the soul of a superpower: postwar united states (1945- early 1970s)
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The Soul of a Superpower: Postwar United States (1945- early 1970s). Baby Boom Generation. Suburbanization – linked to conformity. Realities of International Politics. Soviet Union had emerged from WWII as the other superpower - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
The Soul of a Superpower: Postwar United States (1945- early 1970s)
Baby Boom Generation
Suburbanization – linked to conformity
Realities of International Politics
• Soviet Union had emerged from WWII as the other superpower
• Soviets occupied Eastern Europe as a buffer zone against possibility of future German invasion
• Communists were winning in China and took over in 1949
• It would be expensive to meet the communist threat
Divided Germany
Berlin Blockade/Airlift (1948-1949)
Europe’s “Iron Curtain”
Korean War (1950-1953)
Second Red Scare
Space Race
Emergence of Modern Civil Rights Movement
Key Events in 1950s Civil Rights
• Brown vs. Board of Education decision on segregation of schools (1954)
• Arrest of Rosa Parks and resulting Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956)
• Desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas (1957)
Election of 1960
Bay of Pigs Invasion (Apr ‘61)
Background on U.S. Involvement in Vietnam War
• U.S. government had backed an independent Vietnam in 1945 even though led by communist-trained Ho Chi Minh
• But French used priorities of the Cold War to secure U.S. assistance in retaking control of their former colony in Southeast Asia
• U.S. bankrolled much of the failed French war effort and then tried to prop up South Vietnam as an anti-communist state.
Advisory Effort in Vietnam
Cuban Missile Crisis (Oct ‘62)
Cuban Missile Crisis Details
• U.S. and Soviet officials eventually agreed that missiles would be removed in exchange for U.S. promise not to invade Cuba
• Secret provision of deal had Kennedy promise to remove U.S. nuclear missiles from Soviet neighbor of Turkey (though missiles were defunct – not known by Soviets)
• U.S. forces went to DEFCON-2, which was highest level of readiness short of nuclear war
Birmingham Demonstrations
Phases of Modern Civil Rights Movement
• Mid-1950s – Focus on using legal system to break down barriers
• Late-1950s to Mid-1960s – Focus on using forms of peaceful protest to desegregate, i.e., integrate communities
• Mid-1960s to Early 1970s – Rise of black nationalism encouraged greater militancy and disagreement within African American community
Black Nationalism vs. Integrationism
LBJ’s Great Society
Features of Great Society
• Two major pieces of civil rights legislation in 1964 and 1965 – ended widespread disenfranchisement of blacks in former Confederate states
• War on Poverty to include Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps
Gulf of Tonkin Incident/Resolution (Aug ‘64)
LBJ & The Vietnam War
Tet Offensive - 1968
Shocks to Political System in 1968
• Tet Offensive suggests war in Vietnam far from over
• President Johnson drops out of re-election campaign
• Assassination of MLK, Jr. • Assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy while
running for president• Democratic convention in Chicago degenerates
into street battles with protestors
Election of 1968
Rise of Women’s Liberation
Watergate Burglary & Fall of Richard Nixon
Useful Primary Sources
• Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech (1946)• Truman Doctrine (1947)• Senator Joseph McCarthy launching anti-
communist crusade in Wheeling, WV (1950)• President Dwight Eisenhower Farewell Address
on “Military-Industrial Complex” (1961)• John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address (1961)• Port Huron statement by SDS (1962)
Useful Primary Sources (continued)
• MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech (1963)• Senator J. William Fulbright’s “Arrogance of
Power” speech (1966)• Stokely Carmichael’s “Black Power” speech
(1967)• Redstockings Manifesto (1969)