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Black Codes
Black Codes: Under the administration of President Andrew Johnson in 1865 and 1866, new southern state legislatures passed restrictive “black codes” to control the labor and behavior of former slaves and other African Americans. The codes 1) prohibited blacks from either renting land or borrowing money to buy land; 2) placed freedmen into a form of semi-bondage by forcing them as "vagrants" or "apprentices" to sign work contracts; and 3) prohibited blacks from testifying against whites in court. -
Sharecropping
Sharecropping: A system in which the landlord provided the seed and other farm supplies in return for a share (usually half) of the harvest. While this system gave poor people of the rural South the opportunity to work a piece of land for themselves, sharecroppers usually remained dependent on the landowners or in debt to local merchants. Sharecropping essentially evolved into a new form of servitude. -
Labor Unions: Gompers & AFL
Gompers formed the American Federation of Labor in 1866 of skilled laborers, one of the most successful unions of its time. They achieved success by avoiding larger political questions in favor of "bread and butter issues" such as shorter workdays and higher wages for union members. Gompers adopted a "down-to-earth" approach, deemphasizing social reform; was kept conservative; Gompers also wanted the "trade agreement" authorizing the "closed shop" -
Reconstruction
Outrage in North over black codes eroded support for the moderate Presidential Reconstruction and led to the triumph of the Radical Republicans. They wanted to punish the South, and to prevent the ruling class from continuing in power. Passed the Military Reconstruction Acts in 1867, dividing the South into 5 military districts. Blacks, including those who had recently been freed, received the right to vote, hold political offices, and become judges and police chiefs. -
Transcontinental Railroad
During the Civil War, Congress authorized land grants, loans, and monetary assistance for the building of the first Transcontinental Railroad to tie California to the rest of the U.S. (1864-1869 building)
But the railroads were a failure for business because investors overbuilt them (they also suffered from mismanagement and fraud) A financial panic in 1893 forced 1/4 of all railroads into bankruptcy, and J.P. Morgan and other bankers moved in quickly to take control consolidate the companies. -
Rise of the Urban Political Machine
Political parties in major cities came under the control of tightly organized political groups called political machines. There was always a "boss," who gave orders and gave government jobs to supporters. The most infamous include Tammany Hall in NYC. This corruption prompted the awakening of reform, leading partially to the Progressivism movement in the 20th century. -
Growth of American Cities
Mass transportation (street cars and suspension bridges) prompted the growth of cities and allowed longer commutes. But this new technology also segregated workers based on class and income level. The upper classes moved to suburbs to escape the crime and pollution of cities, while the working poor were left in the cities. Many of those in poverty were immigrants, who lived in filthy ethnic neighborhoods in tenements. This promoted the spread of disease like typhus, cholera, and tuberculosis. -
Laissez Faire Economics
In economics, this means allowing industry to be free of state intervention, especially restrictions in the form of tariffs and government monopolies. The U.S. government kept "hands off" business and even helped guide businesses along the path to profits with federal subsidies. Therefore, tycoons such as Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and Cornelius Vanderbilt had enormous political influence as well as wealth. -
Social Darwinism
This was a commonly held belief in the 1800s that stated that the rich were rich and the poor were poor due to natural selection in society; the "fittest" earned and deserved their wealth, while the "weaker" were poor due to their own faults. This was the basis of many people who promoted a laissez fairee style of economy and used to justify the massive wealth of industry tycoons. Adapted from Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. -
Gospel of Wealth
A number of Americans found religion more convincing than Social Darwinism in justifying the wealth of successful industrialists and bankers. For example: Steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie's article "Wealth" argued that the wealthy had a God-given responsibility to carry out projects of civic philanthropy for the benefit of society. Carnegie himself distributed more than $350 million to support the building of libraries, universities, and other public institutions. -
Dawes Act
The Dawes Act of 1887 authorized the President to survey American Indian tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Indians, breaking up reservations. This Act promoted the policy of assimilation for natives, as those who accepted allotments and lived separately from the tribe would be granted U.S. citizenship. A head of family would receive a grant of 160 acres, a single person over 18 years of age would receive 80 acres, and those under 18 would receive 40 acres. -
New Southern and Eastern European Immigrants
Starting in 1890 and continuing until 1914, there was an influx of "new" immigrants that came from south and east Europe, such as Italians, Greeks, Poles, and Russians. Unlike the "old" migrants from north and west Europe who were protestant and literate, the newcomers were largely Catholic, Greek Orthodox, or Jewish; they were poor, illiterate, and worked in factories because they were unskilled. There was an effort to restrict immigration by groups like the American Protective Association. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
After failing to curb trusts on the state level, reformers finally moved Congress to pass the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890, which prohibited any "contract, combination, in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce." Until 1900, the Act was invoked only rarely against trusts, and then not successfully due to narrow judicial interpretations of trade/commerce among states. Its only effective use was against trade unions, which were held by courts to be illegal -
Labor Unions: Wagner, Taft-Hartley, & Sherman Anti-Trust Acts
Wagner Act: Guaranteed the right of unions to organize and to bargain with management over terms and conditions of their employment
Taft-Hartley Act: It outlawed the "closed" shop, made unions liable for damages that resulted from jurisdictional disputes among themselves, and required union leaders to take a non-communist oath.
Sherman AntiTrust Act: First legislation enacted by Congress to curb concentrations of power that interfere with trade and reduce economic competition; banned monopolies. -
Populism Policies
Rose out of movements like the Grange and Farmers' Alliances, who sought to take power away from the trusts and big businesses. Their policies were outlined in the Omaha Platform. They advocated for direct election of US senators, use of initiative and referendum, graduated income tax, more regulation of railroads from the federal government, an eight our workday for workers, etc. Notably, many Populists advocated for "Free Silver," unlimited coinage of silver to increase money in circulation. -
Turner's Frontier Thesis
In his Frontier Thesis, Turner pointed to westward expansion as the most important factor in American history. In 1890, however, the Census Bureau stated that all the land within the United States was claimed, and there was no longer a frontier. Turner questioned how American culture and history would develop and whether Americans would retain “that coarseness and strength combined with acuteness and acquisitiveness, that dominant individualism” bred by expansion now that the frontier was closed -
Populism Failed
Populism effectively died after the election of 1896. This was because many Populists chose to support Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, who spoke the famous "Cross of Gold" speech, attacking the gold standard and the wealthy who supported it, instead advocating "Free Silver." Bryan ultimately lost the election to Republican William Mckinley, and the Populist party ceased to exist because of internal divisions. However, many of its ideas would live on with Progressivism. -
Plessy Vs Ferguson
A 1896 Supreme Court decision which legalized state ordered segregation so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal; coined the phrase "Separate but equal." -
Spanish American War; "A Splendid Little War.
Americans declared war on Spain after the ship Maine exploded in Havana Harbor. The War was also caused by Americans' desire to expand as well as the harsh treatment that the Spanish had over the Cubans. The war resulted in the U.S. gaining Guam and Puerto Rico as well as control over the Philippines. Yellow Journalism was a cause of the war. This was when newspaper publishers like Hearst and Pulitzer sensationalized news events (like sinking of the Maine) to anger American public towards Spain -
Gilded Age Cycles
America's economy grew by more than 400% between 1860 and 1900. This was an era when Titans of Industry controlled large corporations, amassing huge fortunes and dominating politics, while the problems of farmlands and burgeoning cities festered under the surface. This Gilded Age was aided by new labor saving inventions like Cyrus W. Field's transatlantic cable, allowing for efficient communication. There was also a huge labor supply of new immigrants, and laissez faire government practices. -
Philippine War
When the United States voted to annex the Philippines in the 1899 Treaty of Paris, the people of the Philippines were outraged at being denied independence after being under Spanish control since the 1500s. Therefore Filipino Nationalist Emilio Aguinaldo led bands of guerrilla fighters in a war against US control. It took US troops 3 years of fighting and cost thousands of lives on both sides before the rebellion was finally squashed in 1902. -
Open Door Policy
In the 1890s, Russia, Britain, France, and Germany established spheres of influence in the weak Chinese empire. To prevent the US from losing access to China, secretary of state John Hay wrote to the imperialist powers to ask them to accept his "Open Door" proposal, where all nations would have equal access to Chinese trade. This was put to the test in the Boxer Rebellion of 1900; the US joined an international force that invaded Beijing and crushed the secret society of Chinese nationalists -
Titans of Industry: Part 1
Second Industrial Revolution concentrated industry and wealth in the hands of a few Americans, notably Andrew Carnegie, founder of U.S. Steel Corporation who utilized the Bessemer process to create cheap steel, and John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. Both companies would use the latest materials and low prices, sending competitor companies into bankruptcy and then consolidating those companies into their vast empire. -
Titans of Industry: Part 2
Carnegie used a strategy called vertical integration, by which a company would control every stage of the industrial process, from mining the raw materials to transporting the finished product.
Rockefeller took charge of the oil industry by forcing rivals to sell out, eventually controlling 90% of the oil business. Rockefeller's trust consisted of the various companies he acquired, all managed by a board of trustees that Rockefeller controlled. This technique is called horizontal integration. -
Progressivism: Reforms Part 1
Starting in 1901 with the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, progressives sought to break up powerful trusts and end corruption of urban political machines. They passed many reforms including direct election of US Senators; initiative, referendum, and recall; and secret ballots in cities to elect honest politicians to office. Nationally, they promoted Prohibition, social welfare like better courts and modern divorce laws, and the forming of the National Child Labor Committee to stem child labor -
Progressivism: Muckrakers
Those who created exposes of the scandalous realities of politics and industry using media like books, magazines, and photos to reach the American public. Famous Muckrakers include Jacob Riis, who photographed ethnic ghettos and exposed their horrid conditions in his book "How the Other Half Lives." There's also Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle," which exposed the disgusting conditions of meat packing factories and prompted Teddy Roosevelt to pass the Pure Food and Drug Act and Meat Inspection Act -
Progressivism: Reform Part 2 (Teddy Roosevelt)
Theodore Roosevelt was a true Progressive president. He made a "Square Deal" between business and labor in a strike of coal miners in 1902. The owners accepted a 10% wage increase and a 9-hour workday for miners, but the owners didn't have to recognize the union. Roosevelt increased power of the Sherman Antitrust Act, using it against Standard Oil to break up the "bad trust." (Roosevelt kept the "good trusts.") He gave greater power to the ICC in the Elkins Act (1933) and Hepburn Act (1906) -
W.E.B Du Bois vs Booker T Washington
Du Bois, born a freeman, fought for immediate implementation of African American rights, social equality, and higher education. He helped found the Niagara Movement in 1905 to fight for equal rights. This movement later led to the establishment of the NAACP. Du Bois was an opponent of Washington, and the two had hugely different views. Washington was a former slave who promoted industrial education and economic opportunity but promoted separatism and gradualism among blacks and whites. -
Ford/Model T/Assembly Line
The Assembly Line, invented and perfected by Ford, allowed workers to stay in 1 place and master 1 repetitive action, maximizing output. The production method of choice by 1930s, it resulted in huge production of supplies in WWII. Model T was the first affordable car in America, leading to cars becoming commonplace, roads/highways being built rapidly, longer commutes to work, etc. It replaced railroads as America's most important industry; other industries like steel and gas came to depend on it -
Difference Between WWI and WWII Drafts
The Selective Service Act in 1917 authorized the federal government to raise a national army for the American entry into World War I through the compulsory enlistment of people. It came into effect on May 18, after the US entered the war on April 6. Conversely, the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 was the first peacetime draft in US History and soon after in 1941, the US entered World War II on the Allied side. -
League of Nations
After the Great War, Woodrow Wilson proposed it in the 14th point of his peace plan. He envisioned it as an Assembly with seats for all nations and a special council for the great powers to prevent future wars. The US voted not to join the League because it would have taken away America's self-determination; Congress would not be able to decide whether to go to war or not and risked becoming entangled in another European conflict. The League failed partially because the US never joined -
Post WWI Attitude of Americans
The gov't promoted isolationism and the public embraced nativism/ "Americanism." Russian Revolution fostered a mistrust of foreigners who might be anarchists, socialists, or communists (Red Scare), like the Palmer Raids/Sacco and Vanzetti Trial. Nativism, belief in the superiority of native-born people, led to support for Quota Laws. Racist groups like KKK saw a revival in membership. Rapid consumerism due to shortage during war. Women had a new sense of freedom after gaining suffrage in 1920 -
1920s Literature
Novels of F.Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Sinclair Lewis, as well as poems from Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot, expressed disillusionment with the materialism, big business, and consumer-oriented culture of the 1920s following World War I. These writers were labeled the "Lost Generation." They had common themes like attacking religion and disapproving of the sacrifices made during WWI for what they views as nothing but a political/monetary scheme. -
Labor Unions: Lewis & CIO
President of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920-1960 and founding president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) This organization focused on unskilled laborers in America's heavy industrial sector such as steel, automobiles, and mines. Partially due to his efforts, in 1933 Congress passed the National Industrial Recovery Act to regulate production, ensure stable employment and guarantee workers the right to organize and bargain collectively over conditions of employment -
Andrew Mellon's Economic Policies
Mellon was appointed Secretary of Treasury by President Harding in 1921 and continued to serve under Coolidge and Hoover. Mellon's Plan reduced taxes for business. His theory was that business would prosper due to a lighter tax load, and the profit would be transferred to the rest of the US. The Great Depression brought him under criticism, as Mellon continued his policy of balancing the budget by cutting spending and upping taxes, worsening the effect of the Depression on the ordinary citizen. -
Washington Naval Conference
In 1921, Secretary of State Hughes started talks about naval disarmament. Delegates came from Belgium, China, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, etc... 3 agreements were made: 1) 5-Power Treaty: Nations with the 5 largest navies agreed to maintain this ratio with respect to warships: U.S, Britain get 5, Japan 3, France, Italy 1.67. 2) 4-Power Treaty: The powers agreed to respect one another's Pacific territories. 3) 9-Power Treaty: All 9 nations agree to respect the Open Door Policy in China. -
Dawes Plan
A plan to revive the German economy, the United States loans Germany money which then can pay reparations to England and France, who can then pay back their loans from the U.S. This cycle helped temporarily ease financial problems in both Europe and America. -
The Scopes Trial
Illustrated the cultural conflicts between the religious fundamentalism of the South and modern North. The ACLU asked Tennessee teacher John Scopes to teach Darwin's theory of evolution to his class, which was illegal in most of the South. As a result, Scopes was arrested and tried in 1925. Scopes was defended by Clarence Darrow and prosecuted by William Jennings Bryan. As expected, Scopes was convicted; but Darrow managed to discredit and raise doubts about religious fundamentalism in the South -
Kellogg-Briand Pact
International agreement of 1928 that pledged nations to outlaw war. The agreement is also known as the Pact of Paris; Coolidge's Secretary of State and the French foreign minister signed it in 1928, pledging to stop war as an instrument of national policy. It was ultimately ratified by sixty-two nations. -
Great Depression
The immediate cause was the stock market plunge on Black Thursday, 1929. On Black Tuesday, many investors urge brokers to sell, but nobody would buy! The underlying causes include uneven distribution of wealth, stock market speculation (like buying on market), excessive use of credit, lack of federal regulation of business, and farmers suffering from overproduction/high debt following WWI.
Results: unemployment skyrockets; the Dawes Plan collapses, sending both America and Europe into depression -
1930s Isolationism
Causes: The combination of the Great Depression and the losses in World War I contributed to pushing American public opinion and policy toward isolationism, which entailed non-involvement in European and Asian conflicts and in international politics
Consequences: Nativism was on the rise, and many groups like the American Protection League supported Congress' Quota Laws of 1921 and 1924. (1921-3% of the foreign borns from a given nation in the 1910 census; 1924- lowered to 2% in census of 1890) -
Hoover's Attitude Toward Government Assistance
Most experts, including Hoover, thought the Great Depression was initially part of a passing recession--until the summer of 1930. However, instead of direct federal aid, he felt that public assistance should come from state and local governments. He used minimal federal money, only funding the Federal Farm Board to help farmers stabilize prices by holding surplus food in storage, and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which gave emergency loans to faltering railroads, banks, etc.. -
FDR: First 100 Days
Between 8 March and 16 June, in his "First 100 Days," Congress/ Roosevelt passed 15 bills that began the New Deal.
These include: A bank holiday: closed all banks to prevent collapse of the banking system/investigated banks
Civilian Conservation Corps: Reduced unemployment; put young men to work in conservation projects, mostly in national parks/forests
Agricultural Adjustment Act: Provided relief to farmers by paying to reduce production; also helped reduce crop surpluses/ increase crop prices -
FDR: Court Packing & Good Neighbor Policy
Court-Packing: Attempt by FDR to appoint 1 new Supreme Court justice for every sitting justice over 70 who had been there for at least 10 years to prevent justices from dismantling the New Deal. The plan died in congress and made opponents of New Deal inflamed
Good-Neighbor: Withdrawal of US troops from foreign nations (especially Latin America) to improve international relations and unite western hemisphere; Clark Memorandum (rebukes the "big stick"); peaceful resolution of Mexican oil fields -
FDR: Lend/Lease & Cash/Carry
Cash/Carry: Policy adopted by the United States in 1939 to preserve neutrality while aiding the Allies. Britain and France could buy goods from the United States if they paid in full and transported them.
Lend/Lease: On 11th March 1941, Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act. The legislation gave President Franklin D. Roosevelt the powers to sell, transfer, exchange, lend equipment to any country to help it defend itself against the Axis powers. -
World War 2: Women in the Workforce
Many men were drafted/volunteered and factories were so in demand for supplies that many women enlisted in the workforce (over 6 million). They were more likely to be wives and mothers than ever before. The "Rosie the Riveter" female worker increased childcare in the workplace and many women wanted to stay on after the war was over. After the war, about 2/3 of the women remained in the workplace (but not for long) Women have salaries for the 1st time, prompting a big consumer boom after the war -
World War 2: Racism
Following the bombing at Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans suffered extreme discrimination at the hands of ordinary Americans. Propaganda intended to gain support for the war effort often dehumanized and humiliate the Japanese; to portray them as ruthless, animalistic, and an enemy. This ultimately led to their internment because many Americans viewed them as threat to public safety, simply based on their nationality. -
World War 2: Japanese Internment
Similar to Red Scare in WWI, many Americans feared Japanese Americans were a threat to national safety. 110,000 Japanese-Americans were forced into 1 of 10 camps because the US feared that they might act as saboteurs for Japan in case of invasion. The camps deprived them of basic rights; the internees lost hundreds of millions of dollars in property. In the Supreme Court ruling Korematsu v. U.S. (1944), the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of internment. Executive Order 9066 -
Harry Truman: Cold War, Containment, and Greece/Turkey
With the Truman Doctrine, President Harry S. Truman established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces. This promoted the policy of "containment," or containing communism to prevent it from spreading around the world and weakening democracy--seen in how Truman went to war with Korea, sends US aid to Greece and Turkey to prevent communism from taking hold there, etc.. -
Berlin Airlift
Truman's move to prevent the removal of US troops from Berlin against the Soviet Union's wishes, while also helping the troops to survive. He ordered US planes to fly in supplies to the people of West Berlin, and also sent 60 bombers capable of carrying atomic bombs to bases in England. Ultimately Kruschev stands down 9 months later. -
Harry Truman: Fair Deal & Congress
Fair Deal: Domestic reform proposals of the Truman administration; included civil rights legislation, repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act; called for improved housing, full employment, higher minimum wage, better farm price supports, new TVA's, and the extension of social security
However, it did not pass Congress!
The 80th Congress was given nickname "Do Nothing Congress" because they didn't do what President Truman wanted, such as pass his Fair Deal reforms, largely because they were Republican -
1950s: Baby Boom, Domestic Tranquility, and Consumerism
Baby Boom: After the war, families had tons of babies to replace the lives lost and due to postwar affluence. Led to a 20 % population growth during the 50s and led to increasing consumer demand.
Domestic Tranquility: The 1950s was a period of conformity, when both men and women observed strict gender roles and complied with society's expectations. Women had to give up their factory jobs after WW2 ended, and many returned to the home to tend to the household and have children (Baby Boom) -
McCarthyism
In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy began a campaign against "communists"(entertainers, teachers, democrats, gov't officials, screenwriters) that led to 4 years of charges and counter charges. McCarthyism became the modern name for Red Scare of 1950s. The Army-McCarthy hearings were Congress hearings called by McCarthy to accuse members of the army of communist ties. In this widely televised spectacle, McCarthy finally went too far. The hearings exposed his extremism and led to his disgrace in 1954 -
1950s: Rock and Roll
Elvis Presley: Memphis-born singer whose youth, voice, and sex appeal helped popularize rock 'n' roll in the mid-1950s. Commonly known using only his first name, he was an icon of popular culture, in both music and film
Buddy Holly: An American musician and singer-songwriter who was a central figure of mid-1950s rock and roll.
The baby boomers of the 1950s listened to rock and roll, causing kids to rebel against their parents and leading to the counterculture of the 1960s. -
Harry Truman: Korean War "The Forgotten War"
In Korea, the US and Soviets had set up rival regimes above/below the 38th parallel. The Soviets and North Koreans crossed border in 1950 ; Truman called on UN to declare North Korea as an aggressor. UN troops were ordered to support South Korea in "police action" (mostly US). MacArthur regained land and pushed north above 38th parallel. Chinese "volunteers" forced troops back to the parallel where a stalemate began. MacArthur was fired, and the Korean stalemate lasted until 1953. -
1950s: Economic Boom
During Eisenhower's era, Americans achieved a high level of prosperity. While other places struggled to rebuild from WWII, the US saw their standard of living surpass anywhere else in the world
Eisenhower contributed because he found the right combination of low taxes, balanced budgets, and public spending that allowed the economy to flourish. He benefitted from steady growth in spending on new homes and consumer goods as people turned away from older notions of thrift and began to buy on credit -
Civil Rights Movement
Sit-Ins: Protests by black college students. Took seats at "whites only" lunch counters and refused to leave until served; 1960 over 50,000 participated across the South. Prompted formation of Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee
Schools desegregated with Brown v Board; overturned Plessy v.Ferguson; "Separate but equal" not okay
MLK: Baptist minister and civil rights leader. Organized the March on Washington, Freedom Rides, and Birmingham Protests. Gave powerful "I Have a Dream Speech." -
Brown Vs. Board of Education
Topeka Board of Education denied Linda Brown admittance to an all white school close to her house. Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall argued that "separate but equal" universities violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. Warren decided separate educational facilities were inherently unequal, effectively overturning Plessy Vs. Ferguson -
1950s: Suburbia
Due to postwar affluence and Assembly Line,almost every family could own a car. The Interstate Highway Act authorized the construction of thousands of miles of highways that made living farther from work a possibility, giving rise to suburban sprawl. Racial fears, affordable housing, and the desire to leave decaying cities were all factors that prompted white families to flee to suburbs. Levitt applied the techniques of mass production to construction; planned living communities became new norm. -
Sputnik
Soviet satellite first launched into Earth orbit on October 4, 1957, this scientific achievement marked the first time human beings had put a man-made object into orbit and pushed the USSR noticeably ahead of the United States in the field of space exploration. This sparked U.S. fears of Soviet dominance in technology and outer space. It led to the creation of NASA, the Space Race, and increased teaching of math and science in schools. -
1960s Women's Movement: Part 1
After domestic tranquility of the 1950s, feminism was revived by Betty Friedan's book "The Feminine Mystique," encouraging middle-class women to seek fulfillment in professional careers rather than in traditional roles of wife, mother, and homemaker. Friedan founded National Organization for Women (NOW), which soon became the biggest feminist organization in the US. The Equal Rights Amendment never passed, however, due to backlash by those who didn't want women to renounce traditional roles. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
An international crisis in October 1962, the closest approach to nuclear war at any time between the U.S. and the USSR. When the U.S. discovered Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, President JFK demanded their removal and announced a naval blockade of Cuba. Soviet leader Khrushchev agreed to U.S. demands a week later. As a result, a hotline was established between the two leaders to avoid future conflicts and to talk out misunderstandings. -
1960s Women's Movement: Part 2
In 1964, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by Congress and signed by President Johnson. This prohibited discrimination in the work environment based on gender. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission established to end discrimination in the workplace; Equal Pay Act passed, although it was (and is) poorly enforced by the federal government. -
LBJ: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
In August 1964, after reports that US naval vessels were attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin, LBJ asked Congress for support. Congress passed the Resolution, giving LBJ a "blank check" to take all necessary measures to protect armed forces in Vietnam. LBJ used this as a functional equivalent of a declaration of war, although critics say he should've gone to Congress for formal approval. Prompted the War Powers Act later, checking the president's power in an armed conflict without Congress' approval. -
Radical Civil Rights Movement
Malcolm X was a Black Muslim minister and an influential leader who moved away from King's non-violent methods of civil disobedience. Malcolm X converted to Islam while he was in prison, splitting with the Black Muslim movement and forming the Organization of Afro-American Unity which attracted thousands of young, urban blacks with its message of socialism and self-help. He initially advocated nationalism, self-defense, and racial separation. Assassinated in 1965 while giving a speech in NYC. -
LBJ: Vietnam War/Tet Offensive
In 1965, LBJ approved Operation Rolling Thunder, a prolonged air attack with B-52 bombers against North Vietnamese targets
In April, LBJ brought troops into Vietnam to fight the Viet Cong; by end of 1965, 184,000 troops would be in Vietnam. In 1968, North Vietnamese forces launched a huge attack on the New Year (Tet). After many televised American deaths and the taking of strongholds, the Communists lost, but Americans still reacted sharply, with declining approval of LBJ and anti-war sentiment -
Richard Nixon: Vietnam War
In his first term as president, Richard Nixon promised the American public that he would bring "peace with honor." He pursued a plan he called "Vietnamization," whereby the U.S. would gradually withdraw from the war, leaving the South Vietnamese army to shoulder the bulk of the fighting. Despite his pledge to bring American G.I.s home, American ground troop levels in Vietnam remained high and the Nixon administration expanded the war into the neighboring countries of Laos and Cambodia. -
1960s Counterculture
A new culture with lifestyles and values opposed to those of the established culture; "hippies" who accepted drugs and sexuality and lived unconnected to the past. White, middle-class college students who wanted the return of democracy to the people formed Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Rock and roll, through artists like The Beatles and Jim Morrison, voiced these messages of nonviolence and yearning for greater participation in government. Notably, they met at Woodstock Music Festival -
Vietnam War Protests
The anti-war movement began mostly on college campuses, as members of the leftist organization Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized “teach-ins” to express their opposition to the way in which it was being conducted. At a student protest in Kent State University, the national guard was called in and ultimately killed 4 unarmed college students; similarly, in Jackson State, two were killed by the National Guard. The events only worsened the public view of the Vietnam War.
