US History 1
What was consumerism? How is it significant to post war America?
Once World War II was over, businesses transitioned back to manufacturing consumer goods
Consumerism (the desire for material goods) increased after the war because Americans had more money to spend
What was the significance of the suburbs in post war America?
As more people were able to buy and own cars, they had greater freedom of movement – their car could take them wherever they wanted to go
Because of this, they no longer needed to live close to work or shops
Suburbs (residential areas outside of a city) emerged
As people left the cities and moved to the suburbs, it hurt inner city economies
What did the 22nd Amendment do?
The 22nd Amendment limited the President to 2 terms (passed by Congress in 1947, ratified in 1951)
What was the Cold War as it relates to US History?
It was a political, economic, ideological, and military rivalry between nations aligned with the United States and those aligned with the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.)
Who were the two Soviet leaders during the Truman and Eisenhower Administrations?
Joseph Stalin, 1922-1953
Nikita Khrushchev, 1953–1964
What was the Warsaw Pact? What was its purpose? What are few of the members aside from the USSR?
The Warsaw Pact was a military alliance between the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe
Member Nations included the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania
The Soviet Union also established alliances with China and governments in Africa and Asia
As the Soviet influence spread throughout Eastern Europe, the United States grew concerned and began following the idea of Containment.
What does "Containment" mean?
Stop the spread of Communism and keep it isolated to where its currently located
Who successfully tested the first H-bomb? What is its strength compared to that of the Atomic Bomb?
1952, the United States successfully tested the Hydrogen Bomb (H-Bomb) code named Ivy Mike in the Marshall Islands
The Soviet Union successfully tested their H-Bomb in 1955
The H-Bomb can be up to a 1,000 times more powerful than an Atomic Bomb
What was the "Iron Curtain" and who coined the term?
The Iron Curtain was an imaginary barrier that split Europe into non-Communist West and Communist East
Winston Churchill
What is NATO? What is its purpose? What a couple of the founding members besides the U.S.?
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was a military alliance established to strengthen and defend member nations from attack
Original member nations included U.S., Great Britain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Canada
They were joined later by Greece (1952), Turkey (1952), and West Germany (1955)
In the following decades, even more nations will join
What was the Marshall Plan and what was its purpose?
Under the Marshall Plan, the U.S. gave aid to rebuild Europe’s economy
U.S. worried that a weak European economy would cause Communism to spread
U.S. believed that its security depended on a strong, democratic Europe
What was the Truman Doctrine?
the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces
In 1947, President Truman and Congress gave $400 million in aid to Greece and Turkey to prevent Communist uprisings from taking hold
What was the Eisenhower Doctrine?
In 1957, President Eisenhower pledged economic and military aid to any Middle Eastern country threatened by Communism
The National Security Act of 1947 created what notable department/agencies in the federal government?
Department of Defense (previously called the War Department)
National Security Council
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
How was Germany divided after WWII?
In 1945, Germany and the city of Berlin were divided into 4 occupational zones controlled by the United States, France, Great Britain, and the U.S.S.R
Western Germany was controlled by the United States, France, and Great Britain and received aid for economic recovery
Eastern Germany was controlled by the Soviet Union who stripped the area of industrial resources and equipment
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 or G.I. Bill gave all active duty World War II soldiers a wide range of benefits. What were they?
Low cost mortgages
Low interest loans to start a business or farm
One year of unemployment payments
Payments for tuition and living expenses to attend high school, college or a vocational training program
All veterans were not treated equally as Black soldiers were often denied the benefits of the GI Bill
What did the Taft-Hartley Act do?
The Taft-Hartley Act (1947) was passed over the veto of President Truman to limit the power of unions
Closed shops that only hired union workers were outlawed
Secondary boycotts (a strike against Company A to force Company A from doing business with Company B, the real target) were banned
Unions could not contribute to political campaigns
HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) was established as a standing (permanent) House of Representatives committee in 1945.
What was the Committee's purpose?
The committee was tasked with finding the Communist spies hiding in every part of American life, including Hollywood
Those who refused to testify were tried for contempt or banned from employment in Hollywood
What were the points of Truman's Fair Deal?
In 1949, Truman unveiled his “Fair Deal”
He wanted a national healthcare system, civil rights legislation, funds for public housing, federal aid to education, and to repeal the Taft-Hartley Act
What did Executive Order 9980 and Executive Order 9981 do?
Executive Order 9980 ended discrimination in the Federal Civil Service System (1948)
Executive Order 9981 ended segregation in the military (1948)
What were the results of the Korean War?
5 million died
The war destroyed much of North and South Korea
Over 36,000 American soldiers died during the war (this number was adjusted down from over 54,000 in 1994)
North Korea remains Communist, South Korea has a democratic government and they are separated by a demilitarized zone (DMZ) 160 miles long and 3 miles wide
What was the significance of the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education and Brown v Board of Education II?
In May 1954, the Supreme Court announced their unanimous decision to overturn the Plessy v. Ferguson decision and ruled that separate facilities are inherently unequal
In 1955, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown II that segregation should end with “all deliberate speed”
What were the events involving the Little Rock 9?
The governor of Arkansas used the state’s National Guard to prevent 9 Black students from attending Little Rock Central High School even though integration had been ordered by the Supreme Court
President Eisenhower ordered federal troops to stand guard in Little Rock to protect the students as they walked in
What was Brinkmanship as it relates to the Cold War?
a theory by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles (1953-1959) that if the U.S. pushed communist powers to the brink of war, they would back down because of American nuclear superiority
MAD – Mutual Assured Destruction (both sides possessed massively destructive weapons that could obliterate the other side)
What was the Berlin Airlift? Why did it occur?
In 1948, free elections united the American, French, and British zones of Berlin
The British, French, and Americans wanted the western German zones to merge together as well
The Soviets did not want the western zones to unite so in June 1948, the Soviets cut off all land access to West Berlin as a way to pressure the western powers to acquiesce to their demand
With land access cut off, the people of West Berlin were in danger of running out of food and other necessary supplies
For 11 months, Western allies airlifted supplies to the people of West Berlin
In May 1949, the Soviet Union ended the blockade