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House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
After World War II, communism began to fear Americans. The House of Un-American Activities Committee questioned actors, directors, writers and others about the possibility of Communist sympathies. Those who were identified as present or former members of the committee related to communism, were frequently "blacklisted" and lost in their jobs. Many who were cooperated with the committee were asked to inform on others. -
G.I. Bill (Servicemen's Readjustment Act 1944)
The G.I. Bill was passed to help the veterans who served in World War II. This helped establish hospitals, created low-interest mortgages available. This also helped with tuitions and expenses of veterans who attended school. -
Baby Boom Generation
Baby Boom was the term that was used to identify that it was time of high birth rates. Births that were born between 1946 and 1964 were called Baby Boomers. Baby Boomers were also involved with the G.I Bill that helped veterans. -
Iron Curtain
The term "Iron Curtain" became popular in a Churchill speech. The metaphor separated between Western Europe and the Soviet Bloc. Stalin had called Churchill's speech a "call to war." -
Containment Policy
The American leaders responded to the Soviet Union domination on Eastern Europe by creating the Containment Policy. This policy, the United States was not allowed to overturn Communism where it already existed. This would help resolved any further spreading of Communism. -
Truman Doctrine
Truman Doctrine was created to contain communism. President Truman had announced that he would economically support Greece and Turkey. Within the doctrine, it extended to anywhere support was given in a non-communist government. -
Cold War
The Cold War was a War between the USSR and the U.S. In the war, there was main events that shape the war. These events would be Ideological differences, with the USSR as communist and U.S. democratic. The Soviet Occupation of Eastern Europe, the Iron Curtain which involved the division of Germany from West and East. The Berlin Airlift which Soviets blockaded Berlin. -
Levittown
This Levittown was known to utilize mass production skills to create inexpensive houses in suburban, New York. This allowed a relieve for postwar housing shortage. This town were homes for lower-middle class to afford, it was a more diverse community. -
Berlin Airlift
In the Berlin Airlift, after World War II, Soviets blockaded Berlin. The U.S. sent supplies to Berlin the airlift. In the end, Soviets end blockade. -
Marshall Plan
After World War II, farm production across the world was destroyed six years of the war. Truman believed that people who were desperate and miserable were most of the time connected to Communism. The Secretary of State, George Marshall, proposed that aid should be given to the countries of war-torn Europe to rebuild their economies. The Marshall plan was very successful, it benefited the American economy and sped the economic recovery of Western Europe and created goods for the U.S. -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Based on the tension of the Cold War, the United States, Canada and ten Western European countries created NATO. This organization was based upon the concept of collective security, every NATO member had to pledged to defend every other member if attacked. Through this organization, the United States extended its protection from nuclear weapons to Western Europe. -
Rock n' Roll
Was a style oriented in the United States into the mid 1950s. The genre of music was a mix of country music and rhythm and blues. Rock n Roll have been created for a long time but it did not get popular until the late 1940s, was made from black culture. Famous Rock n' Roll musicians are: the Dominoes, Alan Freed, Dewey Phillips, and the most famous, Elvis Presley. -
Korean War
North Korea, communists, invaded South Korea to reunify the country was the cause of the Korean War. The U.S. enters the war under U.N. resolution to defend South Korea. MacArthur's landing in North Korea turned tide or fear of invasion, which had China enter the war. The war had ended in a statement, while the borders continued the same as like before the war. -
McCarthyism
McCarthyism term was created rom Joseph McCarthy, McCarthy surprised Americans by claiming that he knew several of Communists who were in the United Sates. The only problem was McCarthy had no evidence to back up his accusation. The term was identified to making harsh accusations without evidence. McCarthyism are like rumors of a person with no evidence. -
Rosenberg Trail
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were both charged for selling national secrets to the Soviet Union towards making the atomic bomb. The Rosenberg were found guilty and were executed for spying. This showed the American government that some Soviet agents had penetrated the U.S. government during the Cold War. -
1950's Prosperity
The demand of consumer goods had reached the all-time highs. Millions of cars and TV sets were sold. Usage of refrigerators and lots of other appliances were widespread. Gross domestic of product had increased, allowing the United States to dominate world trade, this occurred after World War II. -
Rust Belt vs. Sun Belt
Rust Belt were areas of the Northeast and Midwest that provided coal and iron resources, with the collapse of U.S. steel industry, many cities suffered a loss of manufacturing jobs to Mexico and overseas. As for Sun Belt, it was the West and South areas. There was a rise of population in these areas. When air conditioning was first used, population increased four times much as Northeast and Midwest. Sun Belt's environment had changed to less land and more city like places, replacing grasslands. -
Beatniks
Beatniks came from the Beat Movement, first began in New York City by a group of writers. They were known for a counterculture and anti-materialistic for their extreme modern day culture. Beatniks were the first subculture of America dealt with people's lifestyle and political views and not for race or ethnicity. Beatniks were an influence to the Hippie movement. -
Jonas Salk
Jonas Salk was most famous for creating the first vaccine against polio. Polio is a disease that attacks the central nervous system and can cause paralysis or even death. Salk used a dead virus as the basis for his vaccine, he tested on himself and family before trying it on other volunteers. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Eisenhower was named president in the 1950s, under Eisenhower's presidency he created the Interstate Highway Act. Not only that, but there was Economic Prosperity and conformity. What Eisenhower was most famous in his presidency was creating the Eisenhower Doctrine that was against the use of communism. -
Domino Theory
In President Eisenhower's speech, he had suggested the fall of French Indochina will create a "domino" effect. In the Domino Theory, if South Vietnam fell in Communism, other counties would follow such as Southeast Asian counties. The theory most affected President Kennedy who was in charge of the war of Vietnam. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was caused by Vietcong with North Vietnamese support the attack of the South Vietnam's government. The U.S. had interned to stop communism. The impacts of the war was the large number of American casualties, there was distrust of American leaders, and the war had led to pass War Powers Resolution. -
Ray Kroc
Ray Kroc was a business man who famously made a deal with two brothers. These brothers were later famous for their restaurant called McDonalds, which opened the first fast food restaurant in California. Kroc was the first to create the first American restaurant that is still famous in present day. -
Interstate Highway Act
Interstate Highway Act was a domestic policy under Eisenhower, this act created a system of federal highways. Americans would not only producing for theirselves but to other countries as well. There was still recovery from the wartime, and because of the Cold Warm, there was a lot of money spent. This was an increase spending of prosperity and growth of the middle class of Americans. -
Space Race
To counter the Soviet Union space program, President Kennedy announced to the American public to place a man on the moon. By 1962, John Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth. This had set off a few Americans to realize that they could send a person to the moon and make a new discovery. By 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first to land on the surface of the moon, not to mention that the United States became the first to do this. -
Sputnik
The Soviet Union launched a first man-made satellite into space. The Sputnik was a small more than the size of a basketball, weighted 184 pounds. Sputnik was the an usher to new age of space exploration, this caused a beginning to the Space Race. -
Bay of Pigs
President Eisenhower approved the plan to overthrow Castro. The plan included secretly training a group of Cuban exiles in the U.S. and Guatemala to invade the island. When President Kennedy became president, he had the plan continue through, but refused to provide air power in order to openly tie the invasion to the U.S. The exiles landed in Cuba, but were quickly invaded by the Cuban military. This caused an embarrassment foreign policy for President Kennedy. -
John F. Kennedy
During John F. Kennedy's Presidency, he was involved with the Space Race which John Glenn was sent into space. He was apart of the Alliance for Progress and Peace Corps. In the beginning of Kennedy's Presidency he was involved with the Bay of Pigs Invasion. As well as the Cuban Missiles Crisis. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Soviet missiles were discovered in Cuba by the U.S. reconnaissance flights. This was deemed unacceptable threat to the U.S. security. This led for President Kennedy to convent EXCOMM to create a plan to deal with the missiles. Missiles were placed in Cuba because of the Bay of Pig invasion, the attempts of the U.S. to remove Castro, the placement of the U.S. missiles in Turkey and the USSR lagged behind the U.S. in number of missiles. -
Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan wrote "The Feminine Mystique." Friedan's book consisted of the middle class women. This challenged the belief about educated suburban housewives being happy doing absolutely nothing by keeping their homes clean and preparing dinner of their families. Friedan wrote about these women and how they were capable as men and should be permitted to work the same jobs as men. Later Friedan had helped form the National Organization of Women (NOW). -
Great Society
After President Kennedy, President Johnson took over to propose a program of social legislation since the New Deal. Johnson proposed to create a transform American society. The Great Society opened opportunities and improving the quality of life for all Americans. There was failure within the program, such as many Americans remained in poverty as for the Vietnam War, there was withdraw of funding from the domestic programs. -
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson became President after President Kennedy's assassination in 1963. During President Johnson's time as President, he had proposed the Great Society program. The program included the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Medicare Act of 1965, and the War on poverty and aid to the cities. Johnson had also instituted changes in the immigration policy and became involved with the Vietnam War. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Johnson had announced that the Northern Vietnamese had attacked the United States in the Gulf of Tonkin. Congress had voted to give Johnson full military power to halt North Vietnam's aggression. In later years, it was revealed that the U.S. ships had been located in North Vietnam waters in cooperation with South Vietnam warships that had been bombing North Vietnam. -
Anti-War Movement
The Anti-War movement had started when people began to realize the danger of fighting in the Vietnam war. It was a belief that there was no need for the United States to be fighting in the Vietnam war and should return home. This lead to Peace Movement. There was an opposed of having a war being fought. -
Tet Offensive 1968
Vietcong launched a huge offensive through all of South Vietnam, especially in the capital city of Saigon. When under control, the Vietcong committed to brutal acts of terror against South Vietnam officials. Even if American forces drove the Vietcong from strongholds, the offensive caused a turning point in the war. This demonstrated to the American public that victory was far away. -
Vietnamization
Vietnamization occurred under Nixon's Vietnamization policy. The soldiers of South Vietnam took over the brunt of the fighting to allow the withdrawal of the United States forces. Around the same time, Nixon had increased American bombing of North Vietnam and gave the military aid to South Vietnam. -
Moon Landing
Moon Landing was a beginning to a new discovery for astrosmist, especially for NASA. During the Cold War, the United States and the USSR were in competition in the space race. Neil Armstrong became the first man to ever step foot on the moon along side with Buzz Aldrin and Micheal Collins. This moon landing gave America pride to be the first to step on the moon which no one ever thought would be possible. -
Richard Nixon
During Richard Nixon's presidency, he had an imperial presidency. He was involved with Domestic Policy which involved the creation of Environmental Protection Agency, Endangered Species Act, Equal Rights Amendment failing, and Schlafy outspoken critic. There was also the Foreign Policy and was most famous for being involved with the Watergate Crisis in 1972. -
26th Amendment
Back in the 1960s, the voting age for most states was at 21 years old. During the Vietnam War, 18 years old were portrayed to be appropriate to be drafted into military services to fight and die for their country, but these men were not old in enough to vote. Lots of Americans believed it was unfair, thus the twenty-sixth amendment was ratified. This amendment allowed to lower the age to vote from 21 years old to 18 years old. -
War Powers Act
After the Vietnam war, the legacy of the war was limits on Presidential power. Korea and Vietnam, presidents had sent American troops to extend combat without declaring war from Congress. The War Powers act set limits to Presidential power in a conflict without a formal declaration of war by Congress.
