We Didn't Start The Fire Timeline

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

most powerful medium of mass communication. 1920’s = early experimentation of picture and sound together. Commercial television began after WWII- Growth = very rapid. 1946- 17,000 tv sets in US. 1957- 40 million sets. By 1950s, tv news had replaced newspapers, magazines, and radios as nation’s most important vehicle information.

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.

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.

Truman's executive order ordering the end of segregation in the Armed Forces.

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.

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.

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.

Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist government in China collapsed to the communist rule of Mao Zedong in 1949. Chiang fled to Taiwan while the entire mainland of China fell to a communist government that the US believed to be an extension of the Soviet Union. The US refused to recognize the communist government of China. It relied on Japan as a buffer against Asian communism, ending American occupation there in 1952.

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

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.

one of most popular television programs among younger people. combined new popularity of television with new popularity of rock ‘n’ roll.

a group of young poets, writers, and artists. They wrote harsh critiques of what they considered the conformity of American life, the meaninglessness of American politics, and the banality of pop culture.

occurred because consumer goods were often marketed and advertised nationally.

1950s- consumer credit increased by 800% between 1945 and 1957 because of Credit cards, revolving charge accounts, and payment plans.

about 20% of population was in constant poverty. Mainly affected African Americans, Hispanics and other Asian-Americans. Native Americans had the highest poverty rate. Also predominantly affected farmers causing a 10% decline in the rural population as they moved to cities. Migrant workers and sharecroppers and tenants greatly affected.

many middle class men considered it demeaning for their wives to be employed. Many women often shied away from the workplace when they could afford to, partly because of prevailing ideas about motherhood that seemed to require women to stay at home full time with their children.

missiles capable of traveling through space to distant targets. First American tests = Atlas and Titan- 1950s. 1958- scientists created a solid form of fuel to replace the volatile liquid fuels in the earlier missiles.

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.

young people began to wear clothes and adopt hairstyles that mimicked popular images of juvenile criminal gangs. acts of juvenile delinquency = teen rebelliousness toward parents, youthful fascination with fast cars and motorcycles, and increasing visibility of teen sex- assisted by greater availability of birth control devices.

Created by mass communist hysteria, Joseph McCarthy began to suspect, investigate, and accuse people across the nation of communism during the 1950s. This became a large scare in which neighbor turned on neighbor until McCarthy was humiliated and eventually died in 1957.

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.

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.

Advocated by MLK based on the actions of Gandhi and writings of Thoreau. Nonviolent resistance included peaceful demonstrations and no resistance to arrest or beatings. Led to MLK’s notoriety.

record promoters were eager to get their songs on the air so they routinely made secret payments to station owners and disk jockeys to encourage them to showcase their artists.

A NAACP worker who volunteered to not give up her seat on the bus, inciting the Montgomery Bus Boycott

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.

Policy of threatening to use nuclear weapons to push the Soviet Union to the brink of war in order for them to grant US consessions.

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

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

a strategy of military counterattack that involves the use of nuclear weapons.
Origin:

A boy who was dared to whistle to a white woman and then was murdered

Eisenhower's executive order establishing the President's Committee on Government Policy to enforce a nondiscrimination policy in Federal employment.

A formal alliance of the Soviet Union with the communist governments in Eastern Europe to counter NATO.

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.

riffin v. Illinois, 351 U.S. 12 (1956), was a case in which United States Supreme Court held that a criminal defendant may not be denied the right to appeal due to inability to pay for a trial transcript.

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

The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, in the United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places

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.

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.

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.

Soviet Union’s earth-orbiting satellite. Americans reacted to this launch with alarm. American federal policy began encouraging and funding strenuous efforts to improve scientific education in schools, create more research labs, and speed up America’s exploration of outer space.

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

Kennedy’s proposed series of projects for peaceful development and stabilization of of the nations in Latin America.

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

A hallucinogenic drug popular amongst the drug users of the counterculture group in the 1960's

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.

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.

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 Krushchev called of a diplomacy conference that was to take place in a few days.

The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin.

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”.

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.

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

University of Mississippi desegregated at orders of Kennedy to Governor Barnett

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.

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.

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

Evers, a black NAACP leader from Mississippi, was killed

The Feminine Mystique is a nonfiction book by Betty Friedan, first published in 1963, which is widely credited with sparking the beginning of second-wave feminism in the United States

I Have a Dream" is a public speech by American activist Martin Luther King, Jr.. It was delivered by King on August 28, 1963, in which he called for an end to racism in the United States

a landmark piece of civil rights legislation in the United States[1] that outlawed major forms of discrimination against racial, ethnic, national and religious minorities, and women.

someone who is drafted and illegally refuses to serve in the Vietnam War

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

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.

ispute 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.

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.

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.

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.

In the spring of 1965, a conservative military regime in the Dominican Republic began to collapse and was replaced by government under the left-wing nationalist Juan Bosch. Johnson thought that Bosch planned to establish a pro-Castro communist regime and dispatched 30,000 American troops to quell the disorder. Only after a conservative candidate defeated Bosch in a 1966 election were American forces withdrawn.

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.

Violent black leader Malcolm X killed by members of Nations of Islam

Eliminated poll taxes, literary tests and grandfather clauses for voting

Founded by Huey Newton, a group that advocated violent black power

uthorities must inform a suspect of their rights when arrested

American activist organization (founded 1966) that promotes equal rights for women.

Blacks were eventually let into University of Alabama

Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 (1967), is a United States Supreme Court case discussing the nature of the "right to privacy" and the legal definition of a "search." The Court’s ruling adjusted previous interpretations of the unreasonable search and seizure clause of the Fourth Amendment to count immaterial intrusion with technology as a search, overruling Olmstead v. United States and Goldman v. United States. Katz also extended Fourth Amendment protection to all areas where a person has a "reasonable expectation of privacy".

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.

Israel took over Jerusalem and expanded their territories on the west bank of the Jordan River, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights which displaced a large amount of Palestinian Arabs who took refuge in Jordan and Lebanon. Those governments were concerned of the instability brought in by the refugees who were members of the radical Palestinian Liberation Organization.

Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991. Marshall was the Court's 96th justice and its first African-American justice.

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.

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.

Martin Luther King was kiled by James Earl Ray in Memphis, Texas

Robin Morgan and the Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell protested the 1968 Miss America Pageant for objectifying women by burning bras

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.

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.

The Woodstock Festival was a three-day concert (which rolled into a fourth day) that involved lots of sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll - plus a lot of mud. The Woodstock Music Festival of 1969 has become an icon of the 1960s hippie counterculture.

Aldrin, Armstrong and Collins successfully traveled in a space capsule and orbited moon. Armstrong and Aldrin = first men to walk on a body other than earth.

A treaty between the Americans and Soviets limiting the number of nuclear arms on each side