US History Unit 28 Review: 1945-60

Post-War Economic Boom

• Rapid economic growth fueled by pent-up consumer demand and government spending (GI Bill, infrastructure projects)
• Expansion of the middle class as more Americans accessed higher education and skilled jobs
  • GI Bill provided education benefits to returning veterans
  • Increased college enrollment led to a more educated workforce
• Rise of suburbanization as families moved out of cities into newly constructed suburban neighborhoods (Levittown)
• Increased consumerism driven by new products, advertising, and credit availability
  • Proliferation of home appliances (refrigerators, washing machines) and automobiles
  • Expansion of consumer credit through installment plans and credit cards
• Growth of the service sector as the economy shifted away from manufacturing
• Increased government spending on defense and space exploration programs (NASA)
• Low unemployment rates and rising wages contributed to overall prosperity

Domestic Social Changes

• Baby Boom as birth rates soared in the post-war years
  • Population growth led to increased demand for housing, schools, and consumer goods
• Changing gender roles as women were encouraged to return to traditional roles as homemakers
  • Media promoted ideal of suburban domesticity (Leave It to Beaver)
  • Women's labor force participation declined in the 1950s
• Conformity and consumerism characterized the dominant culture
  • Emphasis on traditional family values and social norms
  • Pressure to conform to societal expectations of behavior and appearance
• Growth of youth culture as teenagers became a distinct demographic group
  • Rise of rock and roll music (Elvis Presley) and teen-oriented media
  • Emergence of teenage fashion and subcultures (greasers, beatniks)
• Persistence of racial segregation and discrimination despite legal challenges
• Expansion of higher education led to the growth of a more educated populace
• Challenges to traditional authority and social norms began to emerge (Beat Generation)

Civil Rights Movement Beginnings

• Desegregation of the military by President Truman's Executive Order 9981 in 1948
• NAACP's legal strategy to challenge segregation in courts
  • Brown v. Board of Education (1954) declared school segregation unconstitutional
  • Resistance to school desegregation in the South (Little Rock Nine)
• Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956) protested segregation on public transportation
  • Leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks
  • Boycott led to desegregation of Montgomery's buses
• Growth of grassroots activism and nonviolent direct action
  • Sit-ins, freedom rides, and voter registration drives
  • Formation of organizations like the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
• Emergence of new civil rights leaders and organizations
  • Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam promoted black nationalism
  • Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organized student activism
• Resistance to civil rights activism through violence and intimidation
  • Lynchings, bombings, and other forms of racial terrorism
  • White Citizens' Councils formed to oppose desegregation

Cold War Origins

• Ideological conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union
  • Capitalism vs. communism
  • Democracy vs. totalitarianism
• Division of Europe into Western and Soviet spheres of influence
  • Iron Curtain separating East and West
  • Formation of NATO and the Warsaw Pact
• Truman Doctrine pledged American support to nations threatened by communism
• Marshall Plan provided economic aid to rebuild Western Europe
  • Aimed to prevent the spread of communism by promoting economic stability
• Berlin Blockade and Airlift (1948-1949)
  • Soviet blockade of West Berlin
  • U.S. and British airlift supplied the city
• Development of nuclear weapons and the arms race
  • U.S. monopoly on nuclear weapons ended with Soviet atomic bomb test in 1949
  • Nuclear deterrence and the concept of mutually assured destruction (MAD)
• Proxy wars and conflicts in the developing world (Korean War, Vietnam)

US Foreign Policy Shifts

• Containment policy aimed to prevent the spread of communism
  • Truman Doctrine and the Domino Theory
  • Military alliances and interventions to support anti-communist governments
• NSC-68 called for a massive military buildup to counter the Soviet threat
• Korean War (1950-1953) as the first major conflict of the Cold War
  • U.S. and UN forces defended South Korea against North Korean invasion
  • Stalemate and armistice divided the Korean peninsula
• CIA covert operations to overthrow leftist governments (Iran 1953, Guatemala 1954)
• Eisenhower's New Look policy emphasized nuclear deterrence and brinkmanship
  • Massive retaliation doctrine threatened nuclear response to Soviet aggression
• U-2 spy plane incident (1960) heightened Cold War tensions
  • Soviet downing of American U-2 reconnaissance plane
  • Collapse of Eisenhower-Khrushchev summit
• Foreign aid programs to support allies and promote American influence
  • Alliance for Progress in Latin America
  • USAID and the Peace Corps

McCarthyism and Red Scare

• Heightened fear of communist subversion and espionage in the U.S.
  • Belief that communists had infiltrated American government and society
• House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated alleged communist influence
  • Hollywood Ten refused to testify and were blacklisted
• Senator Joseph McCarthy's allegations of communist infiltration in the government
  • Army-McCarthy hearings and McCarthy's eventual censure
• Loyalty oaths and security checks for government employees
• Alger Hiss case and the conviction of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for espionage
  • Hiss accused of being a Soviet spy
  • Rosenbergs executed for passing atomic secrets to the Soviets
• Blacklisting and persecution of suspected communists in various industries
• Impact on civil liberties and freedom of expression
  • Chilling effect on political dissent and artistic expression
• Decline of McCarthy's influence and the end of the Second Red Scare

Cultural and Technological Advancements

• Rise of television as a mass medium
  • Popularization of TV sets in American households
  • Impact on entertainment, news, and advertising
• Expansion of the advertising industry and the growth of consumerism
• Developments in aviation and space exploration
  • Breaking of the sound barrier by Chuck Yeager
  • Launch of Sputnik satellite by the Soviet Union
  • NASA's Mercury program and the goal of manned spaceflight
• Medical advances such as the polio vaccine and open-heart surgery
• Popularity of new music genres like rock and roll and jazz
  • Elvis Presley and the birth of rock and roll
  • Influence of African American musicians on popular culture
• Abstract Expressionism and the rise of the New York art scene
• Beat Generation writers challenged conformity and materialism
  • Jack Kerouac's On the Road and Allen Ginsberg's Howl
• Growth of the suburbs and the rise of car culture
  • Interstate Highway System and increased automobile ownership
  • Suburbanization and the ideal of the American Dream

Key Political Developments

• Truman's Fair Deal domestic program
  • Expansion of Social Security and public housing
  • Unsuccessful push for national healthcare and civil rights legislation
• 1948 presidential election and the Dixiecrat revolt
  • Truman's surprise victory over Dewey
  • Strom Thurmond's segregationist Dixiecrat campaign
• Eisenhower's Modern Republicanism and the Middle Way
  • Continuation of New Deal programs and expansion of Social Security
  • Interstate Highway System and other public works projects
• Brown v. Board of Education and the desegregation of public schools
  • Supreme Court decision overturned Plessy v. Ferguson
  • Massive Resistance to school integration in the South
• 1960 presidential election and the televised Kennedy-Nixon debates
  • Kennedy's narrow victory over Nixon
  • Impact of television on political campaigns and candidate image
• Kennedy's New Frontier domestic program
  • Proposals for civil rights legislation, Medicare, and federal aid to education
  • Limited legislative success due to Congressional opposition
• Growth of the military-industrial complex and its influence on foreign policy
• Establishment of NASA and the space race with the Soviet Union