Period 8

• Following World War II, America experienced significant economic growth
• GI Bill


  Gave veterans the opportunity to receive a college education and buy a home
• The GI Bill contributed to the baby boom and the rise of the Sunbelt region
• Eisenhower's Interstate Highway Act connected the country, improved trade and travel, and made road trips a popular pastime
• Neighborhoods like Levittown represented the American dream for many families by offering affordable mass-produced homes in the suburbs
• The television brought families together around the small screen, shaping popular culture by influencing fashion, music, and even politics
• This all contributed to a growing culture of conformity for American families
• Teens rebelled against this by listening to rock and roll music
• Writers like the author of The Affluent Society criticized these social norms
• Following World War II, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union led to a Cold War
• America joined both the United Nations and NATO, officially abandoning its policy of isolationism in an effort to combat communism
• Containment


  A policy recommended by George Kennan in his Long Telegram, early examples include the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan
• The Korean War was seen as an early success of containment, even though it ended in a stalemate and Korea remained divided
• Eisenhower's Eisenhower Doctrine pledged military aid to Middle Eastern countries threatened by communism, and he was more willing to threaten the use of military force, including nuclear weapons, to achieve foreign policy objectives
• Eisenhower warned of the dangers of the growing military-industrial complex that occurred during his presidency
• At the end of the Korean War, Cuba fell to communism, making it a hot spot for the Cold War due to its close proximity to America
• The Kennedy administration oversaw the failed Bay of Pigs incident and brought the US and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis
• Fears over communism led to the second Red Scare, with Americans building nuclear fallout shelters and children practicing duck and cover drills, and Senator Joseph McCarthy leading a series of witch hunts against accused communists in the government and the Army
• America heavily invested in defense industries and space research to keep up with the Soviets in the arms and space races
• The landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education declared segregation in schools unconstitutional, a huge victory for the civil rights movement
• Integration was met with fierce resistance, such as the Little Rock Nine facing hostility when trying to integrate Little Rock Central High School
• Peaceful resistance and civil disobedience were the main methods for fighting for change, with Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. as key figures
• Malcolm X and groups like the Black Panthers advocated for black empowerment and self-defense
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were legislative victories for the civil rights movement
• Tensions in Vietnam escalated under President Kennedy, and America officially got involved in the war following an alleged attack on the US Navy by the North Vietnamese
• Within a few years, America had over 500,000 troops in Vietnam, and a draft lottery was instituted, fueling protest and resistance from the counterculture movement
• The Vietnam War was America's first televised war, with live coverage of events like the 1968 Tet Offensive, which was a turning point in public opinion
• The release of the Pentagon Papers in 1971 confirmed Americans' concerns, proving they had been lied to about the state of the war, especially by the Johnson Administration
• Nixon's policy of Vietnamization gradually began to withdraw American troops, and in 1973 he declared the US had achieved "Peace With Honor" with the signing of the Paris Accords
• Johnson's domestic agenda, known as the Great Society, included significant legislation such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
• Nixon's foreign policy was based on détente, and he and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, worked to de-escalate Cold War tensions
• The Watergate scandal led to Nixon's resignation, and his Vice President, Gerald Ford, took office and pardoned Nixon
• The fall of Saigon was a huge victory for communism, and Ford battled poor economic conditions, including continued inflation
• Carter's term was plagued by rising inflation, high unemployment, and the Iranian hostage crisis, contributing to Reagan's victory in the 1980 election
• The modern environmental movement emerged, inspired by Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring," leading to important environmental regulations and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency
• The successes of the African-American civil rights movement inspired other groups to challenge societal norms and demand equality, such as the feminist movement and the LGBTQ+ rights movement
• The Chicano movement advocated for political and social rights for Mexican Americans, and the American Indian Movement fought for the rights of indigenous people