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Emmett Till Tragedy
On August 28, 1941 a young African-American named Emmett Till was brutally killed and mutilated by white men. He was attacked and lynched after he was accused of flirting with a white woman. Roy and J.W. Milam (The killers) went to where Emmett was staying at night armed and abducted Till. -
G.I. Bill
The G.I. Bill aka the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that supplied a range of benefits for returning World War II veterans. The bill went under modifications for Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008. The goal of the bill was to provide immediate rewards for World War II veterans. Benefits included dedicated payments of tuition and living expenses to attend college or vocational school, low-cost mortgages and one year of unemployment compensation, etc. -
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain refers to the isolation of communist Soviet Union from outside neighboring nations. The Iron Curtain was created in 1945 after the end of World War II and continued until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the Soviet Union blocking open contact with non-Soviet-controlled areas. -
Atomic/Hydrogen Weapons
In 1950, President Truman decided to increase research on the production of thermonuclear weapons. This is of course after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, August 6, 1945 - August 9, 1945. Hiroshima(the first to ever experience an atomic bomb) felt the devastating power of an atomic bomb called the Little Boy. Nagasaki, on the other hand, received the "Fat Man," just a few days later. -
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Cold War
The Cold War was a non-combative "war" that was mainly focused on America fighting off the spread of communism by the Soviet Union. There were other nations involved but the main thing to remember is that it was mainly between the US and the Soviet Union. -
Truman Doctrine
An American foreign policy created to counter the Soviet Union's expansion of communism. It gave economic and military aid to countries under communistic threat. Helped countries all around fight communism. The Truman Doctrine basically implied American's would support other nations if threatened by communism. -
Marshall Plan
An act devised by George Marshall to promote world peace, foreign policy and the general welfare of the United States through financial, economic and other necessary measurements. It offered loans to rebuild Europe and rebuilt Europe's faith in capitalism. It spread American labor, farming and manufacturing practices to W. Europe. -
The Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift took place between, 26 June 1948 - 30 September 1949. The Berlin Airlift was the response the allies towards Stalin's blockade. The Airlift consisted of over 200,000 flights in one year, providing up to 8,893 tons of necessities each day to the West Berliners. Eventually Stalin gave up and reopened the border. -
The Fair Deal
This was a set of proposals that Harry S. Truman pitched to Congress in his January 1949 State of the Union address. This mainly concerned the domestic wellbeing of Americans. It focused on Healthcare, public housing, education, minimum wage, electricity access, and much more. It was forced to scale back because of Korea and the anti-communist agenda. -
The Beat Generation
The Beat Generation is known as a movement of aritsts, novelists and poets who all reject American materialism and culture. They were basically just a group of people who rejected everything mainstream.(including home ownership, careers, marriage, etc) They were very influenced by individual freedom and what they called pleasure aka sex and drugs. Also they were known as "proto-hippies." These individuals set foundation for war protests in the latter 1960s. The beats borrowed slang from blacks. -
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1950s
In this time period of the United States there was a increase in marked economic growth with an increase in manufacturing. This post-World War II era had great economic expansion. The Cold War helped create a politically conservative climate in the country. -
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Civil RIghts
Civil Rights era was the time of an uprising of many minorities such as the Brown v. Board of Education and Little Rock 9. It came through nonviolent protest and it broke the old fashioned segregation of public facilities. This was a difficult but arguably worth it time for the ones discriminated against. -
Korean War
The Korean War took place between, 25 June 1950 - 27 July 1953.
Was officially a conflict and not a war. Korea (Japanese colony) was divided between the US and The USSR. It started out split at the 38th parallel and ended up staying around the same area for the ending boundaries. US created a capitalist government in the south and the USSR appointed Kim Il-sung as the leader of the northern communists. US pulled out then returned to fight a war that turned into a stalemate. -
Ike Turner
An American bandleader and songwriter who was an early pioneer of fifties rock 'n' roll. He is most known for his work in the 1960's and 1970's with his ex-wife, Tina Turner. He began playing piano and guitar when he was eight. During the time of his career, Turner won two Grammy Awards and was nominated for three others. -
Bill Haley & His Comets
American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. One of the original white musician group to bring rock 'n' roll to the attention of people in America. The band placed nine singles in the Top 20, with one of those being a number one and three of them in the Top Ten all within the time between 1954 to 1956. The bandleader, Bill Haley was originally a country artist who changed to a new direction in music. Made the hit named "Rock around the clock." -
Television During The 50s and 60s
For the first time in 1952 television news as able to broadcast the Democratic and Republican conventions held live from Philadelphia. TV signals could now reach into the most remote corners of the nation. It created a sense of national dialog, people had something to talk about now. Television also allowed for rural residents to recognize other regions of the united states making migration even more appealing. -
Earl Warren Court
Chief Justice Earl Warren was the most Liberal SCOTUS in history. He covered many controversial cases such as Engel v. Vitale, Brown v. Board, and Loving v. Virginia. Many of these cases covered topics like whether schools are allowed to compose an official school prayer and encourage its recitation in public schools, in which Warren said it is unconstitutional. It was also ruled that interracial marriage is okay. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the SCOTUS declared that state laws that segregate public schools for race is unconstitutional. This case overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson case which allowed segregation. The decision sate that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." -
TV Shows of the 50s and 60s
The shows in the mid-50s to 60s celebrated teen youth. Marlon Brando and James Dean were the teen icons of the era. Towards the end of the 50s and throughout the 60s old westerns were very popular along with slapstick comedies. -
Polio Vaccine
Jonas Salk and his team at the University of Pittsburgh were the first to invent the most effective polio vaccine in 1952. The creation of this vaccine required years of testing. This vaccine was then used in a test called the Francis Field Trial, the largest medical experiment in history at the time. The test originally began with approximately 4,000 children at an elementary school. Eventually, it involved 1.8 million children, in 44 states all the way from Maine to California. -
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott that lasted from December 5, 1955 to December 20, 1956. This happened to occur 4 months after the death of Emmett Till. On December 1, 1955, a 43 year old Afircan American named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man after he demanded her to. An English Professor named Jo Ann Robinson heard of the arrest of Rosa Parks and made 35,000 flyers and told many to boycott the bus system in Montgomery. The bus company needed black riders to stay in business. -
Elvis Presley
Elvis Began his career in 1945 and in 1955 his recording contract was sold to RCA Victor. By 1956 Elvis was well known across the nation for his performances. Elvis Presley Had a huge impact on pop culture with his version of the new music called "rock 'n' roll," which became popular nationwide during the mid-1950's. -
Rock 'n' Roll
Rock 'n' Roll(newly founded in the late 40s) heavily dominated the popular music charts in the later half of the 1950s. This new genre of music quickly spread to much of the rest of the world. It was a combination of various black musical genres of the time, such as R&B and gospel music. This music gave the youth inspiration to be more rowdy and outgoing. -
The Little Rock Nine
Many whites at Central High refused integration of blacks into their white only school. Central High decided to "slowly" integrate blacks into Central High School. Governor Orval Faubus ordered the state troops to prevent the 9 black students from entering the high school. Eisenhower intervenes by sending in the 101st Airborne to escort the 9 black students into school. 8 graduated at the end of the year and they all face incredible amounts of verbal and physical abuse from other students. -
The Space Race
The Space Race took place in the 20th-century between the USSR and the US. It was called a race for it was a competition of spaceflight supremacy. At first the Soviet Union accomplished a head start with it's launch of the "Sputnik 1" in 1957. The United States ended up landing the "first" man on the moon in Jul 1969. It's still debated to this day that the moon landing was a hoax. -
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The 1960s
The 1960s was very significant for the civil rights movement in America. It consisted of many crazy events including the assassination of John F Kennedy. It also held many riots including the Watts riots. It was the rise of the Black Power Movement including the Black Panthers. Not only were blacks getting attention but so were Hispanics and Native Americans. -
Anti-War Movement
A selection of individuals who protested against wars and promoted freedom and peace instead. Drugs such as LSD and Marijuana were used to open the minds of the people who participated in these activities. They were known for holding protests and rallies in order to get their voices heard. -
Sit-Ins
During the late 1950s non-violence protest goes from schools to other public places such as restaurants so more whites could see the struggle that they have been going through. The first sit-in took place in Greensboro, North Carolina and it started a movement across the country. A sit-in consisted of protesters going into white only lunch counters and sitting there waiting to be served. They remained there and stuck to civil disobedience instead of hitting them back. -
The New Frontier
The New Frontier is a term used by JKF in his acceptance speech during the 1960 United States presidential election. It was a slogan used to inspire America to support him. He had ambitions to eradicate poverty and increase the space program. Kennedy's legislative record in 1961-63 was the best of any president since Roosevelt's first term. -
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps, founded on March 1, 1961, is a volunteer program run by the United States government. The Peace Corps was originally founded by President John F Kennedy and was used to inspire young college graduates to work in poor countries and complete humanitarian projects. Although he did create the Peace Corps his agenda was largely unaccomplished. -
Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders is the name given to the protesters who rode interstate buses into the segregated southern United States in 1961. This movement had whites and blacks travel together and challenged the Southern resistance to SCOTUS cases by inflicting anger into the Southerners to violently clash with them. This would force the government to take action. State police would look the other way whenever a rider was beaten up. -
The Birmingham Bombing
Two weeks after MLK's march on September 15, 1963, A bomb was hurled into the 16th Street Baptist Church killing four girls and injured 22 others in the bombing. The bombing was caused by four members of the Ku Klux Klan. The men who were known and obviously guilty of the bombing were never put on trial for the bombing until after 2000. Some of them are still in prison to this day while others have died in prison. -
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
President JFK was assassinated on November 22, 1963, while riding in a vehicle in Dealey Plaza. As the vehicle was passing the Texas School Book Depository building Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired three shots fatally wounding President Kennedy and hitting Governor Connally along with him. This assassination ended the optimism around the nation. -
Lee Harvey Oswald
The assassin of President John F. Kennedy, Oswald is said to have shot Kenned from a window inside of a building on November 22, 1963. Oswald was an ex-marine who had communist views. He went to U.S.S.R. and got married but came back to the United States with special permission. He was supposedly the only shooter in the assassination but there have been many theories of multiple shooters. -
Jack Ruby
Jack Ruby, who had relations with a number of Dallas police officers, operated strip joints and dance halls and had minor connections to organized crime. Oswald was brought to the basement of the Dallas police headquarters on his way to a more secure county jail. As Oswald came into the room, Jack Ruby fatally shot him with a .38 revolver. Ruby, who was immediately detained, claimed that rage at Kennedy’s murder was the motive for his action. -
Warren Commission
The Warren Commission was an investigative mission established by Lyndon B. Johnson a week after the assassination of Kennedy to explore Kennedy's death. The yearlong investigation, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination, but was ineffective in debunking any conspiracy theories surrounding the event. -
Freedom Summer
The summer of 1964, referred to as the Freedom Summer, was the new campaign for civil rights. Mississippi was the new target of desegregation. This became the turning point of the south for it caused the government to intervene. On the First day of Freedom Summer 3 Civil Rights workers went missing, 2 white and 1 black. Turns out they were pulled over by the local sheriff and arrested. The sheriff then had others set up an ambush on them and they all disappeared. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was an extension of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Despite the resistance Johnson gets this act through legislation. This act banned segregation in businesses and places that are open to public. It also made it illegal to not hire someone because of their race, religion or ethnicity. -
Daisy Girl Ad
The ad named "Daisy Girl" was a controversial and political advertisement that was aired during the 60s with intentions to put fear into Americans to vote for Lyndon B. Johnson. The ad consisted of a little girl sitting in a field playing with a flower and suddenly a nuclear warhead goes off. What this ad portrays is that your children can die if you don't vote for Lyndon B. Johnson. -
The Great Society
The Great Society was put into action by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964-65. The main purpose for this was to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. It covered more than the New Deal. The Civil Rights Act of 1944 was passed under LBJ. "Declares war" on poverty and has a domestic program to fight it. -
The Selma March
On March 7, 1965 otherwise known as Bloody Sunday, 600 marchers set out to cover 50 miles all the way to Montgomery to get the right to vote. County police were waiting at the end of the Edmond Pettus Bridge in Selma with weapons. They ordered the protesters to go back but the knelled and prayed instead. Many white bystanders stood around and cheered as the blacks were beaten. TV cameras broadcast this and allowed for whites all around the country to see the truth. -
Counter-Culture
The Counterculture was made up of hippies who rejected middle-class values. They came after the Beat Generation and consisted of unorganized youths rebelling mainstream institutions and behavior. Festivals such as Woodstock gathered many of the individuals who believed in the Counterculture. -
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The 1970s
The 1970s were a boisterous time for people of discrimination such as African-Americans, gays, women and lesbians. These people would come in large numbers advocating for equal rights. Alongside this, environmental protection and anti-war movements became very popular. -
Environmental Protection Agency
Originally being initiated by Nixon and created during the wake of concern about environmental pollution the Environmental Protection Agency was created. Its main goal was to conduct federal research, monitor, and enforce laws to ensure environmental protection is kept up. The EPA is still at work to this day. -
Watergate
The Watergate scandal refers to the time when Nixon had his "plumbers" steal campaign information with wiretapping. The "plumbers" were caught by a security guard and were then arrested. During the election of 1972 Nixon distances himself from Watergate and absolutely demolishes George McGovern in the election. It came out that the White House paid a bribe to keep the "plumbers" quiet and revealed that Nixon used taping systems. This all led to Nixon's resignation. -
Endangered Species Act
Nixon declared the at the time species conservation efforts to be weak and inefficient and called on the Congress to pass a more in-depth endangered species act. The act was passed and still is in action to this day. It is to provide assistance to conserve any species that is endangered or near extinction. -
Gerald Ford's Presidency
Gerald Ford, the 38th U.S. President, was a modest person with the motto of, "I'm a Ford, not a Lincoln." As his saying states, he liked to distance himself from the elite. He pardoned Nixon for all crimes which added more distrust from Americans. His foreign policy forbids government employees from plotting to assassinate foreign leaders. -
OPEC ( Organization of Oil Exporting Countries)
The OPEC is an organization with an objective to unify petroleum policies among member countries in order to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers. The Iranian Revolution in 1979 furthered the crisis. OPEC raised to international prominence as its members took control of their domestic petroleum industries. -
Nixon's Resignation
President Richard Nixon announced his plan of resigning on an evening televised address making him the first president in American history to resign. After the Watergate scandal Nixon was without a debt on his way to being impeached and to jump the gun he went through with resignation instead. Once Nixon resigned VP Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States. -
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords was a treaty between Israel and Egypt signed by the president of Egypt, Anwar El Sadat, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem begin on September 17, 1978. Israel withdraws from Sinai Peninsula, Gaza and West Bank. Palestinians are then promised their own government. The treaty paved the way for a permanent peace agreement between the two nations. -
The Moral Majority
The Moral Majority was prominent American political organization founded by Jerry Falwell in 1979. In which they were pro-life, pro-family, pro-American and pro-morality. They form a conservative political bloc in the late 70s and early 80s. Jerry Falwell was a Baptist minister who was associated with the Christian right and Republican Party. -
Three-Mile Island
In Eastern Pennsylvania on March 28, 1979, the reactor on Unit 2 partially melted down. This causes nuclear radiation to be leaked out into a nearby town and cause a very big stir in the minds of Americans. This created an improvement in planning for emergency responses and reactor operator training. This also caused the U.S. to have greater caution and create a more safe environment around nuclear power plants with better precautions. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
With the Shah of Iran being an anti-communist and U.S. being friends with any anti-commie at the time the U.S. supported Shah of Iran despite the brutal dictator. Ayatollah Khomeini didn't trust the U.S. and led an Islamic revolution. 52 Americans were taken hostage from the American embassy in Tehran and a special forces team was sent to rescue the hostage but the helicopters crashed in Iranian desert in Apri;, 1980. The hostages were released on January 20, 1981, after being held for 444 days. -
The Soviet-Afghan War
The Soviet-Afghan War lasted well over nine years, starting on December 24, 1979, and ending on February 15, 1989. This conflict between the insurgent groups known as the mujahideen and the Soviet Army, backed by the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan led to some number in the middle of 562,000 and 2 million civilian deaths. Over a million civilians fled to other countries such as Pakistan and Iran. The soviet failed to quell the Afghan mujahideen insurgency. The Soviets withdraw from Afghan. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The wall was taken down as a sign of the collapse of the repressive East German government. The demolition of the wall was the result of thousands of Germans being told they could finally freely enter West Germany. The destruction of the wall was the outcome of the thousands of Germans emotions. -
Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union
On November 9, 1989, many jubilant Germans brought down the most important symbol of division, the Berlin Wall. By 1990, the former communist leaders were out of power, free elections were held, and Germany was whole again. On December 25, 1991 the Soviet flag flew over the Kremlin in Moscow for the last time.
