend from foe. Its sacrifices were enormous. It cost President Johnson his presidency. The poor lost when funding for Great Society programs was withdrawn to support the war. The war cost the lives of over 50,000 American soldiers and more than one million Vietnamese soldiers and civilians. Probably more important it left scars on the lives of all who fought or lived during the Vietnam Era, scars that have yet to heal completely. President Nixon was elected in 1968 pledging to end the war in Vietnam, but in fact he wanted to win that war. After "Vietnamizing" the war, he, at the same widened the war. In the end a truce was signed and American withdrew the troops, but by 1975, the North had united Vietnam under a communist government and Nixon had been driven from office in disgrace.

Who met in July 17, 1945 in Potsdam (a German city in the Russian occupation zone.) and why for?

Truman and Stalin met. Over the next ten days Truman and Stalin clashed over the difficult issues of reparations, the Polish border, and the fate of Eastern Europe. Truman conceded first on Poland. He recognized the Warsaw government, hoping that noncommunist forces might gradually expand their influence there. Until the 1980s, they did not. Truman reluctantly accepted adjustments to the Polish-German border that Stalin had long demanded; but he refused to permit the Russians to claim any reparations from the American, French,and British zones of Germany. The result, in effect, was to confirm that Germany would remained divided, with the western zones eventually united into one nation, friendly to the United States, and the Russian zone surviving as another nation, with a pro-Soviet, communist government. Soon, the Soviet Union would be siphoning between $1.5 ad $3 billion a year out of its zone of occupation.

Truman campaigning

Truman fought with the Congress as it cut spending and reduced taxes. In 1948 he sought reelection, despite polls indicating that he had no chance. After a vigorous campaign, Truman scored one of the great upsets in American politics, defeating the Republican nominee, Thomas Dewey, governor of New York. Reviving the old New Deal coalition, Truman held on to labor, farmers and black voters, and so won another term. When Truman finally left office in 1953, his Fair Deal was but a mixed success. In July 1948 he banned racial discrimination in federal government hiring practices and ordered an end to segregation in the military. The minimum wage had risen, and social security programs had expanded. A housing program brought some gains but left many needs unmet. National health insurance and aid-to-education measures never made it through Congress. Truman's preoccupation with Cold War affairs hampered his effectiveness at home, particularly in the face of intense opposition.

The Failure of Potsdam

Truman had only been in office a few days before he had decided to "get tough" with the Soviet Union. Stalin had made what the new president considered solemn agreements with the United States at Yalta. The US would insist that he honor them. Dismissing the advice of Secretary of War Stimson that the Polish question was a lost cause and nit worth a world crisis, Truman met on April 23, 1945 with Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov and sharply chastised him for violations of the Yalta accords. "I have never been talked to like that in my entire life," a shocked Molotov reportedly replied. "Carry out your agreements and you won't get talked to like that," said the president. In fact, Truman had limited leverage to compel the Soviet Union to carry out its agreements. Russian forces already occupied Poland and most of the rest of Eastern Europe. Germany was already divided among the conquering nations. The United States was still engaged in a war in the Pacific and was neither willing or able to engage in an new conflict in Europe.

What was Truman's first priority regarding the Fair Deal?

Truman's first priority in the immediate postwar period was to make the transition to a peacetime economy. Servicemen wanted to come home quickly, but once they arrived they faced competition for housing and employment. The G.I. Bill, passed before the end of the war, helped ease servicemen back into civilian life by providing such benefits as guaranteed loans for home-buying and financial aid for industrial training and university education.

Checker's Speech

What surfaced almost cost Nixon the VP spot on the ticket. In short, the press caught wind of an $18,000 slush fund that was established by Nixon supporters. The Democrats charged that here was Nixon being so self-righteous and he is accepting money from supports - tisk-tisk. It was not difficult for Eisenhower to contemplate dumping Nixon from the ticket. The former general was not fond of having the red-baiting Congressman on the ticket to begin with. Understanding his tenuous position Nixon turned to the relatively new medium of television in an effort to go around Republican bosses and plead his case directly to the US people. Nixon purchased airtime on radio and TV and directly told the American public his finances. The tactic worked - calls and telegrams poured in supporting Nixon. Eisenhower had been placed in a corner - Nixon would stay on the ticket. Together with the Rosser Reeves "I Like Ike" ads, the Checker's speech proved the value of television. It was not just a medium of entertainment - it had tremendous power over the electorate, from this moment on politics would never be the same. The Eisenhower and Nixon ticket went on to trounce Stevenson in the electoral votes winning all but a handful of Southern states. Ike, the reluctant president was on the way to the White House. Eisenhower, with his perpetually smile and fatherly image was what the country wanted in the 1950s. He was the right man at the right time for the job. Although Eisenhower would suffer a heart attack during his first term in office - Ike would still win against Stevenson again in 1956.

Television Programs

We live in a world of 100s of channels courtsey of cable and satellite providers. But back in the 1950s there were only three networks (briefly four) - ABC, CBS, NBC and DuMont. Even with the limited number of networks and later independent stations - television memorized the public. To demonstrate, the power of network television -- the New York Department of Water and Wastewater frequently reported blowouts in the sewer system during the commercials in I Love Lucy. Sound weird? Remember people didn't stray far from the set during a show in the days before the VCR and Tivo. I am certain most of you are familiar with I Love Lucy or The Honeymooners. While both are fine and amusing programs, there is more to 1950s television than Lucy Ricardo and Ralph Kramden. When the decade began there were a number of quality drama shows such as Playhouse 90 and Studio One - eventually this type of programming disappeared from the airwaves. Profits drove the industry - comedy, quiz programs, and westerns dominated the network prime time schedule.

when were the 1950s?

Well, in the purist sense the decade began on 1 January 1950 and ended on 31 December 1959. But that isn't the case with most decades and it certainly isn't the case with the Fifties. "Sometime" in the late 1940s the Fifties began and they ended in sometime in late 1963 or 1964. Why? Obviously World War II dominates the 1940s up through 1945. And the final years of the 1940s share more in common with the 1950s than they share with the war years -- you have the rise of the fear of Communism and economic growth. As for when the decade ends - the Kennedy Administration is molded from the hardline Cold War warrior mentality of the 1950s. And the economics and social norms of the early 1960s have far more in common with the 1950s than they do the 'psychedelic' Sixties.

Reactions to Park's arrest

When E.D. Nixon heard that Parks had been arrested, he called the police to find out why. He was told that it was "none of your damn business." He asked Clifford Durr, a sympathetic white lawyer, to call. Durr easily found out that Parks had been arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus. Nixon went to the jail and posted bond for Parks. Then he told her, "Mrs. Parks, with your permission we can break down segregation on the bus with your case." She talked it over with her husband and her mother, then agreed. That night, Jo Ann Robinson put plans for a one-day boycott into action. She mimeographed handouts urging blacks to stay off the city buses on Monday, when Parks' case was due to come up. She and her students distributed the anonymous fliers throughout Montgomery on Friday morning. That evening, a group of ministers and civil rights leaders had a meeting to discuss the boycott. It did not go well. Many ministers were put off by the way Rev. L. Roy Bennett took control of the meeting. Some left and others were about to leave. Those remaining, however, agreed to spread word of the boycott through their sermons on Sunday, then meet again on Monday night if the boycott went well to decide whether or not to continue it.

Accompanying these the greatest strides in civil rights since Reconstruction was a surge in black radicalism and violence.

While Martin Luther King Jr., and the NAACP remained committed to nonviolence, others grew more militant. The Black Panthers, founded in Oakland, California, in 1966, called for minority control of ghetto neighborhoods and armed rebellion against the white establishment. Stokely Carmichael, chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, coined the phrase "Black Power", an ambiguous term interpreted by such extremists as H. "Rap" Brown to mean armed revolt and by moderates like an expression of race pride. During 1964-1968 riots erupted sporadically in cities across the country. In 1967 alone disturbances broke out in more than 100 cities; about 100 people were killed, thousands were injured, some 12,000 were arrested. Hardest hit was Detroit, where after 5 days of rioting the damage totaled hundreds of millions of dollars. Urban violence erupted again in April of 1968 following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., in Memphis.

The Road to Civil Rights: The First Steps

World War II was the final war fought by a segregated US military. African-Americans comprised 16% of the total US military personnel in the war, yet after participating in a war to free the world - they returned to a segregated America. A formal segregation in the South and an informal segregation in the North and West. Upon returning from the war many African-Americans were no longer willing to accept their second class status. African-Americans also made social advances in the immediate post war years - most notably with the desegregation of America's pastime, Major League Baseball. In 1947 Jackie Robinson was signed by the then Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson went on to win rookie of the year. Then in 1950 Ralph Bunche won the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to the new United Nations.

The Cold War in Asia and the Middle East

While seeking to prevent communist ideology from gaining further adherents in Europe, the United States also responded to challenges elsewhere. In China, Americans worried about the advances of Mao Zedong and his communist party. During World War II, the Nationalist government under Chiang Kai-shek and the communist forces waged a civil war even as they fought the Japanese. Chiang had been a war-time ally, but even American support could not bolster a government that was hopelessly inefficient and corrupt. Mao's forces finally seized power in 1949, and when he announced that his new regime would support the Soviet Union against the "imperialist" United States, it appeared that communism was spreading out of control, at least in Asia.

Whites response to the incident

Whites tried to end the boycott in every way possible. One often-used method was to try to divide the black community. On January 21, 1956, the City Commission met with three non-MIA black ministers and proposed a "compromise," which was basically the system already in effect. The ministers accepted, and the commission leaked (false) reports to a newspaper that the boycott was over. The MIA did not even hear of the compromise until a black reporter in the North who received a wire report phoned to ask if the Montgomery blacks had really settled for so little. By that time it was Saturday night. On Sunday morning Montgomery newspapers were going to print the news that the boycott was over and the city's blacks were going to believe it. To prevent this from happening, some MIA officials went bar-hopping to spread the word that the stories were a hoax, that the boycott was still on. Later, the black ministers told King that they hadn't understood the proposal.When that effort to break up the boycott failed, whites turned to violence. King's home was bombed on January 30, and Nixon's home was bombed on February 1. Next, whites turned to the law. On February 21, 89 blacks were indicted under an old law prohibiting boycotts. King was the first defendant to be tried. As press from around the nation looked on, King was ordered to pay $500 plus $500 in court costs or spend 386 days in the state penitentiary.

Why would be support this vast public works project?

With 43,000 miles of pavement - it took years to plan and decades to build. When compared to other great engineering accomplishments such as landing on the Moon - the Interstate seems insignificant and mundane. It is, after all, just a road. But that road has changed the very fabric of our nation. It permitted middle class Americans to live further from the city, it made the 72 hour coast to coast road trip a possibility. But the system also has a darker side - it led to the decay of urban centers as the middle class fled to the suburbs. The selected pathway for the new highway was highly politicized on the local level, this frequently led to the highway going straight through minority neighborhoods. First was Ike's personal experience. Back in 1919 he was charged with taking convoy of US troops and material from Washington, DC to San Francisco and it took 62 days to make the trip. The miserable experience stuck in Eisenhower's memory. Then while in Europe, Ike viewed the autobahns constructed by Hitler. These autobahns permitted troops to move quickly across Germany. Even before his election in 1952, Eisenhower noted, "the obsolescence of the nation's highways presents an appalling problem of water, danger and death." He went on to state modern highways were as vital "to defense as it is to our national economy and personal safety."

The Korean War

World War II divided Korea into a Communist, northern half and an American-occupied southern half, divided at the 38th parallel. The Korean War (1950-1953) began when the North Korean Communist army crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded non-Communist South Korea. As Kim Il-sung's North Korean army, armed with Soviet tanks, quickly overran South Korea, the United States came to South Korea's aid. General Douglas MacArthur, who had been overseeing the post-WWII occupation of Japan, commanded the US forces which now began to hold off the North Koreans at Pusan, at the southernmost tip of Korea. Although Korea was not strategically essential to the United States, the political environment at this stage of the Cold War was such that policymakers did not want to appear "soft on Communism." Nominally, the US intervened as part of a "police action" run by a UN (United Nations) international peace- keeping force; in actuality, the UN was simply being manipulated by US and NATO anti-Communist interests.Although President Truman hoped to end the war quickly and pressed MacArthur to be more tactful, the brilliant strategist went against presidential orders and continued spouting incendiary lines about his hopes to reunify Korea. After gaining the support of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), Truman relieved MacArthur of command. The move was extremely unpopular in America; MacArthur was perceived as a popular war hero. Only the support of the JCS saved Truman from impeachment after the firing.

The simple version of the story leaves out some very important people, such as Jo Ann Robinson

of whom Martin Luther King, Jr., would later write, "Apparently indefatigable, she, perhaps more than any other person, was active on every level of the protest." She was an educated woman, a professor at the all-black Alabama State College, and a member of the Women's Political Council in Montgomery. After her traumatic experience on the bus in 1949, she tried to start a protest but was shocked when other Women's Political Council members brushed off the incident as "a fact of life in Montgomery." After the Supreme Court's Brown decision in 1954, she wrote a letter to the mayor of Montgomery, W.A. Gayle, saying that "there has been talk from 25 or more local organizations of planning a city-wide boycott of buses." By 1955, the Women's Political Council had plans for just such a boycott. Community leaders were just waiting for the right person to be arrested, a person who would anger the black community into action, who would agree to test the segregation laws in court, and who, most importantly, was "above reproach." When fifteen year old Claudette Colvin was arrested early in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat, E.D. Nixon of the NAACP thought he had found the perfect person, but Colvin turned out to be pregnant. Nixon later explained, "I had to be sure that I had somebody I could win with." Enter Rosa Parks

So who shot Kennedy?

the president was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, 24, a clerk at the book depository, a former Marine and self-avowed Marxist who lived for a time in the Soviet Union. The murder weapon was a 6.5 Mannlicher-Carcano Italian carbine with scope, which Oswald had purchased through the mail for $19.95. After the shooting, Oswald fled the book depository and was arrested about 45 minutes later at the Texas Theatre. Oswald denied shooting the president. On November 24, while being transferred under custody to the county jail, Oswald was shot to death at point-blank range by Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner, before live television cameras. Because Oswald did not live to stand trial, it was left to the Warren Commission to establish his guilt and determine that he acted alone. From its publication, the Warren Report was criticized as incomplete and inaccurate by those contending that Kennedy was the victim of a conspiracy. A conspiracy, some believed, directed by Cuban leader Fidel Castro, the mafia, the CIA, the FBI, or even vice president Lyndon Johnson. In past little over 40 years since Kennedy's death conspiracy theories have abounded. Seems the only people who were not in on the plot to kill Kennedy were little green men from Mars. I was six years old when the assassination occurred and have grown up listing to all the ideas and theories on who did it. Having looked at it all, I truly believe that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin that day in

Prior to 1954

there were only Atomic bombs - no Thermonuclear bombs. What does that mean? Atomic Bombs are baby bombs compared to Thermonukes (Hydrogen) bombs. When the Soviets developed their A-Bomb in 1949, the Truman Administration gave the green light to develop a superbomb at the urging of Dr. Edward Teller. And with that set in motion the Hydrogen bomb race with the Soviets. If they have the A-bomb we need to build the bigger and more powerful H-bomb before the other side does. Sure, the other side with eventually develop the weapon, but for a brief period whichever nation develops the H-bomb first will have military superiority.

In his political dealings, President Eisenhower

utilized a principle of moderation and compromise. Believing that the Democrats had appealed to class divisiveness and encouraged governmental bureaucratic waste, Eisenhower hoped to provide corrective solutions practicality. The American people responded to his efforts with affection and praise. Eisenhower's foreign policy sought to contain Communism in Europe, Asia, and the Western Hemisphere, just as Truman's had done. The difference in Eisenhower's policy was in its harsh anti-Communist rhetoric, its greater reliance on nuclear weapons and spy activities, and its attempts at making accommodation with the communist nations.