APUSH: Unit 5

Chinese Civil War

- 1920s Chiang Kai-chek (Jiang Jie-shi) used command of Nationalist (Kuomintang) party to control China's central government - WWII, US gave military aid to avoid Japan taking China --------CIVIL WAR - When WWII ended, civil war started in 1930s restarted between Chiang's Nationalists and Mao Zedong's Communists - Nationalists losing support because inflation and corruption - Communists were organized and appealed to poor landless peasants ---------US POLICY - Truman sent George Marshall to China to negotiate ends to civil war, but failed - 1947 Chiang's army in retreat - Congress gave Nationalist government $400 million in aid, but 80% of this aid ended in Communist hands because of corruption and collapse of Nationalist armies ---------TWO CHINAS - 1949, mainland China controlled by Communists - Chiang and Nationalists retreated to Formosa (Taiwan) which was once controlled by Japan - Chiang claimed to be legitimate government for China, US supported - Mao Zedong's created People's Republic of China which US didn't recognize until 1979 -------SINO-SOVIET PACT - Republicans blamed Democrats for loss of China to Communists - 1950 Communist dictators Stalin and Mao singed Sino-Soviet pact which seemed to prove Communist conspiracy

US-USSR allies in WWII

- 1941 Hitler's invasion of USSR and Japan's attack on Pearl harbor led to US-USSR alliance, but not trust - Stalin complained that British and US didn't join until 1944 to open second front in France - FDR hoped personal diplomacy would keep Stalin in check, but Truman was suspicious of USSR when he became president

First indications that race relations after WWII were changing

- 1947, Jackie Robinson by the Brooklyn Dodgers as first African American to play on major league team since 1880s - 1948, President Truman integrated armed forces and introduced civil rights legislation in Congress

Election of 1952

- 1952 Americans looking for relief from Korean War and end to political scandals ("the mess in Washington") - Republicans looked forward to their first presidential win in 20 years - Choice between Taft or Eisenhower - Conservative supporters of Taft balanced by getting Ike to pick Nixon as VP who attacked Communists in Alger Hiss case - Democrats selected Stevenson who confronted McCarthyism which appealed to liberals -----------CAMPAIGNING - Eisenhower was not a politician and known for integrity that was almost spoiled by Nixon in his personal pursuits - Nixon saved himself with the Checker's speech where he used pathos; vowed not to return their dog, Checkers with his wife next to him -*Eisenhower's pledge during last days of campaigning to got to Korea and end the war made the difference* ---------RESULTS - 55% popular vote - 442-89 electoral college

Korean armistice

- 1953 Ike kept promise and went to Korea to UN forces to stop the war - July 1953, diplomacy, nuclear war threat, and Stalin's death moved China and North Korea to agree on armistice and exchange of prisoners - Fighting stopped and most US forced drawn out ----------SIGNIFICANCE - Korea remained divided near 38th parallel - No peace treaty ever concluded between North and South Korea

Election of 1956

- 1955 Eisenhower had heart attack - 1956 Ike had major surgery - Democrats questioned his health - Republicans renominated Ike and Nixon because of peace and prosperity of last 4 years - Democrats nominated Stevenson again ---------RESULTS - Eisenhower won by more than 1952 - Personal victory for Ike because Democrats got control of both houses in Congress

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

- 1960 Arab nations of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran joined Venezuela to form OPEC - Oil reshaping to be critical foreign policy issue - Western dependence on Middle East oil, Arab nationalism, and conflict between Israelis and Palestinian refugees would Americans presidents in the future

Ike's domestic policies

- Adopted leadership that emphasized delegation of authority - Cabinet with corporate executives; business-like - Criticized press for spending too much time on golf and fishing and that they should focus on more important issues - Behind the scene, Ike in charge

Causes of Civil Rights movement

- African Americans in South were segregated by law in schools and most public facilities - Kept from voting by poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and intimidation - Segregation left most poorly educated and economic discrimination kept them in state of poverty -----------CAUSES - Movement of millions of blacks from rural South to urban centers in South and North - In North, African Americans joined Democrats in New Deal and had greater influence in party politics in 1950s - Cold War indirect role: US reputation for freedom and democracy competing against Communist - Racial segregation and discrimination stood out as glaring wrongs that needed to be corrected

Nuclear arms race; NSC-68

- After Berlin crisis, both US and USSR were in arms race to develop superior weapons systems - US only nation to have atomic bomb from 1945-1949 and had long-range bombers for delivering nuclear weapons --------CONTINUES - 1949 Soviets tested first atomic bomb - 1949 Truman approved development of bomb 1000x more powerful than A-bomb that destroyed Hiroshima - 1950 National Security Council recommended in secret report (NSC-68) that measures be taken to fight Cold War: 1) 4x US government defense spending to 20% pf GNP 2) Alliances with non-Communist countries in world 3) Convince American public that costly arms buildup imperative for nation's defense - 1952 the hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) added to US arsenal

Eisenhower's Legacy; Military-Industrial Complex

- After leaving, Ike claimed credit for checking Communist aggression and keeping peace without loss of American lives in combat - Stated long process of relaxing tensions with USSR - 1958 initiated first arms limitations by voluntarily suspending above-ground testing of nuclear weapons ----------MILITARY-INDUSTRY COMPLEX - Farewell address, Ike spoke against negative impact of Cold War on US society - Warned nation to guard against unwarranted influence by military-industrial complex - Arm race was taking momentum and logic all its own - 1960s seemed like US was in danger of going down path of Ancient Rome by turning into military/imperial state

1950s women's roles

- Baby boom and homes in suburbs made homemaking a full-time job for millions of women - Traditional role of women confirmed in mass media and best selling self-help book Baby and Child Care (1946) by Dr. Benjamin Spock - Evidence of dissatisfaction growing among well-educated women in middle class - More married women entered workforce - Male employers in 1950s saw female workers as wives and mothers, reflected by lower wages

Origins of the Cold War

- Cold War dominated international relations from 1940s-1991 when USSR collapsed - Rivalry between US and USSR, the superpowers - Competed through diplomacy, not arms, but got close to nuclear war a few times

Immigration issues post-WWII; Operation Wetback

- Congress dropped bans on Chinese and Asians and eliminated "race" as barrier to naturalization - Quota system remained until 1965 - Puerto Ricans could enter US without restrictions as Americans - Mexicans faced choice of working under contract in braceros program, entering legally, or illegally - 1950s US officials launched Operation Wetback which forced 3.8 million to return to Mexico in response to native-born workers and Mexican complaints - Mexican migrants often faced discrimination and exploitation by commercial farmers

Cold War Origins in Asia

- Containment success in Europe did not translate to Asia - Post-WWII, old imperialist system in India and SE Asia fell, as former colonies because nations - These new nations had different cultural and political traditions and no good memories of the West, so they rejected US help - Asia nation closest to US was actually Japan

Prosperity with Ike

- Domestic legislation modest - Steady growth rate; inflation 1.5% (negligible) - Federal budget up only 3 times in 8 years - Deficits fell in relation to national wealth - 1945-1960; per-capita disposable income of Americans 3x - Mid-50s average American family had 2x real income of similar family in 1920s -----------SIGNIFICANCE - Ike's economic politics the most successful of any modern president - Postwar economy gave Americans highest standard of living in world

Occupation zones

- End of WWII occupations of Germany and Austria by Soviets, French, British, and US meant to be temporary - Eastern Germany gradually turned into Communism: German Democratic Republic ---------GERMANY PROBLEM - Conflict over differing views of nationals security and economic needs - Soviets wanted weak Germany for security reasons and larger war reparations for economic reasons - US and GB refused reparations from western zones because thought economic recovery of Germany as important to a stable Central Europe - Soviets tightened control of Eastern Germany - Soviets tried to have US and Britain give up their assigned sectors of Berlin

John Foster Dulles; Dulles' Diplomacy

- Experienced diplomat who helped shape US foreign policy through Ike's presidency - Critical of Truman's containment policy as too passive - "New look" took initiative to challenge Soviet Union and People's Republic of China - "Liberating captive nations" of Eastern Europe - Encouraged Nationalist government of Taiwan to assert themselves against "Red" China ----------BRINKMANSHIIP - Pleased conservatives, alarmed others - Declared that if the US pushed Communist powers to brink of war, they would back down because of American nuclear superiority - Ike prevented Dulles from becoming too extreme -----------MASSIVE RETALIATION - Dulles advocated more reliance on nuclear weapons and air power and less on army and navy - Thought it would save money ("more bang for buck"), balance federal budget, increase pressure on potential enemies - 1953 US developed hydrogen bomb - Within the year USSR also developed H-bomb - Some people saw it as policy for mutual extinction - Nuclear weapons proved powerful deterrent against superpowers fighting all-out war between themselves - Did not prevent "brushfire" in developing nations of Southeast Asia, Africa, and Middle East - Eisenhower refused to use small nuclear weapons in these conflicts

Ike's modern republicanism

- Fiscal conservative; first priority = balancing budget after years of deficit spending - Closer to curbing federal spending than any successors - Moderate on domestic issues; accepted most New Deal programs as modern life and extended some -----------ACTIONS - Social Security extended - Minimum wage raised - More pubic housing built - 1953, created Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) under Oveta Culp Hobby (first woman Rep. in cabinet) - Soil-bank program initiated; reducing farm production and increasing incomes - Opposed ideas of federal health care insurance and federal aid to education -----------SIGNIFICANCE - Ike called it "modern Republicanism" - Critics called it "the bland leading the bland"

Indochina

- French tried to retake their Southeast Asian colony of Indochina from Japan - Native Vietnamese and Cambodians resisted - French imperialism helped nationalist and Communist leader Ho Chi Minh take power - 1950 anticolonial war in Indochina introduced to Cold War - Truman's government gave US military aid to French - China and Soviet Union aided Viet Minh guerrillas led by Ho Chi Minh - 1954, French army at Dien Bien Phu trapped and surrendered - French tried to convince Ike to send US troops, but he refused ---------GENEVA CONFERENCE, 1954 - France gave up Indochina which was divided into Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam - Vietnam temporarily divided at 17th parallel until general election would be help

US and USSR post-war and in UN: General Assembly, Security Council, Atomic Energy Commission, Baruch Plan, International Bank for Reconstructions and Development, Nuremberg Trials

- General Assembly of UN gave representation to all member nations - 15-member Security Council gave primary reasonability within UN for maintaining international security and authorizing peacekeeping missions - 5 major Allies (US, GB, France, China, US) given permanent seats and veto power in UN Security Council - Soviets agreed to US proposal for Atomic Energy Commission in UN - Soviets rejected Baruch Plan to regulate nuclear energy and eliminating atomic weapons (proof Moscow didn't have peaceful intentions) - Soviets rejected US's International Bank for Reconstructions and Development (World Bank) because saw it as capitalism - Soviets joined Allies in 1945-1946 Nuremberg trials

Second Berlin Crisis

- Khrushchev said they will bury capitalism - USSR now pushed Berlin issue by giving West six months to pull troops out of West Berlin before turning it over the Germans (now confident with Sputnik) - US refused - Ike invited Khrushchev to visit US in 1959 - Camp David (presidential retreat) in Maryland, they agreed to put off the crisis and schedules another summit conference in Paris for 1960

Social critics; Novels, Beatniks

- Lonely Crowd (1958) Harvard sociologist Riesman criticized replacement of inner-directed individualists in society with other-directed conformists - Affluent Society (1958) economist John Kenneth Galbraith wrote about failure of wealthy Americans to address need for increased social spending for common good - White collar (1951) and The Power Elite (1956) Mills portrayed dehumanizing corporate worlds --------NOVELS - Novelists wrote about individual's struggle against conformity - Catcher in the Rye commented on phoniness of troubled teenager - Catch-22 satirized stupidity of military and war --------BEATNIKS - Group of rebellious writers and intellectuals made up Beat Generation in 1950s - Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg advocated spontaneity, use of drugs, and rebellion against societal standards - Beatniks became models for youth rebellion in 1960s

Desegregating the schools

- NAACP working for decades to overturn 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson that allowed "separate but equal" facilities - 1940s NAACP won series of cases involving higher education ----------BROWN DECISION, 1950s - Led by Thurgood Marshall - Argued that segregation of black children in public schools was unconstitutional because violated 14th Amendment 's "equal protection of the law" - May 1954, Court overturned Plessy case 1) Separate facilities are inherently unequal and unconstitutional; 2) School segregation should end with all deliberate speed ---------RESISTANCE IN SOUTH - 101 members of Congress signed Southern Manifesto condemning Supreme Court for a clear abuse of judicial power - States fought: temporarily closing public schools and setting up private schools - KKK made comeback and violence increased ----------LITTLE ROCK, 1956 - Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus used National Guard to prevent 9 blacks from entering Little Rock Central High School - Ike intervened - Ike didn't support desegregation but understood constitutional duty to uphold federal authority - Ike ordered federal troops to stand guard outside the high schools to protect black students - 1964 less than 2% of blacks in South attended integrated school

"Spirit of Geneva"

- Nothing more important than US diplomatic relations with USSR - Relationships fluctuated throughout Ike's time - Atoms for peace plan; Ike called for slowdown in arms race and presented it to UN - USSR showed signs of wanting to reduce tensions too by withdrawing troops from Austria and establishing peaceful relations with Greece and Turkey - 1955, desire for better relations resulted in meeting in Switzerland between Ike and Bulganin ------------GENEVA - US presented "open skies" policy over each other's territory where they would be open to aerial photography to limit surprise attack by nukes, USSR rejected - "Spirit of Geneva" carried on and was first thaw to Cold War --------THAWING - 1956 Khrushchev denounced crimes of Stalin and supported "peaceful coexistence" with west

US-Japan relations; US-Japanese Security Treaty; Douglas MacArthur

- Post-WWII, Asia nation closest to US was actually Japan - Unlike Germany, Japan was solely under control of US - MacArthur took charge of reconstruction of Japan - 7 Japanese generals (Tojo being one) were tried for war crimes and executed - MacArthur adopted parliamentary democracy in Japan - Emperor Hirohito was ceremonial head of state, but emperor gave up claims to divinity - New constitution renounced war as instrument of national policy and provided only limited military - Japan depended on US military --------TREATIES - Japan surrendered claims to Korea and islands in Pacific - US ended formal occupation of Japan - Provided for US troops to remain in military bases in Japan for protection against external enemies (Communists) ---------SIGNIFICANCE - Japan became strong ally and prospered under American guidance

Freedom of expression; American Civil Liberties Union

- Second Red Scare had major effect on freedom of expression - Some crime drama writers such as Arthur Miller got attacked as un-American - Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical criticized by southern politicians as an communist assault on racial segregation - Loyalty oaths required of writers an teachers for employment ---------SIGNIFICANCE - American Civil Liberties Union argued 1st Amendment protected freedom of expression of unpopular views and membership in political groups (Communist)

Espionage Cases

- Series of actual cases of Communist espionage in GB, Canada, and US - Methods to identify it raised questions about whether government was taking it too far and violating civil liberties --------HISS CASE - 1948, Whittaker Chambers (confessed Communist) became star witness for HUAC - Testimony and investigative work of Nixon led to trial of Alger Hiss in the State Department - Hiss denied accusations of being communist and giving secret documents to Chambers - 1950 convicted of perjury and sent to prison -*Many Americans wondered if high government was infiltrated by Communist spies* --------ROSENBERG CASE - 1949 Soviets tested A-bomb - American convinced spies helped them steal US technology - Klaus Fuchs admitted giving A-bomb secrets to Russians - FBI investigation traced another spry to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg inn NY - 1953 Rosenbergs guilty and executed -*Civil rights groups charged anticommunist hysteria was responsible for conviction and punishment of Rosenbergs*

Sunbelt

- Southern states from Florida to California - Millions of Americans wanted to move post-war - Warmer climate, lower taxes, economic opportunities in defense-related industries attracted GIs ---------SIGNIFICANCE - Transferring tax dollars from NE and Midwest to South and West - Military spending during Cold War helped finance shift of industry, people, and political power of regions

Homogeneity; Consumer Culture and Conformity

- Television, advertising, middle class moving to suburbs signaled growing homogeneity of American culture --------TELEVISION - Television became center of family life - 1961 1/3 Americans had one - Dominated by 3 national networks that had comedies, westerns, quiz shows, and professional sports - FCC chairman Newton Minnow criticized televisions as a "vast wasteland" and worried the effects on children - Culture portrayed on tv provided common content for common language --------ADVERTISING - Through all media, aggressive advertising by name brands promoted common material wants - Introduction of suburban shopping centers and plastic credit card in 1950s provided a quick means of satisfying them - Fast food chains were one measure of success of marketing and standardized products as the nation turned from mom and pop stores to franchise operations ----------PAPERBACKS and RECORDS - Americans read more than ever - 1950s paperbacks were popular and were selling millions each day by 1960 - Popular music revolutionized by mass marketing of inexpensive, long-playing (LP) record albums and stacks of 45 rpm records - Teenagers fell in love with rock-and-roll music (Elvis Presley) ---------CORPORATE AMERICA - Conglomerates with diversified holdings began to dominate industries like food-processing, hotels, transportation, insurance, and banking - More American workers held white-collar jobs than blue-collar jobs - Large corporations of era promoted teamwork and conformity: dress code for male works (The Organization Man (1956)) - Big unions became more powerful after AF of L and CIO merged in 1955 and became more conservative as blue-collar works had middle-class incomes - Conformity was small price to pay for new affluence of home in suburbs, new automobiles, good schools, and vacation to Disneyland ---------RELIGION - Organized religions expanded post-WWII - Protestant, Catholic, Jew (1955) commented on new religious tolerance of times and lack of interest in doctrine as religious membership became source of individual identity and socialization

Decolonization

- The collapse of colonial empires after WWII - 1947-1962 dozens of colonies in Asia and Africa got their independence from colonial powers (Britain, France, Netherlands) - 1947 India and Pakistan became new nations - 1949 Dutch East Indies became independent country of Indonesia - 1957 Ghana overthrew British and many others followed --------SIGNIFICANCE - Single most important development of postwar era - Lacked stable political and economic institutions - Need of foreign aid from US or USSR made them pawns of Cold War

Truman in Retirement

- Truman decided to not run for reelection: - 1) Second Red Scare - 2) Korea stalemate - 3) Loss of China - 4) Truman's advisor scandals - Election of 1952, Republicans blamed Truman for mess in Washington - Truman's critics came to respect the many tough decisions he made and his candid character

Truman's civil rights: Committee of Civil Rights, Fair Employment Practices Commission, military

- Truman used executive powers to establish Committee of Civil Rights in 1946 - Truman strengthened civil rights division of Justice Department; aided efforts of black leaders to end segregation in schools - 1948, Truman ordered send of racial discrimination in federal government and armed forces - Truman urged Fair Employment Practices Commission that would prevent employers from discriminating against hiring of blacks... southern Democrats blocked it ---------SIGNIFICANCE - Truman was first modern president to use powers of office to challenge racial discriminations - End of segregation changed life on military bases (many in South)

McCarran Internal Security Act (1950)

- Truman vetoed, but Congress override - 1) Made unlawful to advocate or support establishment of totalitarian government - 2) Restricted employment and travel of those joining Communist-front organizations - 3) Authorized the creation of detention camps for subversives

Inflation and labor unions (Cold War)

- Truman wanted Congress to control price the same as during war to avoid inflation - Southern Democrats and Republicans relaxed control of OPA and so inflation went 25% for a year after war ------------STRIKES - 1946 4.5 million workers on strike to catch up wages after years of it being controlled - Truman seized mines and used soldiers to keep them operating until United Mine Workers called off its strike

Election of 1948

- Truman's popularity at low point as campaigning began - Liberal and conservative faction in democrats made third parties - Liberal Democrats thought Truman's aggressive foreign policy threatened world peace so they formed a new Progressive party and nominated former VP Henry Wallace - Southern Democrats reacted to Truman's civil rights and created the Dixiecrats (States' Rights party) and nominated Governor of SC J. Strom Thurmond - Republicans nominated NNY Governor Thomas E. Dewey --------RESULTS - Truman won popular vote by 2 million and won electoral college 303-189 ---------SIGNIFICANCE - Truman succeeded in reuniting Roosevelt's New Deal coalition except for 4 southern states that went to the Dixiecrats and Thurmond

State of Israel (1948)

- US tried balancing friendly ties with oil-rich Arab stated and supporting state of Israel - Israel created under UN auspices after civil war in British mandate territory of Palestines left land tidied between Israelis and Palestinians - Israel's neighbors tried to prevent Jewish state from forming

CIA, convert action

- Undercover intervention in internal politics of other nations seemed better than employing US troops and was less expensive -----------IRAN - 1953 CIA helped overthrow a government in Iran that tried to nationalize the holding of foreign oil companies - Allowed for return of Reza Pahlavi as monarch (shah) of Iran - Provided West with favorable oil prices and purchases of American arms -----------GUATEMALA - 1954 CIA overthrew leftist government that threatened American business interests ------------LATIN AMERICA - US opposition to communism allowed US to support corrupt and ruthless dictators in Latin America - CIA planned assassinations of national leaders like Fidel Castro of Cuba --------SIGNIFICANCE - CIA operations fueled anti-American feelings in Latin America - Long-term damage was to US relations with Iran

Baby Boom

- Younger marriages and larger families - 50 million babies between 1945-1960 -------SIGNIFICANCE - Sign of confidence in postwar era - Baby boom generation greatly affected social institutions and economic life: 1) Focus women on raising children and homemaking, but working women trend still existed 2) 1960, 1/3 married women worked outside home

Division of Vietnam

---------GENEVA CONFERENCE, 1954 - France gave up Indochina which was divided into Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam - Vietnam temporarily divided at 17th parallel until general election would be help ----------DIVISION - Two hostile governments took power on either side of the divide - North Vietnam had Ho Chi Minh establish Communist dictatorship - South Vietnam had Ngo Dinh Diem who led those who were anticommunist, Catholic, and urbanists who escaped the North - General election to unite Vietnam never held because South government feared North would win ----------US SUPPORT, 1955-1961 - US gave over $1 billion in economic and military aid to South Vietnam to build stable, anticommunist state - Ike made up DOMINO THEORY: if South Vietnam fell to Communists, one nation after another in Southeast Asia would fall until Australia and New Zealand were in danger

Rosa Parks

1913-2005 *African American woman who refused to give her bus seat to a white in Alabama (1955) *Parks was arrested, drawing the support of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. *Dr. King organized a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, leading to desegregation in the US and strengthening support for the civil rights movement

Jackie Robinson

1919-1972 - Baseball player who became a symbol of civil rights when he broke the Major League's color barrier in 1947 - Recruited from Kansas City Monarchs, a team in the Negro League, to play with the Brooklyn Dodgers

Martin Luther King Jr.

1929-1968 *Civil rights leader and Chairman of Southern Christian Leadership Conference *Believed in non-violent civil disobedience *Key member of the 1963 March on Washington, a response to a civil rights bill by Kennedy being stalled in Congress *At the March on Washington, King delivered his "I Have A Dream" speech *Opposed the war in Vietnam*Assassinated by James Earl Ray in 1968

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

1939 (reactivated) - In House of Reps. - Seek out Nazis originally - Reactivated to find Communists - Investigated government officials and Communist influence in Boys Scouts and Hollywood film industry - Actors, director, writers called before committee to testify ---------SIGNIFICANCE - Those who refused were tried for contempt of Congress - Others blacklisted from industry

Suburban growth (Cold War)

1940s-1950s - After WWII, people began to move away from cities, leading to suburban growth --------CAUSES - Mass production of automobiles - Growth of the road system - Governmental policies: FHA (Federal Housing Administration) - Better living conditions - As African Americans began to move to northern cities, whites began to move to suburbs ("white flight") ----------LEVITTOWN - William J. Levitt led postwar development - 17,000 mass-produced, low-priced family homes on Long Island, NY ----------SIGNIFICANCE - Older, inner cities (Boston and LA) became poor and racially divided

Servicemen's Readjustment Act (GI Bill) (1944)

1944 - Signed by FDR and passed to give educational benefits to those who had served in the Armed Forces during WWII - Provided one year of unemployed compensation because less jobs available - Bill was created to help members of the Armed Forced adjust to civilian life, afford a higher education, buy a house, and restore lost educational opportunities --------------SIGNIFICANCE - 1) VA gives mortgages - 2) Paid for GIs to go to college - The G.I. Bill also promoted volunteerism for the Armed Forces and led to a better educated population - Focused on better educated workforce and promoting new construction - 1945-1954, US added 13 million new homes - Federal government stimulated the postwar economic expansion

Harry Truman (Cold War)

1945-1953 - Thirty-third President - Became president in 1945 after FDR dies - Moderate Democratic senator from Missouri - Replaced liberal Henry Wallace as FDR's VP in 1944 - Decided to drop atomic bombs on Japan - Banned racial discrimination in federal hiring and the armed forced - The Truman Doctrine instituted the policy of "containment" against Communism - Honesty appealed to average citizens - Re-elected against Thomas Dewey in 1948

Employment Act of 1946

1946 - Sept. 1945, Truman wanted Congress to enact series of progressive measures (health insurance, increase minimum wage, bill to commit US to maintain full employment) - Came out as Employment Act of 1946 - Created Council of Economic Advisors to counsel president and Congress on promoting national economic welfare - Coalition between republicans and conservative Southern Democrats and beginning of Cold War made passing most of Truman's domestic program difficult

Communist satellites

1946 - Soviets remained in occupation of countries of Central and Eastern Europe - Elections held by soviets, but favored communists - Soviets claimed they needed buffer states/satellites as protection from another Hitler-like invasion of West ---------SIGNIFICANCE - US and British saw this as violation of self-determination, democracy, and open markets - British wanted free elections in Poland because their lack of independence caused WWII

Taft-Hartley Act (1947)

1947 - Purpose was to reduce management-labor dispute and to reduce unfair labor practices - Passed over Truman's veto; Congress override it ---------PROVISIONS - Outlawed closed shop - Permitted states to pass "right to work" laws outlawing union shop (contract requiring workers to join a union after being hired) - Outlawed secondary boycotts (practice of several unions supporting a striking union by joining a boycott of company's products) - Gave president power to invoke 80-day cooling-off period before strike endangering national safety could be called ----------SIGNIFICANCE - Years after, unions tried to repeal the act, but failed - Became major issue dividing Republicans and Democrats in 1950s

Containment Policy: Kennan

1947 - Truman got advice of top three advisors to "contain" Soviets: General George Marshall, Dean Acheson, George F. Kennan - Kennan wrote "only a long-term, patient but form and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies" would cause Soviets to back off of Communism ---------SIGNIFICANCE - Walter Lippmann named the "Cold War" and believed the containment did too much - Argued some areas were vital to US security, while some others deserved our help, and some didn't (both were "peripheral") - US leaders learned lessons from Munich Pact - Believed Communism must be challenged

Truman Doctrine

1947 - Truman implemented containment policy in response to 2 threats: 1) Communist-led uprising against government in Greece 2) Soviet demands for control of water route in Turkey - Supported "containment" as a response to the Cold War ---------DOCTRINE - Truman asked Congress for $400 million in economic and military aid to assist the "free people" of Greece and Turkey against totalitarian regimes - Proposal that the US must bolster the deeds of free people resisting Communism -----SIGNIFICANCE - Truman Doctrine gained bipartisan support from Republicans and Democrats in Congress

National Security Act (1947)

1947 1) Centralized Department of Defense to coordinate operations of army, navy, and air force; replaced War Department 2) Created National Security Council (NSC) to coordinate making foreign policy in Cold War 3) Created Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to employ spies to gather information on foreign governments - 1948, Selective Service System and peacetime draft instituted -------SIGNIFICANCE - US began modernizing military capability

Loyalty Review Board

1947-1951 - Truman admin. under pressure from Republican critics - Set up to investigate the background of more than 3 million federal employees ---------SIGNIFICANCE - Thousands of officials and civil service employees resigned or lost jobs

Fair Deal

1948 - Proposal by Truman to extend the New Deal for the new era ------REFORMS - Increased the minimum wage to $0.75/hour - Social Security was enlarged to cover more people - Called for low-cost housing projects and slum cleanup ------SIGNIFICANCE - Most of Truman's reforms were denied because of Truman's political conflicts with Congress and the pressing foreign policy concerns of Cold War - Liberal defenders of Truman praised him for maintaining New Deal reforms of FDR and making civil rights part of liberal agenda

Soviet Spies in the United States

1948-1950 - Alger Hiss: Former State Department official who was convicted of supplying information to the Soviets - Alger Hiss: Implicated by Whittaker Chambers during testimony before the House Committee on Un-American Activities - Alger Hiss: Richard Nixon gained national exposure during his investigation into Hiss - Julius and Ethel Rosenberg: Couple executed for giving atomic information to the Soviets - Rosenbergs: Some argued that they could not receive a fair trial because of the political sentiment of the time

Korean War

1950-1953 - After Japan was defeated, its former colony Korea was divided along 38th parallel by victors - Soviets occupied Korean territory north of line, US occupied south - 1949, both armies removed; North in hands of Kim I1 Sung and South under conservative nationalist Syngman Rhee --------INVASION - June 25, 1950, North Korea army invaded South Korea - Truman applied containment policy - Security Council under US leadership authorized UN to defend South Korea - US troops made up most of the force - MacArthur led the expedition - Congress supported use of US troops in Korea, but would not declare war, "police action" -------COUNTER - North were winning dramatically at first - MacArthur revered war with assault at Inchon behind North Korea lines - UN forces proceeded to destroy lots of North Korea and advanced almost to China's border - MacArthur didn't think of China's warning to resist for its security - November 1950, Chinese troops crossed into Korean border and US had one of its greatest defeats in history which drove them out of North Korea --------TRUMAN vs. MACARTHUR - MacArthur stabilized near 38th parallel and called for expansion of war (fighting mainland China) - Truman warned MacArthur to not speak out against US policy, but he did not - April 1951, Truman recalled MacArthur for insubordination - MacArthur returned as a hero - Critics attacked Truman and Democrats as appeasers ---------ARMISTICE - Korea, war was stalemated right north of 38th parallel - Panmunjom peace talks - Police actions continued for 2 years until armistice signed in 1953 during first year of Eisenhower's presidency - 2.5 million dead, 54,000 Americans --------POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE - Truman's containment policy worked - Truman admin. used Korean War as justification for dramatically expanding military, funding new B-52 bomber, and stationing more US troops overseas - Republicans not satisfied and called Democrats "soft on communism"

Beat Generation

1950s *Group of artists and writers who rejected traditional artistic and social forms *Influences included psychedelic drugs and Eastern beliefs, such as Zen Buddhism *Members rejected regular work and preferred communal living *Many members were located around San Francisco *Writers of the generation included Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Rock and roll

1950s *Music genre that originated in the US *Combine rhythm and blues, gospel, jazz, and country-and-western music *Alan Freed, a Cleveland disc jockey, coined the phrase "rock and roll" and produced the first rock and roll concert *Early artist included Elvis, the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, and Buddy Holly

Civil Rights Organizations

1950s-1960s *Congress of Racial Equality (CORE): Founded by James Farmer in Chicago and advocated nonviolence *CORE:Sponsored the 1961 Freedom Rides in the South, breaking segregation rules on buses and eventually changing those rules *Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC): Founded in 1961 to support sit-ins *Stokely Carmichael, a leader of the SNCC and the Black Panther Party, called for "Black Power," which urged independence and solidarity among African Americans; he worked separately from other civil rights organizations

Civil Rights Movement Incidents

1950s-1960s *Emmett Till, a teenage African American, was killed by two white men after supposedly whistling at one of their wives; the two men were acquitted *In 1960, four African American students in Greensboro, North Carolina, sat at the Woolworth's "Whites Only" lunch counter and refused to leave until they were served, sparking sit-ins throughout the South *An explosion at the Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, killed four African American girls (1963) *During a voter registration drive in Mississippi, two white college students and a local African American were murdered; civil rights legislation was enacted as a result *In 1965, a group marched from Selma, Alabama, to Birmingham, Alabama, for voting rights; the 1965 Voting Rights Act was signed soon thereafter

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) (1950s)

1950s-1960s *Formed in 1910 by a group of whites and African Americans, including W. E. B. DuBois, to stop racial discrimination *Supported sit-ins as a form of protest against segregation as well as other methods of nonviolent protest *Disapproved of the more radical groups such as SNCC and the Black Panthers *Because of its mission, methods, and organization, the NAACP remains a force in social issues and political affairs

Television

1950s-1960s *Invented in the 1930s *FDR was the first president to appear on TV; he gave a speech in 1939 at the New York World's Fair, where the television was being officially introduced to the mass public *Seminal shows during the 1950s and 1960s included The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy, and The Ed Sullivan Show *By 1960, over forty million homes had televisions

Domino Theory

1950s-1980s - Guiding principle of US foreign policy during Cold War era - Started publicly by Pres. Eisenhower in 1954 - Belief that if one area was overtaken by communism, nearby nations would follow - If South Vietnam fell to Communists, one nation after another in Southeast Asia would fall until Australia and New Zealand were in danger ----------SIGNIFICANCE - Used as a motivation for the United States' intervention in foreign affairs and conflicts throughout the world

Smith Act (1940); Dennis et al. v. United States

1951 - Leaders of American Communist party jailed for advocating throwing off US government - Dennis et al. v. US (1951): Supreme Court upheld constitutionality of Smith Act of 1940 ---------SIGNIFICANCE - Made it illegal to advocate or teach the overthrow of government by force or belonging to an organization with the objective

22nd Amendment

1951 - Republican-dominated Congress reacted against election of FDR 4 times - 22nd Amendment limited the president to 2 full terms

Dwight Eisenhower (Ike)

1953-1961 *Thirty-fourth President *Became Allied military commander during WWII and led forces in North Africa, Italy, and England *Became Republican president after defeating Adlai Stevenson *Signed the truce in 1953 to end Korean War*Completed integration of military forces *Sent troops into Little Rock, Arkansas, to ensure desegregation *Gave momentum to desegregation movement *Warned the Us about the "military-industrial complex," which refers to the relationship between the government, the military, and the defense industry

The Warren Court

1953-1969 *Reference to Supreme Court if the US when Earl Warren was Chief Justice *Court expanded civil rights, civil liberties, and federal power *Brown v. Board of Education (1854) found segregation in public schools to be illegal *Engel v. Vitale(1962) found it unconstitutional for public schools to have an official prayer *Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) provided criminal defendants with counsel even if they couldn't afford it *Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) established a general right to privacy

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

1954 *Supreme Court case the challenged Plessy v. Ferguson *The Court, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, held that separate was inherently unequal and instructed states to integrate *Massive Southern resistance slowed the advance f integration *Federal troops used to help 9 black students attend an all white school in Little Rock, despite mobs and the Arkansas National Guard

Geneva Accords

1954 *The foreign ministers of 19 nations, including the US, decided to divide Vietnam at the 17th north latitude *The North would be Nationalist led by Ho Chi Minh, while the South would be Western-influenced republic *Provided for free elections within two years to reunite the two Vietnams

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) (1954)

1954-1977 - Dulles put together regional defense pact called SEATO to prevent South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from falling to communism - Agreed to defend one another in case of attack in the region - 8 nations signed in 1954: US, GB, France, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan - Created to oppose the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia after France's withdrawal from Indochina -----------SIGNIFICANCE - The organization was meant to justify an American presence in Vietnam, though some members did not support America in this effort - Dismantled in 1977

Montgomery bus boycott

1955 - Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger - Rosa Parks was arrested for violating segregation law - Sparked massive African American protest; bus boycott - Reverend MLK Jr. minister of Baptist church where boycott started, emerged as leader of nonviolent movement to end segregation ---------SIGNIFICANCE - Protest resulted in Supreme Court ruling that segregation laws were unconstitutional - Sparked other civil rights protests that reshaped America over the coming decades

Suez Canal Crisis (1956)

1956 - Egypt (Arab nationalist General Gamal Nasser) asked US for funds to built Aswan Dam project on Nile River - US refused because threatened Israel - Nasser turned to Soviet Union for help and they agreed -----------SUEZ CRISIS - Nasser also seized and nationalized British and French owned Suez Canal that passed through Egypt's territory - Loss of canal threatened Western Europe's supply to Middle Eastern oil - British, France, and Israel surprise attacked Egypt and retook canal ----------SIGNIFICANCE - Ikes was pissed because they never told him about the plan - Ike sponsored UN resolution condemning invasion of Egypt - Invading forces withdrew because of force of US and world public opinion

Interstate Highway Act (Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956)

1956 - Justification for new taxes on fuel, tires, and vehicles was to improve national defense - Under the Act, the interstate highway system was expanded to 42,000 miles - Signed by Eisenhower - Federal government was to pay 90% of the cost of the expansion - $25 billion was authorized from 1957-1969; $114 billion was eventually expended over 35 years ---------SIGNIFICANCE - Most permanent legacy of Ike's years - Linked all major cities - Became model for the rest of the world - Created jobs, promoted trucking industry, accelerated suburbs, homogeneous national culture - Hurt railroads and environment - Public transport fell behind, so the poor did too - Besides allowing motorists to travel easily throughout the country, the expanded highway system also allowed for troop movement and evacuation routes

Civil Right Acts of 1957, 1960

1957 - Ike signed in two civil rights laws in 1957 and 1960 - Providing permanent Civil Rights Commission - Giving Justice Department new powers to protect the voting rights of blacks -----------SIGNIFICANCE - First civil rights acts since Reconstruction - Southern officials still used obstructive tactics to discourage African Americans from voting - Stimulated by Brown v. Board of Edu. of Topeka and civil rights activism

Nonviolent protests; SCLC, Sit-In, SNCC

1957 - MLK formed Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) that organized ministers and churches in the South to get behind civil rights effort - Feb. 1960 college students in NC started sit-in movement after being refused service at segregated Woolworth's lunch counter - Students deliberately invite arrest by sitting in restricted areas - Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) formed months alter to keep movement organized - 1960s African Americans used sit-in tactic to integrate restaurants, hotels, buildings, libraries, pools, and transportation through South -----------SIGNIFICANCE - Marked turning point in civil rights movement - Progress slow - 1960s growing impatience among blacks would be manifested in violent confrontations in streets

Eisenhower Doctrine

1957 - US replaced Britain and France as leading Western influence in Middle East - US faced growing Soviet influence in Egypt and Syria - Created as a partial reaction to the Suez Canal crisis -------DOCTRINE - US pledged economic and military aid to any Middle Eastern country threatened by communism - 1958 Ikes sent 14,000 marines to Lebanon to prevent civil war between Christians and Muslims - The doctrine committed forces and economic aid to the Middle East to stop Communist threats - Some nations, including Egypt and Syria, denounced the doctrine

Little Rock crisis

1957 *Brown v. Board of Ed. 1954) called for desegregation of schools *In 1957 the NAACP registered 9 African American students to attend the previously all-white Little Rock Central High *Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus used the Arkansas National Guard to try and block the kids on Sept, 4, 1957 *Eisenhower sends in federal troops and the students attend their first day on Sept. 25, 1957

Cuba, Fidel Castro

1959 - Castro overthrew Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959 - No one knew whether Castro's politics would better or worse at first - Castro nationalized American-owned businesses and properties in Cuba - Ike retaliated by cutting off US trade to Cuba - Castro turned to USSR for support and revealed he was a Marxist and proved it by setting up Communist totalitarian state --------SIGNIFICANCE - Ike authorized CIA to train anticommunist Cuban exiles to retake their island, but left to Kennedy to enact

Election of 1960

1960 *Richard Nixon, Eisenhower's former vice president, was nominated by the Republicans *Senator John F. Kennedy was nominated by the Democrats *Kennedy's Catholicism was a campaign issue because of fears that Catholic leaders would influence him *The four presidential debates were televised and watched by approximately 75 million Americans *Nixon's negative appearance on television affected voters' perception of him and aided Kennedy in the election

U-2 incident

1960 - "Spirit of Camp David" was never a valid solution - Two weeks before Paris meeting, Russians shot down US spy plane (U-2) over USSR --------SIGNIFICANCE - Exposed a secret US tactics for gaining information - After open-skies proposals had been rejected by Soviets in 1955, US conducted regular spy flights over USSR to find out about missile program - Eisenhower took responsibility to spying on the Soviets but was a mistake because Khrushchev denounced US and walked out of Paris summit to temporarily end thaw in Cold War - The pilot, Francis Gary Powers, survived and served eighteen months in a Soviet jail

Cold War

Began 1946 - War of words caused by differences in economic and political beliefs between the US and USSR - No actual fighting took place - Churchill commented that an "Iron Curtain" had been dropped between Western Europe and the Soviet's Eastern Europe

Joseph McCarthy

Early 1950s - 1950 speech, Republican senator from Wisconsin who claimed to have detailed information on 205 Communists within the State Department.... widely publicized - McCarthy rode wave of anticommunist feeling to make most politically powerful based on people's fear of damage he could do ---------TACTICS - Unsupported accusations about Communists in government to keep media on himself and discredit Truman admin. - Middle class loved his remarks aimed at wealthy and privileged - Republicans didn't like his tactics, but he was hurting Democrats before Election of 1952 - Even Eisenhower would not defend George Marshall against McCarthy ----------ARMY-MCCARTHY HEARINGS - 1954, McCarthy was exposed on TV - In 1954, the Army accused McCarthy of attempting to gain preferential treatment for one of his consultants, and McCarthy accused the Army of keeping him from finding more Communists - Senate committee held televised hearings on Communist infiltration in army and McCarthy seen as bully - December, Republicans and Democrats in Senate censure of McCarthy - Witch hunt for communists (McCarthyism) played out and 3 years later McCarthy died

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Established 1949 - Since Washington's farewell address, US avoided permanent alliances with European nations - Truman recommended US join military defesne pact to protect Western Europe, Senate gave consent - 10 European nations joined US and Canada in creating NATO - Military alliance for defending the member nations from outside attack - Eisenhower was NATO's first Supreme Commander and stationed US troops in Western Europe as deterrent against Soviet invasion - Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium -----------SIGNIFICANCE - Truman broke the permanent alliance tradition - Led to military buildup and international commitment - Allowed for collective self-defense against the Soviet threat in the North Atlantic region - Soviet Union countered in 1955 with their Warsaw Pact: military alliance for defense of Communist states of Eastern Europe - Since its creation, it has influenced economic and social cooperation between member nations - The fall of the Soviet Union has led to NATO expanding membership and moving toward peacekeeping throughout the world

Philippines and Pacific in Cold War

July 4, 1946 - Philippines became independent republic - US retained naval and air bases there through Cold War --------SIGNIFICANCE - This with US control of UN trustee islands taken from Japan at the end of WWII made the Pacific Ocean look like an American lake

Marshall Plan

June 1947 - Post-WWII left Europe in ruins - Discontent pushed Communism in France and Italy especially - Truman admin. feared western Democracies would vote Communism parties into power ---------MARSHALL PLAN - George Marshall outline program of US economic aid to help European nations revive economies and strengthen democratic governments - European Recovery Program/Truman Doctrine; $12 billion passed to distribute through Western Europe over 4 years - US offered Marshall Plan to Soviets and satellites, but they refused because they didn't want to depend on US ------------SIGNIFICANCE - Worked as planned - Helped Western Europe grow independently by 1950s and ended threat of Communism - Improved US prosperity by increasing US exports to Europe - Depended on rift between non-Communist West and Communist East

Berlin Airlift

June 1948 - Allies designated Western Germany to be free from Communism - Soviets blocked both land and water access to West Berlin in the hopes that the Allies would abandon West Berlin - Truman ordered planes to fly supplies to West Berlin - Truman sent 60 bombers that could hold atomic bombs to England ----------SIGNIFICANCE - World waited for war to breakout - Stalin did not challenge the air lift - Truman's stand on Berlin was part of reason why he won Election of 1948 - May 1949, Soviets opened up highways to Berlin and brought 11 month blockade to an end - *Creation of two Germanies: Federal Republic of Germany (West) and German Democratic Republic (East)

Sputnik (1957)

Launched October 5, 1957 - Launched Sputnik I and II into space as the first satellites - Technological leadership in US questioned - US rockets designed to duplicate USSR's work failed -----------AMERICA'S REACTION - American schools criticized for math and science instruction and failure to produce more scientists and engineers - 1958 Congress responded with NDEA (National Defense and Education Act) that authorized giving hundreds of millions in federal money to schools for math, science, and foreign language education - 1958 Congress created NASA to direct US efforts to build missiles and explore space ---------SIGNIFICANCE - Fears of nuclear war incased since missiles in satellites could deliver thermonuclear warheads any where in world in minutes and no defense against them

Iron Curtain

March 1946 - Truman and Churchill in Fulton, Missouri - Churchill declared: "An iron curtain has descended across the continent" of Europe - Metaphor used in Cold War to refer to Soviet Satellite states of Eastern Europe ----------SIGNIFICANCE - Churchill's speech called for partnership between Western democracies to stop communism - Did it anticipate or cause the Cold War?

Hungarian revolt

October 1956 - Lull in Cold War inspired workers in East Germany and Poland to reform their Communists governments - Uprising in Hungary succeeded in overthrowing government supported by Moscow - New, liberal leaders wanted to pull Hungary out go Warsaw Pact (Communist security organization) - Khrushchev sent in USSR tanks to crush freedom fighters and restore control over Hungary ----------SIGNIFICANCE - US took no action - Ikes feared sending troops would start major war in Europe - US gave de facto recognition to USSR sphere of influence in Eastern Europe and ended Dulles' talk of liberating the region - Ended the first thaw in Cold War