Transcript Post World War II

Post World War II
Cold War (1945 – 1989)
War (1950 – 1953)
•Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)
•Vietnam Era (1954 – 1976)
•Korean
Post WWII

GI Bill of Rights

“government issue”

1944 Congressional act which gave veterans money
to spend on businesses, homes, and schooling


Helped more than 2 million former soldiers attend
college to prepare for new careers
Baby Boom

Increased birthrate following WWII
Post WWII

Philippines


1946, U.S. gave Filipinos their
independence
State of Israel

May 14, 1948

an independent nation
WWII – Review

Yalta Conference

Allies agreed to divide
Germany & Berlin into
4 zones controlled by
Americans, British,
French & Soviets

Stalin promised to
hold free elections in
parts of Eastern
Europe under his
control
Atlantic Charter – Review

Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill
agreed to seek no territorial gain from the war

FDR and Churchill pledged to support the “right
of all peoples to choose the form of government
under which they will live.” (self-determination)

The Charter called for a “permanent system of
general security,” such as an organization like
the League of Nations (United Nations)
Post WWII

United Nations





June 26, 1945
Keep the peace
Gather food & supplies for needy nations
Homes for war victims
Help developing nations with problems of
health, farming, and education
Post WWII

United Nations

General Assembly


No way to enforce decisions
Security Council


More powerful
15 members
 5 permanent members
 U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France
 If only one permanent member vetoes,
Security Council cannot act
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Truman (like FDR) believed in self-determination
 U.S. demanded free elections be held
throughout Eastern Europe


Much was occupied by the Soviet Union
Stalin promised to allow free elections, but went
back on his word after WWII
 He wanted military security for the
Soviet Union, and for his country to be the
dominant world power
Cold War (1945 – 1989)




Ideological conflict
 Fought with words & ideas
Primarily between U.S. and Soviet Union
Communism vs. Democracy
Dominated world politics
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

International Organizations
 United Nations

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)




April 1949
U.S. and other Western nations
Military alliance – collective defense against a
Soviet attack
Warsaw Pact


1955
Soviet Union and satellite nations
Cold War
1945 – 1989
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

“A freely elected government in
any of the Eastern European
countries would be anti-Soviet, and
that we cannot allow.”
– Josef Stalin

By 1948, the government of most
nations in Eastern Europe were
satellites of Soviet Union

Nations dominated politically or
economically by a more
powerful nation
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Winston Churchill


Warned Americans of
the Soviet threat in a
speech on March 5,
1946, at Westminster
College in Fulton, MO
An “iron curtain has
descended across the
continent”, walling off
Soviet-dominated nations
from the rest of the world
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Truman Doctrine

March 1947

Containment

Limit or block
expansion of
Soviet Communism
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Marshall Plan



June 1947
Proposed by Secy. of State George Marshall
Provided money to help European
nations rebuild after WWII


Factories, schools, hospitals, railroads,
bridges, farms
Huge success

1948-1951, U.S. loaned >$12 billion to
16 Western European countries
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Germany & Berlin

Divided into 4 parts
 East Germany – Communist
 Soviet Union
 West Germany – Democracy
 Great Britain
 France
 U.S.
Cold War
1945 – 1989
Cold War
1945 – 1989
Cold War (1945 – 1989)



Western powers decided it was time to reunite
Germany in 1948, but Stalin was opposed
June 1948, Soviets set up a blockade around Berlin
and prevented delivery of Allied supplies
Berlin Airlift



Cargo planes delivered tons of food and supplies
to 2M people in West Berlin
>200,000 flights from June 1948 – May 1949
May 1949, Soviets call off blockade
Cold War (1945 – 1989)
Berlin Airlift
Cold War (1945 – 1989)




October 1949, U.S., Britain, & France combine their
zones into one country – West Germany
A divided Germany and Berlin remained a focus of
Cold War tensions
Between 1949 and 1961, thousands of East Germans
fled to West Berlin, then into West Germany
Berlin Wall



Built in August 1961
Separated East and West Germany
Stood for 28 years as a symbol of a divided
Germany and Europe
Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
Westminster College
Fulton, MO
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Election of 1948

Chicago Tribune
mistakenly declared
Thomas Dewey
the winner over
Harry Truman
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

People’s Republic of
China

In late 1949, Chinese
Communists take
control of China

Mao Zedong – leader
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Election of 1952



Truman decides not to run
Democrat Adlai Stevenson,
Gov. of IL
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Republican war hero


“I like Ike”
Landslide victory
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

1950s

People live longer thanks to
new medicines (antibiotics)
and polio vaccine

Suburbs grew by 50%


Poor & less educated stayed
in inner cities
By end of decade:



6 of 10 families owned homes
3 out of 4 had cars
Almost every home had a TV
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

1950s

Television




I Love Lucy, most popular show
Howdy Doody popular with kids
Frozen dinners
Rock-and-Roll


Elvis Presley, “The King”
“Rock Around the Clock” by Bill
Haley and the Comets
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Dwight D. Eisenhower
 President 1953-1961
 Vice President –
Richard Nixon

Interstate Highway
Act of 1956
 One of
Eisenhower’s
greatest
achievements
Cold War (1945 – 1989)
Korean War (1950 – 1953)
•
Officially a “police action,” not a war
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Korean Peninsula

Occupied & ruled harshly by Japan since 1910

After Japan’s defeat in WWII, Korea was
divided at the 38th parallel latitude

North Korean troops invaded South Korea
 June 25, 1950
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Korean War: 1950 - 1953

North Korea (communist)


Helped by Communist China and
backed by Soviet Union
South Korea (non-communist)

Helped by United Nations and
backed by the U.S.
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Korean War: 1950 – 1953

War against communism

U.N. voted to send military
troops – 90% were
American

Pres. Truman appointed
Gen. Douglas MacArthur
to lead the troops
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Korean War: 1950 – 1953

North Korea invaded South Korea and occupied
most of the peninsula

Gen. MacArthur and UN forces counterattacked,
pushing North Koreans back across the 38th parallel

Gen. MacArthur continues into North Korea, almost
to China

UN goal was to reunify Korea
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Korean War: 1950 – 1953

Angered Chinese government sent troops to assist
North Korea


Gen. MacArthur wanted to attack China


China pushed UN forces beyond the 38th parallel and back
into South Korea and the war became a stalemate
He believed this was the only way to win the Korean War
Pres. Truman did not want to attack China

He feared this might lead to another world war
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Korean War: 1950 – 1953

Gen. MacArthur publicly called for the bombing of
China

Pres. Truman warned Gen. MacArthur against
making further public statements

Gen. MacArthur disregarded Pres. Truman’s
warnings


MacArthur publicly argued that he could not win
the war because of Washington politicians
A furious Pres. Truman fired Gen. MacArthur
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Korean War: 1950 – 1953

Peace talks began in July 1953, but fighting continued

Fighting ended in July 1953 with a cease-fire

The border between North and South Korea is almost
exactly where it was before the war


Tensions between North and South Korea continue today
North and South Korea agreed to establish a
demilitarized zone

An area from which military forces are prohibited
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Korean War: 1950 – 1953

Korea was the first attempt by the U.S. to stop
communism in Asia


2M Koreans died, mostly civilians
30,000 Americans died & thousands from other nations

Officially, it was a “police action,” not a war

Korea is the last communist hot spot

It developed nuclear weapons at the beginning of
the 21st century
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Red scare in America

Many Americans fear Communist
sympathizers and spies might be secretly
working to overthrow the U.S. government
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Alger Hiss

Former State Dept.
official

Accused of passing
government secrets to
Soviet agents in 1930s


The “pumpkin papers”
Convicted of perjury,
spent several years in
prison
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Julius and Ethel
Rosenberg

Found guilty of passing
secrets of the atomic
bomb to Soviets

Sentenced to death and
executed in 1953
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

U.S. government released papers in
1990s indicating that Hiss and the
Rosenbergs had been spies
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Senator
Joseph McCarthy

Built his career by
exposing alleged
Communists in U.S.
government

Without evidence,
sensationally accused
people of being
Communists

Many Americans were
eager to believe him
Cold War (1945 – 1989)


McCarthy bullied
witnesses before his
Senate committee and
made exaggerated
charges

He ruined many lives
and careers
McCarthyism

Accusing someone of
disloyalty without having
any evidence
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Nikita Khrushchev

1953, became leader of
Soviet Union when
Josef Stalin died

Predicted Communism
would destroy Western
democracies
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

U.S. and Soviet Union began arms race


Contest in which nations compete to build powerful
weapons
U.S. exploded first hydrogen bomb in 1952
(H-bomb)

Followed in next few years by Soviet Union, China,
United Kingdom, and France
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Sputnik I

Launched October 4, 1957 by Soviet Union

World’s 1st artificial satellite

1st man-made object to orbit the Earth



184 lbs.
About the size of a basketball
Took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth at
18,000 mph
Sputnik I – launched by Soviet Union
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Start of the Space Age and the
U.S. – U.S.S.R. space race


Control outer space
Led directly to creation of NASA
(National Aeronautics and Space Admin.)
Cold War
1945 - 1989
•Explorer I
Launched by the U.S.
January 31, 1958

1st U.S. satellite

Officially known as
Satellite 1958 Alpha

30.66 lbs.
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Fidel Castro

Communist

In a 1959 revolution,
took control of Cuba

U.S. glad to see
Fulgencio Batista ousted

Castro took land
belonging to American
companies

U.S. started a trade
embargo against Cuba
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Castro asked Soviet Union
for help

People left Cuba for the U.S.

In April 1961, Cuban exiles
returned with U.S. support


Landed at Bay of Pigs

Invasion failed, many
were captured
U.S. – Cuban government
relations strained
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Bay of Pigs
invasion

April 1961
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Election of 1960

Richard M. Nixon


Vice President &
Republican candidate
John F. Kennedy


Democrat candidate
Narrowly wins election
 Vice President –
Lyndon Johnson
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Cuban Missile Crisis
1962

U.S. spy planes
photograph Soviet
missiles in Cuba

U.S. set up naval
“quarantine” around
Cuba

U.S. and Soviet Union
reached agreement
 Missiles removed
 U.S. did not invade
Cold War (1945 – 1989)
Vietnam Era
•
Officially a “conflict,” not a war
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

At WWII’s end,
French Indochina
was divided into
Laos, Cambodia,
and Vietnam

1946-1954, French
fought to regain
control of Vietnam
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Ho Chi Minh drove
out the French and
set up a Communist
government in
northern Vietnam

Vietnam became
divided into North
and South, and civil
war broke out
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

U.S. political leaders feared Communist
takeover in Southeast Asia

Domino theory
 If one country fell to the Communists,
neighboring countries would follow
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Vietnam

U.S. sent money and weapons
to South Vietnam, and trained
its soldiers

U.S. advisers began fighting in
Vietnam

Guerrilla warfare fighters for
the North came to be called the
Vietcong

Supported by Soviet Union
and China with arms and
supplies
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Vietnam

August 1964, U.S. ships
reportedly attacked by North
Vietnamese torpedo boats in
Gulf of Tonkin


Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
passed by Congress
 Gave Pres. Johnson
unlimited authority to use
military force
U.S. planes began bombing
North Vietnam
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Vietnam

American airplanes dropped
bombs containing napalm


A jellylike substance that burst
into flames when dropped on
villages or vegetation
American airplanes also
sprayed the herbicide
Agent Orange


Destroyed crops and
vegetation where enemies hid
Later blamed for birth defects,
cancer, and long-term health
problems
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Vietnam

The Tet Offensive
 Began January 31, 1968
 Tet is Vietnamese New
Year holiday
 North Vietnamese and
Vietcong attack every
major city in South
Vietnam
 Siege lasted until
February 25
 Military victory for U.S.
 Turning point of the war
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Vietnam

Most Americans did not
believe that the U.S. should
be fighting in Vietnam

After the Tet Offensive,
Pres. Johnson and advisors
were convinced U.S. could
not win the war

Antiwar protests spread
across America

Petitions, marches, sit-ins,
public draft-card burnings,
violent confrontations with
police
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Vietnam

Pres. Nixon
expanded the war
into Cambodia and
Laos to attack
North Vietnamese
bases and disrupt
their supply lines
along the
Ho Chi Minh Trail
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Kent State University, Kent, OH

Worst, deadly antiwar protest
in America – May 4, 1970
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Vietnam

Paris Peace Accords

Signed January 27, 1973

Last U.S. combat troops
removed in March 1973

North Vietnam troops invade
South Vietnam after
Americans leave

U.S. helicopters and ships
evacuate thousands of
American workers and South
Vietnamese supporters
Cold War
1945 – 1989

Vietnam

April 30, 1975, South Vietnamese
government formally surrendered

Vietnam united under a
Communist government

Saigon renamed Ho Chi Minh City

More than 1M people fled the new
regime

Boat people attempted to
escape in small boats
 200,000 died at sea or in
refugee camps
 U.S. and other nations took
in many refugees
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Vietnam

Longest war in U.S. history,
lasted for 10 years

Eisenhower was president
when the war began, Nixon
was president when it ended

First foreign war the U.S. did
not win

U.S. never officially declared
war in Vietnam
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Vietnam

Vets were not welcomed
home with cheering and
parades

1.8 M American men drafted

58,000 Americans died in
combat

300,000 Americans wounded

$200 billion price tag

Damaged U.S. economy for
years
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Vietnam

Undermined the nation’s
trust in the government and
its leaders

Pentagon Papers

Published in 1971 by
leading newspapers

Secret government
documents showing how
government officials
concealed actions and
misled Americans
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

War Powers Act

Passed by Congress in 1973 to curb
President’s power

President cannot send military forces into
action for longer than 60 days without
congressional approval
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

26th Amendment to the Constitution
 Passed in 1971
 Lowered voting age to 18

If 18-year-olds were old enough to fight and die
in Vietnam, they were old enough to vote
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

President Kennedy

1961 Peace Corps
created by Congress

Program to build
relationships between
Americans and
peoples of other
nations


Sharing skills and
knowledge
Encourage economic
growth in developing
countries
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

President
John F. Kennedy

Assassinated
Nov. 22, 1963

In Dallas, TX
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

President
John F. Kennedy

Assassinated
Nov. 22, 1963

Lee Harvey Oswald
 Arrested for
killing Kennedy
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Lee Harvey Oswald

Shot and killed by
Jack Ruby
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

President
Lyndon B. Johnson

1963-1969

Democrat

Vice President –
Hubert H. Humphrey
1965 - 1969
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

President Kennedy’s
New Frontier



Space Age
Russians – first
astronauts in space
Alan Shepard
 1st American in space,
1961
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

President Kennedy’s
New Frontier
 Space Age

John Glenn
 1st American
to orbit Earth, 1962
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

President Kennedy’s
New Frontier – Space Age




Apollo 11 mission
Eagle lunar module
July 20, 1969
Neil
Armstrong

1st man
on moon
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Columbia

1st Space
shuttle

Launched
April 1981
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

President
Richard Nixon


1969 – 1974
Vice Presidents


Spiro T. Agnew
Gerald R. Ford
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Watergate scandal

1972 election

Democratic Party
offices break-in

Pres. Nixon’s aides
involved in break-in

Pres. Nixon cover-up
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Spiro T. Agnew

Pres. Nixon’s Vice
President
Charged with
accepting bribes as
Gov. of Maryland and
V.P. of U.S.

Resigned as V.P.

October 1973

Gerald Ford
appointed as V.P.
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

President
Richard Nixon

1st President to
resign the office,
August 1974

Resigned before
being impeached
because of
Watergate scandal
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

President
Gerald Ford

1974 – 1977

1st and only
President not
elected to the
office

Pardoned former
president Nixon
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

President
Jimmy Carter

1977 – 1981

Democrat


Inexperienced with
Washington politics
Vice President

Walter Mondale
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

Iran Hostage Crisis

Iranian radicals seized
American embassy in
Tehran on Nov 4, 1979

Held 52 hostages for
444 days

Released them minutes
after Ronald Reagan
was inaugurated
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

President
Ronald Reagan

1981 – 1989

Republican

Great Communicator

Vice President –
George H. W. Bush

Popular
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

President Reagan

“Government is not the
solution to our problems.
Government is the
problem.”

Reaganomics

Reduced government
spending & lowered
taxes

In 1981, persuaded
Congress to lower taxes
by 25%
Cold War Ends (1945 – 1989)

1979 Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan


President Carter imposed trade restrictions and
pulled U.S. from 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow
President Reagan increased defense spending

Soviets tried to keep up with U.S. on military
spending (arms race), but did not have the money
– this weakened Soviet economy
Cold War Ends (1945 – 1989)

Mikhail Gorbachev

1985, became leader of
Soviet Union

Soviet Union lost
interest in supporting
unpopular Communist
leaders in Eastern
European countries
Cold War Ends (1945 – 1989)

1989


1990


Fall of Berlin Wall
Reunification of
Germany
1991

Fall of Soviet Union
Cold War (1945 – 1989)
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)

Jim Crow Laws

“Laws” in the South
that enforced
separation of races in
schools, hospitals, on
public transportation,
and in theaters and
restaurants
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)

Segregation

Enforced separation of races
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)

Plessy v. Ferguson

1896 Supreme Court ruling
made segregation legal as
long as “separate-but-equal”
facilities were provided

Generally, facilities were
NOT equal
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)

Integration

End to racial segregation
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)

Jackie Robinson

1947

First African
American to play in
Major League
Baseball

Brooklyn Dodgers
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)

1948, Harry Truman
first President to
integrate armed forces

Korean War
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)

Brown v.
Board of Education


May 17, 1954
Topeka, KS

Plaintiff’s lawyer:
Thurgood Marshall

Supreme Court ruled
“separate but equal” has
no place in public
education
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)

Little Rock Nine

Arkansas, 1957

Central High School
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)

Rosa Parks

December 1, 1955
 Arrested for not giving
up her seat on the bus
and moving to the back
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)

Montgomery Bus Boycott

381 days
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)

Montgomery Bus Boycott

381 days
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)

Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.

Baptist minister

Leader of Civil Rights
movement

Encouraged civil
disobedience
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)
Aug 1963 March on Washington
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)

Malcolm X (Malcolm Little)

Militant leader

Called for African Americans to
break away from white society

Killed 1965
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)

Stokely Carmichael

Black Power Movement
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)

Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.

Assassinated
April 4, 1968
in Memphis, TN
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)

Thurgood Marshall

First African American
Supreme Court Justice
Civil Rights Era (1945 – 1975)

Affirmative Action

Term for businesses
and schools being
encouraged to give
preference to
members of groups
discriminated against
in the past
Cold War (1945 – 1989)

President
George H.W. Bush

1989 – 1993

Republican

Vice President


1991 Gulf War


J. Danforth Quayle
Operation Desert
Storm
1991 recession
Modern America

President
Bill Clinton

1993 – 2001

Democrat

Vice President

Albert Gore, Jr.
Modern America

President
Bill Clinton

Federal budget
surpluses 1998-2001

December 19, 1998,
impeached by House
for perjury

Senate did not convict
Clinton, he remained in
office
Modern America

2000 Election

Al Gore – Democrat candidate


George W. Bush – Republican candidate


Won popular vote
Won electoral vote
Democrats challenged results in court
First time Supreme Court ruled in Presidential
election – stopping the recount
 Bush declared winner

Modern America

President George Bush

2001 – 2009

Republican

Vice President
 Richard Cheney

Cut taxes to offset surplus

No Child Left Behind

2003 Iraq War
Modern America

President
Barack Obama

2009 – Present

Democrat

Vice President



Joe Biden
First African
American President
Health Care Reform