APUSH (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 they tried to integrate Little Rock Central High School
• Peaceful resistance and civil disobedience were the main methods for fighting for change, with Rosa Parks leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Martin Luther King Jr. advocating for non-violent protest
• Malcolm X and groups like the Black Panthers advocated for black empowerment and self-defense
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed poll taxes
• Eisenhower warned of a domino theory in Asia, and tensions in Vietnam continued to escalate under Kennedy and Johnson, leading to America's official involvement in the war
• The Vietnam War was America's first televised war, with live coverage of events like the 1968 Tet Offensive shaking public confidence in the war effort
• 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 withdrew American troops, and the Paris Accords in 1973 ended the war in Vietnam
• 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, including the Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty and his visit to China
• The Watergate scandal led to Nixon's resignation, and his pardon by Gerald Ford angered some Americans
• Carter's term was plagued by rising inflation, high unemployment, and the Iranian hostage crisis, contributing to Reagan's victory in 1980
• The modern environmental movement emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, leading to important regulations like the Clean Air Act 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, including the feminist movement, the LGBTQ+ rights movement, the Chicano movement, and the American Indian movement