AP U.S. HISTORY
“THE COLD WAR AT
HOME AND ABROAD”
Unit 11
Unit 11: Focus on while reading
• Issues related to the reconversion of the economy from a
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war-based economy to a consumer-oriented economy.
The impact of the Baby Boom, Suburbanization, and
massive consumerism.
The challenges faced by Civil Rights leaders as they
sought political, economic, and social freedom.
The impact of Presidential Administrations on the size and
scope of the Federal Government.
The continued development of Liberalism in American
Government.
Issues that led to the public’s disillusionment with the
government.
Unit 11: Introduction to domestic issues
during the Cold War
• During the late 1940s Europe was in chaos, the war had
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ravaged economies, placed traditional political structures in
jeopardy, and created social upheaval.
Japan was occupied by the U.S., China was on the brink of
Civil War, and Korea was being divided between Communist
and Anti-Communist forces.
Although the U.S. suffered 1 million casualties (300,000
deaths) and spent $300 Billion to wage World War II, the U.S.
was virtually untouched by the war and emerged a political and
economic powerhouse.
The biggest challenge the U.S. faced at the end of the war was
how the demobilization and reconversion of the economy
would effect unemployment and inflation.
The deterioration of relations with the Soviet Union and
subsequent “Cold War” would deeply affect quality of life in
America and create new threats to American security.
Unit 11.1: Post-War Issues and how the
Government responded.
• What issues faced the United States in
relation to demobilization and reconverting
the economy in Post-War America?
• How did the “Baby Boom” impact the United
States politically, socially, and economically
during the 1940s and 1950s? Is it having an
impact today?
• In what ways did Suburbanization affect the
culture of the United States in the 1950s?
What were some characteristics of 1950s
“pop culture”?
Unit 11.1: Post-War Issues and how the
Government responded.
• What issues faced the United States in relation to
demobilization and reconverting the economy in Post-War
America?
• #1 challenge: over 7 million men and women had been returned to
civilian status less than one year after the victory over Japan.
• #2 challenge: once the war was over and the price controls imposed
by the Office of Price Administration were lifted many feared that
inflation would set in and drive us into another recession.
• Massive consumer demand and increased defense spending related
to Cold War tensions helped to offset worries about inflation and
prevented rampant unemployment.
• The Serviceman’s Readjustment Act (G.I. Bill) provided money for
college along with other benefits for returning veterans and kept many
out of the workforce also helping to offset some of these concerns.
Unit 11.1: Post-War Issues and how the
Government responded.
• How did the “Baby Boom” impact the United States
politically, socially, and economically during the 1940s and
1950s? Is it having an impact today?
• Greater disposable income, more leisure time, and a general
expectation of prosperity leads to population increases.
• Between 1945 and 1960 the population increased by 40 million people.
These people would grow up in and live the bulk of their lives amidst
Cold War tensions.
• The “Baby Boom” created distinct demographic changes:
• Demand for housing sparked the growth of the suburbs
• People moved to the warmer climates of the “Sunbelt” from the Carolinas
to Florida and across Texas, Arizona, and California.
• By the 1970s the majority of Americans lived in Suburban neighborhoods.
• Advocates of suburbanization viewed it as the culmination of the American
Dream.
• Critics called it “White Flight” and charged that it contributed to pollution,
segregation , and conformity.
Unit 11.1: Post-War Issues and how the
Government responded.
• In what ways did Suburbanization affect the culture of the United States
in the 1950s? What were some characteristics of 1950s “pop culture”?
• William J. Levitt pioneered the mass production of suburban housing making the
“Levittowns” affordable to Americans returning from war and the collegeeducated middle class.
• The suburbs were made possible by:
• Automobiles
• Highway systems
• Desires to live outside the congestion of the cities
• Low interest mortgages that were protected by the government and tax deductible
• From these “cookie cut” suburbs, especially combined with fears related to the
Cold War, led to an atmosphere of conformity.
• Anyone who stood out was considered a threat (possibly a communist or some kind of
criminal).
• During the Cold War their was comfort in “fitting in”, it gave people of sense of identity
and security.
• It is one of the reasons that the “Baby Boomers” in charge of school systems today are
pushing dress codes so hard.
• The reaction to the conformity and consumerism of the 1950s came in the form of
the Beatnik Movement, a counterculture that originated in the West.
Unit 11.2: The Civil Rights Movement
• What were the origins of the Civil Rights Movement in
America?
• What role did changing demographics and changing
attitudes in the Post-War/Cold War time period affect
the Civil Rights Movement?
• What were some of the important “turning points” in
the Civil Rights Movement and what role did
important leaders play in this struggle?
• What role did the Federal Government play in passing
Civil Rights legislation and handing down important
Court Rulings that affected Civil Rights in America?
Unit 11.2: The Civil Rights Movement
• What were the origins of the Civil Rights Movement in
America?
• 1947: Jackie Robinson is hired by the Brooklyn Dodgers and
becomes the first African American to integrate major
professional sports in America, remember that Baseball is
central to the lives of many Americans.
• 1948: President Truman desegregates the U.S. Military during
the Korean War.
• Despite these advances African Americans still faced
segregation, lynching, and voter disenfranchisement going
into the 1950s.
• The Civil Rights Movement would be driven by the Mass
Movement of African Americans, not just to the North, but to
Southern cities like Montgomery, Memphis, and Atlanta.
Unit 11.2: The Civil Rights Movement
• What role did changing demographics and changing
attitudes in the Post-War/Cold War time period affect
the Civil Rights Movement?
• On the line in the Cold War was the American portrayal of itself
as the epicenter of freedom and democracy in the world, as
opposed to the oppression and dictatorship of the Soviet
Union.
• Racial segregation and discrimination were becoming
obstacles to the image we, as a nation, wanted to present to
the world.
• The advent of the Television Age in the 1950s meant that
images of racial violence and the brutal resistance to civil
disobedience could be witnessed worldwide.
Unit 11.2: The Civil Rights Movement
• What were some of the important “turning points” in the Civil
Rights Movement and what role did important leaders play in this
struggle?
• Desegregation of Public Schools
• May 1954: the United States Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of
Education that public schools should be desegregated “with all deliberate
speed”
• Attorney Thurgood Marshall argued that “segregation of black children in the
public schools was unconstitutional because it violated the Fourteenth
Amendment’s guarantee of “equal protection under the law”.
• Chief Justice Earl Warren ruled that “Separate facilities are inherently unequal”
and unconstitutional.
• States across the South fought the Court’s decision.
• Governor Orval Faubus used the Arkansas National Guard to deny enrollment of nine
African American students (The Little Rock Nine) into Central High School in Little
Rock, Arkansas.
• President Dwight D. Eisenhower used Federal Troops to escort and protect these
students as they enrolled and attended school.
• He, thus, became the first President since Reconstruction to use Federal Troops to
enforce Civil Rights legislation.
Unit 11.2: The Civil Rights Movement
• What were some of the important “turning points” in the
Civil Rights Movement and what role did important leaders
play in this struggle?
• Montgomery Bus Boycott and Creation of the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference (SCLC)
• 1955: Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to leave her seat and move
further to the back of the bus to accommodate white passengers.
• Her arrest sparked a boycott of the Montgomery, Alabama city busses.
• From this successful boycott emerged the inspirational leader of the Civil
Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. Dr. King was inspired by the
philosophies of Gandhi and Henry David Thoreau and pushed an agenda of
non-violet civil disobedience.
• To move his agenda forward Dr. King founded the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference (SCLC) to organize marches and other forms of
protest across the South.
Unit 11.2: The Civil Rights Movement
• What were some of the important “turning points” in the
Civil Rights Movement and what role did important leaders
play in this struggle?
• The Sit-in Movement and the formation of the Student Non-Violent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
• February 1960: College students in Greensboro, NC organized sit-ins at the
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segregated Woolworth’s Lunch Counter.
Students deliberately invited arrest so that television cameras could
witness police brutality against peaceful demonstrators.
Sit-ins and peaceful marches quickly became the major tools of the Civil
Rights Movement
The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee was formed to organize
he student movement.
Still, many African Americans lacked the vote.
Unit 11.2: The Civil Rights Movement
• What were some of the important “turning points” in the
Civil Rights Movement and what role did important leaders
play in this struggle?
• Pushing for suffrage:
• March 1963: Dr. King highlights a massive “March on Washington” with his
famous “I Have A Dream” speech and organizers called on President
Kennedy and Congress to pass and sign into Law a Civil Rights Act
protecting voting rights and desegregating public facilities.
• The Summer of 1964 became known as the Mississippi Summer Project
(Freedom Summer). Civil Rights workers went into Mississippi to organize
and register African American voters.
• One of the great tragedies of Freedom Summer was the murder of three
Civil Rights workers in Mississippi. The trial highlighted the injustice and
oppression faced by African Americans in the South.
• The March on Washington, Freedom Summer, and the Assassination of
President Kennedy led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the
Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the ratification of the Twenty-Fourth
Amendment.
Unit 11.2: The Civil Rights Movement
• What were some of the important “turning points” in the Civil
Rights Movement and what role did important leaders play in this
struggle?
• A more militant approach
• Not everyone believed that Dr. King’s non-violent, civil disobedience-based
approach was effective.
• In the Northern cities racial violence generally related to job competition led to
more militant alternatives for Northern, urban African Americans.
• Malcolm X, the Black Panthers, and the Black Power Movement preached a
message of response to violence with violence, African American control of
African American communities, and a revival of Marcus Garvey’s Black Pride
Campaign.
• Malcolm X converted to Islam in prison and supported racial separation and black
nationalism. Malcolm X began to modify his message moving closer to Dr. King’s
message after a pilgrimage to Mecca but was assassinated by members of the Nation
of Islam, which saw him as a betrayer of their cause.
• The Black Panthers patrolled African American communities advocating a violent
response to police harassment , inequality, and systematic racial subordination. By
1973 the group redirected its focus from armed violence to community development
programs and their leader, Bobby Scale, ran for mayor of Oakland, California.
• These movements drew considerably more support after the assassinations of
Dr. King, Malcolm X, and Stokely Carmichael.
Unit 11.2: The Civil Rights Movement
• What role did the Federal Government play in passing
Civil Rights legislation and handing down important
Court Rulings that affected Civil Rights in America?
Unit 11.2: The Civil Rights Movement
• Other Civil Rights efforts:
• The Women’s Rights Movement:
• 1972: Congress passed Title IX of the Education Amendments: banned sex
discrimination in any federally assisted educational program or activity. The
most noticeable came in women’s athletics.
• 1972: The Equal Rights Amendment was approved by Congress and ratified by
28 States, but ultimately failed to be added to the Constitution.
• Outspoken Conservative opponent Phyllis Schlafly charged that the ERA was an
“attempt by bitter women seeking a constitutional cure for their personal problems”.
She alleged that the ERA would lead to a “Parade of Evils” like women in combat,
same-sex marriage, and broken homes.
• The ERA ultimately died in 1982, three states short of ratification.
• 1973: The Supreme Court struck down prohibitions on abortion in Roe v. Wade
ruling that a woman’s right to an abortion was covered under constitutional
right to privacy.
• Key activists included:
• Betty Friedan: Published The Feminine Mystique urging women to seek higher
education and employment outside the home.
• Gloria Steinem: Published Ms. Magazine and encouraged women to become more
involved in politics.
Unit 11.2: The Civil Rights Movement
• Other Civil Rights efforts:
• Latin Americans:
• By 2003, 39 million Latinos living mostly in the American Southwest
represented a significant minority in the United States.
• Mexican Americans flexed their political muscles by electing Mayors in Miami,
Denver, and San Antonio.
• The United Farm Workers Organizing Committee, led by Cesar Chavez
succeeded in improving wages and working conditions for “stoop laborers”
who followed a cycle of planting and harvesting across the American west.
• Chavez, like Dr. King, used non-violence and civil disobedience to achieve his
aims.
• Native Americans:
• Although 2.4 Million Native Americans lived in the United States, many had left
the reservations and traditional Native life was under threat of extinction.
• Native Americans began organizing to preserve their culture and expose the
horrible standard of living facing many Native Americans in the United States.
• The American Indian Movement (AIM), led by Russell Means, seized
government property and held rallies to call attention to the problems facing
Native Americans.
Unit 11.2: The Civil Rights Movement
• Other Civil Rights efforts:
• The Environmental Movement:
• The Environmentalist Movement was inspired by Rachel Carson’s
publication of Silent Spring in 1962.
• The book was a dire warning about the use of insecticides (such as DDT)
on plant and animal life. She argued that the attempt to kill pests could
result in the destruction of entire ecosystems.
• Major environmental concerns included:
• The Oil spill in Alaska caused by the accident with the oil tanker Exxon Valdez .
• The nuclear power plant disaster at Three Mile Island
• The contamination of an entire community that had been built on top of a toxic
waste dump (Love Canal, New York).
• Numerous cases of companies cutting cost by irresponsibly dumping toxic waste
into our rivers and streams.
• In 1970 the federal government created the Environmental Protection
Agency to set and enforce pollution standards and then passed the Clean
Water Act in 1972.
Unit 11.3: The Conservative Presidencies
of Truman and Eisenhower
• How did President Harry S. Truman
continue the legacy of Franklin D.
Roosevelt?
• What were some key pieces of
legislation passed during Truman’s
administration?
• What were some key pieces of
legislation passed during the
Eisenhower Administration?
Unit 11.3: The Conservative Presidencies
of Truman and Eisenhower
• How did President Harry S. Truman continue the legacy of
Franklin D. Roosevelt?
• President Harry Truman promoted what he called a “Fair Deal” for
America.
• A lot of Truman’s Fair Deal would be blocked by Congressional
Republicans who took over both houses of Congress during the 1946
midterm elections.
• National Health Care
• A sweeping Civil Rights program
• Aid to education
• The pro-business Republican Congress was harsh in regards to the
rights of Labor Unions, once protected by FDR
• Congress passed legislation that banned boycotts, Sympathy Strikes, the
closed shop, and enforced a 60-day “cooling off” period before workers
could strike. Union leaders also had to swear that they were not
communists.
Unit 11.3: The Conservative Presidencies
of Truman and Eisenhower
• What were some key pieces of legislation passed during
Truman’s administration?
• Successes of Truman included:
• Housing Act of 1949: slum clearance and low-rent housing
• Minimum Wage Act of 1949: increased the minimum wage
• Social Security Act of 1950: extended coverage to the self-employed and
retirees were given increased benefits.
• Civil Rights: Truman’s support for Civil Rights caused the formation of the
States’ Rights Party led by South Carolina’s Strom Thurmond.
• Truman created the Committee on Civil Rights and proposed cutting funding to
any government agency that participated in discrimination.
• Segregation in interstate transportation was prohibited
• Lynching would become a federal offense
• Appointed African American Federal Judges
• Desegregation of the United States Military
• Most of this failed to pass in Congress
Unit 11.3: The Conservative Presidencies
of Truman and Eisenhower
• What were some key pieces of legislation passed during
Truman’s administration?
• Civil Rights: Truman’s support for Civil Rights caused the
formation of the States’ Rights Party led by South
Carolina’s Strom Thurmond.
• Truman created the Committee on Civil Rights and
proposed cutting funding to any government agency
that participated in discrimination.
• Segregation in interstate transportation was prohibited
• Lynching would become a federal offense
• Appointed African American Federal Judges
• Desegregation of the United States Military
• Most of this failed to pass in Congress
Unit 11.3: The Conservative Presidencies
of Truman and Eisenhower
• What were some key pieces of legislation passed during
the Eisenhower Administration?
• Dwight D. Eisenhower won the Presidency in 1952 aided by his
status as a war hero and his campaign slogan “time for a
change” (the public had tired of twenty years of Democratic
Presidents).
• Key legislation during Eisenhower’s administration included:
• The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was created as a
Cabinet position.
• The Social Security Act was amended to include state and local
government employees and provided retirees with “cost of living”
increases.
• The National Defense Education Act pushed the Public Education
system to emphasize math and science in effort to produce future
engineers that could compete with the Soviets.
• The National Defense Highway Act led to the construction of massive
Interstate Highway systems (I-95 and I-40 amongst them).
• Most of his presidency would be occupied with Civil Rights
issues (many are detailed in previous slides)
Unit 11.3: The Conservative Presidencies
of Truman and Eisenhower
• What were some key pieces of legislation passed during the
Eisenhower Administration?
• Eisenhower’s record on Civil Rights:
• Brown v. Board of Education overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and directed
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the States to integrate public schools with “all deliberate speed”.
“Ike” sent the U.S. Army to enroll and protect the “Little Rock Nine” in
Arkansas. When the Little Rock School Board went to court to challenge
Eisenhower’s use of federal troops, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the
Brown decision in Cooper v. Aaron.
Rosa Parks’s arrest spawned the Montgomery Bus Boycott and launched a
Civil Rights Movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King. The Supreme Court
ruled that segregation in municipal buses was unconstitutional.
The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was passed in an effort to strengthen African
American voting rights. Any efforts to deny 15th Amendment Rights was
now a Federal Crime.
In response to frequent church bombings (most notably in Birmingham,
Alabama) Congress passed a law making the transportation of explosives
across state lines illegal.
Unit 11.4: The Liberalism of Kennedy and
Johnson
• What were the key components of John
F. Kennedy’s “New Frontier” agenda?
• What circumstances surrounded the
assassination of President Kennedy?
• What important legislation was part of
Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society,
what event caused its failure?
Unit 11.4: The Liberalism of Kennedy and
Johnson
• What were the key components of John F. Kennedy’s “New
Frontier” agenda?
• John F. Kennedy won a very close 1960 Presidential election against
Republican candidate Richard Nixon, which featured the nation’s first
televised Presidential Debate.
• John F. Kennedy sought to continue FDR’s New Deal and expand on
Truman’s Fair Deal programs.
• JFK enlisted the aid of experts (“The Best and the Brightest”) much like
FDR’s “Brain Trust”.
• JFK’s agenda was called the “New Frontier”
• JFK supported formation of the Peace Corps to assist those suffering in
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underdeveloped nations around the world.
JFK began funding NASA with a mission to put a man on the moon and defeat
the Soviets in the Space Race.
The Housing Act of 1961 continued the effort toward “slum clearance”.
The Minimum Wage Act of 1961 raised the minimum wage to $1.25 an hour.
Amendments to the Social Security Act extended coverage to children of
unemployed parents and created a penalty for retirement before 65.
Congress approved a Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
Unit 11.4: The Liberalism of Kennedy and
Johnson
• What were the key components of John F. Kennedy’s “New
Frontier” agenda?
• Kennedy and the Civil Rights Movement:
• JFK authorized his brother Robert Kennedy (U.S. Attorney General) to sue in
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Federal Court to protect African American voting rights.
JFK dispatched Federal Marshals in 1961 to protect the “Freedom Riders” who
were being brutalized as they attempted to desegregate interstate busses.
JFK supported the Voter Education Project, designed to increase voter
registration in the South.
JFK sent Federal Marshals to ensure the registration of Korean War veteran
James Meredith to the University of Mississippi. Riots ensued that resulted in
two deaths. That same year, Medgar Evers (Head of the Mississippi chapter of
the NAACP) was gunned down in front of his home by a white racist.
In 1963 JFK engaged in a famous showdown with Alabama Governor George
Wallace during which JFK nationalized the Alabama National Guard and
ordered the integration of the University of Alabama.
JFK gave much needed support to the activities of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
and pushed Congress toward a greater Civil Rights program.
Unfortunately, JFK was assassinated in November 1963 before much of his
agenda could be realized.
Unit 11.4: The Liberalism of Kennedy and
Johnson
• What circumstances surrounded the assassination of President
Kennedy?
• November 22, 1963: President Kennedy is shot by a concealed assassin
while driving through Downtown Dallas, Texas in an open-topped
limousine. The assassin was Lee Harvey Oswald.
• Days later, Lee Harvey Oswald was murdered on national television by
Jack Ruby, Kennedy’s self-appointed avenger.
• The Warren Commission conducts an in-depth investigation and declares
that Oswald had acted alone in the assassination, but conspiracy
theories have lingered ever since.
• Cut down after only 1000 days in office, President Kennedy’s vigor,
charisma, and idealism made him the hero of an entire generation during
the 1960s (including future President Bill Clinton).
• JFK had asked Americans to “ask not what your country can do for you, but
what you can do for your country”, he supported foreign and domestic aid
organizations like the Peace Corps, and he donated his entire Presidential
salary to charity.
• In more recent times, allegations about womanizing and links to members of
organized crime have tarnished, but not destroyed, JFK’s image and further
stimulated the conspiracy theorists obsessed with his premature death.
Unit 11.4: The Liberalism of Kennedy and
Johnson
• What important legislation was part of Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great
Society, what event caused its failure?
• Lyndon B. Johnson’s domestic agenda was focused on a war on poverty, disease,
inadequate education, racial injustice, and desires to improve the lives of millions
experiencing hardship in America.
• LBJ’s “Great Society” included:
• The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964: Created Job Corps to provide vocational training
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and educational opportunities for underprivileged youth.
The Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965: provided $1 Billion in aid to povertystricken regions in the Appalachian Mountains.
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965: provided aid to public and parochial
schools.
Medicare Act of 1965: Extended Social Security to cover nursing and hospital care for the
elderly. Later Medicaid would extend the same type of coverage to underprivileged
families.
LBJ created the Department of Transportation to oversee and coordinate national
transportation policies.
The Twenty-Fifth Amendment established that the Vice President would take over duties as
President in the event the President died in office or could no longer perform his duties as
President.
The Downfall of the Great Society resulted mainly from a lack of funding and deteriorating
faith in LBJ as the War in Vietnam droned on and on and on. LBJ shocked the nation when
he declared he would not seek reelection in 1968, he had been destroyed (politically) by
Vietnam.
Unit 11.4: The Liberalism of Kennedy and
Johnson
• What important legislation was part of Lyndon B.
Johnson’s Great Society, what event caused its
failure?
• LBJ and the Civil Rights Movement:
• LBJ appointed Robert Weaver as the first African American
Cabinet official (head of the newly formed Department of Housing
and Urban Development – HUD).
• The Twenty-Fourth Amendment eliminated the poll tax as a
qualifier for voter registration.
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964: Desegregated all public facilities and
denied federal funding to any state that failed to comply with antisegregation laws.
• The Voting Rights Act of 1965: Eliminated the Literacy Test as a
qualifier for voter registration and gave the Executive Branch
jurisdiction over enforcement of the Fifteenth Amendment.
Unit 11.5: The Nixon, Ford, and Carter
Administrations create disillusionment
• What were the major events related to
the Nixon Presidency?
• How did Gerald Ford’s handling of the
Nixon scandal and issues related to
inflation cause the nation to look to a
“Washington outsider” in 1976?
• Why did the issues related to Iran and
the economy overshadow diplomatic
victories and cost Jimmy Carter reelection?
Unit 11.5: The Nixon, Ford, and Carter
Administrations create disillusionment
• What were the major events related to the Nixon Presidency?
• Richard M. Nixon was elected in 1968 with only 43.3% of the popular vote on the
backs of what he called the “silent majority” (White, Middle Class Americans who
opposed demonstrations [anti-war or civil rights related], opposed “big
government”, and rejected the nation’s social and cultural direction).
• Nixon’s election was driven by his promise to end the Vietnam War honorably and
his vow to return “law and order” to the nation. His most pressing domestic
problem was rising inflation caused by the Vietnam War and LBJ’s Great Society
programs.
• Nixon tried to deal with inflation by cutting taxes and reducing government spending, but
that only worsened the economic situation.
• The conservative Nixon then turned to the Keynesian Model and began a policy of deficit
spending.
• In 1971 Nixon took the U.S. Dollar officially off the “Gold Standard” to make U.S. products
more affordable in foreign markets and the economy improved.
• Domestic achievements associated with the Nixon Presidency:
• The Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the Constitution lowered the voting age to 18 in response
the cry of “old enough to fight, too young to vote”.
• The United States won the “Space Race” when Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon, the
culmination of the Apollo 11 mission.
• Nixon ended the war in Vietnam, but not after controversy related to the invasion of
neutrals Laos and Cambodia.
• OPEC embargoed U.S. Oil supplies in response to our support of Israel in the 1967 Six Day
War.
Unit 11.5: The Nixon, Ford, and Carter
Administrations create disillusionment
• What were the major events related to the Nixon Presidency?
• The Watergate Scandal consumes Nixon’s Presidency
• Ironically enough, Nixon’s re-election Committee’s acronym was CREEP and his advisors
were willing to do anything to get President Nixon re-elected.
• The Nixon administration authorized burglars (known as the Plumbers) to break into the
Democratic National Headquarters looking for information they could use against
opponents in the 1972 election.
• Although the White House denied connection to the Plumbers, two Washington Post
reporters (Woodward and Bernstein) uncovered massive wrong-doing associated with
Nixon and his advisors. Using an anonymous source (later revealed to be the head of the
FBI) they cited that the White House had:
• Obviously the break-in and subsequent cover-up
• The use of independent government agencies to carry out their “dirty work” (FBI and IRS
specifically)
• The creation of an “enemies list” that would then face harassment by the White House.
• When it was discovered that Nixon habitually tape-recorded Oval Office Meetings, the
Justice Department and the Senate demanded that the tapes be turned over for review.
• Nixon cited “Executive Privilege” and initially refused to turn over the tapes.
• He then relented and turned over extensively edited copies of the tapes.
• The Justice Department sued and in the case of United States v. Nixon the Supreme Court
ordered the unedited tapes turned over the Senate.
• The tapes exposed the crimes and cover=ups.
• Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned and was replaced by Gerald Ford
• Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, the first President to resign the office.
• The public’s perception of the Presidency was deeply shaken.
Unit 11.5: The Nixon, Ford, and Carter
Administrations create disillusionment
• What were the major events related to the Nixon
Presidency?
• Nixon’s record on Civil Rights:
• Nixon, realizing that much of his support had come from Southern
Whites, did everything he could do to slow down integration.
• Nixon nominated to pro-business, conservative Justices for the
Supreme Court but both failed confirmation in the Senate.
• Nixon took steps to “reform” welfare programs, but again was
denied by Congress.
• Any many ways Richard Nixon’s Presidency is reminiscent of that
of Warren G. Harding with its promise of a “Return to Normalcy”
and rampant corruption.
Unit 11.5: The Nixon, Ford, and Carter
Administrations create disillusionment
• How did Gerald Ford’s handling of the Nixon scandal and issues
related to inflation cause the nation to look to a “Washington
outsider” in 1976?
• In order to maintain tranquility in the government, Gerald Ford maintained
many of Nixon’s policies and retained most of his Cabinet.
• One month into his Presidency, Ford outraged the public by pardoning
Nixon for his crimes related to Watergate.
• Ford’s presidency was plagued by rising inflation and, consequently,
rising unemployment.
• His economic policies were centered around cutting government spending on
welfare and education, high taxes on imported oil, and tax cuts to stimulate
consumer demand.
• To ramp up support for his economic agenda he issued WIN (Whip Inflation
Now) buttons to business leaders and the American public.
• Inflation rose steadily, Unemployment rose steadily, and the National Deficit
rose steadily.
• Ford would be narrowly defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1976.
Unit 11.5: The Nixon, Ford, and Carter
Administrations create disillusionment
• Why did the issues related to Iran and the economy overshadow
diplomatic victories and cost Jimmy Carter re-election?
• Jimmy Carter benefited from his status as a “Washington Outsider” with
no connections to the scandals of the Nixon and Ford Administrations.
• Carter immediately became controversial by pardoning the “Draft
Dodgers” from the Vietnam War.
• Key legislation associated with Carter included:
• The minimum wage was once again increased
• The Social Security Payroll tax was increased
• The Department of Energy was developed to search for alternatives to Middle
Eastern Oil.
• The Department of Education was created.
• The most important success of the Carter Administration was the
mediation of a temporary peace settlement between Egypt and Israel (The
Camp David Accords).
• An OPEC Oil Embargo, the botched handling of the Iran Hostage Crisis,
and an economic recession ultimately caused Jimmy Carter to lose his
re-election campaign by landslide to Republican Ronald Reagan.
Unit 11.6: The Reagan Revolution
• What issues resonated with the American
Public leading to the election of Ronald
Reagan in 1980?
• How did the Reagan Administration use tax
cuts and deep government spending cuts to
shape the nation’s economy in the 1980s?
• What were the long-term ramifications of
“Reaganomics” for the nation? How would
these effects make Reagan’s successor
George H.W. Bush like Jimmy Carter?
Unit 11.6: The Reagan Revolution
• What issues resonated with the American Public
leading to the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980?
• Ronald Reagan was an unabashed Conservative, openly
criticizing the New Deal and the Great Society (keystones of
Liberalism in the twentieth century).
• Reagan leaned on the Religious Right (the Moral Majority) for
his voter base. His commitment to traditional family values,
opposition to abortion and affirmative action, and his tough
views on the Soviet Union and Cold War appealed to many
Americans.
• Reagan started by redefining the Supreme Court through the
appointment of Conservative Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony
Kennedy, and Sandra Day O’Conner (first woman to serve on
the Court). The new Conservative Court swiftly placed limits
on abortion rights and Affirmative Action programs.
Unit 11.6: The Reagan Revolution
• How did the Reagan Administration use tax cuts and deep
government spending cuts to shape the nation’s economy in the
1980s?
• Reagan immediately froze the number of workers on the Federal payroll.
• Congress passed tax cuts for individuals and corporations.
• Government funding for social programs like student loans and mass
transportation were severely cut, Welfare-related programs like Food
Stamps were cut, and although Medicare was not touched the age for
receiving Social Security benefits was raised.
• Reagan attempted to end the Departments of Education and Energy.
• Reagan tried to ease the cost of doing business and increase capital
investment by:
• Removing restrictions on takeovers and mergers
• Removing environmental standards that drove up the cost of doing business
• Removing restrictions on the Savings-and-Loan industry, meanwhile the
government increased the federal government’s depositors’ insurance from
$20,000 to $100,000. Bad loans, speculation, and scams precipitated a $200
Billion bailout of the Savings and Loan Industry that would have to be paid for
by the taxpayers.
Unit 11.6: The Reagan Revolution
• What were the long-term ramifications of “Reaganomics” for the
nation? How would these effects make Reagan’s successor
George H.W. Bush like Jimmy Carter?
• The biggest economic problem that Ronald Reagan had to confront was
•
•
•
•
the ever-growing deficit (created on his part by his tax cuts and increased
defense spending).
His answer was Supply-Side Economics (called “Reaganomics” by his
supporters and “Trickle-Down Economics” by his critics).
The basis of Supply-Side Economics was tax cuts for Corporations would
lead to increased capital investment, which would then lead to increased
economic opportunities for the Middle Class and improvements for those
at the lower levels of the economy (a revival of the Mellon Tax Plan). In
essence, when the wealthy make more money, their wealth trickles down
to everyone else.
The problem, not for Reagan but his successor George H.W. Bush, was
that the Middle Class’s real wages did not increase during the 1980s and
Reagan’s cuts to domestic programs were offset by rampant spending on
defense aimed at crushing the Soviet Union.
Much like Andrew Jackson, Reagan’s problems would be blamed on his
successor, while he would go off into history as the ultimate Cold Warrior
who had broken our greatest enemy and restored American patriotism.
Practice Question #1
1. President Reagan’s nomination of Justices Scalia,
O’Conner, and Kennedy to the Supreme Court:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Was warmly supported by Democrats in Congress
Failed to win the approval of the Senate
Revealed his attempt to make the Supreme Court more
conservative
Indicated to many Americans his moderate stance on
constitutional issues
Ultimately backfired, as the three justices were far more liberal
than Reagan had anticipated
Practice Question #2
2. A stimulus to post-war prosperity was:
A. The spending habits of Americans as more consumer goods
became available
B. The significant cuts in the military budget made by Presidents
Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy
C. The purchasing power of millions of women who entered the
work force at war’s end
D. The elimination of the income tax
E. The elimination of foreign competition in most industries
Practice Question #3
3. Which U.S. President is associated with the Fair Deal?
A. Franklin Roosevelt
B. Harry Truman
C. Dwight D. Eisenhower
D. John F. Kennedy
E. Lyndon B. Johnson
Practice Question #4
4. The Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade dealt with:
A. Voting rights
B. Environmental protection laws
C. Reproductive rights
D. Social Security Benefits
E. Federal funding for welfare programs
Practice Question #5
5. In the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education
of Topeka, Kansas:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
The Court reaffirmed the Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896
The Court affirmed voting rights of all citizens in accordance with
the Fifteenth Amendment
African American’s were outraged by the Court’s support for
segregation
Segregation was ruled unconstitutional
The Court ruled that the Federal Government was not
responsible for integrating facilities and institutions
Practice Question #6
6. The National Defense Education Act:
A. Was passed during the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson
B. Was designed in response to Soviet advances in aeronautics
C. Significantly increased the federal aid to military research
programs
D. Gave the president the power to declare war without Congress’s
approval when the nation is being threatened with attack
E. Appropriated billions of dollars for developing peaceful uses for
nuclear energy
Practice Question #7
7. The Taft-Hartley Act:
A. Helped fund the construction of schools and hospitals in
economically depressed areas.
B. Provided billions in federal aid to communities faced with serious
environmental problems
C. Helped to fund the Medicare Program
D. Was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on the grounds
that the federal government could withhold funds from states that
refused to integrate
E. Placed serious restrictions on the rights and powers of labor
unions
Practice Question #8
8. In which of the following events did the Reverend Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. play a significant role?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
The integration of the University of Alabama
The integration of the University of Mississippi
The Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott
Ending segregation in the military
The formation of the Black Panthers
Practice Question #9
9. Which post-war President is most associated with
business deregulation?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Harry Truman
Dwight Eisenhower
Gerald Ford
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
Practice Question #10
10. Which of the following was not associated with Lyndon
B. Johnson’s Presidency?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
The Medicare Act
Appalachian Regional Development Act
Voting Rights Act
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment
Supply-Side Economics
Answer Key
1. C
2. A
3. B
4. C
5. D
6. B
7. E
8. C
9. E
10. E
Unit 11: Focus on while reading
• The tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Union that
•
•
•
•
•
created the Cold War
The policy of Containment with emphasis on the Marshall
Plan, Truman Doctrine, and formation of NATO.
The impact of McCarthyism on the American public and
the assault on immigrants, universities, and the film
industry.
Successes and Failures in the attempt to contain the
spread of Communism
Issues related to the Vietnam War and its impact on the
American public.
Events that lead to the collapse of the Soviet Union and
the end of the Cold War.
Unit 11: Introduction to Foreign Policy
issues related to the Cold War.
• After the surrender of Japan the world was relieved to know
that the war was over and that people everywhere could begin
to put their lives and civilizations back together.
• After suffering through the worst economic disaster in world
history and the worst military conflict in world history the people
of the world needed a break from war and suffering.
• However, almost without pause the world transitioned from
World War II into the Cold War (a war of ideologies between
the U.S. and Soviet Union, a global “tug-of-war” over which
system would dominate world affairs: Communism vs.
Capitalism).
• Although many hoped that the newly created United Nations
could serve as a mediating force between the struggling
Superpowers, the world was in for 45 years of conflict.
Unit 11.7: The Cold War in Europe, Latin
America, and Asia.
• What were the key Soviet and U.S. Post-War
objectives and priorities?
• What were the major Cold War events that
shaped the development of Europe in the
Post-War years?
• What were the major Cold War events that
shaped the development of Latin America in
the Post-War years?
• What were the major Cold War events that
shaped the development of Asia in the PostWar years?
Unit 11.7: The Cold War in Europe, Latin
America, and Asia.
• What were the key Soviet and U.S. Post-War objectives and priorities?
• The Soviet Union
• The Soviets’ main goals were related to economic rehabilitation and building up their
military.
• The Soviets demanded payment of $20 Billion in reparations and were promised loans by
the United States for reconstruction.
• The Soviet desire to stay on par with the U.S. militarily resulted in a nuclear arms race that
would become characteristic of the Cold War.
• In order to prevent future invasions the U.S.S.R. formed a buffer zone of communist
puppet states called the Soviet Bloc in Eastern Europe.
• The United States
• The main priorities of the United States centered around the reconstruction of Europe and
securing cheap energy sources.
• In 1953 the U.S. backed the overthrow of the government of Iran and installed Shah Reza
Pahlavi, who promptly supplied the west with inexpensive oil.
• Reconstruction of Europe was important because: it would allow them to repay war debts,
a stable European economy would become an importer of American products, and a stable
Europe was less likely to fall under the influence of communism.
• The U.S. would achieve military superiority through nuclear monopoly, later nuclear
superiority.
• Rather than the failed policies of appeasement used to contain the spread of fascism, the
U.S. would practice a policy of containment with relation to stopping the spread of
communism.
Unit 11.7: The Cold War in Europe, Latin
America, and Asia.
• What were the major Cold War events that shaped the development of
Europe in the Post-War years?
• The first major Cold War conflict came in Poland and the other Eastern European
states.
• The Soviets had promised to enter the war in the Pacific and to allow free elections in Eastern
Europe after the war.
• The Soviets waited until after the first bomb was dropped on Japan to declare war and then
installed pro-Soviet Communist governments in Eastern Europe (The Soviet Bloc).
• Winston Churchill proclaimed that an “iron curtain” had been drawn across the continent.
• The Soviet refusal to remove troops from oil-rich Northern Iran convinced the west that
the Soviets had interests in more than just Eastern Europe.
• Soviet actions in Iran convinced President Truman that a tougher stance against the Soviets was
necessary.
• The United States joined an Alliance with Western Europe (NATO) for means of collective security
in checking Soviet Aggression.
• The Soviets responded by forming the Warsaw Pact.
• This was a sort of Justice League vs. Legion of Doom scenario.
• American diplomat and specialist on Russia George Kennan warned the world that the
Soviets would spread their communist doctrine if left unchecked, but could be
“contained” if challenged. Kennan’s philosophy of containment would drive American
and Western foreign policy for the next 20 years.
• The U.S. could exploit the weakness of the Soviet economy to check its expansionist activities.
• It was unrealistic and fanciful to expect a thaw in U.S./Soviet relations.
• Soviet distrust of the outside world bordered on paranoia
Unit 11.7: The Cold War in Europe, Latin
America, and Asia.
• What were the major Cold War events that shaped the
development of Europe in the Post-War years?
• Major events related to the policy of Containment:
• The Truman Doctrine
• Truman got Congressional approval for a $400 million aid package to Greece and
Turkey to prevent communist revolutions in those countries.
• Truman then pledged the U.S. to support any nation threatened by communist
revolution (although we did not follow through in Hungary).
• The Marshall Plan
• Secretary of State George Marshall proposed the European Recovery Plan (Marshall
Plan) to provide $12 Billion in aid to twenty European nations including the Soviet
Union (which rejected the funds).
• Economic recovery was the first line of defense against the spread of communism.
• The Berlin Blockade
• Berlin was split after WWII just as Germany itself had been and lay deep inside
Communist East Germany.
• The Soviets cut off all access roads and rail lines into West Berlin hoping starvation
would cause the West Berliners to consolidate into one communist Berlin.
• The U.S. and Great Britain launched a massive airlift of supplies and the blockade was
lifted in May 1949. The Soviets responded by building the Berlin Wall and tensions
between the superpowers escalated.
Unit 11.7: The Cold War in Europe, Latin
America, and Asia.
• What were the major Cold War events that shaped the development of
Europe in the Post-War years?
• Rollback, Brinksmanship, and steadily rising tension:
• When Dwight D. Eisenhower became President he appointed John Foster Dulles as his
Secretary of State.
• Dulles saw communism as a “moral evil” that need to be rolled back, not merely
contained.
• Dulles based his approach to dealing with the Soviets on “Brinksmanship” and “Massive
Retaliation”.
• Dulles argued that the Soviets could be taken to the “brink” of war and that they would back
down (some sort of colossal game of chicken).
• Further he advocated the construction of a massive stockpile of nuclear weapons to deter the
Soviets from challenging the United States.
• Despite these policies both the U.S. and Soviet Union seemed willing at last to ease
tensions and thaw their relationship.
• A first Summit meeting between the two superpowers was held in 1956, but little was
accomplished.
• New Soviet Premier Khrushchev repudiated his predecessor Josef Stalin and some Soviet
Bloc nations took that as a sign that they should reform. Hungary and, later, Czechoslovakia
rebelled against their communist governments, but the rebellions were crushed by the Soviet
Union with little opposition from the U.S..
• The failures of the U.S. to respond to the conditions in Hungary and Czechoslovakia
proved the limitations of Brinksmanship and Massive Retaliation.
• Where these policies had some merit, in reality who is going to launch a nuclear war to
prevent the reinstatement of a communist regime in some podunk European nation.
Unit 11.7: The Cold War in Europe, Latin
America, and Asia.
• What were the major Cold War events that shaped the
development of Europe in the Post-War years?
• Rollback, Brinksmanship, and steadily rising tension:
• Following the setbacks in Eastern Europe, the Soviets successfully launched
•
•
•
•
Sputnik into orbit raising suspicions that U.S. technological superiority may be
suspect.
Khrushchev took the opportunity to exploit American failure and demand that
the western influences vacate Berlin.
Eisenhower called for another summit, but it never materialized after an
American U-2 spy plane was shot down over Soviet airspace.
The U.S. responded by strengthening NATO and the Soviets responded by
building the Berlin Wall, which would become the symbol of Soviet oppression
in Europe.
Despite the tensions a series of nuclear arms treaties would be signed between
the U.S., Soviets, and British.
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Limited Test Ban Treaty in 1963
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1968
SALT I from 1969 to 1972
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 1972
START initiated in 1982
INF Treaty in 1987
Unit 11.7: The Cold War in Europe, Latin
America, and Asia.
• What were the major Cold War events that shaped the development of Latin
America in the Post-War years?
• 1949: The U.S. helped create the Organization of American States (OAS) to help deal
•
•
•
•
•
•
with many of the economic conditions challenging Latin America.
1954: The U.S. Government and CIA backed a revolution in Guatemala after the
government seized the land of American banana plantation owners. The pro-U.S.
military regime became symbolic of “American Imperialism” in Latin America.
1959: On a visit to South America, Vice President Richard Nixon’s car was attacked by
angry anti-U.S. demonstrators. This showed the deteriorating relationship between the
U.S. and many Latin American nations.
1959: Fidel Castro established a communist regime in Cuba and began forming ties
with the Soviet Union. President Kennedy responded by cutting diplomatic relations
with Cuba and enforcing a trade embargo.
1961: JFK approved an ill-fated plan to train Cuban refugees to launch an invasion and
overthrow Castro (The Bay of Pigs Invasion). The failure led Castro to allow the Soviets
to begin building nuclear missile facilities in Cuba in case a full-blown U.S. military
action was in the future.
1962: U.S. spy planes took photographs of Soviet Missile facilities in Cuba and
Kennedy ordered a Naval Quarantine to keep Soviet missiles out of Cuba. The Cuban
Missile Crisis was the closest the U.S. and Soviet came to actual nuclear war during the
Cold War.
1965: LBJ sent troops into the Dominican Republic to prevent a leftist regime from
coming to power.
Unit 11.7: The Cold War in Europe, Latin
America, and Asia.
• What were the major Cold War events that shaped the
development of Latin America in the Post-War years?
• 1973: President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
backed the overthrow of a democratically elected government in Chile
and replaced it with a military dictatorship because they saw the previous
government’s Marxist rhetoric as a threat to U.S. interests in Latin
America.
• 1979: The Communist Sandinistas government seized power in
Nicaragua. The Reagan administration ordered the CIA to conduct
missions to destabilize the country and funneled millions of dollars in aid
to the Contras (a rebel group operating in Nicaragua) despite a specific
ban on such aid by Congress. The scandal became known as the IranContra Scandal because much of the money sent to the Contras came
from weapons sales to Iran that resulted in the release of American
hostages.
• 1983: President Reagan sent U.S. Marines into Grenada to liberate
American hostages and overthrow a pro-Cuban regime.
• 1989: President George H.W. Bush authorized an invasion of Panama and
the arrest of President Manuel Noriega for drug trafficking.
Unit 11.7: The Cold War in Europe, Latin
America, and Asia.
• What were the major Cold War events that shaped the
development of Asia in the Post-War years?
• Success in containing Communism in Europe and Latin America did not
translate to Asia during this Cold War period.
• The Chinese Civil War began prior to World War II.
• Communist Guerillas led by Mao Zedong were fighting Chiang Kai-Shek’s
•
•
•
•
•
•
Nationalist government, but put differences aside to fight the Japanese once
Japan invaded China in 1937.
In 1945 the two sides resumed hostilities.
The Truman Administration sent $2 Billion in aid to Chiang Kai-Shek’s
government. Despite U.S. assistance Chiang Kai-Shek’s nationalists were
forced to flee China in 1949 to Taiwan (Formosa).
Critics of the Truman Administration began asking “who lost China?” and
making accusations that communists had infiltrated the State Department and
caused the loss of China to the Communists.
The U.S. refused to recognize the Communist government of Red China and
Nationalist China retained the permanent seat on the UN Security Council
despite Soviet protests.
1971: President Nixon officially recognized Red China on a surprise trip to
China.
Today tensions are still high between Communist China and Taiwan.
Unit 11.7: The Cold War in Europe, Latin
America, and Asia.
• What were the major Cold War events that shaped the development of
Asia in the Post-War years?
• Success in containing Communism in Europe and Latin America did not translate
to Asia during this Cold War period.
• After World War II Korea was divided along the 38th Parallel between Communist North
•
•
•
•
•
•
Korea and Pro-U.S. South Korea.
Both North and South Korea desired reunification, but on their terms.
June 1950: The Army of North Korea invades South Korea and pushes deep down the
Korean Peninsula. President Truman responded by sending U.S. forces stationed in Japan
to South Korea and petitioning the UN to condemn the invasion and send a
“peacekeeping” force to assist South Korea. The Soviets would have vetoed such a
measure but they were boycotting the UN over the U.S. veto of Red China entering the
body.
South Korean and U.S. forces were initially driven into the Southwest corner of the
Peninsula (The Pusan Perimeter). General Douglas MacArthur then launched a daring
assault on the City of Inchon driving the North Koreans back across the 38 th parallel.
Seeing an opportunity to “roll back” communism in Korea, Truman ordered MacArthur to
invade North Korea despite warnings from China that they would enter the conflict.
November 1950: 500,000 “Screaming Chinamen” crossed the Yalu River and drove UN
forces back south of the 38th parallel. MacArthur was then removed by Truman after he
publicly advocated the use of nuclear weapons against China.
1953: the two sides agreed to a cease-fire and the U.S. had successfully contained
communism in Korea by use of limited war, but had failed to roll back communism in the
region.
Unit 11.7: The Cold War in Europe, Latin
America, and Asia.
• What were the major Cold War events that shaped the development of
Asia in the Post-War years?
• Success in containing Communism in Europe and Latin America did not translate
to Asia during this Cold War period.
• The War in Vietnam stemmed from a failed attempt by France to reclaim its colonial
•
•
•
•
possessions in Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos).
After WWII, Ho Chi Minh (leader of the Vietnamese Independence Movement – Vietminh)
petitioned the U.S. and the UN for recognition and assistance in gaining nationhood for
Vietnam, but he received much more support from China and the Soviet Union.
The U.S. sent aid to the French, but French forces were defeated by the Vietminh at the
Battle of Dien Bien Phu. Fearing the fulfillment of the “Domino Theory” (once one nation
in Southeast Asia fell to Communism the rest would follow, culminating with India – a
major U.S. Ally) the U.S. stepped in to fill the void left by French withdrawal and supported
the government of South Vietnam.
1954 Geneva Convention: Indochina was granted independence, but Vietnam was divided
at the 17th parallel (much like Korea had been). Ho Chi Minh became the leader of
communist North Vietnam and Ngo Dinh Diem became the ruler of South Vietnam. Diem’s
brutal tactics and refusal to participate in the election of 1956 resulted in a coup by his
generals and his subsequent assassination. Diem was particularly brutal towards South
Vietnam’s Buddhist population.
1962: Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev made the prophetic statement that “the U.S. had
stumbled into a bog in South Vietnam and would be mired there for many years”.
Unit 11.7: The Cold War in Europe, Latin
America, and Asia.
• What were the major Cold War events that shaped the development of Asia
in the Post-War years?
• Success in containing Communism in Europe and Latin America did not translate to Asia during this
Cold War period.
• 1964: Responding to “attacks” on the U.S.S. Maddox, Congress passed the Tonkin Gulf
Resolutions giving LBJ a “blank check” to wage war in Vietnam.
• 1965-1968: U.S. troop involvement escalated from 200,000 to 500,000.
• Operation Rolling Thunder (a massive bombing campaign against North Vietnam) and the
Search-and-Destroy missions launched in the Vietnamese countryside slowly-but-surely eroded
support for the war at home in the U.S. and a substantial Anti-War Movement became more and
more aggressive in its opposition to the war. Three events became the centerpiece of the AntiWar Movement:
• The Tet Offensive caused Americans to lose faith that an end to the war was anywhere in the
near future.
• The My Lai Massacre caused Americans to question to true motivations for U.S. actions in
Vietnam.
• The Kent State Riot demonstrated how disconnected the U.S. Government was with its
people.
• 1968: Richard Nixon was elected President promising a “secret plan” to end the war in Vietnam.
His plan was called “Vietnamization” and proposed to turn the war over to South Vietnam while
gradually withdrawing American forces.
• January 1973: an agreement for a cease-fire was reached and U.S. troops began withdrawing
from Vietnam. In 1975 the North Vietnamese overran Saigon (Capitol of South Vietnam and
reunified a communist Vietnam).
• 1973: Congress passed the War Powers Act severely limiting the Presidents power to wage war
without Congressional consent.
Unit 11.8: The Second Red Scare and
McCarthyism
• What were the origins of McCarthyism in
the United States?
• What role did federal legislation and
government agencies play in the further
development of McCarthyism?
• Who were some of the most important
victims of McCarthyism?
• What events ultimately led to the end of
McCarthyism in the United States?
Unit 11.8: The Second Red Scare and
McCarthyism
• What were the origins of McCarthyism in the United States?
• There were suspicions of Communists infiltrating the U.S. government
as early as World War II. In 1947 Republicans pressured President
Truman to create the Loyalty Review board and begin investigating
current and prospective government employees for ties to radical
political groups.
• The Loss of China in 1949 caused further suspicions that communists
in the State Department had caused us to provide inadequate
assistance to one of our most valuable allies in Asia.
• Various spy cases (Klaus Fuchs, Alger Hiss, Julius and Ethel
Rosenberg) caused Americans to question whether there were more
infiltrators in key government positions.
• Senator Joseph McCarthy seized on the anti-communist sentiment as
a re-election issue and proclaimed to have a list of Communists
operating within the State Department.
Unit 11.8: The Second Red Scare and
McCarthyism
• What role did federal legislation and government agencies play in
the further development of McCarthyism?
• The McCarren Internal Security Act made any action that could lead to the
•
•
•
•
overthrow of the U.S. government illegal.
The Smith Act made it illegal to belong to any group that advocated the
overthrow of the U.S. government.
Joseph McCarthy’s most effective tool in the “witch hunt” for
communists in the government, Hollywood, and the University System
was HUAC (The House Un-American Activities Committee) initially
established during WWII.
McCarthy made wild accusations (once implicating former Army Chief of
Staff and Secretary of State George Marshall in a communist plot),
badgered witnesses, and falsified evidence to bully political enemies of
the Republican Party.
An accusation from McCarthy that you were “soft” on communism could
be the end of your political career, therefore many Democrats, and
Republicans, silenced criticism of McCarthy. Even Dwight D. Eisenhower
refused to support George Marshall during that ridiculous episode.
Unit 11.8: The Second Red Scare and
McCarthyism
• Who were some of the most important victims of McCarthyism?
• Most of McCarthy’s attacks were launched against Hollywood, the
University System, and the Democrat Party (those he considered his
political or ideological enemies).
• One of the most notable cases was that of the Hollywood 10, a group of
directors and studio officials called before Congress to “name names” of
communists working in the film industry. When these men refused to
testify they were put in jail for contempt of Congress and Blacklisted by
the Hollywood Studios.
• Jackie Robinson was called before HUAC to testify about Paul Robeson
(famous from the Harlem Renaissance and an advocate of communism)
and the willingness of African Americans to participate in the struggle
against Communism. Robinson condemned Robeson’s support for
communism, but then took the opportunity to condemn segregation in
the United States.
• Because many of his attacks were directed at Democrats or supporters of
the Democratic Party, many of McCarthy’s Republican colleagues refused
to speak out against him. The exceptions were Senators Margaret Chase
Smith and Ralph Flanders.
Unit 11.8: The Second Red Scare and
McCarthyism
• What events ultimately led to the end of
McCarthyism in the United States?
• Another major case involved McCarthy’s accusation that
communists were infiltrating the U.S. Army.
• Dwight D. Eisenhower “allowed” McCarthy to televise the
HUAC hearings related to this matter and the public was finally
able to witness McCarthy’s “witch hunt” tactics for
themselves.
• When McCarthy’s support weakened after the televised Army
Hearings, his opponents took the opportunity to vote in the
Senate to censure him. He did not lose his seat, but he could
no longer propose or vote on legislation.
Unit 11.9: Transitioning from Carter to
Reagan and reinvigorating the Cold War
• What was the major emphasis of Jimmy
Carter’s foreign policy from 1976 to
1980?
• Why was Carter viewed as “soft” on
communism and what problems did the
at create in the American psyche?
• Why is Ronald Reagan considered by
many to be the greatest of the “Cold
Warriors”?
Unit 11.9: Transitioning from Carter to
Reagan and reinvigorating the Cold War
• What was the major emphasis of Jimmy Carter’s foreign policy
from 1976 to 1980?
• Carter shifted American foreign policy to one centered more on morality
and human rights with special emphasis on the Third World.
• Carter believed that U.S. support for anti-Communist dictatorships went
against basic American principles of democracy and liberty.
• Key diplomatic events included:
• Negotiating a treaty that would turn over control of the Panama Canal to
Panama in 2000
• After the Leftist Sandinistas took over Nicaragua, Carter sent aid to Right-wing
government in El Salvador that used death squads to purge political enemies.
Clearly he did not want another Leftist regime to emerge in the region.
• Carter boycotted the 1980 Olympics in protest of the Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan. He also supplied rebel groups with weapons and supplies.
• Islamic Fundamentalists in Iran deposed the Shah Pahlavi in 1979 and took
American Embassy Officials hostage. The hostages were held for 444 days
before being released. The futility of the Carter Administration to do anything
about the situation doomed his reelection prospects.
Unit 11.9: Transitioning from Carter to
Reagan and reinvigorating the Cold War
• Why was Carter viewed as “soft” on communism and what
problems did that create in the American psyche?
• In the views of Ronald Reagan and many other
Conservatives, Carter had failed to protect American
interests, the prestige of the United States, or the morale
of our citizens.
• To many Conservatives Carter had misplaced the focus of
American foreign policy. Carter believed that poverty and
political repression was to blame for the instability in Latin
America.
• Ronald Reagan refocused American attention on the Evil
Empire (Soviet Union) and began a foreign policy similar
to the Roosevelt Corollary, where the U.S. would act as an
anti-communist international police force.
Unit 11.9: Transitioning from Carter to
Reagan and reinvigorating the Cold War
• Why is Ronald Reagan considered by many to be the greatest of
the “Cold Warriors”?
• One of Reagan’s first acts was to denounce SALT II and take a “hard line”
approach to dealing with the Soviet Union. If Carter was “soft” on the
Soviets, Reagan would crush them.
• Reagan initiated massive defense spending programs meant to escalate
the arms race and destroy the Soviet economy.
• The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI or “Star Wars”): This was a missile defense
system that deployed satellites that would use lasers to shoot down enemy
missiles fired at the U.S. (if successful this would give the U.S. “first strike”
capability and greater leverage in negotiations with the Soviets.
• The B-1 Supersonic Bomber program: This weapons system would give the
U.S. a supersonic bomber that could fly over the Soviet Union and deliver
nuclear warheads.
• Expansion of the Navy with special emphasis on new Aircraft Carriers and
increasing the number of nuclear submarines patrolling the world’s waterways.
• These measures would eventually lead to an economic collapse in the
Soviet Union that caused the Evil Empire to fracture.
• The Break up of the former Soviet Union meant the end of the Cold War,
but the beginning of new problems.
Unit 11.10: Events leading to the Collapse
of the Soviet Union ending the Cold War
• How did the reforms proposed by new Soviet
Premier Mikhail Gorbachev represent the
“beginning of the end” for the “Evil Empire”?
• What events pushed to the Soviet Union to
the point of collapse and ended the Cold War?
• In what ways did the existence of the Soviet
Union actually make the world a safer place?
What new threat now faced the world as we
would move into the 1990s and 2000s?
Unit 11.10: Events leading to the Collapse
of the Soviet Union ending the Cold War
• How did the reforms proposed by new Soviet Premier
Mikhail Gorbachev represent the “beginning of the end” for
the “Evil Empire”?
• Pressured by Reagan’s spending programs, new Soviet Premier
Mikhail Gorbachev initiated reform efforts to ease tensions and slow
down the arms race.
• Glasnost: This expanded the citizens’ democratic and political freedoms as
well as opening up the Soviet Unions culture by implementing greater
freedom of speech and freedom of the Press.
• Perestroika: This restructured the Soviet economy by introducing features
of the free-market system.
• Gorbachev then took the historic step of removing Soviet troops from
the Soviet Bloc in Eastern Europe. Beginning with Poland, one after
another of the Soviet-backed communist regimes in Eastern Europe
fell.
Unit 11.10: Events leading to the Collapse
of the Soviet Union ending the Cold War
• What events pushed to the Soviet Union to the point of collapse and
ended the Cold War?
• In 1989 the Berlin Wall was torn down, then Hungary took down its border fence
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•
•
•
•
•
•
with West Germany and thousands of East Germans defected to the West.
October 1990: East and West Germany along with the four occupying powers
signed the Two Plus Four Treaty reunifying a sovereign Germany. The Union
received the blessings of both NATO and the Soviet Union.
June 4, 1989: With western cameras filming the Chinese Army was sent in to crush
a student-based pro-democracy demonstration. Hundreds of students were killed
and any hopes of democratic reform in China died with them.
Later in 1990 the Soviet Baltic Republics (Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania) declared
their independence.
After an attempted military coup, the remaining Soviet Republics dissolved the
Soviet Union in December 1991.
The President of the Russian Republic, Boris Yeltsin, joined nine former Soviet
Republics and formed the Commonwealth of Independent States. He disbanded
the Russian Communist Party and tried to create a democratic, free-market
system.
Yeltsin and President George H.W. Bush signed START I and START II in 1991 and
1992 dramatically reducing the number of missiles possessed by the two
superpowers.
With the Cold War over new problems would soon present themselves.
Unit 11.10: Events leading to the Collapse
of the Soviet Union ending the Cold War
• In what ways did the existence of the Soviet Union actually make
the world a safer place? What new threats now faced the world
as we would move into the 1990s and 2000s?
• With the end of the Soviet Union came civil wars and unrest in many of
•
•
•
•
the former Soviet Republics. The presence of Soviet soldiers meant
peace and the repression of revolutionary groups in those states.
Yugoslavia became a particular point of conflict as Civil War broke out in
the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Bosnians (backed by
Serbia) began a policy of “Ethnic Cleansing” against ethnic Albanian
Muslims. Eventually, President Bill Clinton would authorize an air war to
bring peace to the region and the UN would have to send peacekeeping
forces to the region.
January – February 1991: President George H.W. Bush united a coalition
of various nations to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation and saw his
approval rating soar to around 90%.
With the Cold War over many Americans began to question whether
defense spending was still necessary and cuts led to an economic
recession that doomed the Bush Presidency (even after the Gulf War
success).
Islamic fundamentalism and Nationalist movements would lead to a new
threat from international terrorism during the 1990s and 2000s.
Practice Question #11
11. An objective of the Marshall Plan was to:
A. Provide military assistance to the Chinese Nationalists
B. Limit the nuclear stockpiles of the United States and Soviet
Union
C. Rebuild Western European nations that had been devastated by
World War II
D. Roll Back communism in Eastern Europe
E. Divide Korea into two separate nations, one communist and the
other free
Practice Question #12
12. Joseph McCarthy:
A. Was commander of UN Forces in Korea
B. Was successful in exposing thousands of communist
sympathizers in the U.S. Government
C. Was a Congressman who strongly opposed U.S. intervention in
Vietnam
D. Is associated with the Second Red Scare in the 1940s and
1950s
E. Was arrested and executed for revealing U.S. nuclear secrets to
the Soviets
Practice Question #13
13. Which of the following is not a permanent member of
the UN Security Council?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Germany
France
Britain
The United States
China
Practice Question #14
14. In order to prevent the Soviets from placing nuclear
missiles in Cuba, President Kennedy:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Threatened to strike Moscow with U.S. Intercontinental Ballistic
Missiles (ICBM’s).
Imposed a trade embargo on Cuba
Appealed to the UN to send combat troops to Cuba
Placed a naval quarantine around Cuba
Agreed to remove U.S. missiles from Europe
Practice Question #15
15. The Korean War:
A. Ended in stalemate
B. Resulted in the first successful attempt by the United States to
contain communism in Europe
C. Was a direct cause of the Chinese Civil War
D. Ended when the UN sent peacekeeping forces to the Korean
Peninsula
E. Is the only example of U.S.-Soviet cooperation in the immediate
post-World War II period
Practice Question #16
16. Which U.S. President advocated the development of a
satellite-based defensive system known as the Strategic
Defense Initiative?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Harry Truman
Dwight Eisenhower
John Kennedy
Lyndon Johnson
Ronald Reagan
Practice Question #17
17. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution:
A. Was passed by the UN authorizing the U.S. to send combat
troops to Vietnam
B. Was passed by Congress giving President Johnson unlimited
powers to wage war in Vietnam
C. Ended hostilities in Korea
D. Stated that the United States would not intervene in the Chinese
Civil War
E. Recognized the Viet Minh as the legitimate government in
Vietnam
Practice Question #18
8. President Nixon authorized a military coup that toppled
the popularly elected government of Salvador Allende
in:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Guatemala
Hungary
El Salvador
Chile
Mexico
Practice Question #19
9. President Reagan’s administration illegally
circumvented Congress’s Boland Amendment in order
to:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Secretly fund Nicaraguan Contras
Increase the U.S. nuclear stockpile
Undermine Mikhail Gorbachev’s reformist government
Purchase arms for the Chinese Nationalists
Invade Panama
Practice Question #20
20. In order to prevent communist forces from toppling the
governments of Greece and Turkey, the United States:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Sent combat troops to both nations at the end of World War II
Initiated the Truman Doctrine
Imposed a trade embargo on both nations
Initiated the Marshall Plan
Established NATO
Answer Key
11. C
12. D
13. A
14. D
15. A
16. E
17. B
18. D
19. A
20. B