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A Decade Of Change
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Jackie Robinson
In the end of 1947, while the U.S. was constantly disagreeing on rights for African Americans, one man was enjoying a freedom that no other man would be capable of having normally in the 40s. Jackie Robinson was the first African American man put into Major League Baseball. Even though he wasn't white, he received incredible support and recognition for what he did. -
Earl Warren
In 1953, Earl Warren was appointed chief justice by President Eisenhower. Warren was chosen to lead the famous case, Brown vs. Board of Education. He ended up persuading the people that racial segregration in schools was wrong, and helped make a huge advance with other problems dealing with racial segregation. -
Geneva Conference
The Geneva Conference was held in Switzerland for France, Vietnam, Cambodia, Great Britain, Laous, China, the S.U, and the U.S. to figure out a peace agreement and plan Indochina's future. Geneva accords were to be signed to reunify the country under one government. However, the U.S. didn't fully support the peace agreements because they were afraid of the Communists taking over. -
Rosa Parks
In 1955, after a long day of work, African American, Rosa Parks, refused to give up a bus seat to a white male. This was unheard of at this time, and caused huge controversy. Rosa Parks didn't think giving up her seat was fair at all. Eventually, she started a bus boycott and 90% of African Americans stopped riding the bus. It caused hardships on the bus companys after awhile, and integration came shortly after. -
Little Rock Nine
Out of all the places in the U.S. dealing with school integration, Little Rock, Arkansas, was one of the most famous places for it. Nine African American students wanted to attend Little Rock's Central High School, but the white students didn't see that as an option. After awhile, the Little Rock Nine was protected and able to go to this school and it made a huge step in intergrating schools. -
The New Frontier
After Kennedy was elected, he was more than excited to start his New Frontier, or new plans for America, but the people weren't as much. The help from the Congress wasn't there, but with his popularity and presidential powers, he found ways to carry on his changes by himself. -
The Sit-In Movement
One famous form of protest was the sit-in campaign. It started with four African American students who sat at a counter of a store and refused to move even though they weren't getting service because of their race. After awhile, most of the seats of the counter were full of people and the white Americans recognized them for being well-behaved and not lashing out. -
President Kennedy
In the election of 1960, John F. Kennedy won one of the closest elections in history. As the youngest President to date, people saw Kennedy as a fresh, new start for America. Kennedy was also the first Catholic President elected so far. He had many bright ideas and plans set for the U.S., and the people were ready for him to lead. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
A tension has seemed to always be held between the U.S. and Cuba. In April, President Kennedy and his advisors planned to invade Cuba, which was known as the Bay of Pigs. This consisted of an air and land invasion. In the end, the poor planning and lack of U.S. air cover led the invasion to failure. -
Freedom Rides
Another famous protest was done by members of CORE. They wanted to get attention by riding a bus and tried to use white-only facilities. This caused a lot of anger with the white Americans, who started a mob and harrassed the 13 volunteers who did this movement. However. this didn't stop them. The Freedom Riders kept on pushing on. -
The Berlin Wall
After many disagreements in Berlin about Communism, a wall was put up between east and west Berlin to officially separate the two sides. Even though a wall was better than a war, it separated families, streets, and neighborhoods. Because of this, President Johnson felt it was right to reassure the West that he was on their side, and not the east where all the Communism was. -
The 24th Amendment
In August of 1962, Congress added a new amendment to the Constituition. This amendment banned states from taxing citizens to vote. For the Southern states, this amendment upset them because they were ususally too poor to do it. Despite that, this was going to create change and give a new, small glimpse of freedom to African Americans and their decision making. -
March on Washington
The largest civil rights demonstration ever held in the U.S. was the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It had over 200,000 people of all races in the National Mall of Washington D.C. This is also where Martion Luther King Jr. gave his most famous speech, "I Have a Dream." -
Ngo Dinh Diem
The South Vietnamese leader, Ngo Dinh Diem, ruled a very unpopular government. Even though the U.S. supported South Vietnam, they didn't support his policies at all. Eventually, the U.S. created a secret plot to over throw him along with the South Vietnamese army. They successfully assassinated Diem, though it wasn't intended, but now he was officially removed from power. -
President Johnson
When JFK died, his Vice President, Lyndon B. Johnson took his place. Johnson was known for his great political talents, and when he became President, he finally had a chance to show them off. Johnson was not a typical President, especially when he showed surgery scars to the camera, and was always in people's faces. However, he was still a compassionate leader. -
The Kennedy Assassination
While in Texas, getting ready for a reelection speech, President Kennedy drove through the town in an open car with his wife through crowds of people. Suddenly, a gun was shot, and hit Kennedy. Then another one was shot and killed him. This saddened the entire country and we will always remember how great of a President Kennedy was. -
War on Poverty
While Kennedy was President, he wanted to accomplish things that haven't already been accomplished, starting with poverty, However, he died too soon to get this done. Once Johnson was elected, he was told about this plan and he agreed to go along with it and try to make it happen. This started the War on Poverty and Congress passed the Economic Opportunity Act. -
The Great Society
Like Kennedy's New Frontier, Johnson had a plan of his own called The Great Society that he presented in the 1964 presidential election. His competitor, Barry Goldwater, tried to convince the people that this plan wasn't going to work. In the end, however, Johnson and his plan won the election by a landslide. -
Crisis in Mississippi
Since the Civil Rights Movement was just getting started, CORE members traveled to states to try to make a change. On their stop in Mississippi, 3 members of the team went missing. They were later found murdered and the search went out for the suspects. They were eventually found and arrested for killing a civil rights worker. -
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
After an attack by North Vietnam on the USS Maddox, President Johnson felt he had to tak a stand. Johnson and the Congress created the Tonkin Gulf Resolution which gave power to the President to take any necessary measures to repel any armed attack against forces of the U.S. This gave the President authority to expand the war if need be. -
Rising Student Activism
Throughout the sixties, students across the nation were seeking independence and wanted some of their own freedoms. They started this independence by rebelling against school policies, and even began protests, especially against free speech. All of the protests were nonviolent, but they made a point and changes were eventually made. -
The Draft
Since the war effort was much needed in Vietnam, a draft was made to get college students to go over seas and fight. No one liked the idea of this because they were risking their lives, sometimes for something they didn't want to do. Men were chosen at random through a lottery system to go and fight. Eventually, the government realized how unfair this was, and ended it. -
Malcolm X
Black Muslims were an influential group who strongly believed in black power. A famous minister, Malcolm X, created recognition for himself because he spoke of hope and defiance. Eventually, he was hoping for racial harmony. Unfortunately, he was assassinated by other Black Muslims after they believed he was being a traitor. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
As the fighting in Vietnam started, President Johnson wanted to weaken North Vietnam's ability to fight. This also proved to South Vietnam that they were committed to them. Johnson called for a bombing campaign, which he called Operation Rolling Thunder. This bombing took out anything North Vietnam would find useful in the war effort. -
SDS
During the war, antiwar groups were created. One of them being the Students for a Democratic Society. It consisted of members from 124 different college campuses. In April of 1965, the SDS had a national antiwar demonstration to act immediately to end the war, and tried to get President Johnson's attention. Unfortunately, they didn't succeed and Johnson continued to let his military fight. -
Voting Rights Act
After much protest and preaching and never stopping, President Johnson and the Congress finally passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This gave African Americans the right to vote. Many of the civil rights leaders were recognized at the signing ceremony, and this law is still known today as one of the most important civil rights legislation pieces ever passed. -
César Chávez
In 1965, César Chávez lead a strike in Delano, California for Latinos who believed they weren't getting paid enough for the work they were doing. Since they thought just stopping work in the fields wouldn't get them enough attention, they gathered some people in front of grocery stores to try to get people not to buy grapes. In the end, the strike was a success. -
Crusade for Justice
In 1966, a group called Crusade for Justice was created by Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales in Denver, Colorado. This group promoted Mexican American nationalism. It also provided legal aid, it enhanced cultural awareness, and other community services. Helping other Mexian Americans across the nation was the main goal of the Crusade. -
NOW
NOW, or National Organization for Women, was created by a group of feminist who believed they weren't getting fair rights. This group fought for women in the workplace, schools, in the justice system, and against violence on women. They did everything from filing lawsuits, and having rallies to fight for their rights. -
Summer of Love
The summer of 1967 displayed hippies, harmony, peace, and love. These people wanted freedoms that were highly unlikely to achieve and many of them were involved in high-risk activities such as drugs. This generation didn't believe in following the rules, and went against society and beliefs and values of generations before them. -
Kerner Commission
After some violence lashed out in Detroit towards African Americans, leaving 43 dead, and many more injured, President Johnson needed to do something to help. This is how the Kerner Commission started which studied urban rioting. They claimed our nation was becoming separate and unequal. -
MAYO
MAYO, or the Mexican American Youth Organization was formed by students from San Antonio. Their goal was to achieve economic independence, gain control over education, and achieve power in politics. Under the leadership of José Angel Gutiérrez, the group protested discrimination against Mexican Americans. -
Tet Offensive
At the beginning of the Vietnamese New Year, North Vietnam decided to try to get ahead and attack military bases instead of celebrating. They thought this attack would get South Vietnam back on their side, but really, it just turned more people against North Vietnam instead. After many deaths, though, the Communists still fought on. -
Assassination of King
Martin Luther King Jr. made quite the name for himself as a civil rights leader. With his speeches and motivation, he influenced many people into his beliefs of freedom. While giving a speech in Memphis, King was shot and killed on the balcony of his motel. To this day, we will remember the impact he made on the U.S. -
Civil Rights Act of 1968
After Martin Luther King Jr. died, President Johnson decided to make yet another change. He signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 which banned discrimination in the sale or rental of housing. Even though the civil rights movement was taking baby steps, they were still making progress. -
Johnson's Solution
While General Westmoreland wanted more soldiers sent over, President Johnson didn't believe it was a good idea. Instead of fighting, he wanted to negotiate with North Vietnam. He was hoping for a peace agreement to settle the war to and end. After much talk, and agreement wasn't made, and wouldn't be made for several more years. -
Poor People's Campaign
An important expansion made during the civil rights movement was the Poor People's Campaign. Originally, it was to be led by Martin Luther King Jr., but after his death, Ralph Abernathy, the head of SCLC took over. Without King there, the campaign became a disaster, and made Congress believe that there was communism involved. -
The Election of 1968
For this election, there was a Democratic leader, a Republican leader, and an Independent leader. (Hubert Hoover, Richard Nixon, and George Wallace). The popular vote was very close for Hoover and Nixon, but the electoral vote is what set them apart, leaving Wallace far behind. Nixon ended up taking the win and becoming President. -
Woodstock Music and Art Fair
The counterculture of the 60's became obsessed with music, espeically rock and roll. A popular festival held was called the Woodstock, which in August of 1969, had the largest turn out of people and featured many popular artists of the time. Although it was croweded with 400,000 people, it was surprisingly peaceful and still remembered to this day. -
Nixon's Announcement
During the Vietnam War, many antiwar groups were created. Then, on April 30th, 1970, there was more reasons they should start up again. Nixon announced that he was sending troops to Cambodia. This upset many antiwar believers, and while Nixon thought it was only a small part of the country, a poll later showed that over half the country was against the war. -
Campus Violence
After Nixon's announcement that we were to go back to war, many college students showed their anger through violence. Some students from Kent State University started the ROTC building on fire, then started fighting with troops which lead to four deaths, some of which weren't even protesting. Also, two more students in Mississippi were shot because of this antiwar violence. -
Women's Movement
Throughout the 70's, women were making many changes for themselves. They were making much progress in the work place, and earning high wages for themselves, too. Although the working class women and non-white women still faced difficulties in their freedoms, the wealthy, white women found many more oppurtunities throughout this decade. -
Congessional Black Caucus
In the 1970s, an organization called the Congressional Black Caucus was formed. This group consisted of African American members of the House of Representatives, and they were sworn in by a retired Supreme Court Justice, Henry Frye. The Caucus addressed all legislative concerns of black and minority citizens. -
AIM
In 1968, a group was created in Minnesota by Dennis Banks, Clyde Bellecourt, and others called the American Indian Movement, or AIM. This group wanted renewal of traditional cultures, economic independence, and better education for Indian children. One protest they had was called the Trail of Broken Treaties which was for changed in relationships between Native Americans and the Government. -
The War is Over
After North Vietnam overran the U.S. embassy, South Vietnam finally surrenders on April 30th, 1975, and becomes reunited once again, after twenty years, with North Vietnam. For awhile, South Vietnamese people felt afraid that they were to be killed because of their relationship with the U.S., but that was soon gone.
