The War in Europe

●​ Hitler was in control of most of Europe and North Africa Hitler’s greatest mistakes
●​ Hiter’s greatest mistakes:
Soviet Union invasion in June 1941
Declared war on the United States before defeating Britain.

The Allies Invade France and Germany

●​ June 6, 1944 - D-Day: 156,000 Allied troops under the command of General Dwight
Eisenhower landed at 5 beaches on the northwest coast of France at Normandy.

General Dwight Eisenhower selected General Omar Bradley to lead the first American army to
land in France

Largest amphibious operation up until that time took place

●​ Landing craft carried thousands of Allied troops to the beaches of Normandy
●​ August 1944 - after landing, Allies began moving eastward liberating Paris

December 1944 - Allies advanced so quickly they were caught by surprise when German
counter-attacked in the Battle of the Bulge
After German attack collapsed
●​ Allied troops crossed the Rhine River
●​ General Bradley pushed troops for final offensive into German

American, British, and free French forces led the invasion into Germany from the west; Soviet
forces entered from the cast

The Fall of Berlin

●​ May 1945, Soviets captured Berlin
●​ Hitler committed suicide
●​ Germany surrendered

Congressional Medal of Honor

Vernon Baker - one of the 1st African American soldiers to see combat in the war
Slipped through minefields, barbed wire, and German defenses to single-handedly remove 3
machine gun nests, 2 observation posts and 2 bunkers.
Members of his platoon nominated him for the Distinguished Service Cross
52 years later, Baker was finally awarded the nations’ highest praise for battlefield courage by
President Clinton - Congressional Medal of Honor

The Holocaust
●​ Genocide: An effort to murder an entire people or nationality
●​ Part of Hitler’s Nazi philosophy was his intense hatred of Jewish people; he blamed
them for all of Germany’s problems
 ●​ Holocaust: Refers to the attempted genocide of the Jews during World War II
After the outbreak of war, Hitler and other Nazi leaders decided to murder all European Jews;
he called his plan “Final Solution”. At first:
●​ Jews were machine gunned next to open trenches they were forced to dig for
themselves
●​ They were gassed in trucks
This method was too slow for the Nazis
●​ Large concentration camps were built across Europe
●​ Jews were sent in cramped railroad cattle cars to these camps
●​ Most were killed with poison gas; their bodies were burned large ovens
●​ Those spared to do the work of running the camp were half-starved and subjected to
inhumane conditions
Six million Jews (two-thirds of those living in Europe) were killed during the Holocaust
Six million gypsies, Slavs, political prisoners, elderly, mentally-disabled, and other also died in
Nazi concentration camps

Liberation of the Concentration Camps

●​ Allies advance into Germany
●​ American army units were the first to liberate concentration camps
●​ Shocked to see the half-starved, dehydrated, disease-ridden prisoners

The Bataan Death March 1942

The Philippines faced an invasion by the Japanese after Pearl Harbor.

One month later, U.S. and Filipino forces surrendered to the Japanese.

Japanese forced prisoners to undertake a 60-mile march through the jungle - Bataan Death
March
About 5,000 of the Americans (almost half) died along the way
●​ Bayoneted
●​ Shot
●​ Beheaded
●​ Just left to die along the side of the road

The War Turns Against Japan

U.S. regained naval superiority in the Pacific by “island hopping” - liberating Pacific islands from
Japanese control one at a time

Navajo Code Talkers: The Navajo language is unwritten and extremely complex.
●​ Americans forces used this to send messages

Battle of Midway: Turning point of the war in the Pacific

Japanese commander devised a plan to lure U.S. Pacific fleet into a battle near Midway (tiny
Pacific Island)
However, U.S. Navy could decipher Japanese secret codes and knew that a surprise attack was
planned

Admiral Chester Nimitz appointed Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Pacific Fleet just after Pearl
Harbor
U.S. destroyed four of Japan’s aircraft carriers; ending Japan’s superior strength in the Pacific
Ocean
U.S. Army in the Pacific was commanded by General Douglas MacArthur
●​ With Nimitz, began a campaign in the Solomon Islands; taking Guadalcanal
●​ Retook the Philippines and Guam
●​ June 1945, captured Iwo Jima and Okinawa

The Atomic Bomb

1942, President Roosevelt sent American scientists to New Mexico to develop the world’s first
atomic bomb (July 1945)
Meanwhile…FDR was elected for the 4th time in 1944

FDR’S successor, President Harry Truman wanted to use the atomic bomb against Japan rather
than to high losses if Japan were to invade the US

Truman selected centers of Japanese military production as targets

August 6,1945 - Atomic bomb was exploded over the Japanese city Hiroshima

These days later, a second bomb was exploded over Nagasaki

260,000 people were killed in both explosions combined

The Nuremberg Trials (1945-1946)

The liberation of Jewish concentration camps in Europe revealed millions of dead along with
half-starved survivors

With Nazi brutality revealed, the allies put surviving Nazi leaders on trial for “crimes against
humanity” in Nuremberg, Germany

Many were found guilty of committing atrocities and were hanged or imprisoned

“Denazification” and Division of Germany

Germany was divided into four zones by the US, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union
Each country occupied one zone

The occupying powers introduced programs explaining the evils of Nazi

Hitler’s attempts to put his racist doctrines into effect played a large role in discrediting racism,
Anti-Semitism, Social Darwinism, and eugenics worldwide

The Nazi nightmare showed where these ideas could lead

General MacArthur assigned the task of rebuilding and reforming post-war Japan
●​ Japan’s overseas empire taken away
●​ Military leaders were put on trial and punished
●​ Japan renounced the use of nuclear weapons and waging war
●​ Forbidden from having a large army or navy

Life After War

1950s was a period of recovery and economic growth

Eisenhower signed the Interstate Highway Act (1956): created a system of federal highways

Domestic developments

Housing Boom:
●​ Much movement from urban to spur urban areas
●​ High birth rates; Baby Boom era
●​ G.I. Bill (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944):

New Medicine
Success of antibiotics in treating infections gave new hopes for cures
1953, Jonas Salk developed the first vaccine for polio

Other medical advances:

●​ Measles vaccine
●​ First heart transplant
●​ Discover of streptomycin - an antibiotic to treat tuberculosis

Early Cold War and Civil Rights

The Cold War

●​ United States vs. Soviet Union
●​ Cold War: The Superpowers never confronted each other directly in open warfare
●​ Global competition led to frequent conflicts on every continent
Soviet Communism -
●​ One political party, the Communist Party
●​ All labor groups and other associations are run by the Communist Party
●​ Industries and farms are owned by the state; central planners determine the nation’s
economic needs; limited private property; education and health care provided by the
state
●​ Religion is discouraged
●​ Secret police arrest opponents; censorship; no free exercise of beliefs
American Democracy -
●​ A multi-party democracy
●​ Unions and other organizations openly negotiate with employers
●​ Free enterprise system; private ownership of property; supply and demand determine
prices; people meet their own needs with some limited government involvement
●​ Free exercise of religion
●​ Freedom of the press and expression

Joseph Stalin
●​ Leader if Soviet Union
●​ Supposed to be creating a classless society that helped all kOREA: workers
●​ Established a brutal dictatorship
●​ Opponents and critics were arrested and sent to gulags (forced labor camps) in Siberia.

The Yalta and Potsdam Conferences

●​ February 1945 - Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met in Yalta to plan reorganization of
Europe at the end of the war
●​ Agreed to formation of the United Nations
●​ Agreed Germany would be divided into four occupation zones
●​ Agreed to allow free elections in the countries they liberated from German rule
●​ Truman met with Stalin six months later at Potsdam conference; differences began to
emerge
The Cold War Begins
●​ Stalin wanted to ensure safety of Soviet Union; did not trust the West
●​ Created a wall of satellite countries as a buffer against any future invasions - Iron Curtain
●​ Stalin refused to allow free elections occur in Poland
●​ The Iron Curtain closed off Eastern Europe from the West remained limited
●​ Eastern European nations became “satellites” of the Soviet Union

Early Cold War and Civil Rights

The Korean War

Korea: former Japanese colony; divided into two zones after WWII
●​ North Korea — Communist
●​ South Korea — non-Communist state with an elected government
1950 — North Korea invaded South Korea to unify the country under Communist rule

Truman ordered US forces into South Korea to resist invasion

Resolution to send U.N. Troops to South Korea.

Truman sent General Douglas MacArthur to Korea to command U.N. forces.

Landed his forces at Inchon (middle of peninsula)
●​ Cut off North Korea’s main forces and reversed the entire military situation
●​ 2nd largest seaborne invasion in history
MacArthur then attacked North Korea

Truman-MacArthur Controversy

Threat of a large American force on China’s border brought large Chinese army into the war
●​ Forced MacArthur to retreat
●​ MacArthur wanted to liberate China from Communist control
●​ Was willing to use atomic weapons

President Truman refused this idea

●​ Mac Arthur criticized Truman publicly
●​ Truman relieved MacArthur from his command

The Cold War at Home

Truman ordered the establishment of Loyalty Review Boards to investigate “un-American”

activities (i.e., participation in the American Communist Party)

The 2nd Red Scare

Congress conducted its own loyalty checks through its special House Un-American Activities
Comittee
●​ Questioned actors, directors, writers, and other about Communist sympathies
●​ Those identified as Communist Party members were blacklisted and lost their jobs

The Rosenberg Trial

1950 — Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were charged with selling national secrets to the Soviet
Union about making the atomic bomb

Found guilty and executed; some Americans doubted their guilt

The McCarthy hearings

​ ​
1950 — Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed he knew the names of hundreds of Communists
who had infiltrated government agencies.
●​ After three years of hearings, McCarthy never provided real proof of his charges
●​ McCarthy’s with hunt relating to communism terrified Americans
●​ He was censured (formally criticized) by the Senate
“McCarthyism” — the term is identified with someone or some group making harsh
accusations without evidence.

President Eisenhower

1952 — Dwight Eisenhower was elected President

●​ 34th President; served two terms
●​ Republican; called “like”
●​ Pledged to end the Korean War if elected

The War Comes To An End

1953 — Armistice signed between the U.S. and North Korea

●​ Provided for a “demilitarized zone” between North and South Korea
●​ A transfer of prisoners of war (POW)
The armistice left Korea the same as before the war
The division of North Korea from South Korea remained at the 38th parallel line
1957 — Eisenhower announced he would send U.S. forces to any Middle Eastern nation that
requested help against Communism
●​ Extension of the containment policy
●​ Known as the Eisenhower Doctrine.

The Arms Race

By 1949:
●​ Soviet Union had developed its own atomic bomb
●​ Led to nuclear “arms race” between the two Superpowers.

1952– United States deployed the hydrogen bomb (much more powerful than atomic bomb)

Soviet Union exploded its first hydrogen bomb one year later

Nuclear Weapons

1950s — American leaders decided to rely more on nuclear weapons for defense — a
deterrent

Soviet Union was supposed to be deterred from attacking

Massive retaliation was cheaper than maintaining a large military force

The U.S. realized nuclear weapons could not be used in most situations; such mass destruction
only justified a nation's survival at stake.

The Space Race

1957 — Soviets launched the first man-made satellite into space — Sputnik

Sputnik:
Little more than the size of a baseball

Weight 184 lbs.

Orbited the Earth once every 98 minutes

Ushered in the space race.

Raised fear that Soviet Union might send nuclear bombs to the United States

The U.S. started new programs in science education and launched its first satellite into space in
1958.

John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin - contributed to the Space Race between the
US and the Soviet Union

1962 - John Glenn became first American to orbit the earth

1969 - US became the first country to land two men on the moon - Neil Armstrong and Buzz
Aldrin

The Sputnik launched also led directly to the creating of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA).

The Kennedy President

1960 Presidential election — 1st time candidates debated each other on national television

John F. Kennedy narrowly defeated Richard Nixon

Youngest man ever elected to the Presidency
Speech sought to ignite the spirit of American idealism

Kennedy’s Domestic Policy

Kennedy — New Frontier: symbolized vigor of youth

Kennedy sought to use powers of federal government to solve the nation’s problems. He
proposed:
●​ A tax cut to stimulate the economy
●​ Creation of Medicare
●​ Civil rights legislation
●​ Increased aid to education

None of these proposals passed.

Kennedy created the Peace ​ Corps.

●​ A program in which American volunteers go to developing countries in African, Asia, and
Latin American to share their skills
●​ The program is still operational today

CUBA

1959, Eisenhower was President — Fidel Castro led an uprising to overthrow the brutal Cuban
dictator General Batista

After taking power, Castro made agreements with Soviet Union and made Cuba a pro-Soviet
Communist nation.

President Eisenhower reduced the amount of sugar Cuba could sell to the U.S.

Castro nationalized American business in Cuba

Landholding was limited and opponents were thrown in jail

Bay of Pigs Invasion

President Eisenhower approved a plan to overthrow Castro

●​ Included secretly training a group of Cuban exiles in the U.S. and Guatemala
●​ The plan was for these Cuban exiles to invade Cuba

Kennedy became President. He let the plan continue, but:

●​ He refused to provide air power
●​ This would openly tie the invasion to the U.S.

The exiles landed in Cuba three months after Kennedy took office

Were quickly defeated by Cuban military

Embarrassing foreign policy failure for Kennedy

The Berlin Wall

President Kennedy met Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev in Vienna

Kennedy did not feel the meeting went well

A few weeks after the meeting, Soviets officials began construction of the Berlin Wall — cutting
off access to the West for East Berliners
●​ East Berlin — Strict, no freedom, primitive conditions
●​ West Berlin — Prosperous, economic freedom

Cuban Missile Crisis

Exiles invading the Bay of Pigs had been instructed to say they were acting independently; but
disobeyed orders

Castro and Khrushchev became aware that the U.S. had been behind the invasion and took
steps to protect Cuba

1962, U.S. spy planes flying over Cuba discovered that Cuba was secretly preparing silos for
missiles and nuclear warheads

Kennedy announced a naval blockade around Cuba to prevent the arrival of any additional
Soviet weapons

One Soviet ship was stopped and boarded

Kennedy also threatened to invade Cuba if the offensive missiles were not withdrawn.

Kennedy put U.S. armed forces at their highest state of alert

Soviet commanders in Cuba prepared to defend the island

The Cuban Missile Crisis: Became the closest the world has ever come to a nuclear war.

After several days of extreme tension. Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles for a pledge
that the U.S. would not invade Cuba

Kennedy also agreed to pull U.S. missiles out of Turkey

U,S, and Soviet leaders set up a special “hot line” telephone

U.S. and Soviet also agreed to a treaty banning further nuclear testing except for underground

The Johnson Presidency

President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963

Lyndon B. Johnson became the next President

The Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights movement was the struggle of African Americans for equal rights

After the Civil War, the hope of equality to all Americans was cut short in the aftermath of
Reconstruction

Many Americans felts the treatment received by African Americans was inconsistent with tideals
in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution

The irony: America was defending freedom and democracy around the world, but denying
equality to many of its own citizens at home.

1947 — Jackie Robinson became the first African American baseball player to cross the “color
line” and join the major leagues.

Early Civil Rights

When Truman was re-elected, he demanded his inaguaration be integrated

1948 — Truman issued executive orders to:

●​ Desegregate the armed forces
●​ End discriminatory hiring practices in the federal government

Civil Rights Coury Cases

Civil rights were won in large part through litigation (resolving disputes in court)

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of state segregation laws

Court ruled that the “separate-but-equal” standard was constitutional.
Sweatt v. Painter (1950)

NAACP won case involving the right to Herman Sweatt (an African American), to attend the Law
School at UT Austin

●​ Texas argued that its constitution prohibited integrated education

●​ Texas even created a separate law for African Americans to keep out.
●​ U.S. Supreme Court ruled that this separate school failed to qualify as “separate but
equal”
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

●​ 1953 — NAACP appealed a Kansas court ruling. Alleged that segregated public school
denied African American children “equal protection” of the law (14th Amendment)

Thurgood Marshall argued the case for the NAACP

May 1954, Chef Justice Ear Warren wrote the unanimous decision of the Supreme Court

Brown v. Board of Education decision:

”… in the field of public education the doctrine of separate but equal has no place. Separate
educational facilities are inherently unequal.”

Progression to Equality

There were other segregation laws that still existed in the south — Jim Crow laws

December 1055, Montgomery, AL — Rosa Parls, and African American seamstress, refused to
surrender her bus seat to a white passenger.

When Parks was arrested African American leaders began a boycottof the city buses — The
Montgomery Bus

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the leader of the boycott

The boycott lasted 14 months

This case was eventually taken to federal court. The ruling: segregation on the bus operated by
the city of Montgomery…

Resistance 1957

Goveror Orval Faubus of Arkansas was a WWII veteran and liberal Democrat who favored
segregation
Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent nine African American students from
entering Little Rock High School — Little Rock Nine

President Eisenhower ordered federal troops to Little Rock to ensure that the Little Rock Nine
could attend the school

Governor George Wallace stood in front of the University of Alabama to prevent two African
American students from attending

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Carried out resistance to unjust law through civil disobedience

●​ Arrested after leading a march in Birmingham
●​ Wrote “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” explaining why African Americans could no
longer patiently wait for thier constitutional rights.

1963, Dr. King and other Civil Rights leaders organized a March on Washington to pressure
Congress to pass the new Civil RIghts bill

A quarter of a million people attended the march

Held a special meeting with President Kennedy
A few months later President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas

Billy Graham

Christian preacher, spiritual advisor to several U.S. Presidents

Prominent supporter of civil rights

Rose to fame for his staunch anti-Communism

Outspoken opponent of segregation

Paid to bail out Dr. King from jail and made a public revival tour with him in 1957

Advised President Eisenhower to send federal troops to help the Little Rock Nine

He preached to millions of people in almost 200 countries

Was one of the 1st preachers to address large crowds behind the Iron Curtain — calling for
world peace

Background: France and Vietnam (1945-1953)

Indochina (later Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia) was a French colony after WWII they wanted to
be free

France denied Vietnam independence, so they fought back.

Vietminh
-Vietnamese freedom fighters led by Ho Chi Minh

The US did not support French colonialism, but they did not support Ho Chi Minh’s communism.

Two events caused the US to support France:

●​ China became communist in 1949
●​ The Korean War

Presidents Truman and Eisenhower believed in the Domino Theory

-​ The idea that if one country falls to communism, the surrounding countries will too

Geneva Accords (1954)

Agreement to end fighting between French and Vietminh

Divided Indochina into three countries

●​ Vietnam
●​ Cambodia
●​ Laos

Also divided Vietnam into two sections:

●​ Communist north led by Ho Chi Minh
●​ Pro-Western south led by Ngo Dinh Diem

Vietcong
The newly organized N. Vietnamese Guerilla Army was based in S. Vietnam

Effective at staging guerilla attacks

Difficult to defeat; S. Vietnam began to look to US for more help in fighting the Vietcong (VC)

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

August 2nd and 4th 1964

President Lyndon Johnson told the nation that Vietnamese ships fired upon US destroyers in the
Gulf of Tonkin.
Johnson asked Congress to authorize the use of force to defend American forces

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

August 7, 1964

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorized the President to “take all necessary measures to repel any
armed attack against the forces of the US and to prevent further aggression.”

War

The US began to increase the number of troops in 1964-1966

US was supremely confident this would be an “easy”; majority of US public supported the war

Quickly found out the war wasn’t easy

US Response to VC tactics

Johnson ordered:
”Search and destroy” missions
Bombing raids over Vietnam and sent in troops

Destroyed landscape to get rid of VC cover

​ Napalm
Jellied gasoline that explodes and sticks to surface it is very difficult to extinguish
​ Agent Orange
A chemical that destroys the foliage so the planes can see troop movement from the sky.

1968 - Boom Goes the Dynamite

Tet Offensive (Tet is the Vietnamese New Vietnamese New Year; Holiday)
​ The year started with a Vietcong surprise attack on US troops

The VC managed to attack almost all major US airbases and many Southern Vietnamese cities
- this became known as the Tet Offensive.

The Tet Offensive was a huge military failure for the VC, but it still shocked the American
public.

How could an enemy that is so close to defeat launch an attack of that size?

HERO AT THE TET OFFENSIVE

Roy Benavidez
May 1968 - while facing constant enemy fire:
 ●​ Carried wounded members of his platoon to rescue-helicopters
●​ Was critically wounded, but refused to stop gathering soldies, saving the lives of 8 men
At first, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism
When fully story became known, Benavidez was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by
President Reagain in 1981
Benavidez died in San Antonio in 1998.

Television War

A Credibility Gap developed.

●​ The government kept saying the US was winning the war, but journalists and TV
reporters said otherwise
●​ Vietnam was the first Television War because footage of combat was shown nightly.
●​ This helped lead to an anti-war movement.

Anti-War Movement
The anti-war movement was heavily influenced by the Civil Rights Movement

Teach-ins - students and teachers across US colleges abandoned their classes to discuss the
Vietnam War and their opposition to it

Burning Draft Cards - many young men did not want to fight in a conflict they felt flight in a
conflict they felt was wrong so they burned draft cards to protest.

Counter Culture

The new “youth culture” was affected by rock music

The Beatles, rock group from England, introduced new fashions and long hair for males

Openly experimented with drugs

Some hippies left mainstream society altogether and lived in self-sufficient communities.

New Life-Styles
1950, the Beat Generation
●​ Movement founders: Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac
●​ Rebelled against the conformity of their era
●​ Tightly connected group of young writers

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Student at a Public school in Des Moines, Iowa
●​ Organized a silent protest against the Vietnam War
●​ Planned to wear black armbands to protest the fighting
Students wore armbands and were suspended
Students’ parents sued the school for violating their children’s right to free speech

U.S. District court ruled that wearing armbands could disrupt learning
Appealed to U.S. Court of Appeals and lost; took case to Supreme Court
Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 decision in favor the students
●​ Agreed that students’ free rights should be protected
●​ ”Students don’t shed their constitutional rights outside schoolhouse gates.”

Election of 1968
Richard Nixon (Republican) vs. Hubert Humphrey (Democrat) vs. George Wallace (American
Independent)

Nixon wins and promises to “Bring us Together,” and also end the war

Nixon and Vietnam

Vietnamization
●​ Nixon’s strategy for “peace with honor”
●​ a gradual withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam
●​ Turn control of the war over to the S. Vietnamese

Invasion of Cambodia
Nixon expanded the war into Cambodia Secretly bombed Cambodia to stop VC Sparked
protests

Kent State University Protests

●​ Response to expansion of war into Cambodia
●​ 4 college protesters killed by National Guard

Nixon and Vietnam

●​ Americans became more distrustful of government
●​ Nixon said that a “silent majority” supported the war
Pentagon Papers: Secret study of US involvement in Vietnam that was leaked to the NY Times
Revealed that American leaders lied to Congress and the American people regarding Vietnam

End of the War

Paris Peace Accords

●​ January 19, 1973
●​ US and N. Vietnam reach peace

War Powers Resolution of 1973

 ●​ The President must now notify Congress within 48 hours of sending troops and
Congress has 60 days to decide whether to leave them or withdraw them
●​ Resolution limited the President’s powers

1975 - South Vietnam falls to the N. Vietnamese.

Losing the War

VC Tactics
●​ Blended in with general population by not wearing uniforms
●​ Ambushes
●​ Booby traps
●​ Guerilla warfare
●​ The VC did not surrender despite our tactics
●​ They were not going to give up their homeland easily and they were willing to accept
massive amounts of casualties
●​ The US also refused to invade N. Vietnam because we didn’t want a full scale war with
China
●​ This made it very difficult for the United States

Legacy of Vietnam
●​ Cost $150 Billion
●​ Over 58,000 American Deaths
●​ Over 3 million total Vietnamese deaths (civilians/military)
●​ Considered by many to ve the first US military defeat
●​ Many that came home suffered from psychological effects
●​ Disrespect of troops upon returning home

DIVIDED AMERICA

Sit-ins and freedom rides

1960, African Americans students held a sit-in at a “Whites Only” lunch counter in North
Carolina. Other students throughout the South did the same.

1961, interracial groups rode buses in Freedom Rides in the South

Johnson’s Landslide Election (1964)

1964, Barry Goldwater (senator from Arizona) won the Republican nomination for President
●​ Called for a tough stance in dealing with the Soviets
●​ Attacked Johnson’s Great Society programs for extending the reach of the government
too far
●​ Many Americans feared he was an extremist who might lead the nation into a nuclear
war
Johnson won by a landslide
President Johnson’s goal was to turn the nation into a Great Society by opening up
opportunities and improving the quality of life for all Americans

Johnson’s Great Society programs included:

●​ Equality of opportunity enrichment of urban life
●​ Restoration of natural beauty
●​ Expansion of education
●​ Ending poverty

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Emerged as the leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the late 1950s

Believed in non-violence

Believed passive resistance to unjust laws could change attitudes of oppressors

1968 - Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated by a white supremacist in Memphis

His death sparked riots

A federal commission found the cause of the riot to be:

●​ Lack of job opportunities for African Americans
●​ Urban poverty
●​ White racism

Voting Rights
Voting Rights Act of 1965
●​ 24th Amendment ended poll taxes in federal elections
●​ Ended poll taxes (state and local enforcement)
●​ Suspended literacy tests where they were used to prevent African Americans from voting
The effects of this act was an increase in the number of African American voters

Great Society Programs

Medicare Act of 1965
Social Security was expanded to provide medical care, hospital insurance, and post-hospital
nursing for people over age 65

Changes in Immigration Policy

Johnson proposed important changes in immigration policy

The post war McCarren-Walter Act (1952) kept immigration quotas at 1920 levels, favoring
Western Europe
The Immigration Act of 1965 - aimed to be less biased
●​ Each country was given an identical quota for its number of legal immigrants
●​ Preference was given to those with relatives already in the U.S. or with valuable skilss
●​ Restricted immigration from Latin America for the first time

Analysis of the Great Society

●​ Johnson’s civil rights legislation was profound
●​ Major benefits for children and the elderly
●​ But many American remained in poverty
●​ Cost of the Vietnam War eventually forced Johnson to withdraw much of the funding
from domestic programs
●​ Johnson did not seek another term as President in 1968

Resistance
Civil Rights Movement ended public segregation and discrimination voting
●​ Did not end private bias
●​ Did not provide equal opportunities
●​ Many felt Dr. King’s non-violence approach was not working

Black Power - Belief that African Americans:

●​ Should control their own communities
●​ Should patronize their own businesses
●​ Should free themselves from economic, cultural and political domination of whites

Black Muslims
●​ Believed Islam should be the religion of African Americans
●​ Believed Africa Americans should form their own black state

Malcolm X
●​ Leading black Muslim
●​ Questioned King’s policy of non-violent resistance
●​ Believed African Americans should meet violence with violence
●​ Assassinated by rival black Muslims

The Black Panthers

●​ Group of African Americans activists founded in Oakland
●​ Had their own newspaper
●​ Carried weapons to protect black neighborhoods from police
●​ Ran free breakfast programs for African American children
●​ Ten-point program: greater opportunities and benefits

Affirmative Action 1965

President Johnson signed an Executive Order requiring employers with federal contracts to
make positive steps the number of their minority employees

Woman were later added

Affirmative action programs increased minority representation

Affirmative Action 1965

Some critics challenged this as a reverse discrimination

In Regents of University of California v. Bakke, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld affirmative
action, but not the…

The Women’s Liberation movement (Feminist movement)

●​ One of the most important movements in the 1960s
●​ Focused on achieving greater economic and social equality
Betty Friedan
●​ Wrote The Feminine Mystique in 1963
●​ Said women were capable for competing for the same jobs as men

Achievements of the Women’s Liberation Movement

Title IX (1972)
●​ Part of the Educational Amendments Act (1972)
●​ Banned sex discrimination in educational institutions
●​ Federal funding was linked to the enforcement

Equal Rights Amendment

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) - “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex”
●​ Proposed in 1923 by Alice Paul
●​ For 50 years, amendment was introduced in each session of Congress, but failed to
pass each time
●​ 1972, the amendment was finally approved by Congress
●​ Sent to states for a seven year limit for ratification
●​ Deadline extended to 1982

Amendment did not receive support to be ratified

Still being reintroduced to Congress every session since that time

The Chicano Movement

Like African Americans, Mexican Americans (also known as Chicanos) faced discrimination,
racism, and exploitation
1960s, Chicano Movement: Main focus on farm workers’ voting and political rights

Caeser Chavez - another leader of the Chicano movement

●​ Organized farm workers
●​ Started a group that supported farm workers’ rights and demanded increased wages and
better working conditions
Chavez emphasized reliance on nonviolent means; organized boycotts of farm workers

Chicano Mural Movement

Mexican Americans artists began painting murals in barrios (ethnic neighborhood) throughout
the Southwest in the 1960s
●​ Supported Mexican American identity and justice
●​ Provided a visual presence; representation
●​ Showed legends and heroes like Cesar Chavez
●​ In El Paso, Texas alone, over a hundred Chicanos wall murals were completed
American Indian Movement
1963, federal government began encouraging tribal life on reservations

Many American Indians still felt they were being mistreated

Slogan “Red Power”; Formed the American Indian Movement

HERNANDEZ V. TEXAS
Hernandez was convicted of murder in a Texas court by an all white “Anglo” jury

Hernandez appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court; claiming his 14th amendment had been
violated

Texas argued that Mexican Americans were white and not entitled to special protection

Supreme Court ruled that Mexican Americans formed a separate class that was entitled to
protection

Hernandez had “the right to be tried by juries from which members of his class are not excluded”

MENDEZ V. WESTMINSTER SCHOOL DISTRICT (1947)

Some places in California sent Mexican American children to separate public schools

The district court ruled this violated the 14th amendment

Wetminester appealed; U.S. Court of Appeals held that “separation within a race was not
permitted if not required by a specific state law”

WHITE V. REGESTER (1973)

1970, the Texas legislature changed its district boundaries

Bexar and Dallas counties were organized where Mexican Americans and African Americans in
those two districts had no real chance of being elected

U.S. Supreme Court ruled the legislature had to make these into smaller, one member districts
giving these groups a chance to elect their own candidates

MIRANDA V. ARIZONA (1966)

Ernesto Miranda, a Mexican immigrant living in Phoenix, Arizona
●​ Identified in a police lineup by a woman, who accused him of kidnapping and raping her
●​ Miranda was arrested and questioned by the police for two hours until he confessed to
the crimes
●​ During the interrogation, police did not tell Miranda about his Fifth Amendment protection
against self-incrimination or his Sixth Amendment right to an attorney
The case went to trail in an Arizona state court
●​ Prosecutor used confession as evidence against Miranda
●​ Convicted, sentenced to 20 to 30 years in prison
Miranda’s attorney appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court, which upheld the conviction

Appealed to U.S. Supreme Court. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of Miranda

Miranda Warning:
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be held against you in a
court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will
be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?”

WISCONSIN V YODER (1972)

Supreme Court struck down a Wisconsin state law requiring Amish children to attend school
beyond Grade 8

Supreme Court found that the state law violated the parents’ freedom of religion since the
state’s secondary education conflicted with Amish values and beliefs

PRESIDENT NIXON
●​ Republican
●​ Elected in 1968 and 1972
●​ Height of the Imperial Presidency: Growth and Presidential Power
●​ Increased due to New Deal and war

Domestic Policy: Nixon

●​ Nixon was a Republican — moved the nation in a more conservative direction
●​ Believed federal social programs were inefficient; should be dealt with at the local level
●​ Eliminated several “Great Society” programs
 ●​ Gave federal funds to state and local governments they decided how to spend the funds

Detente with China

Nixon believed in pursuing a policy of detente: a relaxing of tensions.

Since Communist revolution in 1949, U.S. leaders refused to establish diplomatic relations with
the Communist government

Although a strong anti-Communist, Nixon restored diplomatic relations with Communist China

1972, Nixon became the first American President to visit mainland China

Reopening relations with China was Nixon’s greatest foreign policy achievement

Detente with the Soviet Union 1972

Nixon and his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, wanted to halt the nuclear weapons build-up

1972, Nixon became first President to visit Moscow

●​ Signed agreement (SALT) with Soviet leaders limiting the development of defensive
missile systems
●​ Agreed to sell grain to the Soviet Union to help them cope with food shortages.
Environmental Protection Agency
1970, Nixon signed law that created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
●​ Protects the environment
●​ Sets air and water pollution standards for cities
●​ Engages in monitoring and enforcement activities
Endangered Species Act
Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act (1973)
●​ Requires the Fish and Wildfire Service to list species of plants and animals threatened
with extinction
●​ Takes the necessary steps to protect species threatened with extinction
26th Amendment
Lowered the voting age to 18
●​ Takes the necessary steps to protect species threatened with extinction

Nixon’s Vice President

1973, Nixon;s Vice President, Spiro Agnew, resigned; it was discovered he had been taking
bribes while serving as Governor of Maryland

Under 25th Amendment,

Nixon appointed Gerald Ford as Vice President

The Watergate Scandal

1972, a group of former CIA agents, working for Nixon’s re-election as president were caught
breaking into Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington D.C.

President Nixon tried to cover up an investigation reporters were the first to report possible links
between the break-in and the White House

The Senate appointed a committee to investigate

Attorney General appointed a Special Prosecutor to examine possible wrongdoing

During the Senate Hearings:

●​ Presidential aid stated Nixon had participated in the cover-up
●​ Revealed that Nixon had secretly recorded all of his White House conversations

The Watergate Tapes

Nixon refused to allow the Senate Committee listen to the tapes; claimed executive privilege

United States v. Nixon

●​ Nixon contended if he obeyed the district court order to turn over tapes, it would lead to
judicial control of Presidency; violating separation of powers
●​ Supreme Court ruled that Nixon must turn over tapes; no one is above the law.

Nixon Resigns
Tapes were made public; revealed that Nixon had lied about no being involved in the cover-up

The House of Representatives moved to impeach Nixon

Fearing removal from office by the U.S. Senate, Nixon became first President to resign.

President Ford
Gerald Ford became President after Nixon resigned
●​ Not elected as Vice President; appointed
●​ Not elected as President; succession
One of Ford’s first acts as President was to pardon Nixon for any crimes he committed.

Globalization and Conservative Resurgence

The Carter Presidency

Jimmy Carter nominated by Democratic Party to oppose Ford in 1976 election

Carter was elected as “outsider” who promised to end corruption and “clean up” Washington
Carter: Domestic Policy
●​ Carter’s main problem was economy
●​ Inflation was more than 10% — in a single year, prices were 10% higher at the end of
the year than at the beginning
●​ Interest rates rose to 20%
●​ Unemployment remained high
●​ Stagflation — High unemployment combined with high inflation.

OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Companies)

●​ Imposed oil embargo on the US due to our support for Israel
●​ Price of oil skyrocketed
Long lines at gas station
Heating homes, price of food were also impacted

Energy Crisis — Carter created the Department of Energy

Environment:
●​ Provided funds to clean up toxic dumpsites
●​ Accident at Three mile Island nuclear reactor in 1979
Created Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Developed stricter standards for developing nuclear energy

Many banks excluded people in low-income neighborhoods from loans and other financial
services
●​ Called redling; it was possible to draw a red line on a map clearly delineating these
neighborhoods
●​ Affected minorities the most

Carter pushed through Congress the Community Reinvestment Act (1977)

Required banks to make credit available in poor communities
Goal was to try to prevent decaying low-income neighborhoods in inner cities.

The 1970s
Ford continued Nixon’s policy of detente with the Soviet Union

Jimmy Carter (elected in 1976) revisited the Panama Canal Treaty in 1977

The Panama Canal Treaty, 1977

Carter wanted to set an example by having the U.S. act fairly in its dealings with Panama
Signed treaty returning control of all the Canal Zone to Panama (except for the canal itself)
Agreed to turn over the canal to Panama by the end of the century.

Camp David Accords Background

Israel had been established as a homeland for the Jewish people by the United Nations in 1948
in the aftermath of the Holocaust
Many Jews had already been living in this area; as well as many Palestinian Arabs.

U.S policy had been supportive of Israel — a pro-Western democracy in the Middle East

U.S.-Israeli relations also influenced by strong Israel relied on U.S. economic and military aid for
its survival

Egypt and Israel had fought one another in a series of wars since 1948

1977- Carter invited Anwar Sadat (President of Egypt) and Menachem Begin (Prime Minister
of Israel) to the presidential retreat at Camp David

The two leaders reached and agreement

Under the Camp David Accords:

●​ Israel agreed to return the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt (which Israel had taken in the
Six-Day War in 1967)
●​ In exchange, Egypt offered a peace treaty and the establishment of normal diplomatic
relations with Israel
●​ This ended 30 years of warfare

Camp David Accords

Sadat and Begin were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
●​ Many Arab leaders denounced the agreement
●​ Said it failed to provide homeland for the Palestinians
●​ Several Arab nations temporarily broke off diplomatic relations with Egypt
Sadat was later assassinated by Muslim Fundamentalists who opposed any peace with Israel

Interruption to Detente
1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan

Temporary end to detente

●​ Carter halted grain sales to Soviets
●​ Boycotted 1980 Olympics in Moscow
●​ Postponed ratification a new arms control agreement (SALTII)

Iranian Revolution
Shah Pahlavi was an ally of the US (Shah=ruler). But the Shah:
●​ Used brutal measure against his opponents
●​ In the 1960s, promised personal freedoms and other social reforms, but failed to deliver
that promise
1978, widespread demonstrations broke out across Iran against the Shah
1979 Shah fled country

Ayatollah Khomeini took control with Fundamentalist Shiite Muslims

●​ Hostile to Western influence
●​ Resented America for helping the Shah and backing Israel

October 1979, Shah entered U.S. for medical treatment

Two weeks later, angry Iranian students seized the staff of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran

Hostages were blindfolded, tied up, and accused of working for the CIA.

Iranian Revolution
Held hostages for more than a year

The U.S. imposed Immediate economic sanctions

An attempt to rescue hostages with a helicopter failed

Negotiations for the release of the hostages

Ronald Reagan
●​ Popular Hollywood actor after WWII
●​ Former Governor of California
●​ Lost the Republican Presidential nomination in 1968 and 1976; won in 1980
●​ Chose Texas Congressman George H.W. Bush as his running mate
Moral Majority — composed of Fundamentalist Christians. Begun in 1979 by Rev. Jerry
Falwell
Flavored:
●​ Strict interpretation of the Bible
●​ An agenda that was socially conservative
●​ Anti-Communist
●​ Opposed the Equal Rights Amendment
●​ Group was dissolved in 1989

Heritage Foundation
Think-tank based in Washington D.C.

Promoted conservative policies based on principles of free enterprise, limited government,

individual freedom, values, and a stron national defense.

Stagflation was still main problem facing the nation

Reagan tried to solve the problem with supply-side economics
●​ Previous economists advised increasing government spending to give more money to
consumers
●​ Goas was to encourage an increase in demand

Reaganomics

Reagan’s advisors concentrated on supply

●​ Reduced taxes and business regulations
●​ Hoped larger supply of goods would stop inflation and increase employment
New strategy was known as Reaganomics

Tax Cuts and Domestic Spending

●​ Cut taxes on businesses and the wealthy
●​ Felt these groups would invest their tax savings, raise productivity and increase
employment
●​ Results would “trickle down” to other groups
●​ To finance the tax cut, reduced spending on federal welfare programs
Deregulation
●​ Eliminated many federal regulations on industry making it easier for new companies to
compete
●​ Ordered many regulatory agencies to cut back rule-making allowing business more
freedom
●​ Relaxed enforcement of antitrust laws and allowed more business mergers
Increased Military Spending
●​ Increased military spending, financed through borrowing
●​ This increased spending stimulated the entire economy, creating a demand for many
goods and services
Other Factors
●​ World oil prices stabilized
●​ New employment create new jobs
●​ Regan took steps against unions to allow more flexible work practices
●​ Fired air traffic controllers on strike

Federal Deficit
The Federal Deficit and the National Debt
●​ Federal Deficit = amount of money federal government spends beyond what it collects in
taxes
●​ Reagan promised a budget in which government spending would be limited to the
amount of taxes it raised
●​ Federal deficit actually increased greatly and the national debt more than doubled
because of military spending
The Trade Imbalance
 ●​ Americans bought more goods and services from abroad than they sold overseas; lead
to loss of millions of jobs
●​ Led to the loss of millions of jobs, closing of steel mills and auto plants, and a drop in
disposable income of many Americans
Immigration Policy
●​ Introduced the Simpson Mazzoli Act (1986) - legalized the illegal aliens who had lived
continuously in the United States since 1981
Sandra Day O’Connor
1981, Reagan nominated Sandra Day O’Connor as the first woman Justice of the U.S. Supreme
Court
●​ Born in El Paso, Texas
●​ Received an education in California
●​ Involved in politics in Arizona
A conservative who preferred “judicial restraint”

Emerged in the late 199s as a swing vote between conservative and liberal Justices

AIDS Epidemic

HIV
●​ A deadly virus
●​ Virus could eventually develop into AIDS
●​ Spread through the US in the 1980s
●​ Almost 100,000 lives were lost during the decade due to HIV/AIDS

War on Drugs
The Reagan administration launched the Just Say No campaign
●​ Nancy Reagan (1st Lady) was very involved
●​ The goal was to educate children on the dangers of using drugs
●​ There was an increase in incarcerations for nonviolent drug offenses
George H.W. Bush
George H.W. Bush — 41st president. Served two terms at Reagan’s Vice President

Bush: Domestic Policy

Greatest domestic challenge was to reduce the growing budget deficit

Bush made several appointments to Supreme Court; leading to a conservative majority on the
Court

U.S. gradually moved back into a recession 1990

Increase in population in the Sunbelt: West and South

Decrease in population in the Rust Belt: Northeast and Midwest
●​ Once the center of American industry (coal and iron)
●​ Loss of manufacturing jobs to Mexico and overseas

Civil Rights and Civil Unrest

●​ 1992, Los Angeles policemen’s were videotaped beating a young African American,
Rodney King
●​ A jury found policemen not guilty
●​ Riots erupted in LA and other cities
●​ Highlighted plight of minorities and racial tensions

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

This landmark act which Bush signed did the following:
●​ Prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities in employment and in public
accommodations
●​ Guaranteed people with disabilities would be given equal treatment.
Cold War Tensions
The Reagan Doctrine
1985, Regan announced the Reagan Doctrine
Stated that the U.S. would not confine itself to containment of Communism
●​ The U.S. would also attempt to “roll-back” Communism by aiding anti-Communist
“freedom fighters” in Afghanistan, Angola, Nicaragua, and Cambodia.

Reagan believed in a policy of Peace through Strength

“Let he who desires peace prepare for war”
●​ Reagan felt the best way to prevent war was to make America’s enemies think that the
U.S. had both the means and the will to stop aggression
●​ Reagan sharply increased military spending
Proposed research into an anti-ballistic defense system
●​ Strategic Defense Initiative (also known as Star Wars)
●​ Lasers would be used to shoot down missiles to prevent a nuclear attack
●​ Increased military spending
Soviet Leaders were disturbed by Reagan’s announcements; they feared the expense of
developing their own system.

Iran-Contra Affair
Iran-Contra Affait — 1986, officials in the Reagan Administration acted against the policy of
refusing to negotiate with terrorists by secretly selling arms to Iran as part of a deal in exchange
for the release of American hostages in Lebanon.
●​ Profits from the sales of the arms were given to support the anti-Communist “Contra”
rebels fighting the Communist government in Nicaragua
●​ Done even though Congress prohibited any U.S. aid to the Contras
When Contra affair was revealed, nation was shocked
Investigation cleared president of any direct wrongdoing; failed to monitor his top officials though

Several officials were convicted of lying to Congress and sent to prison

Greatly tarnished America’s credibility in the world

The End of the Cold War

1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became head of the Soviet Communist party
●​ Introduced reforms inside the Soviet Union
●​ Agreed to withdraw Soviet troops from Afghanistan
●​ Allowed peaceful changes to take place in Eastern Europe
Reagan and Gorbachev signed an agreement dismantling thousands of nuclear missiles

1991, Soviet Union dissolved and was replaced by the Commonwealth of independent States

Bush recognized Russia and the other newly independent republics and offered economic
assistance

Triumph of Democracy
Most important event of the Bush Presidency was the end of the Cold War:
1989 — The Berlin Wall fell
1991 — The Soviet Union collapsed

The Gulf War

August 1990, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait
●​ Captured its vas oil wealth and extending Iraq’s borders
●​ Hussein refused requests by the United Nations to withdraw
U.N. Forces under U.S. leadership launched and attack against Iraq; succeeded in only a few
days.

February 1991, Hussein agreed to:

●​ Remove all Iraqi troops from Kuwait
●​ Pay Kuwait for damages’
The US liberated Kuwait from Iraqi control
Bush declared a cease-fire; refused to remove Hussein from power.

Modern America

Bill Clinton
●​ From a poor Arkansas background
●​ Rhodes Scholar (England)
●​ Yale Law School
●​ F