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Explore the major events and themes of modern U.S. history from 1933 to 1953, including the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, World War II, the Truman administration, and the beginning of the Cold War.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt1933 - 1945Democratfrom: New YorkNew Deal and World War II
World War II • Long-term causes: Germany’s treatment under Treaty of Versailles, economic instability of Europe and the rise of totalitarian governments in Europe (Germany, Italy, Spain and Soviet Union). • Short-term cause: Expansion of Germany, Japan and Italy, failure of appeasement (Czechoslovakia); Germany’s invasion of Poland and Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.
Military • Atlantic Charter – Churchill and FDR meet – leads to eventual creation of the United Nations. • Manhattan Project – Secret development of the atomic bomb. • Operation Torch – Invasion of North Africa/Italy (“soft underbelly of Europe”). • Operation Overlord – Invasion of Normandy/Western Europe on D-day (June 6, 1944). • Yalta Conference – Meeting between FDR, Churchill and Stalin to decide what to do with Germany after the war – beginning of the Cold War.
WWII Major Battles • Battle of the Bulge – Hitler’s last offensive – fails. • Battle of Midway – Turning point in the Pacific (we sink Japan’s aircraft carriers). • Battle of Iwo Jima – Major island that gives us a base to deploy bombers – begin our strategy of island hopping. • Battle of Okinawa – Gives us a base of operations to begin preparations to invade Japan.
Social • FDR elected president in 1940 and 1944, giving him an unprecedented four terms of office. • The War Production Board and the War Labor Board are formed to take charge of U.S. industry and ensure efficient wartime production. • The Fair-Employment and Practices Committee is created by FDR to prohibit racial discrimination in defense industry. • Rosie the Riveter – Large numbers of women enter the workforce – leads to the eventual ratification of the 19th Amendment, which grants women’s suffrage. • The interment camps are created for Japanese-Americans and Korematsu v. U.S. says its okay. • The G.I. Bill of Rights is passed to help returning servicemen ease back into civilian life. • F.D.R. dies of a stroke at his home in Warm Springs, GA. The nation morns.
1945 - 1953Democratfrom: MissouriWorld War II, Cold War, Fair Deal
Truman and WWII • May 8, 1945 – Victory in Europe Day – Germany surrenders. • Truman bombs Nagasaki and Hiroshima in order to save the American lives it would have cost to invade Japan. • August 15, 1945 – Victory in Japan Day – Japan surrenders (after the two bombs). • U.S. joins the United Nations– an international peace-keeping organization - along with 49 other countries in 1945.
Holocaust • The Holocaust was the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and execution of nearly six million Jews during WWII. • Many Jews fled Europe and will help lead to the eventual formation of Israel after WWII.
Political • The Taft-Hartley Act reduced the power of labor unions – Truman vetoed it but it was overridden (part of growing fear of communist). • In the election of 1948 Truman pulls a major upset over Thomas Dewey – Dixiecrats/States Rights Party. • Truman’s Fair Deal continues the New Deal by raising minimum wages, creating national health insurance (through SS) and expanding welfare. • The U.S. supports the United Nations formation of Israel – led to the demise of Palestine and future problems with Palestinian supporters. • The 22nd Amendment is ratified, limiting the president to two terms of office (with a maximum of ten years).
Social • The House Un-American Activities Committee (Joseph McCarthy) begins searching for communist in the U.S. and trampling on people’s individual rights in the process. • Jackie Robinson breaks baseball’s color barrier. • Levittown is formed in N.Y. – first suburbs – provide housing for returning vets and middle class that’s leaving the cities. • Truman desegregates the military – will see first integrated troops in Korean War. • George Orwell writes 1984 and J.D. Salinger writes Cather in the Rye – two books that go against the normal through process of U.S. citizens.
Division of Germany • At the Potsdam Conference the Allies decided to divide Germany into zones of occupation (Berlin too). • The U.S., G.B. and France join theirs but the Soviet Union refuses. • Stalin tries to blockade Berlin, leading to the Berlin Airlift. • The Cold War is starting.
Cold War • The Cold War was competition for global power and influence (using political and economic means) between the U.S. and the S.U. after WWII. • Truman practices a policy of containment, starting with Greece and Turkey – becomes known as the Truman Doctrine. • The Marshall Plan gives economic aid to Western Europe after WWII – S.U. won’t let Eastern Europe accept it. • The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is formed as a military organization to protect Western Europe – the S.U. responds with the Warsaw Pact to “protect” Eastern Europe. • Winston Church claims that an iron curtain has formed to separate Western and Eastern Europe. • Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are arrested and executed in the U.S. for giving atomic secrets to the S.U. – now both sides of the Cold War have atomic/nuclear capabilities.
China • Chinese communist led by Mao Zedong take control of China. • The U.S. refuses to recognize the communist government of China.
Korea • Korea was divided along the 38th Parallel in 1945 (by the United Nations). • North Korea is communist and South Korea is democratic. • In June, 1950, N. Korea invades S. Korea. • The U.S. responds and pushes the N. Koreans to almost the Chinese border before the Chinese get involved. • Douglas McArthur wants to invade China and use nuclear weapons on China but Truman refuses – McArthur is eventually replaced. • In July, 1953, an armistice is agreed to with the DMZ being created along the 38th parallel – during Eisenhower’s presidency.
“I Like Ike” • Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected based on his war record – the man we needed to deal with the communist. • The cabinet assumed a new, more important role. • Nixon has to give his Checkers Speech during the campaign – foreshadowing of things to come!
Cold War in Europe • In 1953, Stalin dies and Nikita Khrushchev becomes the leader of the Soviet Union – many think the Cold War my thaw but then the U-S spy plane gets shot down over the Soviet Union so no thaw occurs. • Eisenhower develops brinksmanship by threatening massive retaliation to any Soviet threat.
Cold War in Asia • Eisenhower will agree to the truce ending the Korean War. • France tries to reassert its control of Vietnam but Ho Chi Minh will resist and try to form a communist nation – Eisenhower refuses military aid for the French. • The Geneva Peace Accord divides Vietnam along the 17th parallel – N. Vietnam becomes communist and S. Vietnam becomes democratic (sort of – remember Diem caused Buddhist monks to set themselves on fire.) • Eisenhower adds the domino theory to our policy of containment as he aids S. Vietnam – don’t want the rest of Asia to fall to communisim.
Cold War in the Middle East • In 1956 the Suez Canal Crisis leads Eisenhower to add the Eisenhower Doctrine to our Cold War policies because Egypt was supported by the S.U. in its bid to take over the Suez Canal. • Under the Eisenhower Doctrine, we agree to aid any Middle Eastern country being influenced by communism.
Cuban Revolution • The Cuban Revolution occurs and Fidel Castro takes over as the communist leader of Cuba. • Castro will begin developing ties to Cuba – Eisenhower agrees to allow CIA to begin plans to help Cuban refugees retake Cuba – with U.S. support.
Domestic • Joseph McCarthy loses his influence when he goes after the U.S. Army with the Army-McCarthy Hearings. • We pass the National Defense Education Act after the S.U. launches Sputnik. • We pass the Interstate Highway Act/Eisenhower Interstate System to improve our transportation infrastructure – mainly so we can more troops and equipment around if the Soviets invade. • The baby boom peaks (look out Social Security). • Jonas Salk creates a polio vaccine – other childhood diseases follow – and the population grows even more. • We grant Alaska and Hawaii statehood. • Earl Warren is appointed as the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court – the court will be instrumental in expanding the rights of individuals during his time as Chief Justice.
Civil Rights • Brown v. Board of Educationis decided, mandating that all states integrate their public schools – Eisenhower will later have to use troops to help the Little Rock Nine get into school in Arkansas. • Emmett Till is murdered in MS drawing national public outrage (1955). • Rosa Parks helps spark the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955) – this will also bring Martin Luther King Jr. into the national spotlight as the leader of the civil rights movement. • King forms the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. • The Civil Rights Act of 1957 is passed to investigate the abuses of civil rights. • The first sit-ins happen in Greensboro, N.C. (1960).
1961 - 1963Democratfrom: MassachusettsCold War, Vietnam, New Frontier
Election of 1960 • JFK runs against Richard Nixon. • The issues were: JFK’s age and religion, the Cold War and civil rights. • The first televised presidential debates help swing the election for JFK.
Domestic • JFK forms the Peace Corp to get U.S. volunteers to go aid third world countries. • JFK forms the Alliance for Progress to aid Latin American countries. • Engel v. Vitale outlaws prayer in public schools. • Rachel Carson writes Silent Spring, describing how we are treating the environment.
Foreign • The Bay of Pigs fiasco occurs – Kennedy accepts the blame. • The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) forms. • The Berlin Wall is built. • The U.S. signs the Limited Test Ban Treaty with the S.U., agreeing to quit testing nuclear weapons in the atmosphere. • Kennedy forms the Green Berets. • Kennedy sends the first “advisors” to Vietnam.
Civil Rights • JFK will help integrate Ole Miss (James Meredith) and Alabama. • Medgar Evers is assassinated in Jackson, MS, by Byron de la Beckwith. • MLK organizes the March on Washington and gives his “I Have A Dream” speech.
The Cuban Missile Crisis • Fidel Castro allows the S.U. to put nuclear missiles in Cuba. • JFK promises to respond to any launch with a full nuclear response. • JFK puts a blockade around Cuba to prevent any more missiles from getting there. • Khrushchev agrees to remove the weapons in exchange for our promise to leave Cuba alone (we also remove some outdated missiles from Turkey.
Kennedy Assassination • While in Dallas, Lee Harvey Oswald will assassinate JFK – the nation mourns. • LBJ will be sworn in on Air Force One. • The Warren Commission will investigate the assassination and decide that Oswald acted alone.
1963 – 1969 Democrat From: Texas Vietnam War, Civil Rights Movement, Great Society
Domestic • The Great Society is LBJ’s plan to fight poverty, discrimination, unemployment, pollution and the U.S.’s other social ills. • LBJ’s War on Poverty is a group of programs specifically aimed at getting rid of poverty – Job Corps, VISTA, Head Start, etc. • Medicare is created to aid the elderly with health care costs – Medicaid is a joint federal/state program to aid the poor with health care costs. • Betty Friedan writesThe Feminine Mystique, helps form NOW and the Women’s Liberation Movement. • In Miranda v. Arizona, the U.S. Supreme Court protects the rights of people accused of a crime. • The 25th Amendment is ratified, establishing the presidential order of succession and allowing for the appointment of a new vice president if necessary.
Civil Rights • Three civil rights workers are killed in Neshoba County, MS, during Freedom Summer. • LBJ signs the Civil Rights Actof 1964, making it illegal to discriminate based on race if you serve the public. • LBJ signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965, outlawing the literacy test as a requirement to vote and sending federal registrars into the south to register black voters. • The 24th Amendment is ratified, abolishing the poll tax as a requirement to vote. • Malcolm X begins proposing racial separation – Cassius Clay joins his movement and become Mohammed Ali. • Huey Newton forms the Black Panthers and becomes a proponent of fighting back against whites (as opposed to MLK’s peaceful protests). • The Watts Riots occur in California. • MLK is assassinated in Memphis, TN, which leads to more riots in several cities. • Cesar Chavez begins the Chicano Movement is California on behalf of Mexican migrant workers.
Vietnam • The Gulf of TonkinResolutions give LBJ the authority to escalate the war in Vietnam and he commits troops to the war (we’d already been secretly bombing N. Vietnam). • The country becomes divided as hawks support the war and doves oppose it (especially the college students and members of the counterculturemovement/hippies). • LBJ and Westmoreland say we’re winning and then the Tet Offensive makes people realize we’re not. • LBJ authorizes secret bombing runs into Cambodia to attach the Ho Chi Minh Trail. • LBJ eventually decides not to run for reelection in 1968 because of Vietnam and the fact that he’s losing his “war on poverty” because we’re spending so much money in Vietnam.
Election of 1968 • LBJ’s vice president Hubert Humphrey is seen as the front-runner for the Democratic Party until Bobby Kennedy joins the race. • After winning the California primary elections, Kennedy is assassinated by SirhanSirhan, a Palestinian refugee who hates the Kennedy’s for their support of Israel. • Humphrey ends up getting the nomination and runs against and loses to Richard Nixon.
1969 - 1974Republicanfrom: CaliforniaVietnam War, New Federalism, Watergate
Domestic • Nixon’s New Federalism attempts to reduce the role of the federal government, especially in regard to the economy, where stagflation – rising unemployment and inflation - is hurting the nations economy. • The Apollo II mission puts a man on the moon. • Warren Burger replaces Earl Warren as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and they issue the Roe v. Wade decision, giving women the right to choose on the issue of abortion. • The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is formed.
Foreign • Nixon becomes the first U.S. president since U.S. Grant to visit China. • Nixon establishes the policy of détente – a lessening of military and diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. • Nixon holds the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks with Leonid Brezhnev of the S.U. • OPEC cut off oil to the U.S. (because of our support of Israel), causing an energy crisis in the U.S.
Vietnam • Nixon campaigned on getting the U.S. out of Vietnam but actually escalated the war by invading Cambodia. • The Pentagon Papers, Mai Lai Massacre and the Kent State and Jackson State protests eventually lead Nixon to begin the process of Vietnamization – handing over the war to S. Vietnam. • The Vietnam Peace Accords of 1973 officially end the U.S.’s involvement in Vietnam (N. Vietnam will take over all of Vietnam within two years). • The 26th Amendment lowers the voting age to 18 in response to the Vietnam War and the draft. • The War Powers Act is passed, reasserting Congress’ authority over declaring war.
Watergate/Impeachment • In 1972 the “plumbers” break into the National Democratic Party’s headquarters in the Watergate Hotel – one of them claim they were working for CREEP but Nixon denies any knowledge. • The Washington Post, with their source Deep Throat, claims Nixon knew about the break in and helped cover it up. • Nixon appoints a special prosecutor but then with the Saturday Night Massacre has him fired (after the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General quit). • The U.S. Supreme Court orders Nixon to turn over his tapes from the Oval Office and when he does, evidence shows he did have knowledge of the break in. • The House of Representatives begins the impeachment process and Nixon resigns instead of facing impeachment. • Spriro Agnew, Nixon’s vice president, had already resigned so Gerald Ford becomes president.
Gerald Ford/Nelson Rockefeller • Ford and Rockefeller are the only president/vice president combination that were not elected into office – both took the job through appointment under the 25th Amendment. • Ford shot himself in the foot politically by pardoning Richard Nixon and offering clemency for Vietnam draft dodgers.
Domestic • Ford’s program Whip Inflation Now (WIN) attempted to reduce federal spending by creating a volunteer organization to find a way to keep prices down. • Ford promised communication, conciliation, compromise and cooperation with a Democratic Congress (didn’t work very well). • The countries bicentinnial occurred during his presidency.
Foreign • The Helsinki Accords were signed to protect human rights around the world. • S. Vietnam fell to N. Vietnam during his presidency – Congress would not allow him to give aid to S. Vietnam – and U.S. citizens had to be evacuated from Hanoi. • The Khmer Rogue committed atrocities against the population of Cambodia as they attempted to recreate a simple, agrarian society within the country.
Jimmy Carter • Jimmy Carter was elected president because he was considered honest and a Washington outsider. • Carter could not get along with Congress because he wouldn’t compromise on any issues, especially pork barrel legislation.
Domestic • An nuclear reactor scare at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania led to the creation of the National Energy Act and the formation of the Department of Energy. • The Sunbelt began growing in population. • The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 was passed. • Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak formed Apple and revolutionized the personal computer.
Foreign • Carter signed the Panama Canal Treaty, promising to give the canal over to Panama in 1999 (Clinton’s presidency). • The issue of apartheid in South Africa came to international attention. • The Camp David Accords were signed to set up a framework for peace between Egypt and Israel. • The U.S. officially recognized the communist government of China. • The S.U. invaded Afghanistan, causing us to begin aiding the Muslims in Afghanistan and to boycott the Moscow Olympics in 1980. • Carter tried to begin a SALT II talks with the Soviet Union but Congress blocked any sort of treaty with the S.U. because of their involvement in Afghanistan.
Iranian Hostage Crisis • The U.S. supported Shah Mohammed in the Iranian Revolution in 1979, when the Ayatollah Khomeini took control of Iran. • Later that year, Iranians overran the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 52 hostages – they held them for 444 days. • Carter tried diplomatic ways to get their release but they all failed, as well as his attempted military rescue, Operation Eagle Claw. • Carter’s failure to get the hostages release led in large part to his failed bid for reelection.
1981 - 1989Republicanfrom: CaliforniaCold War, Iran-Contra, Reaganomics
