Unit 6 Review:
“Living with Great Turmoil”
(1954-1975)
Boemer
Supreme Court Case
• Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
• The Supreme Court case in which segregated
schools was ruled unconstitutional.
Economic trend of the time period
• With the legislative agenda of the Great Society,
President Johnson sought to aid the poor and
others in need. The Economic Opportunity Act
provided job training, education, and the war on
poverty.
• There is no explicit right to work guaranteed by
the US Constitution, but the rights to “life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness” stated in the
Declaration of Independence make it clear that
the opportunity to make a decent living is a basic
American right. The civil rights movement
addressed that fact.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Struck down state laws intended to keep
blacks from voting
Race/ethnicity/immigration
• Immigration Act of 1965: Established new
immigration system that allowed more
immigrants into U.S.
• Civil Rights Act of 1964: Law that outlawed
racial discrimination
• Civil Rights Act of 1968- Act that banned
discrimination in housing
Race/ethnicity/immigration Cont.
• Many Vietnamese refugees seeking a
homeland in the US at the end of the war
developed a cultural identity that was a blend
of two traditions- Vietnamese and American.
Race/ethnicity/immigration Cont.
• The 1960s witnessed the struggle of Native
Americans for greater equality.
• Many women struggled to find fulfillment
beyond the bounds of home and family life.
• The counterculture rejected the American
dream and chose to drop out of mainstream
society.
Amendments
• Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)- Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution that would prohibit
discrimination against women
World Affairs
• America’s mission in Vietnam was to halt the
spread of communism- a threat to democracy.
Ironically, the South Vietnamese regimes that
the US supported were not democratic
themselves.
Public policy and reaction to it
• Initially, mainstream civil rights leaders were
reluctant to criticize the Vietnam War, fearing
they would jeopardize President Johnson’s
support for their cause. When the war
threatened Great Society reforms, Dr. MLK
and other civil rights leaders voiced their
opposition.
Change in technology/society
• By the 1960s, the US and Soviet Union had
built up a stockpile of nuclear weapons.
During periods of crisis, including the Cuban
Missile crisis, the American people feared that
these powerful weapons would be used. The
US and the Soviet Union also competed in the
space race.
Migration
patterns/geography/immigration
• The Great Society brought profound changes
to the nation’s immigration laws with passage
of the Immigration Act of 1965. This act
allowed many non-European immigrants to
settle in the US.
Migration
patterns/geography/immigration Cont
• During the 1960s, the Latino population in the
US grew from 3 million to more than 9 million.
Most Latinos settled in large cities, where they
often encountered discrimination. At this
time, Latinos also began organizing politically.
Vocabulary
• Use word bank
• Answer key on the original Unit 6 document