UNIT 8 (1945-1980)
Welcome to Unit 8 of APUSH! This unit covers the time period from 1945-1980! During this unit, we will be covering everything from the end of World War II to the election of Ronald Reagan. We will talk about Truman’s presidency, how he worked to stop the spread of communism, the Cold War, the numerous acts and laws passed during this time, Modern Republicanism, and American culture. Then we will move on to the Civil Rights Movement, the fight for equality, how racial discrimination ended, and how other movements also rose up. Additionally, we will talk about leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. Then we will talk about the Vietnam War and how Vietnam fell to communism, along with Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty and his Great Society program. After that, we will move on to youth culture, the environment during this time, Nixon’s presidency, the rise of conservatism, the Watergate scandal, and how Reagan became the 40th president.
Key People, Terms, and Events
People
Terms
Events
Cold War: A conflict or a period of tension between two countries that doesn’t actually result in any direct fighting
Containment Policy (1947): A policy declared by President Harry Truman in which he argued that instead of trying to stop communism entirely, they should work to stop its spread
Truman Doctrine: Advocated for containment through the lending of military and economic support. For example, Truman sent aid to Greece in the face of a communist uprising, and helped Turkey when the USSR demanded some control of the Dardanelles, a strait in Turkey connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean
Berlin Airlift: Organized by the United States, a system of planes making daily roundtrip flights to Berlin to supply the city with food, fuel, and supplies, and this successfully prevented the USSR from taking over the city after the USSR had set up a blockade around the city
Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD): The idea that although the United States and the USSR both had nuclear weapons, neither could use them because if either one attacked the other, neither would survive because they would both destroy the other and leave nothing remaining. This idea of MAD kept either of them from directly attacking the other
Second Red Scare: A mass panic over the threat of communism in the United States after World War II. Led to the Loyalty Review Board, the McCarren Internal Security Act, the Un-American Activities Committee, the Hiss case, the Rosenberg Case, and McCarthyism
McCarthyism: A 4.5 year-long period of hunting down communists in the government starting in 1950 due to Senator Joseph McCarthy claiming that he had a list of communists in the government
Modern Republicanism: A continuation of the New Deal programs during Eisenhower’s presidency. He extended social security to more than ten million citizens, raised minimum wage, built additional public housing, created the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and opposed federal healthcare insurance and federal aid to education. Under Eisenhower, the Interstate Highway System was also passed in 1956
Civil Rights Movement: A social and political movement in the 1950s and 1960s in which people worked to abolish racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement through protests, sit-ins, and marches all throughout the United States. Led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 along with many other movements soon afterward such as the Women’s Movement, Gay Liberation Movement, and American Indian Movement
Domino Theory: A theory supported by Eisenhower in which he believed that Vietnam needed to be protected at all costs because if Vietnam fell to communism, a domino effect would happen in which Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and then the rest of South Asia would turn communist with it
Great Society: A series of programs launched under LBJ to combat poverty, and many of these were based on what Roosevelt had done previously in his New Deal. Included Medicare and Medicaid, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Food Stamp Act, the National Foundation of Arts and Humanities, the Higher Education Act, and the Child Nutrition Act
Counterculture: A movement to reject social norms and the traditional culture of the time among young people. The Counterculture was defined by the rise in rebellious styles of dress, new music, and the increased use of drugs. In addition, many young people of this time started participating in casual sex instead of preserving themselves for marriage. In addition, the rise of medicine such as antibiotics and birth control pills led to changing attitudes and beliefs about sex with multiple partners. Premarital sex, contraception, and abortion became less taboo topics of conversation and sexual themes became more prevalent in magazines and films.
Mao Tse-tung: Leader of the communists in China when the country fell into civil war before, during, and after World War II. He had a tight hold on the peasantry and used patriotism and discipline to extend his influence amongst the population. While Truman tried sending $400 million and many military supplies in aid to Chiang, most of it ended up in communist hands due to corruption. As a result, he drove the nationalists out of China and he became the first Chairman of the People's Republic of China
Nikita Khrushchev: Leader of the Soviet Union after Joseph Stalin’s death, denounced the United States after the U-2 Incident. Throughout 1962, the USSR had been doing a massive arms buildup in Cuba and this led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. After the crisis was resolved, Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for JFK agreeing to remove the U.S. missiles in Turkey. Additionally, both JFK and Khrushchev agreed to install a hotline between the two superpowers to speed up communication in case of an emergency.
Fidel Castro: Communist that overthrew Fulgencio Batista in Cuba in 1959 and made Cuba a communist state. JFK attempted to overthrow Castro’s regime with the Bay of Pigs Invasion in April of 1961, which failed terribly
Joseph McCarthy: Senator. In 1950, McCarthy declared that he had a list of over 200 communists in the government and this led to a period of McCarthyism. Over the course of these four years, he brought in a stream of new accusations whenever officials would accuse his previous accusations of being false. This led to turmoil in the Truman administration and soon after, he began accusing public officials and several wealthy and famous people of being communists as well. But in 1954, his downfall began after he accused the leaders of the army of being communists. This led to the televised Army-McCarthy hearings and his censure in 1954. He fell from popularity and became disgraced before dying of alcoholism in 1957
Earl Warren: 14th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, ruled that separate facilities were inherently unconstitutional. Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson. This led to the end of school segregation but many schools were very slow in actually implementing the new ruling and took their time in desegregating schools. Also ruled Brown v. Board of Education, Mapp v. Ohio, Gideon v. Wainwright, Miranda v. Arizona, Baker v. Carr, Engel v. Vitale, and Griswold v. Connecticut
Rosa Parks: In 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in the colored section for a white passenger. Her resulting arrest led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, lasting over a year.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Reverend and the minister of a Baptist church where the Montgomery Bus Boycott started. He became a leader of the movement to end segregation. Formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957. Led a massive protest in Birmingham in 1963 and after he was arrested as a result, he wrote the famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, in which he wrote that people have a moral responsibility to fight against unjust laws and he argued in support of peaceful nonresistance. This led to the Children’s Crusade later in May of that year. In August 4, 1963, more than 200,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington, which culminated in MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech in which he called for civil rights and an end to racism in the country. Later, he organized the Selma to Montgomery marches, a series of marches from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery. Alabama state troopers blocked the marchers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge and many marchers were beaten or had tear gas fired at them. In response, the president sent the Alabama National Guard to protect the marchers and this led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Assassinated in 1968
Malcolm X: A black Muslim leader and separatist. He heavily criticized MLK for being subservient and Malcolm X was a strong supporter of using violence to fight against discrimination
Betty Friedan: Published a book titled “The Feminine Mystique”, which argued that women were not satisfied with just being housewives and encouraged women to seek fulfillment in professional careers; helped found the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966
Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi: After the Iranian Prime Minister wanted to nationalize Iran’s oil industry, the United States overthrew him and replaced him with Pahlavi. Pahlavi kept providing the U.S. with oil in exchange for weapons and money.
Ho Chi Minh: The leader of North Vietnam. Established a communist government and this would lead to the Vietnam War
Phyllis Schlafly: Conservative who argued that women benefited from not having equal rights because they got dependent wife benefits under Social Security, had separate bathrooms, and were protected from being drafted. Her actions prevented equal rights for women from becoming a Constitutional amendment
1946: The USSR begins establishing communist dictatorships in central and eastern European countries such as Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia
1947: The Cold War begins and Truman launches the Containment Policy and the Truman Doctrine
1948: The United States enacts the Marshall Plan which would lend twelve billion dollars to European nations to help them rebuild
1949: The USSR consolidates their occupied territories in Germany into the German Democratic Republic; NATO is founded; the Chinese Civil War ends and establishes a communist government in China
1950: North Korea attacks South Korea and this starts the Korean War, in which the United States, the USSR, and China gets involved
1950: Senator Joseph McCarthy declares that he had a list of over 200 communists in the government, leading to the beginning of McCarthyism and turmoil in the Truman administration
1953: The Iranian Prime Minister, due to wanting to nationalize the oil industry, is overthrown in favor of Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, who is much more friendly with the U.S. and kept providing them with oil in exchange for weapons and money
1954: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka is ruled, ruling that separate facilities were inherently unconstitutional and overturning Plessy v. Ferguson
1955: In Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat in the colored section of a bus for a white passenger, starting the Montgomery Bus Boycott, lasting over a year
1955: The Vietnam War begins between North Vietnam and South Vietnam
1959: Fidel Castro overthrows Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista and nationalizes American-owned businesses in Cuba, turning Cuba into a communist state
1960s: The Counterculture occurs and a large conservative movement begins rising in the United States
1960: The U-2 Incident occurs, in which the Russians shoot down a high-altitude U.S. spy plane over the USSR and expose that the U.S. had started conducting spy flights over Soviet territory in order to investigate the Soviet missile program
1961: JFK launches the bay of Pigs Invasion using the Cuban exiles, which fails terribly
1962: The Cuban Missile Crise occurs
1963: In August, More than 200,000 people gather in front of the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington, which culminates in MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech
1964: LBJ passes the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited all racial discrimination in public places and employment
1965: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is passed, which banned literacy tests and discrimination at the voting booth
1965: LBJ launches Operation Rolling Thunder, an aerial bombardment of North Vietnamese targets to damage their economy
1965: LBJ starts his Great Society agenda to improve American society
1967: A period of détente begins between the United States and the USSR
1968: MLK is assassinated and the Vietcong launch the Tet Offensive
1969: Nixon starts Vietnamization, the removal of American troops from Vietnam and the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) begin
1972: Nixon signs SALT I with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev in Moscow, which limited the two superpowers to just two hundred anti-ballistic missiles each. CREEP, an association working to re-elect Nixon, gets involved in a burglary of the Watergate office complex in D.C. This is soon traced back to Nixon
1973: The Paris Peace Accords is signed, promising a ceasefire and removing the United States from the Vietnam War
1974: Nixon resigns
1975: Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, falls to North Vietnam, turning Vietnam into a communist country
Fast Summary
The period from 1945 to 1980 in American history was marked by significant social, political, and economic changes, including the post-World War II era, the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the rise of the conservative movement.
In the post-World War II era, the United States emerged as a superpower and experienced a period of economic growth and prosperity known as the "economic miracle." This period was characterized by the growth of consumer culture, suburbanization, and the Baby Boomer generation. The country also faced numerous international challenges, including the Cold War with the Soviet Union, which dominated foreign policy throughout the period.
The Cold War was a geopolitical and ideological conflict between the United States and its allies, and the Soviet Union and its allies, that lasted from the end of World War II in 1945 to the late 1980s. Although the conflict never escalated into a full-scale military war, it had significant impacts on international relations and domestic politics.
The roots of the Cold War can be traced back to the differences in ideology between the capitalist, democratic West, and the communist East. The United States and its allies saw the spread of communism as a threat to their way of life and feared the Soviet Union's ambitions for world domination. On the other hand, the Soviet Union saw the West's capitalism and imperialism as a threat to their own ideology and security.
During the Cold War, both sides engaged in a global competition for influence and power, using a range of diplomatic, economic, and military strategies. The United States and its allies sought to contain the spread of communism and promote democracy around the world, while the Soviet Union sought to spread its own ideology and influence.
One of the key features of the Cold War was the arms race, as both sides engaged in a massive build-up of military power and weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. The threat of nuclear war loomed over the world during this time and had significant impacts on international relations and domestic politics.
In addition to the arms race, the Cold War was marked by a series of proxy wars, where the two sides supported opposing sides in regional conflicts, such as the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The Cold War also had significant impacts on the economies of both the United States and the Soviet Union, as each side sought to out-compete the other.
The Cold War finally came to an end in the late 1980s, with the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of communist rule in Eastern Europe. The end of the Cold War marked a significant shift in international relations and led to a more cooperative and interdependent world.
The Civil Rights Movement was a major social movement in the United States during this period, aimed at ending racial segregation and discrimination and securing equal rights for African Americans. The movement was led by figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and was marked by significant events such as the Brown v. Board of Education decision, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The 1960s and 1970s were also marked by the rise of the conservative movement, which was characterized by a focus on individual rights, limited government, and free market economics. This movement was led by figures such as Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, who would later become president in 1981.
In addition to these social and political changes, the period was also marked by significant economic events, including the end of the economic boom of the post-World War II era, the oil crisis of the 1970s, and the rise of stagflation, which was characterized by high inflation and slow economic growth.