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He had committed 500,000 troops
He had committed over $100 billion
Pulling out with no decisive results would
leave questions about the importance of
human and financial cost
LBJ had the tiger by the tail and could not
find a way to exit Vietnam
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Voting Act of 1965 gives federal government
power to oversee federal elections
Voting Act of 1965 ends racial discrimination at
polls
Average of 29% of African Americans registered
to vote in 1965
Average of 65% of African Americans registered
to vote in 1988
36% increase in African American voters over
approximately 25 years

Anti-war movement by young adults during
the Vietnam Conflict

Promoted rebellion against authority

Protests and rallies against the actions of
federal and state governments
Use of illicit drugs
Musical revolution
Advent of birth control results in promescuity
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Provide financial support for Veterans of
WWII
Main uses of the G.I. Bill included:
 Obtain higher education (college)
 Direct financial support during schooling
 Purchase of a home

Nonviolent Protests
 March on Washington
 Montgomery Bus Boycott

Lunch-counter Sit-ins
 Greensboro, North Carolina

Legal Action
 Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka

Soviet Union’s economy was decimated

Berlin Wall is torn down in 1989
 End to soviet domination in Europe
 End of the Soviet Union
 End of any threat of violence towards the U.S. by
communist forces

Many African Americans migrated between
1940 and 1970 in search of equality and jobs.
What should people do?
Just Laws
People have a moral and legal obligation to obey and uphold laws that are in place
to benefit and protect all citizens
Unjust Laws
People have a moral obligation to disobey laws that create unfair advantages for
one group of people or oppress another

Outlawed discrimination against minorities in
the voting booth
 Literacy Tests

Gave the federal government the power to
oversee all federal elections and ensure that
there was no discrimination
Martin Luther King Jr.
Malcolm X
Arrested over 20 times for disobeying
unjust laws
Spent 6 years in prison for committing
felonies
Used peaceful protests to fight for civil
rights
Called for violent measures to fight for
civil rights
Wanted equality with whites and for
blacks and whites to work together for
freedom and equality for all
Wanted blacks to be superior and called
for equality with segregation
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McCarthy claimed to know of communist
government officials
Held hearings to question and badger
suspected communists
His policies led to the hysterical fear of
communism
None of his accusations were ever proven to
be supported with any evidence

Created for the following reasons:


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Boost the economy
Improve education
Scientific Advancement
Flexible military response
Aid impoverished nations
Most notably, the Peace Corp and Space
Program were created
October 4, 1957 – USSR launches Sputnik 1
November 3, 1957 – USSR launches Sputnik 2
with a dog on board
 January 31, 1958 – U.S. launches Explorer 1
 October 1, 1958 – NASA Created
 April 12, 1961 – USSR sends first man to space
 February 20, 1962 – U.S. John Glenn orbits the
earth 3 times
 July 20, 1969 – Neil Armstrong (American)
becomes first man to walk on the moon.


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Between 1946 and 1964 78.3 million babies
are born

Known as the “Baby Boom”

This resulted in teacher shortages across the
country.

Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
 Created programs such as Job Corps and Project
Head Start

Voting Rights act of 1965
 Ended race-based restrictions on voting

Medicare and Medicaid Act of 1965
 Provided medical coverage for elderly and poor
Americans

Johnson had lost popularity in America due to
the Vietnam Conflict

Johnson knew reelection was highly unlikely
in the election of 1968

Johnson declares on March 31, 1968 that he
will not seek, nor accept the nomination of
the Democratic Party for reelection

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy
ordered a naval and air blockade of Cuba to
keep Soviet assistance from the island

Which is larger? Use the photo

Supply train that moved military supplies
south from North Vietnam to South Vietnam

Went through Cambodia and Laos

Made it impossible for the U.S. to logistically
win the fight without invading nonaggressive
nations.

June 17, 1972 – 5 men break into the Democratic
National Committee Headquarters at the
Watergate Complex

June 1974 – U.S. House of Representatives begin
the impeachment process of Nixon

August 9, 1974 – Nixon Resigns as President
making Gerald Ford the President of the U.S.

Ford pardons Nixon of all offenses

Established October 24, 1945

Created to promote international
cooperation and prevent another large scale
world war.

Its primary goal has been to promote
peaceful solutions to world problems since
its creation

The United States needed trading partners in
Europe to successful rebuild

The United States wanted to rebuild
European allies to contain the spread of
Communism in Europe

The Marshall Plan was created to help
European allies in 1948 with $13 billion in
financial aid

Two American ships are fired upon in the Gulf of
Tonkin off of Vietnam

LBJ asks the Congress for permission “to take all
necessary measures to repel any armed attack
against the forces of the United States”

Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution,
allowing LBJ to conduct the “Vietnam War” at
his discretion

Oct.-Nov., 1956 – Hungarian citizens unsuccessfully
attempted to overthrow the Soviet influenced
government of Hungary in the Hungarian Uprising

May 1, 1960 – U.S. U-2 spy plane shot down over
Russian airspace, proving that the United States was
spying on the Soviet Union, Known as the U-2 Incident

October 14-28, 1962 – U.S. negotiates with the Soviet
Union over nuclear weapons in Cuba that led to a
blockade of Cuba and removal of the nuclear
warheads. Known as the Cuban Missile Crisis

United States took a stance of isolationism
prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941

Roosevelt did not want to become involved in
European conflicts

The Neutrality Acts of 1935-1937 caused
the U.S. to remain neutral towards conflicts
in Europe

Lasted from June 24, 1948 to May 1949

Soviet Union blockaded U.S. supply trains
into West Berlin in an attempt to gain control
over West Berlin

U.S. began to fly supplies into Berlin
 Conducted over 200,000 flights
 Provided 4,700 tons of goods to West Berlin every
day

Put into place by President Harry S. Truman
on March 12, 1947

Provided military and economic aid to Greece
and Turkey

Created to stop the spread of communism in
the Mediterranean region of Europe

U.S. citizens cut back on consumption of
goods
 Gasoline
 Food
 Clothing

Done to ensure that the military had essential
materials to wage war

October Russian Revolution – 1917 – Bolsheviks
(communists) took power of the government in
Russia

Palmer Raids – 1919-1920 – U.S. government
arrested, convicted and deported suspected
Communists

Sacco and Vanzetti Trial – 1921 – Two anarchist
men were convicted of murder during an armed
robbery with little hard evidence pointing to
their guilt

The United States was entrenched in costly
battles during their Island Hopping Campaign
against Japan

Using the bomb would result in multiple
positive outcomes
 Shorten the war
 Save American lives
 Intimidate the Soviet Union

Men of working age were fighting in Europe
and the Pacific

Factories needed workers to supply troops

Women took many jobs in the factories
(defense industry) to supply the military
Conflict
Years Fought
World War II
1941-1945
Korean War
1951-1953
Vietnam War
1964-1974
War on Terrorism
2001 - Current

Navajo language has no common roots as
European and Asian languages do

Navajo soldiers used their language to relay
important messages during the war in the
Pacific

The code proved to be unbreakable by the
Japanese

Helped the United States to win the war by
keeping plans and strategy secretive

During wartime Presidents are given more
power than during peacetime
 Lincoln declares martial law during the Civil War
▪ Lincoln calls for U.S. Army and Naval forces to suppress the
rebellion in the south without trial
 Roosevelt issues Executive Order 9066
▪ Called for internment of Japanese and Japanese-Americans
during World War II without trial or cause
 Bush orders terrorist suspects to be held at
Guantanamo
▪ Called for detainment of suspects without due process or trial

Following the Election of 1936 FDR had a
democratic majority Congress
 A Democratic Congress would agree with a
Democratic President’s wishes for running the
country

This gave Roosevelt a great deal of power
 Allowed Roosevelt the freedom to lead the nation
as he pleased

Three types of help for the economy and
American People
 Relief – Immediate Relief for those in needs
 Recovery – Jump-starting the economy in the short
term
 Reform – Long term policy changes in the United
States

Promoted the idea that the U.S. government
should provide programs to ensure the wellbeing of its citizens

The policy of extending a country’s power
and influence through diplomacy or military
force
 Large nations exploit smaller nations for natural
resources, ports and trade routes

Opponents argued that it was not necessary
to take over or own people to trade with
them

Poor farming practices, drought and high
winds led to massive dust storms and
destruction of farmland

Caused many people to abandon their lives
and move west (Think Grapes of Wrath)

This phenomenon occurred on the Great
Plains of the United States

Complete collapse of the U.S. stock market
crash

Caused by multiple factors
 Buying on Margin
▪ Borrowing money to buy a stock in hopes that its value rises
 Loosely regulated banking industry
▪ U.S. banking and stock market operated with very few rules
and regulations
 Over-speculation of stocks
▪ Short term investments to make quick money that inflate a
stocks projected worth

The United States policy towards European
Conflicts in the 1930s

Supporters argued that the U.S. had no place
intervening in problems that had no direct
effect on America

Opponents argued that isolationism ignores
threats caused by foreign aggression

In order to increase Democratic power FDR
attempted to increase the number of Supreme Court
Justices from 9 to 15
 Plan was to add 1 justice for each active justice over 70
years of age

This was done because many New Deal programs
were found Unconstitutional by the Supreme Court

Congress found FDR’s claims to be untrue and did not
allow the increase in Justices
 FDR was dissatisfied with his lack of success

Harlem Renaissance in Harlem, New York City,
NY was a boom of African-American art and
culture during the 1920s.

Langston Hughes was a famous AfricanAmerican author that increased the influence
and exposure of Black Literature

Duke Ellington was an African-American jazz
musician that increased the influence and
exposure of Black Music in the United States

Production of luxury items increased in the 1920s
following World War I

Consumers did not have the liquid cash to purchase all
desired luxury items

Consumers used monthly installment plans to purchase
goods by paying a down payment and making monthly
payments to pay for the goods
 Similar to having a car payment today

Excessive use of installment plans and inability to make
cause a large number of loan defaults in the late 1920s

Production process in which workers had very
specific and specialized tasks on a line of
production

First implemented in the U.S. by Henry Ford
in the auto industry
 Decreased the cost of automobiles
 Increased production of automobiles

Members consisted of white, Protestant
males

Pushed for anti-immigration laws by using
political influence

Blamed American problems on immigrants
and non-Protestants

Teaching Evolution in public school biology
classes was banned in Tennessee in 1925

Scopes continued to teach evolution in his
classes and put on trial for his actions

This showed the conflict between science and
religion in the United States at the time

Cultural movement in Harlem, New York City,
NY during the 1920s

Gave exposure to black artists, musicians,
authors and fashion.

Exaggeration or sensationalism of news to
create an emotional response from the
general public

Used to blame Spain for the sinking of the
U.S.S. Maine in 1898

Pushed the United States into the SpanishAmerican War

Presidential power to restrict citizens rights is
greatly increased during times of crisis

1917 Espionage Act
 Allowed A. Mitchell Palmer to conduct Palmer Raids

Lincoln Suspending Habeas Corpus
 Allowed for the arrest and detainment of citizens
without trial

1918 Sedition Act
 Suppressed free speech against the U.S. government
during the First Red Scare

Germany offered to return all land to Mexico
that was lost during the Mexican-American
War if Mexico fought against the United
States if the United States declared war on
Germany

Pushed the United States into World War I

The United States Congress chose to not
enter the League of Nations following World
War I

Main argument was that joining the League
of Nations would force the United States to
become involved in foreign conflicts in the
future