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Period: to
60s to the 20th century
The history of America during the 1960s to the 2000s -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
On April 17, 1961, 1400 CIA-backed Cuban refugees conducted an invasion on Cuba, to overthrow communist dictator Fidel Castro. The CIA have been training the anti-revolutionary Cuban exiles for an invasion of the island ever since the Eisenhower era. Getting approval from Kennedy, they were sent off to Cuba to recruit some of the local population in Havana to fight. After all the training they went through, the exiles lost 90 men and the rest were captured by Castro's army.It humiliated Kennedy. -
NASA and the Space Race
Kennedy pledged to beat the Soviets by landing an American astronaut on the moon before the decade is out.This was the beginning of the space race and the start of space travel. The United States and the Soviet Union competed to land on the moon first, using millions of dollars on their projects. Kennedy's goal weas accomplished when astronaut, Neil Armstrong and Apollo 11 beat the Soviet cosmonauts to the moon. Kennedy kept his promise and landed a man on the moon before the decade was out. -
The Berlin Wall
In order to separate capitalist East Germany and communist West Germany, the Soviets began the construction of the Berlin Wall, so noone could cross from one side to another. It was a way of hiding the East from the West,like the Iron Curtain, so tension between the two sides increased. It became a symbol of the Cold War, the devide between East and West. The wall was torn down in November 9, 1989, the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis
Behind the United States in the Arms Race, Premier Nikita Khruschev wanted to place missiles on the island of Cuba as a deterrent for the United States, if they ever considered to attack. Because of the Bay of Pigs invasion, Fidel Castro believed that the United States would attack again and agreed to Khruschev's plan. For 13 days, everybody prepared and waited for the beginning of a nuclear war. Kennedy was able to change the outcome by persuading Krueschev to take move the missiles off Cuba. -
Immigration act of 1965
Beginning during the Kennedy era, the Immigration act of 1965 was thrown around, and looked like another addition to the immigration law. The act was finally signed in the October of 1965, by President Lyson Johnson. His reason for doing this was the pressure that the Civil Rights Movement was giving him. This allowed more immigrants from third-world countries and the beginning of Chinese immigrants entering the country. Now based on skill or family ties, more people were able to immigrate here. -
The Tet Offensive
On January 31, in 1968 -
Tet Offensive
70,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops launched an attack known as the Tet Offensive, named for a new lunar year holiday. They attacked over 100 cities and settlements in South Vietnam, believing that it will create rebellions and make the United States decrease it's support for South Vietnam. The offensive failed, but the news coverage of the attack worsened the support for the war. With President Johnson becoming increasingly unpopular, Richard Nixon takes the role as president. -
Vietnamization
After getting into office, President Richard Nixon introduced his policy called "vietnamization." The purpose of the policy was to take American troops out of Vietnam, pleasing the American public. The plan was to take out a certain amount of troops at different times in the year. The replacement for the troops were people sent by the CIA to train the South Vietnamese to fight. The US also assisted in developing in military schools and institutions. These caused many problems as time went on. -
Detente
Originally beginning in 1971, detente took a decisive form in 1972, it was a call for peace and a relaxation of tension between East and West. President Nixon travels to Moscow inorder to meet with the Secretary General of the Communist party. The meeting was about decreasing the fear of a nuclear holocaust and the increase in trade. After having the meeting and coming to an agreement, Nixon travels to China. The Soviets interest in this increased because their relation with China was weakening. -
The Watergate Scandal
Early in the morning, several burglurs were arrested in the Democratic National Commitee while trying to wiretap the phone.The men that were trying to tap the phones to steal secret information were part of president Richard Nixon's relection campign. Whether or not he was behind the scandal is uncertain, but he began to destroy evidence and giving away money to keep people quiet. Once the media caught wind of his involvement in the robbery, president Nixon resigns in August of 1974. -
Boat People
Once the war ended, thousands of South Vietnamese had escaped the blood bath that was occurring at the time. The term isn't limited to only Vietnamese people, but also to people from Laos and Cambodia, who was afraid of the massacres that were happening. People with chinese backgrounds in North Vietnam fled to Hong Kong out of fear. With fear also coming from a war between Vietnam and two other countries, many made the hard decision to flee, made illegal by the communist government. -
Camp David Accords
A peace treaty that was made between Israel and Egypt at a presidential retreat by the name of Camp David.It was soon signed in May by Israel's prime minister: Menachem Begin and Egypt's president: Anwar Al-Sadat. President Jimmy Carter signed as a witness to this treaty. -
Supply-side economy
An economic theory that when lowering a corporation's taxes, the government can stimulate the investments in industry and will result in higher production rate. This means that the prices will deflate and inflation can be controlled. The theory is also useful in education and training and focused on increased goods and not deman for them. Reagan benefited from this theory and influenced his presidency. -
New Right
A political movement who were conservative activists and organizations who were a major part in Reagan's election and presidency. The movement was a coalition of other movements like the Moral Majority, an evangelic Christian organization. The New Right favored strict limit on government intervention, restrict homosexual behavior, improvement in family values, and censor pornography. The New Right still exists today and influence the government. -
Reagan Revolution
At the time, America was in a great recession and the government became more involved with the people's lives. The United States also looked weak compared to the Soviet Union, losing influence and fear in smaller countries. That changed once President Ronald Reagan was elected into office. During his time in office he cut taxes and lowered regulation. During his time in office, he was able to reduce the roles in a person's life, returned the United States and government to it's former glory. -
Iran-Contra Affair
It all started as an internal confrontation between Reagan and the Democratic party. In 1984, the Boland Amendment was passed, stating that the CIA and department can't send military aid to certain countries. At the time, Reagan wanted to help Iran fight Iraq, giving them US weapons, supplies, and they received 12 million out of 30 million dollars. The Contras, a Nicaraguian group, received the money to fight the communist party. Those who were involved except Reagan and Bush were arrested. -
Reagan Doctrine
At first glance, it looked like another containment doctrine, fashioned by those before Reagan. But if you look closely, you will notice that the fashion of the order is different. The United States change from a defensive stance to an offensive stance on containment. The Reagan Doctrine was made to support anti-communist groups such as the Contras, an anti-communist group in Nicaragua. -
Persian-Gulf War
In the middle east, Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait to end a large debt that they owed by capturing their largest oil reserves. This scared surrounding arab nations and called for the US' help. Responding to the problem, the United Nations cut off all trade with Iraq. In response to them, they annex Kuwait, expanding their land. The US then leads an offensive into Kuwait and Iraq, known as Operation Desert Storm. The war ended 42 days later, after a cease fire was called by Bush. -
George W. Bush
The 43rd president of the United States and the first republican to reach out to gay and lesbian people. He took immediant action to fighting Al-Queda and anybody related to them, after 9/11. He helped reform education during his two terms in office. Though he was able to reform the educational system of the United States, he wasn't able to reform the Social Security System. -
Fighting Terrorists
On September 11, 2001, four planes were highjacked by terrorists. Their goals were to crash into the Twin Towers, the White House, and the Pentagon. The planes who were heading for the Twin Towers successfully hit them and critically damaged them, making them implode. The one heading to the Pentagon crash failed to do a lot of damage and the fourth crashed in an open field in Pennsylvania. This triggered the US to head to the Middle east and kill the members of Al-Quieda and Osama Bin Laden.
