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Dwight D. Eisenhower
Eisenhower was the 34th president of the United States, holding office from 1953-1961. He relaxed tensions between the United States and Russia, and sought world peace. Eisenhower promoted desegregation, including within the Armed Forces.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/dwightdeisenhower
http://c250.columbia.edu/c250_celebrates/remarkable_columbians/dwight_d_eisenhower.html -
Domestic Policy of Eisenhower
During Eisenhower's presidency, he continued most of the New Deal and Fair Deal programs. He put extreme emphasis on maintaining a balanced budget. He cautioned against spending too much on the military.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/dwightdeisenhower
http://www.npr.org/2011/01/16/132935716/eisenhowers-warning-still-challenges-the-nation -
Eisenhower faces McCarthy
One of the first problems that president Eisenhower faced in office was dealing with Joseph McCarthy, an anticommunist. McCarthy accused Dean Acheson of employing 205 Communists, playing with fair play and free speech. Eisenhower and the Senate finally condemned him.
Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/marshall/aa_marshall_mcarthy_2_e.html -
Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka
Led by Thurgood Marshall, a team of NAACP lawyers argued that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional beacuse it violated the Fourteenth Amendment. The Supreme Court agreed with Marshall and overturned the Plessy vs. Ferguson decision. Chief Justice Warren ruled that segregation in schools should end with speed.
Newman, John J., and John M. Schmalbach. United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. New York, NY: Amsco School Publications, 1998.
www.pbs.com -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
In Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man. She was arrested for violating the segregation law, which sparked a massive protest. African Americans boycotted against riding the city buses. Martin Luther King, Jr. soon became the leader of the nonviolent movement.
Newman, John J., and John M. Schmalbach. United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. New York, NY: Amsco School Publications, 1998. Print.
http://www.ushistory.org/us/54b. -
Little Rock Nine
Three years after public-school segregation ended, Governor Orval Faubus called in the Arkansas National Guard to prevent nine African Americans from entering a school. President Eisenhower dispatched troops to protect the nine students, but the next year, the governor closed down all the high schools in the state.
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/ar1.htm -
John F. Kennedy
Kennedy was dominated by the Democrats, and when he took office, he was the youngest to be elected and the first Roman Catholic. TV debates had helped him win the election. He promoted a multibillion-dollar project to land America on the moon. New Frontier did not move swiftly as this time.
Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.
http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/oaPraRSbwEKIuJ2h-Bi2VA.aspx -
Kennedy Faces a Problem
When Kennedy took office in 1961, the economy was a huge problem; it was still down from the recessions of Eisenhower years. With the help of his administration, he negotiated a noninflationary wage agreement in the steel industry in early 1962. The steel management announced pice increases, but after Kennedy unleashed his temper, the operators backed down.
Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.
http://cassiopaea.org/2012/08/22/ -
JFK's Domestic Policy
Kennedy took action in the fight for equal rights; he called for a civil rights legislation. He wanted America to once again focus on human rights, so with the Alliance for Progress and the Peace Corps, he helped Americans see the importance of aiding developing nations.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/johnfkennedy
http://news.boisestate.edu/update/2013/02/25/peace-corps-regional-meeting-is-march-1-3/ -
March of Washington
Martin Luther King, Jr. led one the largest and most successful protests in U.S. history in Washington, D.C.. Around 200,000 African American and whites took part in the peaceful event to support the civil rights bill. This is where Dr. King gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech. This march rallied up much support.
Newman, John J., and John M. Schmalbach. United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. New York, NY: Amsco School Publications, 1998.
www.archives.gov -
16th Street Baptist Church Bombing
The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama was bombed by the Ku Klux Klan. It killed four innocent African American girls, who were going to lead the service that morning. More than 8,000 mourners came to the funeral, and this tragic event helped lead to the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/al11.htm -
Lyndon B Johnson
When Johnson became president, he envisioned a Great Society for the people of America. He was sworn in when Kennedy was assassinated. He obtained a new civil rights bill and a tax cut. His Great Society would provide an aid to education, attack on disease, and urban renewel.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/lyndonbjohnson
http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/faqs/faq_home.asp -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
President Johnson persuaded a majority of Democrats and Republicans in Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act .The act made segregation illegal in all public facilities, including hotels and restaurants. It also gave the federal government powers to eforce school desegregation.
Newman, John J., and John M. Schmalbach. United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. New York, NY: Amsco School Publications, 1998. Print.
http://history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/ -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
On August 4th, 1964, North Vietnamese gunboats fired on the U.S.S. Maddox. Due to this event, Congress approved the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving the president (Johnson at the time) the power to go to war without Congress actually declaring war.
http://ows.edb.utexas.edu/site/lindseys-site/gulf-tonkin-background-information
Newman, John J., and John M. Schmalbach. United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. New York, NY: Amsco School Publications, 1998. Print. -
The Great Society
Johnson's Great Socity promoted American liberalism. New programs included Medicare, a health insurance program for those older than 65. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act provided aid to poor school districts. Johnson focused on improving his own country.
Newman, John J., and John M. Schmalbach. United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. New York, NY: Amsco School Publications, 1998. Print.
http://bentley.umich.edu/exhibits/lbj1964/lbjphoto.php -
Operation Rolling Thunder
After Vietcong attacks on an American air base in Pleiku, South Vietnam, president Johnson authorized Operation ROllin gTHudner, which was an air attack by B-52 bombers against North Vietnam. Soon, the attack was in full swing, and the war was beginning to escalate.
Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.
http://www.afhso.af.mil/topics/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=15267 -
March to Montgomery
Peaceful, nonviolent protesters planned to march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to protest voting rights. However, they were met with police beatings. President Johnson sent in troops to protect King, Jr. and the protesters but they were tired of waiting.
Newman, John J., and John M. Schmalbach. United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. New York, NY: Amsco School Publications, 1998. Print.
http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/tdgh-mar/mar21.htm -
Voting RIghts Act of 1965
After the harsh treatment of peaceful protestors in Selma, Alabama who were marching for voting rights, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This ended literacy tests and provided federal registrars to allow blacks to vote. The impact was most felt in the deep south.
Newman, John J., and John M. Schmalbach. United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. New York, NY: Amsco School Publications, 1998. Print.
http://www.civilrights.org/voting-rights/vra/ -
TET Offensive
In January 1968, the Vietcong launched a surprise attack on many American bases in South Vietnam. The US military responded with a counterattack. While this was a military defeat for the Vietcong, it was a political victory because it caused many Americans to oppose Johnson's decisions.
Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006
http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=15748 -
My Lai Massacre
While the American public was already fed up with the Vietnam War, their outrage was deepened in 1970 when they learned that in 1968, American troops had massacred innocent women and children in the village of My Lai. The American soldiers killed as many as 500 Vietnamese in only a couple of hours.
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_history/vietnam/vietnam_mylai.cfm
Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. -
Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassination
Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the greatest civil rights activists. However, his effort towards nonviolence did not always work. The whole nation was shocked when they heard that King had been assassinated on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee by James Earl Ray, a white man. Massive riots erupted as a result.
Newman, John J., and John M. Schmalbach. United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. New York, NY: Amsco School Publications, 1998.
www.maryferrell.org -
Black Panther Riots
In 1966, the Black Panthers were organized by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale as a revolutionary socialist movement advocating self-rule for American blacks. They influenced many riots in black neighborhoods from 1964-1968. In Watts in Los Angeles, 34 people died and over 700 buildings were destroyed.
Newman, John J., and John M. Schmalbach. United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. New York, NY: Amsco School Publications, 1998. Print.
webpub.allegheny.edu -
Richard M. Nixon
Two of Nixon's greatest achievements during his presidency was ending American fighting in Vietnam and improving relations with the U.S.S.R. and China. He also brought the end of the draft, new anticrime laws, and a broad environmental program. He fought for world stability but later resigned the presidency when a scandal broke loose.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/richardnixon
http://www.albany.edu/jmmh/vol2no1/political-nixon.html -
Nixon's Domestic Policy
Throughout his presidency, Johnson started to shift public opinion toward conservatism. Through a program called revenue sharing, or New Federalism, Congress approved giving local governments $30 billionin block grants to address local needs. This would help return responsibility to the states.
Newman, John J., and John M. Schmalbach. United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. New York, NY: Amsco School Publications, 1998. Print.
http://www.pbs.org -
Vietnamization
When president Nixon was inaugurated, he needed to address the public's uproar over Vietnam. He announced the policy called Vietnamization, which would withdraw 540,000 U.S. troops in South Vietnam over an extended time period. This would allow the South Vietnamese to gradually fight their own war.
http://ehistory.osu.edu/vietnam/books/vietnamization/0100.cfm
Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. -
Opposition to Nixon
Nixon's expanding of the Vietnam War sparked antiwar protests. One took place at Kent State in Ohio. At the Kent State Massacre, four innocent youths were killed by National Guard Troops. Two black students were killed at a seperate protest at Jackson State in Mississippi.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9946806
Newman, John J., and John M. Schmalbach. United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. New York, NY: Amsco School Publications, 1998. -
Gerald R. Ford
When Ford took the presidency, he was forced to deal with reviving the economy, solving energy shortages, and trying to bring world peace. He granted Nixon a full pardon, which angered many Americans. He also had to prevent a new war with the Middle East.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/geraldford
http://www.nebraskahistory.org/conserve/exhibit.htm -
Domestic Policy of Ford
When dealing with domestic matters, Ford was even more conservative than Nixon. He asked for businesses and consumers to take voluntary measures to fix inflation. It continued however, and the economy sank into a deeper recession. Ford was finally forced to agree to a Democratic package to stimulate the economy.
Newman, John J., and John M. Schmalbach. United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. New York, NY: Amsco School Publications, 1998.
http://www.cnn.com/SPECI -
Ford Pardons Nixon
Ford made one of the biggest decisions of his presidency within the first month. He granted friend Nixon a full pardon before any criminal charges were pressed. He felt that Nixon's scandal would distract the country from any issue it was currently facing. However, the response from the public was mostly negative and may have cost him the next election.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taylor-marsh/nixon-pardon-for-friendsh_b_37451.html
http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/grf/fordbiop.asp -
Helicopter Evactuations
On April 29-30, 1975, helicopter evactuations from the U.S. Embassy in Saigon took place. After Saigon surrendered to the Vietcong, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and Americans were evacuated by Operation Frequent Wind, taken to American ships off the coast. Many Vietnamese stayed at refugee camps in the United States.
http://www.navalhistory.org/2010/04/29/operation-frequent-wind-april-29-30-1975
