Please note: This page is not intended to take the place of the lecture and reading assignments but as a study aid. This was prepared for my own personal use but feel free to print it out and use it if you want to. I would appreciate hearing from you on updating any missing information or misinformation so I can update it. If we all work together we might create a site for this class and instructor that we can use in the future. I have not attempted to include every detail but a general idea to help with remembering the information. E-mail me at Tee .
X 1. Postwar Economic Conditions -- cutbacks in production, job layoffs, return of discharged GI's, people spent their savings, new products to purchase such as synthetic rubber and electronics promoted the buying spree, GDP continued to rise, problem was inflation. prices skyrocketing
2. Truman and Organized Labor -- govt. seized an industry and took over operation, if the workers in that industry refused to honor a presidential order to return to work the pres. would request the Congress immediately to authorize a draft into the armed forces all the workers who are on strike against their govt. also requested authority to strip strikers of seniority benefits, to take legal action against union leaders, and to fine and even imprison them for contempt. Alienated workers and union members in general.
X 3. Taft - Hartley Act -- congress approved over Truman's veto, revision of the Wagner Act --law prohibiting a "closed shop" or workplace where union membership was a prerequisite for being hired. Also forbid union contributions to political candidates in federal elections, required union leaders to sign non-Communist affidavits, and mandated an 80 day cooling off period before carrying out a strike that imperiled the national security.
X 4. Right to Work Laws -- laws banning union shop agreements, which required all workers to join if a majority voted in favor of a union shop. In addition the laws forbade union contributions to political candidates in federal elections, required union leaders to sign non-Communist affidavits, and mandated an 80 day cooling off period before carrying out strikes that imperiled the national security.
5. To Secure These Rights -- issued by Truman's civil rights commission: agenda for the civil rights movement for the next twenty yrs., recommended the enactment of federal anti lynching, anti segregation, and anti poll tax laws. Also called for guaranteeing voting rights and equal employment opportunities, permanent civil rights commission and a civil rights division within the Depart of Justice. 1st time a president had acknowledged the federal govt.'s responsibility to protect blacks and strive for racial equality.
6. 1948 Presidential Election -- Rep.- Dewey; Dem.- Truman; a new Progressive party - Wallace; Dixiecrats - Thurmond; leftist of the Dem. party who were critical of Truman's policies toward the Soviets and they formed the new Progressive party: Dixiecrats were the segregationists who were angered over the adoption of a civil rights platform: We have Republicans in both houses of Congress and Truman called the 80th Congress into special session and challenged it to enact all the planks in the Republican platform, past history showed Congress doing opposite of what Truman wanted,
7. Smith vs. Allwright -- the Supreme court outlawed the whites only primaries held by the Democratic party in some Southern states, stating it was a violation of the 15th amendment's guarantee of the right to vote.
8. Shelley vs Kraemer -- Court held that a racially restrictive covenant (a private agreement among white homeowners not to sell to blacks) violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment.
9. McCarthyism -- Another red scare that begins at the top of structure, People were accused of being communist and never knew who their accusers were and never get a chance to face them, many lives destroyed. anti-Communist witch hunt led by Senator McCarthy and heightened by the Cold War.
10. Hiss Trial -- former State Dept. official on trial for perjury, charged with swearing to a grand jury that he had never passed classified documents to the Communists. his accuser was a former American Communist spy Whitaker Chambers, He was convicted.
X 11. Dennis et. al. vs. U.S. -- Supreme court upheld the Smith Act, required members of "Communist front" organizations to register with the govt. and prohibited them from holding defense jobs or traveling abroad.
12. Army - McCarthy Hearings -- Sen. McCarthy took on the U.S.
Army in front of millions of television viewers, senator accused
the army of shielding and promoting Communists, became the showcase for
the senator's abusive treatment of witnesses,
McCarthy, apparently drunk, maligned a young lawyer who was not even
involved in the hearings, his career as a witch hunter plummeted and he
was discredited.
13. Brown vs. Board of Education -- Supreme Courts decision on school desegregation, concluded that "in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Because of segregation, blacks were being deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed bu the 14th amendment. This ruling did not demand immediate compliance. Many moderated a gradual rollback of segregation.
14. Little Rock's Central High School -- Arkansas Governor intervened to halt a local plan for the gradual desegregation of the school. He mobilized the National Guard to block the entry of black students. He withdrew the guardsmen after receiving a federal judge's order to do so. Jeering whites threatened to storm the school, fearing violence, Eisenhower federalized the Nation Guard and dispatched them to the school to ensure the children's safety. They patrolled the school for the rest of the year, outraged officials closed all public high schools rather than desegregate them for the rest of the yr.
15. Military - Industrial Complex -- Because of the Cold War, the US had been compelled to create a permanent industry of vast proportions as well as a standing army, This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience.
16. Truman Doctrine -- under this we commit to assisting peoples who are subjected to internal and / or external subversion. The first (and all) doctrines are seen as coming from political left and Soviet instigation. helped launch the containment doctrine in that the US had to draw the line against communism everywhere.
17. Mr. X Article -- written by Kennan, he advocated a "policy of firm containment, designed to confront the Russians with unalterable counter force at every point where they show signs of encroaching upon the interest of a peaceful and stable world". Believed that this would check Soviet expansion and eventually foster a "mellowing" of Soviet behavior. Article became a key manifesto of Cold War policy
18. Marshall Plan -- called for the economic rehabilitation of post war Europe financed by the US, to stimulate business at home, the legislation provided that the foreign aid dollars must be spent on US products, program caused inflation, but it helped with industrial production and investment and started the region toward self-sustaining economic growth.
19. National Security Act -- streamlining the administration of US defense, created Nat'l Security Council to advise the president composed of 5 permanent members, and the CIA to conduct info gathering, also created a unified Department of Defense replacing the Dept. of War
20. Recognition of Israel (reasons) -- Truman's advisors urge him not to do this because it would anger the Arab nations and they had the oil. Truman recognizes Israel because 1. it was morally right for the existence of a jewish homeland and their independent existence due to their suffering during the Holocaust. and 2. seeking another international ally. 3. for domestic politics -- Truman needed to carry NY and the jewish community in the upcoming election
21. Berlin Crisis of 1948 -- the US, French & British agreed to fuse their German zones, including their three sectors in Berlin, the Soviets cut off western access to the jointly occupied city of Berlin which was located well within the Soviet zone, Truman ordered a massive airlift of food, fuel, and other supplies, Soviets finally lifted the blockade and founded East Germany.
22. NATO vs. Warsaw Pact -- NATO was the western defense system whose purpose was to enhance the stability, well-being and freedom of its members by utilizing the system of collective security; and Warsaw was the Soviet response.
23. NSC - 68 -- recommends that we are going to have to commit big $'s to defense budget during peace time to counter an alleged Soviet ambition for global domination.
24. Domino Theory -- coined in '54 by Eisenhower, if a country is Communist in a geographical area then one by one it will spread to the neighboring countries. This idea goes back to the Truman years. We believe that Soviet system is evil and they are bound to try for global domination.
25. Brinkmanship -- means that we (U.S.) feel so strongly about an issue that we will go to the brink of a war or whatever we deem necessary. Cuba is strategically place for Soviets but not vital to their national security. not backing down in a crisis, even if it meant taking the nation to the brink of war.
26. Massive Retaliation -- goes hand in hand with brinkmanship and new look,
27. "New Look" -- Eisenhower's emphasis on air and nuclear power, called for sharp reductions in American ground forces and an increase in an air show of strength, emphasized air power and nuclear weaponry,
28. Flexible Response -- Kennedy's reaction to Eisenhower's policy of using nuclear weaponry, says that we have to be flexible and not always assume that every response has to be nuclear.
29. Occupation of Postwar Japan --
30. China White Paper -- government report addressing the issue of why China went Communist and what does it mean. Why? -- China had an inefficient, ineffective and corrupt government, and not meeting the needs of the people, it was a situation where Communism gave them a quick fix from the peoples (peasant) point of view. Means? -- from our defense posture in Asia, it will not affect us, we probably believed there would be another war in Europe and nuclear.
31. Division of Korea -- 38th parallel
32. Truman's War Decision -- he believed that the Soviets had masterminded the North korean attack
33. Korean War -- 1st desegregated war for the military, civil war within the country breaks out June '50, the North invades the South, Truman goes thru the UN to get a united front to opposition in the war therefore denying the Soviets a propaganda tool the north pushes the south down to Pousson City in the far south of Korea, we slowly push out from the perimeter and then Inchon is launched, we begin to defeat N Korea and push them back up to the 38th parallel, as we move into the north this Chinese expressed displeasure and concern over our intrusion into N Korea and they commit troops,
34. Inchon -- Korean war, largest amphibious landing led by MacArthur behind N. Korean lines, push N Korea back up to the 38th parallel
35. Dismissal of MacArthur -- Truman fires him for insubordination, McArthur wants to invade China and extend the war and the president doesn't allow this, McArthur criticizes the commander in chief (president) publicly using the media.
36. Sino - Soviet Treaty (1950) -- agreement between Russia and China, if Japan attacks china then the soviets will join in
37. Sputnik -- the world's first man-made earth orbiting satellite put into outer space by the Soviets 1957
38. National Defense Education Act -- response to Sputnik, funded public school enrichment programs in math, foreign languages, and the sciences, as well as fellowships and loans to college students.
39. Third World -- a general tern for those nations that during the Cold War belonged neither to the capitalist "West" (the US and its allies) nor to the Communist "East" (the Soviet Union and its allies), on the whole they were nonwhite, non industrialized, and located in the southern hemisphere of the globe -- in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, sought by America and Russia to win as friends that might provide military bases, resources, and markets.
40. Plausible Deniability -- covert operations should be conducted in such a way, and the decisions that launched them concealed so well, that the president could deny any knowledge of them. Ex. the president makes a suggestion and the others get things going the way to take advantage of the suggestion without direct consultation with the president, therefore he will not know any details and can honestly deny any knowledge.
41. Eisenhower Doctrine -- the US would intervene in the Middle East if any government threatened by a Communist takeover asked for help. Critics argued that the US was acting as the world's policeman.
42. Berlin Wall -- erected in 61' separated East from West, built to keep people in
43. Bay of Pigs -- Cuban exiles would land at the Bay and secure a beachhead, and the Cuban people would rise up against Castro and welcome a new US backed govt., people did not rise up in sympathy with the invaders and the executed invasion collapsed. All who invaded were killed or taken prisoner.
44. Operation Mongoose -- US government agents disrupted Cuba's trade, supported raids on Cuba from Miami and plotted with organized crime bosses to assassinate Castro, also tightened its economic blockade, engineered Cuba's eviction from the Org. of American States, and undertook military maneuvers that Castro read as preparations for another invasion. Idea of trying to isolate Cuba
45. Cuban Missile Crisis -- major confrontation between the US and Soviets over a Soviet supplied missile installation in Cuba which was capable of hitting the US, spy planes flying over spotted the construction and a missile, Kennedy announced a blockade to prevent the arrival of more missiles, classic example of brinkmanship
46. Nation Building --- Kennedy recognized the only place where communism had an appeal ws where there were severe economic conditions, the idea was that if we helped the nations and provide a decent standard of living then they won't go communist, basic problem was political, massive foreign aid program, the idea is to train the people to be self-sufficient
47. Alliance of Progress -- name given to nation building in the Americas
48. Ho Chi Minh -- lived in France before W.W.I, joined the French Communist party to use it as a vehicle for Vietnamese independence. Created the Vietminh, and anti imperialist coalition and declared Vietnam's independence from French colonial rule.
49. Dienbienphu -- battle between French and Vietminh in northwest corner of Vietnam, French take the low ground by the airstrip and assumed that the Vietminh couldn't get artillery up on the hills (underestimated them), this airstrip was important because it was the only way that the French could resupply and get their wounded out. Vietminh dismantled their artillery and carried, dragged, whatever means necessary to place their artillery on the hill, closed down the airstrip and kept it closed, slowly dig their way to the French and defeat them. Last big battle for France.
50. Geneva Accords (1954) -- temporarily divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel with Ho's government confined to the North and Bao Dai's to the South, meant to serve as a military truce line and not a national boundary; the country was scheduled to be unified after nat'l elections. neither the north nor south were to join a military alliance or permit foreign military bases on its soil. The US and Bao Dai refused to accept the accords and set about to sabotage them.
51. Strategic Hamlet Program -- was a pacification program, intended to separate peasants from the Vietcong by relocating them to barbed wire compounds creating a free fire zone, further alienated villagers from the Diem regime and was a failure.
52. Buddhist Protest of 1963 -- charging Diem with religious persecution, poured gasoline over their robes and set themselves afire in the streets of Saigon
53. Tonkin Gulf Incidents -- the destroyer USS Maddox encountered a group of North Vietnamese torpedo boats which closed in on the destroyer and in a brief engagement, the Maddox opened fire, the patrol boats launched torpedoes, and aircraft from the USS Ticonderoga joined the fighting. 1 torpedo boat was damaged and others driven away. To avoid an appearance of weakness and to additional claims to freedom of the seas, the Navy ordered the Maddox to resume operation in the Gulf and sent the destroyer C. Turner Joy to support it. The two reported being under attack during heavy seas and contradicted themselves stating there had been no "visual sightings" and a complete evaluation of evidence should be make before retaliation was ordered. President Johnson authorized retaliatory air strikes against North Vietnamese torpedo boat bases and nearby oil storage dumps which destroyed or damaged 25 patrol boats and 90% of the oil storage facilities at Vinh.
54. Tonkin Gulf Resolution -- Johnson asked for a congressional resolution authorizing him to take "all necessary measures to repel any armed attacks against the US and to prevent further aggression". The purpose was to indicate to North Vietnam that the nation was united in its determination to stand firm in Vietnam and to demonstrate that he could be firm in defending American interest without recklessly expanding the war.
55. Rolling Thunder --gradually intensified air attacks against N Vietnam, policy of "sustained reprisal", concentrated on military bases, supply depots, ahd infiltration routes into the southern part of the country, provided for the introduction of the first US ground forces in anticipation of retaliatory attacks, was expanded to include strikes against petroleum storage facilities and transportation networks, steel factories, power plants, and others
56. My Lai and Hue Massacres --village in which the murder of more than 200 civilians, including women and children took place and revealed the hostility that some American had come to feel for all Vietnamese, a US court found Lt. William Calley guilty of at least 22 murders in the incident of '68 and sentenced to life in prison
57. Vietcong --founded by southern revolutionaries, a broad based organization led by Communists designed to rally all those disaffected with Diem by promising sweeping reforms and the establishment of genuine independence, Vietcong was a term applied to the guerrillas by the Diem regime meaning "Vietnam Communist" with derogatory implications,
58. Tet Offensive (1968) -- Tet is the Vietnamese holiday of the lunar new year, Vietcong and N Vietnamese forces struck all across S Vietnam hitting and capturing capitals. Vietcong even penetrated the US embassy in Saigon. US and the south eventually regained much of the ground they had lost. Lots of losses
59. "Fragging" -- killing of officers by enlisted men usually with hand grenades
60. Vietnamization -- building up of South Vietnamese forces the replace American troops. classic ex of Nixon doctrine of helping people who are willing to help themselves
61. Cease - Fire Agreement (1973) -- the US agreed to withdraw all its troops within 60 days, Vietnamese troops would stay in place, and a coalition govt. that included the Vietcong would eventually be formed in the South.
62. War Powers Act -- the president could commit US troops abroad for no more than 60 days without obtaining congressional approval. Troops would have to be removed after that
63. Costs of the War -- in terms of human life -- appx 55 - 60,000
64. Détente -- primary purpose was to check Soviet expansion and limit the soviet arms build up, 2nd part of strategy was curbing revolution and radicalism in the underdeveloped world so as to quash threats to US interests, Nixon and Kissinger, thawing of cold war in which the 2 sides agree to disagree
X 65. Six - Day War (1967) --
X 66. SALT Treaty -- Strategic Arms : Talks to slow the costly arms race with the Soviet Union
67. Kennedy & Civil Rights -- started out as talk until the summer of '63 and the Birmingham incident changed this. He begins to advocate civil rights but was killed before new legislation was enacted
68. Montgomery Bus Boycott -- Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a public bus in Alabama, local black leaders decided to boycott the city bus system and didn't ride them for 1 yr. and finally the city and bus co yielded, 1st time someone other than govt. gets equal rights, a '56 Supreme Court decision declared the Alabama Jim Crow laws were unconstitutional.
69. I - Thou and I - It Relationships -- MLK I - Thou relationship is based upon a human being to human being philosophy and integration while the I - It relationship is based upon a human being to object (to be acted upon) philosophy and segregation.
70. Blessed Community -- concept of MLK in which all people would treat each other as brother and sister, theological point of view, theory of integration and not desegregation,
71. Nonviolent Civil Disobedience -- civil right movement tactic in which the people would deliberately violate segregation laws by sitting in at whites only lunch counters, libraries, and bus stations in the south, 4 college students in Greensboro NC sit at at lunch counter, were denied service, sparked the sit in movement,
72. Freedom Rides -- idea was to take a bus from DC down to New Orleans thru the south with black and white both on the same bus where they would brave attacks by white mobs for daring to desegregate interstate transportation, bus leaves Georgia and is fire bombed and people beaten, left for an unreasonable amount of time before receiving medical services, prompted more freedom rides
73. Mississippi -- Summer of 1964 -- Mississippi summer project in which people hit the back roads encouraging African Americans to resist segregation and register to vote, sometimes entire black communities within a country did not vote, racist violence surge in the south,
74. Birmingham Sunday -- white terrorists exploded a bomb during Sunday morning services and 4 black girls were killed.
75. Civil Rights Act of 1964 -- outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, not only in public accommodations but also in employment. did nothing to elevate the social and economic status of these people
76. Voting Rights Act of 1965 -- empowered the atty. general to supervise voter registration in areas where fewer than 1/2 the minority residents of voting age were registered. assure that people could freely vote
77. Malcolm X -- black American leader who advocated racial separation and sanctioned violence in self-defense, after making a pilgrimage to the Islam holy city he began advocating racial solidarity, was murdered by Black Muslims who believed he had betrayed their cause, symbolized black defiance and self respect
78. Black Power -- 1960's, Carmichael believed to be truly free from white oppression, blacks had to control their own institutions, elect black candidates and organize their own schools: whites assumed the two words together meant violence but was actually ethnic American politics,
79. Sweatt vs Painter -- unanimous decision forcing the universities of Oklahoma and Texas to integrate their law schools
80. Medicare and Medicaid Programs -- LBJ -- Medicare assistance to elderly and Medicaid to provide the same type benefits for economically disadvantaged
81. War on Poverty -- Pres. Johnson's program to spend money to wipe out poverty thru education and job training programs and included the Job Corps, cluster of programs during the 60's in an attempt to wipe out poverty in which there was a substantial decline until the war
82. Students for A Democratic Society -- most were middle class college students, in their platform they condemned racism, poverty in the midst of plenty, and the cold war. Sought the revitalization of democracy by taking power from the corps, military and politicians and returning it to the people,
X 83. Free Speech Movement --
84. Major Events of 1968 -- USS Pueblo, a navy intelligence ship, was captured by the N Koreans, 1 week later came the Tet offensive in Vietnam, increasing fatalities, controversy over the war, Martin Luther King shot sparking riots in 168 cities and towns, assignation of Robert Kennedy for his support of Israel, violence at the Dem. nat'l convention in Chicago which hurt the Dem. appeal and politically damaged the party's identification with the cause of racial justice.
85. The Feminine Mystique -- book by Friedan, that triggered the new feminist movement in the 60's, challenged the assumptions society make about women and traditional place.
86. Roe vs Wade -- court upholds the right of women to obtain an abortion
87. Equal Rights Amendment -- equal rights under the law for both sexes
88. Watergate -- a major political scandal that began with the burglary (by the plummers) in the Dem. headquarters which was the watergate bldg. thru an underground garage. A night watchman discovered 5 men in the break in and they were arrested attaching listening devices to telephones in offices. 1 was a former CIA agent and was security coordinator for CREEP - James McCord. The other 4 were known to have worked with the CIA in the past. 2 others were also in the bldg. - Howard hunt who was a one time CIA agent and had become security chief for CREEP and Gordon Liddy who was a former FBI agent serving on the white house staff.
X 89. The Plumbers -- special investigative unit created to plug leaks from the Whitehorse, Nixon was upset about information being leaked to the media and especially angered over the Pentagon papers. The plummers broke into Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office in an attempt to discredit Ellsgerg, who had leaked the papers to the press. Plummers also broke in the the Dem. nat;l convention and CREEP funds was used to pay their expenses before and after the break ins.
90. CREEP -- committee to re-elect the president created by Nixon's people who didn't work with the nati'l Republican committee, solicited illegal campaign contributions, raised appx $60M for Nixon's re-election,
91. Watergate Tapes -- everyone wants these tapes, subpoenaed by the court in which Nixon refused to release them stating that they were vital to nat'l security, judge ruled that Nixon must release tapes to Cox (special watergate prosecutor), an edited version was released several gaps in their information, this leads to indictments of other Whitehorse officials and the tapes are again requested, Nixon tries to give them transcripts of some more of the tapes but in the end he had to turn them over and he resigns 4 days afterward
92. Saturday Night Massacre -- Oct. '73, Nixon tells his atty. general to fire Cox (the special watergate prosecutor) because he was pushing for the release of the watergate tapes, in which Richardson refuses and resigns, then he approaches the next in line and he refuses and resigns also, finally the 3rd person in the chain of commands carries out Nixon's orders.
93. Impeachment Articles (Nixon) -- the Judiciary Committee voted to introduce three impeachment articles. They accused Nixon of obstructing justice through the payment of hush money to witnesses, lying, and withholding of evidence; defiance of a congressional subpoena of the tapes; and the use of the CIA, the FBI, and the IRS to deprive Americans of their constitutional rights of privacy and free speech.
94. Iranian Hostage Situation -- the US supported shah was overthrown by revolutionaries who were a bitterly anti-American Moslem cleric, this stemmed from the CIA's training of the shah's ruthless secret police and the huge infusion of US arms into their country. The exiled shah was admitted to the US for medical treatment and mobs stormed the American embassy in Teheran. They took hostages, demanding the return of the shah to stand trial, along with his vast wealth. Pres. Carter would not return the shah to Iran or apologize for past US aid to his regime so Carter took steps to isolate Iran economically, freezing Iranian assets in the US and urging allies to sever trade links with the renegade state. A rescue mission was ordered to free the hostages but was unsuccessful. They were freed after the US unfroze Iranian assets and promised not to intervene again in Iran's internal affairs. 52 Americans had been held hostage in Iran for 444 days,
95. Carter Doctrine -- the US would intervene, unilaterally and militarily if necessary, against Soviet aggression in the petroleum rich Persian Gulf. limited to the Gulf and to keep it open
96. Bakke Case -- discrimination suit, young man denied admission to a professional school while his grades were higher than some who were accepted. Outlawed quotas but upheld affirmative action.
97. Reagan Doctrine -- president's declaration that the US would openly support anti-Communist movements wherever they were battling the Soviets or Soviet backed governments (globally). Reagan vowed the overthrow of governments deemed hostile to the interest of the US. We intervened both covertly and openly in civil wars in several Third World countries. The US would help freedom fighters who were trying to overthrow a communist govt. or to prevent a communist takeover.
98. NAFTA -- North American Free Trade Alliance; free trade zone encompassing the US & Canada & Mexico, lowering tariffs and creating the worlds largest trading bloc. opposed by organized labor
X 99. Tiananmen Square -- Chinese armed forces stormed into the square and slaughtered unarmed students and other citizens who had been holding pro democracy rallies.
100. Gulf War -- Iraq (Hussein) resentful that Kuwait would not
reduce the huge debt Iraq owed to it and eager to acquire Kuwait's vast
petroleum industry ordered his troops to invade. Saudi Arabia ( a
US ally) felt threatened. pres. Bush dispatched forces to the region
to defend Saudi Arabia and to press Saddam Hussein to putt out of Kuwait.
When Operation Desert Storm began the greatest air armada in history began
pummeling Iraq and Iraqi forces in Kuwait. US missiles joined round
the clock bombing raid and coalition forces launched a ground war.
Retreating Iraqis set fire to oil wells, released oil into the Persian
Gulf waters, and US bombs had damaged Iraq's infrastructure that spreading
disease and hunger took countless lives. Hussein remained in power.