Chapter 27

The Postwar Years at Home(1945–1960)

The Baby Boom• The baby boom, or rise in birth rates, that had

begun in the 1940s continued into the 1950s.

Suburbs, Cars, and Highways

Suburban Growth• The GI Bill of Rights gave returning soldiers low-

income mortgages, enabling many to buy homes in newly built suburbs

• Developers such as William J. Levitt built entire communities quickly and on one mold, using preassembled materials.

• Although most Americans enjoyed living in communities such as Levitt’s, others complained that the new developments lacked variety.

Suburbs, Cars, and Highways

Cars and Highways• The growth of suburbs led more Americans to

rely on cars for everyday transportation.• More and better roads were needed to support

the increase in cars. The 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act provided billions of dollars to build an interstate highway system.

• Cars became part of American culture as new businesses such as drive-in movies emerged.

Comfort and Security

• Enjoying prosperity and recovering from war and economic depression, most Americans in the 1950s valued security over adventure.

• Youth in the 1950s enjoyed more time for school, and for recreation, than youth in earlier generations.

Comfort and Security

• Businesses marketed products such as movies and magazines to youths, reinforcing images of what it meant to be a teenager.

• Partially in response to the threats of communism and nuclear war, many Americans renewed their interest in religion. References to God were added to the Pledge of Allegiance and imprinted on U.S. currency.

Men’s and Women’s Roles

• Men and women were expected to play strictly defined roles in the 1950s. While men were expected to hold jobs and support their families, women were expected to perform domestic duties.

• Nevertheless, more and more married women began working outside the home, some to support their families and others for the sense of satisfaction they derived from holding jobs.

• Some women, notably Betty Friedan, desired more freedom in choosing social roles than the 1950s cultural climate allowed.

Youthful Rebellions

Rock-and-Roll • Rock-and-roll, a style of music based on black

rhythm and blues, became popular among teenagers in the 1950s.

• Many adults disliked rock-and-roll music, claiming that it encouraged immorality.

• Popular with both black and white teenagers, rock-and-roll threatened those who were comfortable with racial segregation.

Youthful Rebellions

Beatniks• Beatniks, many of whom were artists and

writers, launched a movement that stressed spontaneity and rejected money and power.

• Beatniks shocked many Americans with their open sexuality and use of illegal drugs.

• Author Jack Kerouac embodied the Beatnik spirit for many Americans.

Truman’s Domestic Policies

• The Peacetime Economy — Reconversion, the social and economic transition from wartime to peacetime, resulted in discrepancies between wages and prices. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required a cooling-off period during which workers on strike from industries affecting the national interest had to return to work.

Truman’s Domestic Policies

• The Fair Deal — Modeled on Roosevelt’s New Deal, Truman’s Fair Deal was a set of proposals for postwar economic improvement. Although some measures passed, many were rejected by Congress.

• Truman on Civil Rights — Truman formed the biracial Committee on Civil Rights in 1946 to address concerns of African Americans; opposition in Congress meant that change came slowly.

The Election of 1948

• Although Truman’s Democratic Party was splitting and support for him was disintegrating, Truman chose to seek another term as President in 1948.

• With a blunt but effective campaign style, Truman won the election despite polls’ predictions against him.

• In response to Roosevelt’s unprecedented four terms as President, the Twenty-second Amendment was passed in 1951. This amendment specified that no President could serve more than two elected terms.

Chapter 28

The Civil Rights Movement(1950–1968)

Brown v. Board of Education

• In 1951, Oliver Brown wanted his 8-year-old daughter to attend a Topeka, Kansas school, which only white children were permitted to attend.

• Brown sued the Topeka Board of Education, and his case reached the Supreme Court. Thurgood Marshall of the NAACP argued Brown’s case.

Brown v. Board of Education

• On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas case. In this ruling, the court supported Brown’s case for desegregation, stating that, “Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”

• A year later, the Court ruled that local school boards should move to desegregate “with all deliberate speed.”

The Philosophy of Nonviolence

• Rising civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., encouraged a philosophy of nonviolence among civil rights activists.

• In 1957, King and other African American clergymen founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). SCLC would become a significant civil rights organization in the years ahead.

The Philosophy of Nonviolence

• SCLC advocated nonviolent protest, a peaceful way of protesting against restrictive racial policies. Nonviolent protesters were encouraged not to fight back even when attacked.

• The formation of SCLC shifted the focus of the civil rights movement to the South and brought African American church leaders such as King to its forefront.

A New Voice for Students

• A new civil rights group run by young activists, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), began in 1960 at a meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina.

• SNCC soon became an independent civil rights organization. Its members sought immediate change, as opposed to the gradual change advocated by most older organizations.

A New Voice for Students

• One of SNCC’s most influential leaders was Robert Moses, a Harvard graduate student and mathematics teacher. Moses led with a quiet, humble style which earned him the admiration of his followers.

Sit-ins Challenge Segregation

• CORE created the sit-in in 1943 as a tactic to desegregate the Jack Spratt Coffee House in Chicago. The sit-in became a common, and powerful, tactic of the civil rights movement.

• During a sit-in, protesters sat down in a segregated public place, such as a lunch counter, refusing to leave until they were served.

• Sit-ins brought strong reactions in some places. People opposed to desegregation would sometimes mock, beat, or pour food on the protesters. Many sit-in participants were arrested and sent to jail.

Kennedy on Civil Rights

• During the 1960 presidential campaign, Kennedy won the support of many African American voters.

• Kennedy had voted for civil rights measures in the Senate but had not actively supported them. As President, he moved slowly on civil rights issues, not wanting to anger southern Democrats.

Kennedy on Civil Rights

• Hours after Kennedy had given a speech against discrimination, civil rights leader Medgar Evers was murdered. This murder made it clear that government action was needed.

• After violence erupted in Birmingham in 1963, Kennedy introduced a stronger civil rights bill than he had originally planned. This bill called for an end to segregation in public places and in situations where federal funding was involved.

The March on Washington

• To focus national attention on Kennedy’s bill, civil rights leaders proposed a march in Washington, D.C. The March on Washington was held in August 1963.

• More than 200,000 people came to the peaceful and orderly march, including musicians, religious leaders, and celebrities.

• At the march, Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered what was to become his best-known speech, “I Have a Dream.”

• Despite the success of the march, Kennedy’s civil rights bill remained stalled in Congress.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

Johnson’s Role• After Kennedy was assassinated, President

Johnson worked to build support for Kennedy’s civil rights bill.

• The house passed the bill, but civil rights opponents in the Senate stalled it with a filibuster. This technique involved preventing a vote on a measure by taking the floor and refusing to stop talking.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Act Is Passed• Johnson countered the filibuster with a

procedure called cloture, a three-fifths vote to limit debate and call for a vote.

• In June 1964, the Senate voted for cloture. Soon afterwards, the bill passed, becoming the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Chapter 29

The Kennedy and Johnson Years

(1961–1969)

Kennedy’s Domestic Programs

• In a speech early in his presidency, Kennedy said that the nation was poised at the edge of a “New Frontier.” This phrase came to refer to Kennedy’s proposals to improve the economy, assist the poor, and speed up the space program.

• Kennedy’s efforts to improve the economy included ordering a federal investigation into steel price fixing and proposing a large tax cut. His tax cut proposal, however, became stuck in Congress.

Kennedy’s Domestic Programs

• Many of Kennedy’s proposals aimed to combat poverty and inequality. Although some were rejected by Congress, others were passed. These included an increase in the minimum wage, funding for urban renewal, abolishment of poll taxes, and the Equal Pay Act, which required all employees doing the same work in the same workplace to receive equal wages.

Other Kennedy Initiatives

• Although Kennedy served a shortened presidency, he was able to initiate a variety of programs, including:– Improved surplus food to unemployed Americans– Largest defense buildup in peacetime history

– Help to communities plagued by long-term unemployment

Other Kennedy Initiatives– Extension of Social Security benefits– Expansion of National Park System– Doubling of federal resources combating water

pollution– Construction of the world’s largest nuclear power

plant– Tightening of food and drug laws– Encouragement of free trade– Signing of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty– Changes in the welfare system– Creation of first federal program to address juvenile

delinquency

The Space Program

• The Soviet Union’s launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957 inspired the United States to work toward placing a manned spacecraft in orbit.

• In April 1961, Soviet astronaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel in space. Americans worried that their technology was falling behind that of the Soviet Union.

• Funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was increased. In 1961 and 1962, American astronauts made initial space flights.

• On July 20, 1969, American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon.

Kennedy Is Assassinated

• On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was shot while riding in an open limousine through Dallas, Texas. He had traveled to Texas to mobilize support for his upcoming reelection campaign.

• Shots fired from the sixth-floor window of the empty Texas School Book Depository mortally wounded Kennedy, making Vice President Lyndon Johnson the new President.

• The prime suspect in Kennedy’s murder, Lee Harvey Oswald, was murdered by a man named Jack Ruby two days later, while being transferred from one jail to another.

Kennedy Is Assassinated

• To investigate Kennedy’s murder, President Johnson appointed The President’s Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, better known as the Warren Commission, after its chairman, Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren.

• The Warren Commission determined that Oswald had acted alone. However, theories that Oswald and Ruby had belonged to a conspiracy persisted.

The Great Society

The Great Society• Johnson used his talent in working with

Congress to initiate many reforms on domestic issues.

• Johnson’s programs on poverty aid, education, healthcare, economic development, and conservation became collectively known as the Great Society.

Election of 1964

The Election of 1964• In the 1964 election, Johnson won a landslide

victory over Republican opponent Barry Goldwater.

• A controversial television advertisement known as the “daisy” commercial took advantage of Americans’ fear of nuclear war to support Johnson’s campaign.

Great Society Programs

Great Society Reforms• The Tax Cut — Like Kennedy, Johnson believed that a

budget deficit could be used to improve the economy. A tax cut caused the deficit to shrink, since renewed prosperity generated new tax revenues.

• The War on Poverty — Johnson initiated new programs such as Head Start, a preschool program for low-income families, and Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), which sent volunteers to help people in poor communities.

Great Society Programs• Aid to Education — The 1965 Elementary and Secondary

Education Act, also initiated by Johnson, provided billions of dollars in aid to public and private schools.

• Medicare and Medicaid — Johnson helped Congress pass two new programs, Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare provides low-cost medical insurance to most Americans over age 65, while Medicaid provides similar services to poor Americans of any age.

• Immigration Reform — The Immigration Act of 1965 replaced immigration quotas with overall limits from various parts of the world. Immigration rose during the 1960s and 1970s.

The Warren Court• During the Kennedy-Johnson years, the Supreme Court,

headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren, handed down many controversial landmark verdicts.

• The Court ruled on social issues including obscenity, prayer in public schools, and use of birth control.

• The Warren Court was also interested in safeguarding the rights of persons accused of committing crimes. The Miranda rule, a result of the 1966 case Miranda v. Arizona, required police to inform accused persons of their rights.

• A series of Warren Court decisions changed the nature of apportionment, or the distribution of the seats in a legislature among electoral districts.

Effects of the Great Society

Effects on Poverty• During the 1960s and early 1970s, the number

of Americans living in poverty in the United States was cut in half.

• However, some Americans complained that too many of their tax dollars were being spent on poor people. Others criticized the way Great Society antipoverty programs expanded the size of the federal government.

Effects of the Great Society

The End of the Great Society• Johnson received both praise and criticism for

Great Society reforms.• A conflict in Southeast Asia, later to become the

Vietnam War, began to consume the resources Johnson needed for his domestic programs.

• The Great Society came to an end when Johnson failed to contain the Southeast Asia conflict.

The Berlin Crisis

Causes of the Berlin Crisis• As part of the post–World War II division of

Germany, the city of Berlin in Communist East Germany had been divided into Communist and non-Communist zones.

• The division of Berlin was planned as a temporary measure. However, the Soviet Union demanded that the division of the city be made permanent, hoping this would reduce the flow of East Germans escaping through Berlin to West Germany.

The Berlin Crisis

Effects of the Berlin Crisis• In response to Soviet demands, Kennedy

increased funding to the military and expanded the size of the armed forces.

• To avoid a confrontation, the Soviets built a wall to separate the Communist and non-Communist sections of Berlin in August 1961.

• The Berlin Wall came to be a somber symbol of Cold War tensions.

Chapter 30

An Era of Activism(1960–1975)

Roe v. Wade and the Equal Rights Amendment

Roe v. Wade• NOW and other groups worked to reform laws

governing a woman’s decision to choose abortion instead of continuing an unwanted pregnancy.

• In 1973, the Supreme Court legalized abortion in its Roe v. Wade decision. The verdict in this case was, and remains, highly controversial.

Roe v. Wade and the Equal Rights Amendment

The Equal Rights Amendment• In 1972, Congress approved passage of the Equal

Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Constitution.• This amendment would make discrimination

based on a person’s sex illegal.• Although the ERA was at first highly supported, it

failed to gain ratification by the necessary number of states and was, therefore, not added to the Constitution.

Opposition to the Women’s Movement

• Opposition to the women’s movement came from numerous sources. One woman, political activist Phyllis Schafly, led a national movement to block ratification of the ERA.

• Many men were hostile to the feminist movement, as were many women who felt satisfied with their roles as wives and mothers.

• Some African American and working-class women felt that the women’s movement did not adequately address their needs.

• Despite this opposition, the women’s movement continued to change minds and expand opportunities for women.

A Time of Change

• In the 1960s, many young people adopted values that ran counter to, or against, the mainstream culture. These young people were considered members of the counterculture.

• Members of the counterculture, also called hippies, valued youth, spontaneity, and individuality.

• Personal appearance in the 1960s reflected counterculture views of rejecting restrictions and challenging authority. Long hair for both men and women and colorful, loose-fitting clothing were popular.

A Time of Change

• Art in the 1960s reflected counterculture ideas. Artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein produced revolutionary works.

• Youths in the 1960s formed the largest generation in American history. As a result, they had an enormous impact on American society.

The Music World

• Music both reflected and contributed to the cultural changes of the 1960s.

• A new interest in folk music emerged among counterculture youth. Protest songs and songs that depicted the lives of ordinary people became popular.

• In 1964, a revolution in rock music that some called the British Invasion began. Two British rock groups, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, gained enormous popularity among American teenagers.

Rock Festivals in the 1960s

Woodstock• In August 1969, hundreds of thousands of people

attended the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, a several-day gathering in a large pasture in Bethel, New York.

• The Woodstock festival became best known for the fellowship that many experienced there.

• Police avoided confrontations at Woodstock by choosing not to enforce drug laws. The festival remained peaceful and under control despite the large crowds.

Reactions to the Counterculture

• Many adults deplored the drugs, sex, and nudity that they saw at the Woodstock festival and around the country.

• These adults viewed the counterculture as a childish reaction to the problems of the era. They disliked the rejection of traditional morals and values which counterculture youth adopted.

Chapter 32

Nixon, Ford, Carter(1969–1981)

The First Moon Landing

• During Nixon’s presidency, the United States achieved its goal of a successful moon landing.

• On July 20, 1969, Neil A. Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. He was joined by Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr., a fellow crewman on the Apollo 11 spacecraft.

• Television viewers around the world watched the moon landing, and Apollo 11’s crew were treated as heroes when they returned.

Henry Kissinger

Practical Politics• Kissinger admired the European political

philosophy of realpolitik, or practical politics. Under this policy, nations make decisions based on maintaining their strength rather than on moral principles.

• Kissinger applied a realpolitik approach to his dealings with China and the Soviet Union, which led to better diplomatic relations with both nations.

Henry Kissinger

Public Opinion• Kissinger understood the power of the media

and was able to use it to shape public opinion.• Kissinger’s efforts in ending the Vietnam War

and easing Cold War tensions made him a celebrity. He topped a list of most-admired Americans, was often featured on the cover of Time magazine, and in 1973 shared the Nobel peace prize.

Relaxing Tensions

Détente• Although Nixon had built a reputation as a strong

anti-Communist, he and Kissinger reversed the direction of postwar American foreign policy by holding talks with China and the Soviet Union.

• Nixon and Kissinger’s greatest accomplishment was in bringing about détente, or a relaxation in tensions, between the United States and these Communist nations.

Relaxing Tensions

Complex Foreign Affairs• Kissinger understood that foreign affairs were

more complicated than just a standoff between the United States and communism.

• The Soviet Union and China, once allies, had become bitter enemies. This development had the potential to reshape global politics.

A New Approach to China

Easing Relations Between the United States and China• Historical Background — After its Communist takeover in

1949, the United States refused to recognize the People’s Republic of China, viewing the government of Taiwan as the legitimate Chinese rulers.

• Steps to Ease Relations — During the early 1970s, relations eased between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. Nixon referred to the nation by name, travel and trade restrictions were lifted, and American table-tennis players visited China, beginning “Ping-Pong diplomacy.”

A New Approach to China

• Nixon’s Visit to China — In February 1972, Nixon became the first American President to visit China. Touring Chinese sites in front of television cameras, Nixon established the basis for future diplomatic ties during his visit.

• Recognizing the Chinese Government — The United States decided to join other nations in recognizing the Chinese government. In October 1971, Taiwan lost its seat in the United Nations to the People’s Republic of China.

Battling Political Enemies

• Nixon’s suspicious and secretive nature caused the White House to operate as if it were surrounded by political enemies. One result of this mind-set was the creation of an “enemies list,” a list of prominent people seen as unsympathetic to the administration.

• When someone in the National Security Council appeared to have leaked secret government information to the New York Times, Nixon ordered that wiretaps, or listening devices, be installed on the telephones of some news reporters and members of his staff.

Battling Political Enemies

• Leaks to the press continued, including former Defense Department official Daniel Ellsberg’s leak of the Pentagon Papers, a government study that revealed widespread deception about the situation in Vietnam.

• In response, Nixon organized a special White House unit, nicknamed the Plumbers, to stop government leaks. In September 1971, the Plumbers broke into the office of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist, hoping to punish Ellsberg by disclosing damaging personal information about him.

The Watergate Break-In

• In March 1972, a group within the Committee to Reelect the President made plans to wiretap the phones at the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate apartment complex in Washington, D.C. This group was led by E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy.

• The group’s first attempt failed. During their second attempt on June 17, 1972, five men were arrested. The money they carried was traced directly to Nixon’s reelection campaign, linking the break-in to the campaign.

• The break-in and the coverup which resulted became known as the Watergate scandal.

The Watergate Coverup

• Although Nixon had not been involved in the break-in, he became involved in its coverup. He illegally authorized the CIA to try to persuade the FBI to stop its investigation of the break-in, on the grounds that the matter involved “national security.”

• Nixon advisors launched a scheme to bribe the Watergate defendants into silence, as well as coaching them on how to lie in court.

• During the months following the break-in, the incident was barely noticed by the public. Nixon won the 1972 election by a landslide.

The Scandal Unfolds

The Watergate Trial• At the trial of the Watergate burglars in early 1973,

all the defendants either pleaded guilty or were found guilty.

• Judge John J. Sirica, presiding over the trial, was not convinced that the full story had been told. He sentenced the burglars to long prison terms, suggesting that their terms could be reduced if they cooperated with upcoming Senate hearings on Watergate.

The Scandal Unfolds

Woodward and Bernstein• Two young Washington Post reporters, Bob

Woodward and Carl Bernstein, were influential in tracking down information to uncover the Watergate story.

• Woodward and Bernstein believed that the White House would prove to be involved in the Watergate scandal.

The “Saturday Night Massacre”

• In an effort to demonstrate his honesty, in May 1973 Nixon agreed to the appointment of a special prosecutor for the Watergate affair. A special prosecutor works for the Justice Department and conducts an investigation into claims of wrongdoing by government officials.

• The Watergate special prosecutor, Archibald Cox, insisted that Nixon release the White House tapes. Nixon ordered him fired on Saturday, October 20, 1973, beginning a series of resignations and firings that became known as the “Saturday Night Massacre.”

An Administration in Jeopardy

Problems in the Nixon Administration, 1973–1974• Nixon’s public approval rating plummeted after his firing of

Cox.• When Cox’s replacement, Leon Jaworski, also requested

that Nixon turn over the tapes, Nixon turned over edited transcripts instead. Feelings of anger and disillusionment arose among many who read them.

• Vice President Spiro Agnew, accused of evading income taxes and taking bribes, resigned in early October 1973. His successor, Gerald Ford, was not confirmed until two months later.

Impeachment Hearings and Nixon’s Resignation

• After the Saturday Night Massacre, Congress began the process of determining if they should impeach the President, or charge him with misconduct while in office.

• In the summer of 1974, the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach Nixon on numerous charges. Conviction, and removal from office, seemed likely.

• On August 5, 1974, Nixon released the White House tapes, with an 18 1/2 minute gap. Even with this gap, the tapes revealed his involvement in the Watergate coverup. On August 9, 1974, Nixon resigned, the first President ever to do so. Gerald Ford was sworn in as the new President.

Ford Becomes President

• When Gerald Ford took over the Presidency following Nixon’s resignation, he was viewed as a popular and noncontroversial political figure.

• Ford named New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller as Vice President, rounding off an administration in which neither the President nor the Vice President had been elected.

The Nixon Pardon

• At the beginning of Ford’s presidency, Time magazine noted “a mood of good feeling and even exhilaration in Washington.” However, this was soon to change.

• A month after Nixon’s resignation, Ford pardoned the former President for “all offenses” he might have committed, avoiding future prosecution. This decision proved to be unpopular, both among the general public and among Nixon loyalists still facing prosecution. As a result, many Republicans were voted out of office in the 1974 congressional elections.

Carter’s Presidency

• Although Gerald Ford had the advantage of being the incumbent, or current office holder, he faced strong opposition from Republicans inside his own party during the 1976 presidential election. Democrat James Earl (“Jimmy”) Carter won the election by a narrow margin.

• Carter had no national political experience and lacked an ability to win reluctant politicians over to his side. Nevertheless, he was well-liked for his informal approach to the presidency.

• As President, Carter appointed more women and minorities to his staff than previous administrations.