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Dwight D. Eisenhower
1953-1961. Eisenhower was the general of the allied forces in Europe during World War II. He worked out a truce in Korea and spent his two terms in office trying to calm Cold War tensions. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/74169/Brigadier-General-Dwight-D-Eisenhower-1941-42 -
Brown vs. Board of Education
In this case, justices decided that segregated public schols were unequal and unconstitutional. It reversed the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that separate but equal facilities were constitutional. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_brown.html -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks, a black woman, refused to give her seat to a white person on a city bus. This sparked a year-long boycott of city buses by blacks. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://www.history.com/topics/montgomery-bus-boycott -
Interstate Highway Act
Eisenhower supported this plan to build 42,000 miles of fast motorways. This project cost $27 billion and created many construction jobs and increased the suburbanization of America. It caused more problems with air quality and brought dire consequences to the cities. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/96summer/p96su10.cfm -
Eisenhower Doctrine
In this pledge, Eisenhower promised U.S. economic and military aid to nations of the Middle East who were threatened by communist aggression. Because the middle east was rich with oil, the U.S. needed to protect it and the economic promise that it held for the future. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://instruct.westvalley.edu/kelly/Distance_Learning/History_17B/Lecture28/Lecture28_p05.htm -
Desegregation at Little Rock Central High School
It started when the governor of Arkansas used the National Guard to keep 9 black pupils from enrolling in classes. President Eisenhower responded by sending troops to protect and escort the children from class to class. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/media_detail/597/ -
Sit-In Campaign
In North Carolina, a small group of black college students demanded service at an white-only lunch counter, but they were refused service, so they returned with other students daily. It launched an entire non-violent sit-in movement across the South. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://corr.peacefuluprising.org/elements/self-purification -
John F. Kennedy
1961-1963. Kennedy was the youngest man and the first Roman Catholic elected president. He took action in the civil rights cause and was president during the Cuban Missile Crisis and Bay of Pigs Invasion. He was assassinated barely after 1000 days in office. http://www.biography.com/people/john-f-kennedy-9362930 http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents -
Trade Expansion Act
Kennedy secured the passage of this act, which authorized tariff cuts, up to 50%. This promoted trade with Common Market Countries. It led to the Kennedy Round of tariff negotiations as well as growth in European-American trade. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://www.xtimeline.com/evt/view.aspx?id=188805 -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Photos revealed that Soviets were installing nuclear missiles in Cuba that were aimed at the U.S.. Kennedy and Khrushchev began playing "nuclear chicken," so Kennedy ordered a naval quarantine of Cuba and said that any attack on the U.S. by Cuba would be regarded as from the Soviet Union. It ended in compromise. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://waveweekly.ju.edu/?p=1586 -
Birmingam Protests
It was a nonviolent campaign against segregation launched by Martin Luther King, Jr.. Police responded with attack dogs, electric cattle prods, and water hoses. President Kennedy responded by calling for new civil rights legislation for the protection of black citizens. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://inspiredawakenings.com/ros/Front.htm -
March On Washington
200,000 people, blacks and white alike, marched for jobs and freedom from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. It was a very peaceful demonstration and Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his famous "I have a dream" speech. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://www.history.com/photos/march-on-washington -
16th Street Baptist Church Bombing
The Ku Klux Klan targeted this church because it was a meeting point of many leaders and organizations during the civil rights movement. They placed a bomb under the church and the explosion killed four little girls. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/m_r/randall/birmingham.htm -
Lyndon B. Johnson
1963-1969. Johnson is known for getting his extensive legislative programs passed within his first years of being in office: the Great Society. It called for aid to education, urban renewal, medicare, and fighting disease, among other things. He strongly supported space exploration and tried to end the Vietnam War by limiting American bombing of North Vietnam. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
It banned racial discrimination in the majority of places open to the public. It also gave the government more opportunity to stop school segregation and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to end discrimination in hiring. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 -
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
Two American destroyers attacked in Gulf of Tonkin by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. It was two assaults in a row. It led to the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which involved comitting major American forces to the Vietnam War. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-m/dd731-k.htm -
The Great Society
This was Johnson's policy that focused on aid to education, medical care for the elderly, immigration reform, and a new voting rights bill. It provided aid to students rather than schools and the number of immigrants allowed to enter the U.S. annually doubled. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/lbjthegreatsociety.htm -
Operation "Rolling Thunder"
Operation "Rolling Thunder" was put into full action. It called for regular bomb attacks by Americans against North VIetnam. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/operation_rolling_thunder.htm -
McCarthy
Wisconsin senator, Joseph McCarthy, accused the Secretary of State of employing communists. He caused many problems and suspicion in the U.S., so Eisenhower disliked him. McCarthy also accused the U.S. army of having communists, but they fought back, and McCarthy was condemned by the senate. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/treasures_of_congress/Images/page_23/70b.html -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
It was designed to break down all barriers blocking African Americans from suffrage. It stopped literacy testing and sent voter registrars into southern states. Because of this, hundreds of thousands of blacks registered to vote. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://www.aclu.org/timeline-history-voting-rights-act -
Tet Offensive
Viet Cong launched attack on 27 South Vietnamese cities on Vietnamese New Year. The Viet Cong earned a political victory but suffered from heavy losses. They showed that Johnson's strategy of gradual escalation wouldn't work. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ARVN_Rangers_defend_Saigon,_Tet_Offensive.jpg
Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 -
My Lai Massacre
American troops went to the village of My Lai and massacred unarmed women and children. The troops acted brutally, raping and torturing them. It caused more homefront hate for the war.
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_history/vietnam/vietnam_mylai.cfm
Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 -
Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed by a sniper's bullet in Memphis, Tennessee. His death caused Americans to lose their most inspirational leader of the civil rights movement and it caused a lot of violence. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://outthereradio.net/episode-29-mlk-assassination-2/ -
Richard Nixon
1969-1974. During Nixon's term, the nation was very divided, so he focused on reconciliation. He also ended the American fighting in Vietnam and reduced tensions between China and the U.S.S.R.. He resigned after the Watergate Scandal. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/impeachments/nixon.htm -
Homefront Response to Vietnam War
Most Americans hated the Vietnam War passionately. Many avoided the draft and most people hated the Vietnam veterans. They called them "Baby Killers" and harassed the veterans upon arriving home. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://www.libraries.uc.edu/liblog/2010/03/08/protest-the-campus-and-reaction-against-war/ -
Watergate Scandal
Five men were arrested after a security guard discovered tape on a door in the Watergate apartment office complex after an attempt to plant "bugs" in the democratic party's headquarters. They worked for Nixon's re-election campaign, so America began questioning its president, and he was forced to resign. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2009/01/3-the-watergate-scandal-top-10-mistakes-by-us-p -
Gerald Ford
Ford was the first unelected president who was chosen by congress. Upon taking over as president, he granted Nixon a full pardon. During his presidency, he focused on curbing inflation as well as stimulating the economy. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Gerald_Ford -
America Loses the Vietnam War Under Ford
During Ford's presidency, American soldiers were evacuated from Vietnam, essentially indicating defeat. This caused many problems for our formerly victorious country, and we proved to be a sore loser. America lost power in the eyes of its enemies, self-esteem, confidence in its military, and economic strength. America would face a long healing process. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://cla.calpoly.edu/~lcall/outline. -
Fall of Saigon
The North Vietnamese Army put full force behind their invasion of South Vietnam, and Saigon surrendered. North Vietnam took over South Vietnam soon after, and the U.S. troops evacuated swiftly by helicopter. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 http://www.fallofsaigon.org/orig/lastto.htm -
American Response to the Détente
While meeting with leaders from other nations, Ford enhanced the détente by signing agreements which officially ended World War II. This agreement gave the soviets their desired boundary of Poland. They agreed to let more people and information pass between east and west. Americans were outraged because they sent plenty of grain and technology to the USSR, but received little in return. Soon, Ford refused to say the word "détente" in public.
http://eurocivcourse7.edublorgs.org/category/detente/
