AP U.S. History Unit 8

George Kennan's Long Telegram (1946): Argued Soviets inherently expansionist; must be contained

Truman Doctrine (1947): U.S. would support free peoples resisting communism; aid to Greece and Turkey

Marshall Plan (1948): $13 billion to rebuild Western Europe; prevent communist takeover through economic stability

NATO (1949): North Atlantic Treaty Organization—military alliance; "an attack on one is an attack on all"

Berlin Airlift (1948-1949)

Crisis: USSR blockaded West Berlin; cut off land access

Response: U.S./Britain airlifted supplies for 11 months; 275,000 flights

Outcome: Soviets lifted blockade; Germany remained divided until 1990

Korean War (1950-1953)

Background: Korea divided at 38th parallel; North (communist), South (anti-communist)

Invasion: June 1950—North Korea invaded South Korea

U.S. Response: Truman sent troops under UN command; General MacArthur led forces

China Enters: MacArthur pushed to Chinese border; China sent troops; stalemate at 38th parallel

MacArthur Fired (1951): Wanted to attack China, use nuclear weapons; Truman removed him for insubordination

Armistice (1953): Eisenhower negotiated ceasefire; Korea remained divided; technically still at war

Massive Retaliation: Threatened nuclear response to Soviet aggression; "more bang for the buck"

Brinkmanship: John Foster Dulles's strategy of going to brink of war to deter Soviets

Domino Theory: If one country fell to communism, neighbors would follow

Covert Operations: CIA overthrew governments in Iran (1953), Guatemala (1954)

Bay of Pigs (1961)

Plan: CIA-trained Cuban exiles to invade Cuba, overthrow Castro

Result: Total failure; humiliated Kennedy; pushed Castro closer to USSR

Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962)

Discovery: U.S. spy planes found Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba

Blockade: Kennedy ordered naval "quarantine" of Cuba

13 Days: World on brink of nuclear war; tense negotiations

Resolution: Soviets removed missiles; U.S. secretly agreed to remove missiles from Turkey

Significance: Closest to nuclear war; led to Hot Line, Limited Test Ban Treaty (1963)

Definition: Relaxation of tensions between U.S. and USSR

Nixon & Kissinger: Pursued "realistic" foreign policy; balance of power

China Opening (1972): Nixon visited China; exploited Sino-Soviet split

SALT I (1972): Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty—limited nuclear weapons

Limits: Détente weakened after Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979)

Causes: Soviet expansion, communist victory in China (1949), Soviet atomic bomb (1949), Korean War, spy cases

Fear: Communists infiltrated government, education, entertainment; threatened American way of life

Truman's Loyalty Program (1947): Federal employees screened for "disloyalty"; thousands investigated, hundreds fired

HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee): Investigated suspected communists

Hollywood Ten (1947): Film writers/directors refused to testify; jailed for contempt; blacklisted from industry

Blacklists: Suspected communists denied employment in entertainment, education, government

Alger Hiss (1948)

Accusation: State Department official accused of spying by Whittaker Chambers

Trial: Convicted of perjury (statute of limitations on espionage expired); 5 years prison

Impact: Fueled anti-communist hysteria; made Richard Nixon's career

Rosenbergs (1951)

Charge: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg accused of passing atomic secrets to USSR

Trial: Convicted on controversial evidence; executed 1953

Controversy: Many believed trial unfair; guilt debated for decades (evidence suggests Julius guilty, Ethel's role minimal)

Senator Joseph McCarthy (Wisconsin): Claimed to have list of communists in State Department (1950)

Tactics: Reckless accusations without evidence; destroyed reputations; intimidation

Power Peak: 1950-1954; Republican ally; investigated government, military, media

Army-McCarthy Hearings (1954): Televised hearings; McCarthy attacked Army; Joseph Welch's famous question: "Have you no sense of decency?"

Censure (1954): Senate condemned McCarthy; lost influence; died 1957

Legacy: "McCarthyism" = reckless accusations, guilt by association, political persecution

GI Bill (1944): Provided veterans with college education, home loans, business loans; created middle class

Economic Boom: 1950s-1960s; GDP doubled; living standards rose dramatically

Consumer Culture: Television, automobiles, appliances; credit cards; advertising; shopping malls

Baby Boom: 76 million babies born 1946-1964; drove consumer demand, suburban growth

Levittown: Mass-produced suburban housing; affordable for middle class

Highway Act (1956): 41,000 miles of interstate highways; facilitated suburban sprawl

White Flight: Middle-class whites moved to suburbs; cities lost tax base; increased racial segregation

Impact: Car culture, shopping malls, fast food, environmental costs

Stagflation: Stagnant growth + high inflation; unprecedented combination

Oil Crisis (1973): OPEC embargo; gas shortages; prices quadrupled

Deindustrialization: Manufacturing jobs moved overseas; Rust Belt decline

End of Bretton Woods: Nixon ended gold standard (1971); dollar devalued

Television: Dominated culture; family sitcoms; shared national experience

Religion: Church attendance peaked; "In God We Trust" on currency; religiosity as anti-communism

Gender Roles: "Feminine Mystique"—women expected to find fulfillment as housewives

Critics: "Organization Man," "Lonely Crowd"—criticized conformity, materialism

Rock and Roll: Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry; shocked older generation; racial integration

Beat Generation: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg; rejected materialism, conformity

Youth Culture: Teenagers became distinct consumer group

NAACP Strategy: Thurgood Marshall led legal campaign against segregation

Brown v. Board of Education (1954):

• Challenged "separate but equal" (Plessy v. Ferguson)
• Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote unanimous decision
• Ruled segregated schools "inherently unequal"; violated 14th Amendment
• Brown II (1955): Ordered desegregation "with all deliberate speed"

Significance: Overturned legal basis for segregation; most important civil rights decision

Massive Resistance: Southern states passed laws to block integration

Little Rock Nine (1957): Arkansas governor blocked Black students from entering Central High; Eisenhower sent federal troops

Violence: KKK, White Citizens' Councils terrorized civil rights activists

Rosa Parks: Refused to give up bus seat to white passenger; arrested

Boycott: African Americans refused to ride buses for 381 days; carpools, walked

MLK Jr.: Young minister emerged as leader; philosophy of nonviolent resistance

Victory: Supreme Court ruled bus segregation unconstitutional

Significance: First mass protest; launched MLK's career; proved nonviolence could work

Background: French colonial war; Geneva Accords (1954) divided Vietnam at 17th parallel

Eisenhower/Kennedy: Sent advisors; supported South Vietnam dictatorship

Gulf of Tonkin (1964): Alleged attack on U.S. ships; Congress gave LBJ broad war powers

LBJ's War: Massive escalation; 500,000 troops by 1968; bombing campaign

Strategies: Search and destroy, body counts, strategic hamlets—all failed

Tet Offensive (1968): Massive North Vietnamese attack; military defeat but psychological victory—proved war unwinnable

Credibility Gap: Government lies vs. reality; trust collapsed

Anti-War Movement: Students, clergy, veterans protested; teach-ins, marches, draft resistance

My Lai Massacre (1968): U.S. soldiers killed 500+ civilians; exposed atrocities

Kent State (1970): National Guard killed 4 student protesters; shocked nation

Nixon's Strategy: "Vietnamization"—train South Vietnamese to fight; withdraw U.S. troops

Secret Bombing: Cambodia, Laos—expanded war secretly

Paris Peace Accords (1973): Ceasefire; U.S. withdrew; POWs returned

Fall of Saigon (1975): North Vietnam conquered South; communist victory

Legacy: 58,000 Americans, 2+ million Vietnamese dead; War Powers Act (1973) limited presidential war-making

Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969): Assumed presidency after JFK assassination; landslide victory 1964

Philosophy: Use federal power to end poverty, racial injustice; complete New Deal

"War on Poverty": Federal programs to eliminate poverty in America

Healthcare

• Medicare (1965): Health insurance for elderly (65+)
• Medicaid (1965): Health insurance for poor
• Impact: Reduced elderly poverty; expanded access to healthcare

Education

• Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965): Federal aid to schools; Title I for disadvantaged students
• Head Start: Preschool program for low-income children
• Higher Education Act (1965): Scholarships, student loans

Anti-Poverty

• Office of Economic Opportunity: Coordinated anti-poverty programs
• Job Corps: Job training for youth
• VISTA: Domestic Peace Corps—volunteers in poor communities
• Food Stamps: Expanded nutrition assistance

Other Programs

• Immigration Act (1965): Abolished national origins quotas; prioritized family reunification, skills
• Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): Addressed urban problems
• National Endowments for Arts and Humanities: Federal support for culture
• Public Broadcasting (PBS, NPR): Non-commercial educational media

Successes: Poverty rate fell from 22% to 13%; healthcare access expanded; education improved

Criticisms: Didn't eliminate poverty; created dependency; expensive; Vietnam drained resources

Legacy: Medicare/Medicaid endure; most ambitious expansion of federal government since New Deal

Sit-Ins (1960)

Greensboro: Four Black students sat at Woolworth's "whites only" lunch counter; refused to leave

Spread: Sit-ins spread across South; thousands participated

SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee): Youth-led organization; "shock troops" of movement

Freedom Rides (1961)

Purpose: Test interstate bus desegregation; integrated groups rode buses through South

Violence: Mobs attacked riders; burned buses; brutal beatings

Outcome: Federal government enforced desegregation of interstate travel

Birmingham Campaign (1963)

MLK's Strategy: Targeted Birmingham (most segregated city); provoke violent response to expose injustice

Bull Connor: Police commissioner used dogs, fire hoses on peaceful protesters including children

Media Coverage: Images shocked nation, world; turned public opinion

"Letter from Birmingham Jail": MLK's powerful defense of nonviolent resistance

March on Washington (August 1963)

Purpose: Demonstrate support for civil rights legislation; pressure Congress

Size: 250,000+ participants; largest demonstration in U.S. history to that point

MLK's "I Have a Dream": Most famous speech in American history; vision of racial equality

Civil Rights Act (1964)

• Banned discrimination in public accommodations (restaurants, hotels, theaters)
• Prohibited employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin
• Authorized federal government to enforce desegregation
• Most comprehensive civil rights law since Reconstruction

Voting Rights Act (1965)

Background: Selma to Montgomery march; "Bloody Sunday"—police attacked marchers on bridge

Provisions: Banned literacy tests, poll taxes; authorized federal registrars; preclearance requirement for voting changes

Impact: Black voter registration soared; Black elected officials increased dramatically

Black Power

Stokely Carmichael (SNCC): Rejected nonviolence, integration; demanded "Black Power"

Malcolm X: Nation of Islam; self-defense, Black pride, separatism; assassinated 1965

Black Panthers (1966): Armed self-defense; community programs; confrontational; targeted by FBI

Shift: From integration to Black nationalism; from nonviolence to self-defense

Urban Riots

Watts (1965), Newark, Detroit (1967): Massive riots in Northern cities

Causes: Poverty, police brutality, discrimination, frustration with slow progress

MLK Assassination (April 4, 1968): Sparked riots in 100+ cities

White Backlash: Riots undermined white support for civil rights

Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique" (1963): Challenged cult of domesticity; women's discontent with limited roles

NOW (National Organization for Women, 1966): Friedan founded; fought discrimination in employment, education

Goals: Equal pay, reproductive rights, end to sexism

ERA (Equal Rights Amendment): Proposed constitutional amendment; passed Congress 1972 but failed to be ratified

Roe v. Wade (1973): Supreme Court legalized abortion; based on privacy rights

Title IX (1972): Banned sex discrimination in education; revolutionized women's sports

César Chávez & UFW: United Farm Workers; organized grape boycott; won union recognition

Brown Berets: Militant youth group; protested discrimination

Goals: End discrimination, bilingual education, cultural pride, labor rights

Political Power: La Raza Unida Party; increased Latino elected officials

Occupation of Alcatraz (1969-1971): Claimed abandoned federal property; demanded return of Native lands

Wounded Knee (1973): AIM occupied site of 1890 massacre; 71-day standoff with federal agents

Goals: Treaty rights, sovereignty, end to termination policy

Achievements: Indian Self-Determination Act (1975); increased tribal control

Stonewall Riots (1969): Police raid on gay bar in NYC; patrons fought back; sparked modern gay rights movement

Goals: End discrimination, decriminalize homosexuality, social acceptance

Progress: Some cities/states passed anti-discrimination laws; visibility increased

"Hippies": Rejected materialism, traditional values, conformity

Values: Peace, love, personal freedom, communal living, back to nature

Drug Culture: Marijuana, LSD; Timothy Leary: "Turn on, tune in, drop out"

Sexual Revolution: Challenged traditional sexual norms; birth control pill (1960)

Woodstock (1969): 400,000 at music festival; peak of counterculture

Music: Rock, folk protest songs (Bob Dylan); expressed rebellion, idealism

Free Speech Movement (1964): Berkeley; students demanded political rights on campus

SDS (Students for a Democratic Society): New Left organization; opposed Vietnam, corporate power

Campus Protests: Anti-war demonstrations; building occupations; strikes

Generation Gap: Youth vs. parents; questioned authority, tradition

Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" (1962): Exposed dangers of pesticides (DDT); sparked environmental awareness

Earth Day (1970): 20 million participated in first national environmental demonstration

Concerns: Pollution, toxic waste, species extinction, resource depletion

• Clean Air Act (1970): Regulated air pollution; emission standards
• Clean Water Act (1972): Regulated water pollution; protected waterways
• EPA (Environmental Protection Agency, 1970): Federal agency to enforce environmental laws
• Endangered Species Act (1973): Protected threatened plants, animals
• Superfund (1980): Cleaned up toxic waste sites

1973 Oil Embargo: OPEC cut oil to U.S.; gas shortages, long lines, rationing

Impact: Exposed dependence on foreign oil; stagflation worsened

Response: 55 mph speed limit; fuel efficiency standards; alternative energy research

Nixon's "Silent Majority" (1969): Appealed to Americans who opposed counterculture, protests, rapid change

Southern Strategy: Republicans appealed to white Southerners opposed to civil rights

Law and Order: Crackdown on crime, drugs, protests

Religious Right: Evangelical Christians mobilized politically; opposed abortion, ERA, gay rights

Break-In (1972): Nixon operatives burglarized Democratic headquarters; caught

Cover-Up: Nixon administration tried to hide involvement

Investigation: Senate hearings; Saturday Night Massacre; Supreme Court ordered tapes released

Resignation (August 9, 1974): Nixon resigned to avoid impeachment; only president to resign

Impact: Deepened distrust of government; cynicism about politics; War Powers Act, campaign finance reforms

Outsider: Georgia governor ran against Washington establishment

Human Rights: Made human rights central to foreign policy

Camp David Accords (1978): Peace treaty between Israel and Egypt—major success

Problems: Stagflation worsened; energy crisis; Iran hostage crisis (1979-1981)

Legacy: Honest but ineffective; set stage for Reagan conservative revolution

• Civil Rights Revolution: Legal segregation ended; African Americans gained political power; inspired other movements
• Federal Expansion: Great Society programs expanded welfare state; Medicare/Medicaid created
• Social Movements: Women, Latinos, Native Americans, gays demanded rights
• Cultural Shift: Counterculture challenged traditional values; sexual revolution; generation gap
• Cold War Evolution: From containment to détente; Vietnam failure led to limits on intervention
• Environmental Awareness: New recognition of ecological limits; EPA created
• Political Realignment: Conservative backlash; Southern Strategy; religious right emergence

• Persistent Inequality: Legal gains didn't eliminate poverty, discrimination; wealth gap remained
• Cold War Continued: Despite détente, fundamental ideological conflict persisted
• Debates over Government: Liberals vs. conservatives over federal role; unresolved
• Racial Tensions: Urban riots, white flight showed deep divisions remained

• 1950s vs. 1960s: Conformity vs. rebellion; prosperity/complacency vs. activism/upheaval
• Early vs. Late Civil Rights: Legal challenges/nonviolence vs. Black Power/urban riots
• Kennedy/Johnson vs. Nixon: Liberal optimism vs. conservative retrenchment
• Cold War Phases: Containment/brinkmanship → Cuban Missile Crisis → Vietnam → détente

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