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Cards (111)

  • Containment

    -The Containment Doctrine was made by George Kennan in 1947.
    -It was a global strategy of military and political preparedness to prevent spread of communism.
    -No action would be taken on places where communism already existed.
  • Iron Curtain

    -On March 5, 1946, Winston Churchill, who had recently lost re-election as PM to Clemet Attlee, traveled to the U.S. to warn about growing Soviet influence.
    -At Fulton, MO, he delivered his famous "Iron Curtain" speech, warning of the spread of communism.
    -The "Iron Curtain" was a split between the
    Eastern democratic nations and Western communist nations.
  • Truman Doctinre

    -It was the play of the U.S. to support free peoples who are resisting outside pressures.
    -It drew us to aid many countries to try and contain communism.
    -Many postwar countries were suffering from economic chaos like France, Italy, and Germany.
    -Countries with economic problems were ripe for communism to take over.
    -Military preparedness alone would not be enough for the U.S. to combat communism.
  • Marshall Plan

    -This plan was created by George C. Marshall who was the Secretary of State.
    -It was an economic plan to combat the spread of communism.
    -On July 1947, European nations met to work out the details of the economic aid provided by the plan.
    -The Soviets refused to participate and walked out of the conference.
    -The Marshall Plan prepared spending $12.5 billion over 4 years in 16 countries.
    -Congress debated its course of action as this was an enormous amount of money.
    -But a Soviet camp in Czechoslovakia convinced them that the Marshall Plan was worth it.
    -The plan worked as American dollars helped get the European economy back to business, jobs increased, and the healthy economies quieted communism.
  • Berlin AIrlift

    -With the split of Germany into East and West halves, the city of Berlin which lies in the Soviet zone also became a source of tension.
    -Berlin, the cultural center of Germany, had been also divided into 4 zones.
    -Stalin didn't want to allow West Berlin to remain democratic because anyone wishing to escape communism went West and got out.
    -On June 1948, Stalin made a move to take West Berlin by cutting off rail and highway access into the city.
    -About 2.5 million people lived in West Berlin and they didn't want to live under communism.
    -Nor did Truman want Stalin to believe he could win the struggle.
    -This was the first real showdown of the Cold War.

    -In response to the Soviet blockade, the U.S. began a gigantic airlift and flew in goods to West Berlin.
    -American planes made more than 200,00 flights and dropped tons of food, coal, and other supplies.
    -By May 1949, the Soviets abandoned the blockade which was costing them money and wasn't working.
    -The U.S. won the first battle of the Cold War.
  • Taft-Hartley Act

    -In 1946, the Republicans gained control of both houses of Congress and in 1947, they passed the Taft-Hartley Act over President Truman's veto.
    1) It outlawed the "closed" shop, which had required workers to join the union.
    2) It made unions liable for damage caused by strikes.
    3) It required all union leaders to take a non-communism oath.
    -As a result, it slowed the growth of organized labor post WWII.
  • Joseph McCarthy

    -In February 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy (R) from WI, claimed that there were 205 communists in the U.S. State Department.
    -McCarthy who was up for re-election hoped the press coverage would help him win.
    -Overtime, the number dropped down to 57 but actually he proved none.
    -But over the 4 years of his charges, he captured the national spotlight and his claims grew bolder as he accused the U.S. Army of being disloyal.
    -The accusations led to the Army-McCarthy hearings which was 35 days of televised inquiry on TV.
    -The Army was defended by Attorney Joseph Welch who asked McCarthy, "Have you no sense of decency?"
    -McCarthy's popularity fell and the Senate condemned him for "conduct unbecoming of a member."
    -3 years later, McCarthy died of chronic alcoholism but the term "McCarthyism" remains part of the American vocabulary.
  • Alger Hiss

    -Nixon led the investigation by HUAC into Alger Hiss, a former State Department Official accused of being a communist agent in the 1930s by Whittaker Chambers, a communist member.
    -Chambers claimed that Hiss had given him secret documents to pass onto the USSR in 1937 and 1938.
    -By the time the case came to trial, the statue on limitations on spying had run out, but Hiss was convicted of perjury in 1950 and was given 5 years.
  • McCarran Act

    -In 1950, the Republican Congress would pass this act over Truman's veto.
    -The law gave the President the right to detain and arrest those suspected of disloyalty.
    -Truman felt the bill went too far.
  • "Hollywood Ten"

    -HUAC investigated Hollywood because they believed communist messages were being used in films.
    -Witnesses were asked, "Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party or a Fellow Traveler?"
    -As a result of the investigations, many in Hollywood were blacklisted and couldn't get work.
    -The "Hollywood Ten" were a group of ten producers and screenwriters who were cited for contempt of Congress and blacklisted after refusing to answer questions about their alleged involvement with the Communist Party in 1947.
  • Postwar Expansion

    POSTWAR ECONOMY
    -During WWII, the U.S. economy was brought out of the Great Depression.
    -Many American businesses had not been converted from consumer goods to war goods.
    -Rationing had been implemented on scarce goods, resulting in a decrease in consumer spending.
    -When WWII ended, the post-war economy dropped from its wartime peak.
    -In 1946-1947, when price controls were removed, prices on goods rose by 33%, but worker wages stayed the same.

    LONG ECONOMIC BOOM:
    -In 1948, the Gross National Project (GNP) had grown and by 1950, it reached a stable plateau that would last about 2 decades.
    -National income nearly doubled in the 1950s and nearly doubled again in the 1960s.
    -Those defined as middle class doubled to include about 60% of all Americans.
    -By the end of the 1950s, most families owned a car, washing machine, and a television set.
    -women benefited the most from post-war prosperity as most new jobs went to them.

    Reasons for the Boom:
    1) Permanent War Economy
    -Defense spending made up about 10% of the GNP.
    2) Cheap Energy
    -Americans and European companies dominated international oil businesses.
    3) The Shift of the Work-frame Out of Agriculture
    -The farm family decreased while big businesses increased resulting in an increase in productivity.

    POSTWAR MOBILITY
    -The National Security Act of 1947 established the National Security Council (NSC) to advise the president in security matters.
    -The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) coordinated the government's foreign fact gathering.
    -Voice of America radio broadcasts, that were beamed behind the Iron Curtain in 1948 to offer information outside of that provided by the Soviet controller governments.
    -The U.S. began drafting men between 19-25, to maintain a standing army.
  • William J. Levitt

    -He was an American real-estate developer.
    -Construction boomed in the 1950s.
    -The Levitt. Brothers revolutionized home construction in Long Island, NY with "cookie cutter" houses.
  • Sunbelt

    -It is a region of the United States generally considered to stretch across the South and Southwest that has seen substantial population growth since the 1960s, partly fueled by a surge in retiring baby boomers who migrate domestically, as well as the influx of immigrants, both legal and illegal.
  • GI Bill

    -This 1944 act was passed by FDR and went into effect post-WWII.
    -It was also known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act.
    1) It provided college money for returning veterans.
    -about 8 million advanced their education at a taxpayer cost of $14.5 billion.
    2) Gave veterans preference in seeking state and federal jobs.
    3) Enabled the Veteran's Administration (VA) to guarantee about $16 billion in loans to veterans to buy houses, farms, and small businesses.
    -Result: It raised the level of graduation of stimulated the construction industry.
  • Korean War

    -The Cold War would turn "hot" in Korea.

    BACKGROUND:
    -When Japan surrendered in WWII, Japanese forces occupying Korea also surrendered to the Allied forces there.
    -The Soviets accepted the surrender North of the 38th parallel while the U.S. accepted the surrender South of the 38th parallel.
    -While both the U.S. and USSR claimed to want a reunited Korea, both hoped it would be reunited under their respective political philosophies.
    -As both sides pulled out their troops, they backed regimes loyal to their own philosophies.
    -North: Kim Il-Sung
    -South: Syngman Rhee

    WAR BEGINS:
    -On June 25, 1950, Soviet made tanks and North Korean troops cross the 38th parallel in an attempt to try to unite the North and South under communist rule.
    -The U.S. wanted to make sure South Korea didn't fall to communism but would also leave North Korea alone.
    -The North Koreans would push the South Korean army back to the port city of Pusan, where the Pusan Perimeter was formed.
    -America was shocked. Truman ordered U.S. planes and ships to the area to try to prevent South Korea's fall, without asking Congress.
    -Truman used the hostilities to push the NSC 68.
    -Truman was determined to enforce containment so he took the matter to the UN, where he knew the measure to stop North Korean aggression would be passed.
    -The USSR was not present for the vote as they were boycotting the U.S. refusal to recognize Communist China.
    -The UN voted to:
    1) Condemn North Korea as the aggressor
    2) Render very assistance to restore peace.
    -Officially the U.S. was participating in a UN "police action" which General MacArthur was leading.
    -By the end of the week Truman had ordered U.S. troops into South Korea.

    MILITARY SEESAW:
    -Rather than fight his way out of Pusan, MacArthur launched an amphibious landing at Inchon.
    -North Korea would be pushed back across the 38th parallel but MacArthur wanted to go after them and defeat them fully.
    -Truman gave the go ahead but told MacArthur to stop at the first sign of military intervention by China. Now the operation had moved from containment to an offensive war.
    -The Chinese issued a warning that the UN forces should keep away from the Yalu River.
    -MacArthur dismissed the warning and continued his drive north.
    -On November of 1950, China sent a wave of 250,000 troops and forced the UN forces back across the 38th parallel.
    -The Chinese army caught the UN forces by surprise and resulted in many being taken as POWs.
    -MacArthur publicly revealed he was frustrated that he was fighting a "limited war" so on April 11, 1951, Truman fired him for insubordination.
    -On July of 1951, truce discussions began but would drag on over the issue of POWs. A truce wouldn't be reached until 1953, but no peace treaty between North and South Korea was signed. Technically, the two sides are still at war today.
    -Americans were frustrated by the outcome of the war as 540,000 Americans were killed in a stalemate result.
  • NATO

    -U.S. involvement in world affairs, also increased due to the Cold War.
    -In 1948, Britain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg, formed an alliance of Western European Democracies, and they invited the U.S. to join.
    -America joined because the alliance would strengthen containment, it could help reintegrate Germany into the European community, and it would give Western democracies reassurance that the U.S. would not return back to isolationism.
    -On April 4, 1949, the U.S. joined in signing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in which the members pledged to defend each other in case of an attack.
    -NATO was ratified by the U.S. Senate on July 21, 1951, by 82 to 13.
    -By 1955, there was 15 NATO nations including Greece, Turkey, and Germany.
    -Importance of U.S. joining NATO:
    1) Marked a chance in U.S. diplomatic conventions (we moved away from no foreign treaties).
    2) Helped unify the Western democracies of Europe.
    3) It increased the militarization of the Cold War.
  • Eisenhower Doctrine

    -In 1957, Congress passed the Eisenhower Doctrine.
    -It pledged economic support to any Middle Eastern nation threatened by Communist aggression.
    -Communism was not as big of a threat as nationalism.
  • John Foster Dulles

    -He was the Secretary of State during the 1950s.
    -He favored "rollback" over "containment."
    -Dulles and Ike promised to accomplish this and at the same time, balance and cut military spending by not using so many ground troops.
  • Interstate Highway Act

    -The Highway Act of 1956 was a $27 billion plan to build 42,000 miles of highway.
    -The new road system was a military necessity because of the need to transfer atomic weapons.
    -Impact of the act:
    1) It created new construction jobs.
    2) It created opportunities in the tracking, automobile, oil, and travel industries.
    3) Sped up suburbanization.
    -One negative impact was it increased energy consumption and pollution.
  • End of the Korean War
    -On December 1952, Eisenhower traveled to Korea for a 3 day visit but he was unable to bring an immediate end to the fighting.
    -The war would continue for 7 more months before an armistice would be signed (Ike had to threaten atomic force to get the agreement).
    -The Korean War was also known as the "Forgotten War."
    -It cost 54,800 American lives and more than a million Chinese, SK, and NK lives.
    -The U.S. had spent billions to only end up with containment at the 38th parallel.
  • Montgomery Bus Boycott

    -In 1955, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress was arrested when she refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger.
    -Her arrest sparked a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama that would last about a year.
  • Sit-ins

    -On July 19, 1958, the first "sit-in" occurs to try to desegregate Pockorn Drugstore in Wichita, KS.
    -For 3 weeks blacks filled the counter seats refusing to move til served.
    -On Feb 1, 1960, 4 black students from Greensboro, NC did the same at a Woolworths Drugstore counter.
    -The movement grew each day. 19 people then 85, and by the end of the week, over 1000.
    -"Sit-ins" began happening all over the country especially in the South.
  • SCLC

    -In 1957, Martin Luther King Jr. forms the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to mobilize the power of the black churches to work for civil rights.
  • Betty Friedan
    -She was an American feminist.
    -She wrote "The Feminine Mystique" in 1963 which promoted feminine protest against the "Cult of Domesticity" and launched the modern women's movement.
  • U-2 Incident

    -In 1959, all hopes for progress were shattered when the Soviets shot down an American U-2 spy plane.
    -The U.S. had wanted to get an accurate number of Soviet missiles prior to the meeting in Paris.
    -The Soviets captured the U-2 pilot Gary Francis Powers who was tried and convicted of spying.
    -Khrushchev was furious with Eisenhower and at the May meeting, he demanded a public apology. Ike wouldn't give one. All hope for peace was lost.
    -Powers was eventually released after 1 year and 9 months. We traded a captured Soviet spy, Col. Rudolph Abel to get him released.
    -This was the first Cold War spy exchange.
    -Powers later wrote about the experience in "Operation Overflight."
  • CIA

    -It is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for collecting and coordinating intelligence and counterintelligence activities abroad in the national interest.
    -They were the ones who were training the Cuban exiles for the Bay of Pigs mission.
  • Iran

    -The U.S. kept a close eye on the Middle East region due to oil and its strategic location.
    -The Iranian government was being influenced by the USSR to nationalize U.S. oil companies.
    -U.S. companies paid around a $50 million fee to operate but made $350 million a year in profits.
    -In 1951, the 11 year old Prime Minister Mohamed Mossadegh seized U.S. companies in Iran and nationalized them.
  • Guatemala

    -The CIA directed a coup that ousted a leftist government in Guatemala in 1954.
  • Military Industrial Complex

    -It is a reliance of government economy on weapons production.
    -Ironically in 1960 when Ike gave his farewell address, he warned of the creation of the "military industrial complex", which he had helped to create.
  • Keynesian Economics

    -it is the theory based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes, stating that government spending and investment should increase during business slumps and be curbed during booms.
  • Bay of Pigs Invasion
    -When JFK took office, the CIA informed him of a plan to topple Fidel Castro.
    -Under Ike, the CIA had been training Cuban exiles for a plan to invade the island and lead an uprising.
    -JFK decided to go with the plan and on April 17, 1961, some 1,200 Cuban exiles were landed at Bahia de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs).
    -But no popular uprising followed and the exiles were all captured or killed.
    -Cuba held them in Castro's jails until the U.S. decided to trade them for $62 million in pharmaceuticals and other humanitarian supplies.
    -JFK took full responsibility for the Bay of Pigs disaster but it is considered to be the greatest blunder of his presidency.
    -The disaster pushed Castro closer to Khrushchev who promised to protect Cuba from any future invasions.
  • Cuban Missile Crisis

    -On October 1962, the U.S. discovers just how close Cuba and the USSR has became when a U-2 spyplane took photos that showed the USSR building a missile site in Cuba.
    -The discovery of the missile site marks the climax of the Cold War and became a game of "nuclear chicken."
    -JFK and his advisors debated their course of action.
    -JFK decided on "naval quarantine" and demanded the immediate removal of the missiles.
    -He also told Khrushchev that an attack on the U.S. by Cuba would be seen as an attack by the USSR and would be met with nuclear retaliation.
    -On October 1962, Khrushchev agreed to a compromise.
    -The U.S. would end the "naval quarantine" and promise not to invade Cuba in the future. They also quietly hinted that they would remove U.S. missiles in Turkey poiinted at the USSR.
    -The outcome of the crisis greatly improved the public perception of JFK while Khrushchev took heat from hard line communists for the agreement.
    -In response, the USSR began a massive military buildup.
    -JFK- was shaken by the event and vowed never to get that close to a nuclear war again.
  • Vietnam

    HO CHI MINH
    -He was the leader of the Vietnamese Nationalists during the French Indochina War.
    -He would end up becoming communist and was backed by other communist countries as he became the leader of North Vietnam.

    NGO DINH DIEM
    -He was the leader of South Vietnam and was backed by the U.S.
    -He was western educated and Catholic.

    -South Vietnam was corrupt under leadership of Diem. U.S. dollars had not been used to benefit the people.
    -JFK was informed that without U.S. intervention, SV would likely fall to communism.
    -JFK was reluctant to send troops, "It is their war to win or lose."
    -In late 1961, JFK increased the amount of "military advisors" to about 15,000 because he was concerned that if SV fell, all of SE Asia would fall to communism, known as the domino effect.

    -Diem was very unpopular especially because he cracked down in Buddhism, resulting in monks setting themselves on fire in the streets.
    -JFK soon gave the green light to removing Diem as he would be no match for Ho Chi Minh.
    -On November 1963, Diem would be killed in a military coup.
  • "Flexible Response"

    -Post WWII created problems for U.S. foreign policy.
    -Many places that received independence from European Powers became unstable.
    -For example, the Congo exploded into violence after being freed from Belgium, forcing the UN to send forces (which the U.S. paid for).
    -In Laos, JFK considered sending forces to keep communism out of the former French colony but he did not want to pull forces out of Europe for the mission, and instead pushed for a 1967 Geneva Conference.
    -JFK felt strongly that the U.S. needed more options than "massive retaliation"
    for international crisis.
    -With Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, JFK created "Flexible Response," an array of military options from traditional to nuclear.
    -It even included special forces like the Green Berets.

    -"Flexible Response" was not without flaws.
    -It lowered the level at which diplomacy gave way to fighting.
    -It provides a mechanism for a progressive and possibly endless cycle of stepping up of U.S. involvement.
    -Vietnam revealed both these flaws.
  • Counterculture

    -The cultural upheaval occurred in the 1960s because of the 3 P's: Population, Prosperity, and Protest.
  • Election of 1964

    -The Democrats nominated Lyndon B. Johnson while the Republicans nominated Barry Goldwater, Senator of Arizona.
    -Goldwater attacked the federal income tax, social security, and TVA's civil rights, which were all aspects of LBJ's "Great Society."
    -Goldwater also accused LBJ of being soft on communism.
    -Goldwater called for all out war in Vietnam, making LBJ seem the more moderate choice, "Barry will bury us."
    -LBJ won with 486 votes to Goldwater's 52 electoral votes, and the Democrats captured both Houses of Congress.
    -LBJ won with 61% of the popular vote, giving him a strong mandate to govern.
  • Michael Harrington

    -He was the author of famous book, "The Other Americans - Poverty in the US", which he wrote in 1962.
    -He argued that 25% of the country was actually in poverty, and highlighted the inequalities that plagued the country. It was regarded as a driving force behind the War on Poverty by the Johnson Administration.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964

    -The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned racial discrimination in most private facilities open to the public like theaters, restaurants, etc.
    -It strengthened the federal government's power to end segregation in schools and other public places.
    -It was finally passed after 8 weeks of filibuster waged by 19 Southern senators.
    -It created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to eliminate discrimination in hiring.
  • Great Society

    -LBJ's domestic programs were called "The Great Society," which was a series of economic and welfare programs.
    -LBJ was able to gain support in Congress through JFK's death.

    -The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned racial discrimination in most private facilities open to the public like theaters, restaurants, etc.
    -It strengthened the federal government's power to end segregation in schools and other public places.
    -It was finally passed after 8 weeks of filibuster waged by 19 Southern senators.
    -It created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to eliminate discrimination in hiring.

    -Johnson also got JFK's tax bill passed and added proposals for a billion dollar "War on Poverty."
    -Congress doubled the funding for EEOC to 2 billion dollars.

    -Congress created 2 new cabinet posts:
    1) Housing of Urban Development (HUD)
    -Robert Weaver became the first black cabinet member.
    2) Department of Transportation
    -Congress created the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities.

    -The most significant legislation of the "Great Society" Congress is known as the Big Four Feats.
    1) Education Bill
    2) Medicaid/Medicare
    3) Immigration Reform
    4) Voting Rights Act of 1965
  • Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

    -The U.S. Navy had been quietly patrolling along the coast of N. Vietnam in support of S. Vietnam who was sending in gunboats to conduct coasted raids on N. Vietnam.
    -On August 2, 1964, two U.S. ships were fired upon, the Maddox and Turner Jay.
    -LBJ would use the attacks to gain political support.
    -First, he told the public that the attacks were "unprovoked" and he ordered limited retailatory air raids against NV bases.
    -LBJ was also able to convince Congress to pass the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. The resolution gave LBJ a "blank check" to use force in Vietnam without additional approval from Congress.
    -LBJ composed the resolution to "Grandma's Nightshirt."
    -The Senate repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1971.