Untitled timeline

A large, diverse group of men and women energized by the polarizing developments of their time. They embraced the cause of African Americans and other minorities, although the group was mainly white. Some members of the New Left had radical parents who were part of the Old Left in the 30s and 40s.

Kennedy and then Johnson’s plan to reduce poverty in the United States. Johnson coined the name “war on poverty” for this assault on poverty. The centerpiece was the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) which created new educational, employment, housing and health-care programs. It was controversial because of its commitment to “Community Action” which involved members of poor communities themselves in planning and administration of programs designed to help them.

Begun by Kennedy to promote international peace through these American "peacekeepers", and stop the spread of communism by this.

A group of students, most from prestigious universities, gathered in Michigan to form organization to give voice to their demands. It was called Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). The Port Huron Statement was their declaration of beliefs. It expressed their disillusionment with the society they had inherited and their determination to build a new politics.

Silent Spring, a novel by Rachel Carson, began the environmental movement in the US. It told of the negative side effects of pesticides on the environment, as well as increasing pollution.

Betty Friedan wrote the book “The Feminine Mystique” to support women in the workforce and restart the women’s rights movement. The book became incredibly popular among women, and Friedan went on to form and the National Organization for Women.

Dispute over rights of students to engage in political activities on campus gained national attention. This was known as the Free Speech Movement. It created turmoil at Berkeley- students challenged campus police, occupied administrative offices, and produced a strike where almost ¾ of students participated. Immediate issue was the right of students to pass out literature and recruit volunteers for political causes on campus.
1969- Berkeley became scene of most prolonged and traumatic conflict of any college campus in the 60s. There was a battle over efforts of a few students to build a “People’s Park” on a vacant lot that was planned to be used as a parking garage. People’s Park battle lasted over a week. Result = 85% of students voted to leave park alone.

Part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that forbade discrimination against ethnic, racial, national, and religious minorities, including women. Although its power was weak at first, Congress began to sufficiently fund and push the Civil Rights Act in voting, schools, and the workplace.

Supreme Court Case, under the Warren Court, which allowed for the use of contraceptives by women by declaring a Connecticut law unconstitutional. This was followed by Roe v. Wade, a similar type of case, several years later.

Maintained a strict limit on the number of newcomers admitted to the country each year (170,000) but it eliminated the “national origins” system established in 1920 (which gave preference to immigrants from northern Europe). It allowed people from all parts of Europe, Asia and Africa to enter the United States.

Medicare is a program to provide federal aid to the elderly for medical expenses. It avoided the stigma of “welfare” by making benefits available to all elderly Americans regardless of need. It shifted the responsibility for paying normal doctor fees from the patient to the government. Medicaid extended federal medical assistance to welfare recipients and other poor people of all ages.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development was created in 1966 after the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965. It provided revitalization of dying areas by offering grants to cities for the development of middle-income housing. Rent supplements for low-income families also became available.

A series of violent uprisings by the gay community in New York against police raids. Started when the New York Police raided the Stonewall Inn in the early hours of Jan. 28, 1969. Policeman were forced to call in reinforcements to subdue the mob.

Gaylord Nelson, a US senator from Wisconsin, created Earth Day after he witnessed the massive destruction of an oil spill the previous year. Earth Day became very popular, especially with the support of the environmental movement. The first day consisted of 20 million young Americans protesting and rallying.

The Equal Rights Amendment was first presented to Congress, as written by Alice Paul, in 1923. It was then presented again in 1972, where it passed both houses but failed to get enough state ratifications to pass, and then expired in 1982. It was pushed to Congress by the National Organization for Women.

Became the first female Supreme Court Judge in 1981, under Reagan. Ruth Ginsburg, the first Jewish women, joined her in 1993. O’Connor was a conservative judge.

Government agency originally created to investigate the disloyalty and actions of people accused of having communist ties. The HUAC was very important in the 1950s during the time of McCarthyism.

Roosevelt and Churchill’s first meeting with Stalin. Stalin reaffirmed the Soviet commitment to enter the war against Japan and discussed coordination of the Soviet offensive with the Allied invasion of France.

A conference at which delegates from the US, GB, Soviet Union and China met to discuss and formulate the United Nations.

At the Yalta Conference, it was decided that Germany would be divided into 4 “zones of occupation” and that the US, GB, France and the Soviet Union would each have a zone to control. Berlin was inside the Soviet zone but because of it’s importance would be divided into 4 sectors as well.

Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met. Stalin said the Soviet Union would enter the Pacific war 3 months after Germany surrendered. A plan for the new United Nations was developed, including the Security Council with US, GB, Soviet Union, France and China as permanent members. Germany was divided into 4 occupation zones, controlled by US, France, GB and the Soviet Union.

Truman, Stalin Churchill and later Clement Atlee (new prime minister of GB) met. Truman told Stalin about the atomic bomb. Stalin had been spying on the US and already knew about the bomb, but pretended he didn’t. He promised to declare war on Japan.

Central Intelligence Agency, created by the National Security Act. It would replace the Office of Strategic Services and would be responsible for collecting information through both open and covert methods. It engaged secretly in political and military operations during the during the Cold War.

Reshaped the nation’s military and diplomatic institutions. Created the Department of Defense to oversee all branches of the armed services, National Security Council operating out of the White House to govern foreign and military policy, and the CIA.

Proposed on March 12, 1947- Truman’s foreign policy, based on the idea of containment, which said, “it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” This shaped America’s foreign policy for decades to come.

After Stalin imposed a blockade around the western sectors of Berlin on June 24, 1948, Truman responded by ordering the Berlin Airlift to supply west Berlin with food and supplies. 2.5 million tons of material was sent, keeping a city of 2 million people alive. In the spring of 1949, Stalin lifted the blockade because the airlift had made it ineffective.

Truman reached an agreement with GB and France to merge the three western zones of occupation in Germany into the West German Republic which included the American, British and French sectors of Berlin, though Berlin itself was in the Soviet zone.

Established April 4, 1949- an agreement between 12 nations establishing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and declaring that an armed attack against one member would be considered an attack against all.

Act requiring all communist organizations to register with the Attorney General, and also created the Subversive Activities Control Board, which investigated those participating in “un-American” activities.

A report from the National Security Council which outlined a shift in the american foreign policy. It said that America could not rely on the initiative of other nations in resisting communism, but must establish firm and active leadership of the noncommunist world. It also said America must move to stop communist expansion anywhere it occurred, regardless of strategic or economic factors. It expanded American military power by calling for a defense budget 4 times the previously proposed size.

The first president of the South Korea, and was president for the entirety of the Korean War. Regarded as a strong anti-communist and overall a strong president in South Korea, though very dictatorial

Letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. while he was in jail. It supported the non-violent protest that had ended with him being jail, with him saying that immoral laws must be broken.

UN declared Israel independent for the Jewish people which caused problems with the Palestinian Arabs whose land was partially given to the Jews. US supported Israel.

Unlike plutonium and uranium bombs that were developed during WWII, hydrogen bomb derives power from fusion, not fission. it is capable of producing explosions of vastly greater power that the earlier fission bombs.

Military coup organized by CIA to replace Mossadegh with Pahlevi in order to get a shah who would support American business interests in the region.

McCarthy attacked Secretary of Army Robert Stevens accused him of being a communist. These congressional hearings were the first to be televised and made many Americans very upset with the realization of what had been occurring. TV host Murrow began to disclose the fallacies in the hearings in his program. Led to December 1954 vote in Senate 67 to 22 to condemn McCarthy for bad conduct as a senator. He died 3 years later.

UN conference establishing Vietnam as two countries, (south and north). Marked end of France in Vietnam and beginning of US intervention.

Military coup sponsored by CIA to replace leftist Jacobo Guzmán because of threats to United Fruit Company involvement in Guatemala.

President Nasser established trade with USSR and in response, in 1956, US pulled out of assistance in building Aswan Dam across the Nile.

Hungarian revolt against for democratic reforms put down by Soviets supporting the current regime.

Nasser responded to US actions by seizing control of Suez Canal from British arguing it would use it to fund building of canal on its own. October 29 Israelis invaded Egypt followed by British and French. US thought invasion would turn Middle East towards supporting USSR and joined UN condemnation of the invasion, pressuring British and French withdrawal and Israeli-Egyptian truce.

Fidel Castro seized control over Batista government (US instated leader of Cuba in 1952 in support of American business), and kicked American corporations out of Cuba. Began accepting Soviet assistance 1960 led to 1961 Eisenhower stopping US-Cuba diplomatic relations

An American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union and pilot Francis Gary Powers was captured. Eisenhower took responsibility for the spy plane and Soviet leader Khrushchev called of a diplomacy conference that was to take place in a few days.

2000 armed anti-Castro Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba to overthrow Castro. They expected first American air support and then an uprising of Cuban people in Cuba against Castro. However, Kennedy withdrew air support at the last minute because it was clear that things were going badly and he didn’t want to involve the United States too directly in the invasion. The expected uprising did not occur. Instead, Castro’s forces crushed the invaders. The entire mission collapsed and was considered a failure.

On October 14, aerial photos produced evidence that the Soviets were constructing sites on Cuba for offensive nuclear weapons. Kennedy saw this as an act of aggression towards the United States because missiles in Cuba could attack Washington D.C. On October 22, Kennedy ordered a naval and air blockade around Cuba. America was preparing for an air attack on the missile sites when Khrushchev agreed to remove missile bases in Cuba in exchange for Americans removing missile bases in Turkey, which were in range of Moscow.

Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas. Oswald was arrested for the crime and then killed point blank by Jack Ruby, a strip club owner with Mafia ties.

A federal commission chaired by Chief Justice Earl Warren to investigate Kennedy’s assassination. It released a report that said both Oswald and Ruby had acted alone and were not part of a wider conspiracy. However, in later years Americans came to believe that the Warren Report ignored evidence of wider conspiracies and gave an inaccurate report.

participated in WWII and therefore saw themselves as equals and deserving of the same rights as others because they fought alongside them for their country during the war.
growing urban black middle class was a result of more becoming involved in education and professions in city settings where they became more aware of the discrimination against that stifled their opportunities for advancement. Many leaders of the movement came from these areas.
television enabled the movement to gain national attention and inspired other blacks to join in or begin their own protests similar to those that they could see on tv. Also racism in popular culture which was spread and depicted over tv.
Cold War- US couldn’t promote themselves as a perfect model country when they had discrimination against such a large group. Whites who recognized the hypocrisy supported the movement.
Democratic Party- More blacks joined the political party and began to make up such a large part that it became impossible for the party to ignore their demands without losing their support.
(Labor Unions)- growing African American membership resulted in support from many labor unions towards promoting the movement.

1870s-1965 laws that mandated segregation in public facilities, defended through Plessy v. Ferguson “separate but equal” in 1896. Replaced Black Codes. Began to unravel with Brown v Board.

a group concentrated especially in west and southwest. It contained many Mexican-American and Asian-American workers who sometimes lived in dire circumstances. In rural areas without much commercial agriculture, whole communities lived in desperate poverty, increasingly cut off from market economy. All of those groups were vulnerable to malnutrition and starvation.

Joined Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking color barriers in Major League baseball.

Court case involving restrictive covenants, which prevented blacks from living in certain neighborhoods. These covenants were declared unconstitutional by the Vinson court.

Also known as the States’ Rights Democratic Party, the Dixiecrats ran Strom Thurmond as their political candidate, opposing Truman, in 1948. The platform was segregation and states rights.

A part of the Fair Deal, this act increased the role of government in mortgage assistance and increased the production of public housing.

Unanimous Supreme Court decision that overrode “separate but equal”/segregation in schools. NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall argued the case.

Provided that schools must be desegregated with “all deliberate speed”which was vague and led to many future problems. Both Brown decisions occurred in the Warren Court.

Began with Rosa Parks refusal to leave seat on bus staged by NAACP. Her arrest led to the bus boycott which people attempted to prevent by not insuring black peoples’ cars and making carpooling laws. Almost put bus system out of business until Supreme Court ruled segregation in public transportation illegal in 1956.

Bill signed by President Eisenhower to delegate federal power to protect African Americans who wanted to register to vote. Passed by Democratic Congress without much support from the White House and therefore was too weak to be effective. However it signaled the beginning of the executive and legislative branches to begin working on protections for blacks.

The first test of the Brown v. Board decision and meaning of “with all deliberate speed”. 9 black students agreed to attend Central HS in Little Rock Arkansas. Were barred from entering by Arkansas Nat’l Guard and only able to attend school starting the second day with the constant protection of the 101st Airborne division sent out by Eisenhower.

Refusal to declare “pupil placement laws” unconstitutional. (attempts to avoid integration in schools by admitting students according to scholastic abilities and behavior). Promoted continuation of efforts to maintain segregation in schools.

Student nonviolent protests in which blacks would go sit in a public place and not move unless they were forcibly moved, which spurred a national movement of sit-ins.

participated in WWII and therefore saw themselves as equals and deserving of the same rights as others because they fought alongside them for their country during the war.
growing urban black middle class was a result of more becoming involved in education and professions in city settings where they became more aware of the discrimination against that stifled their opportunities for advancement. Many leaders of the movement came from these areas.
television enabled the movement to gain national attention and inspired other blacks to join in or begin their own protests similar to those that they could see on tv. Also racism in popular culture which was spread and depicted over tv.
Cold War- US couldn’t promote themselves as a perfect model country when they had discrimination against such a large group. Whites who recognized the hypocrisy supported the movement.
Democratic Party- More blacks joined the political party and began to make up such a large part that it became impossible for the party to ignore their demands without losing their support.
(Labor Unions)- growing African American membership resulted in support from many labor unions towards promoting the movement.

Mexican American activists began calling themselves Chicanos as a way of emphasizing the shared culture of Spanish speaking Americans.

De jure segregation was segregation by law and de facto was segregation in practice, as through residential patterns. By the mid 1960’s, the battle against school desegregation had moved to attack de facto segregation.

SNCC was the Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee, a group composed of black students who aimed to end segregation in public accommodations. It was formed by some students who staged a sit-in at a lunch counter in North Carolina after being denied service. The SCLC was the Southern Christian Leadership Conference which created citizen-education and other programs to mobilize black workers, farmers, housewives and others to challenge segregation, disenfranchisement and discrimination. Ella Baker was an important leader.

Over 400 of 67 different tribes met in Chicago to discuss ways to bring Indians together in effort to redress common wrongs. They issued the Declaration of Indian Purpose which stressed the “right to choose our own way of life”.

Ended the poll tax as a means of discrimination at the polls against blacks, but didn't elmiminate other forms such as grandfather clauses and literacy tests.

The campaign of thousands of civil rights workers to work on the behalf of black voter registration and participation in the South. It met a violent response from Southern whites.

Created United Farm Workers (UFW), largely Mexican organization. It launched a prolonged strike against growers to demand recognition of their union and increased wages and benefits. When employers resisted, Chavez enlisted the cooperation of college students, churches, and civil rights groups and organized a nationwide boycott, first grapes, then lettuce. 1968- Chavez campaigned openly for Robert Kennedy. 2 years later, he won substantial victory when the growers of half of California’s table grapes signed contracts with his union.

Was a leader of the Civil Rights Movement, a member of the Nation of Islam, and promoted violence rather than peaceful protest until right before he was killed in 1965.

Eliminated all other forms of discrimination against blacks at the polls like grandfather clauses and literacy tests, and provided some protections for them.

Begun by Betty Friedman and others and advocated for the passage of the ERA.

The riots of 1967 and 1968 were race riots between whites and blacks. The most notable was a racial class in Detroit in 1967 in which 43 people were killed.

The first black justice on the Supreme Court, appointed by LBJ in 1967.

A group of young militant Indians established the American Indian Movement (AIM), which drew its greatest support from those Indians who lived in urban areas but soon established a significant presence on reservations as well. result = Indian Civil Rights Act- 1968- recognized legitimacy of tribal laws within reservations.

Protest at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Members of AIM seized and occupied town for 2 months, demanding radical changes in administration of reservation and insisting that the govt honor its long-forgotten treaty obligations.

Court case involving restrictive covenants, which prevented blacks from living in certain neighborhoods. These covenants were declared unconstitutional by the Vinson court.

Unanimous decision that overrode “separate but equal”/segregation in schools. NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall argued the case.

State legislatures have to apportion electoral districts so all votes have an equal weight. Strengthened value of many Hispanic and African American votes. (Previously areas with white populations were given more electoral votes)

No prayer in public schools; violates separation of church and state

Every defendant is entitled to a lawyer and, if they cannot afford one, the government will provide one.

Defendant must be allowed to access a lawyer before police questioning.

Supreme Court Case, under the Warren Court, which allowed for the use of contraceptives by women by declaring a Connecticut law unconstitutional. This was followed by Roe v. Wade, a similar type of case, several years later.

Authorities must inform a suspect of their rights when arrested

The government can't punish speech unless it directly will cause lawless actions.

Upheld student's first amendment rights in public schools unless the administration provided validity for specific regulations. In response to black armbands worn to school to protest Vietnam.