1950s to Modern Day (IDs)

Question 1

Levittowns

Answer 1

1950s

• housing developed through assembly line production
• William Levitt and son
• outside of big cities ; New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania
• paid for by GI Bill
• led to racial divide ; white flight
• catered to middle-class, white Americans

Question 2

Brown v Board of Education

Answer 2

1954

• unanimous Supreme Court decision that overturns the Plessy decision (“Separate, but equal”)
• shows changing dynamic of the Supreme Court
• fierce white resistance in the South
• took years for the changes to be implemented
• led to other forms of black resistance (marches, sit ins, etc.)

Question 3

Israel

Answer 3

1948

• created as a homeland for the exiled Jews after the Holocaust by the United Nations
• land used was taken from other countries
• received aid from the U.S. (who was also first to recognize their existence)
• U.S. Energy Crisis caused because of America’s relationship with Israel

Question 4

Korean War

Answer 4

1950-1953

• Korea was invaded by Japan during WWII ; Soviets/Communists took over North Korea
• North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950 ; Mainland China aided the North
• America’s worst military defeat at the time
• UN forces helped South Korea
• peace agreement in 1953, signed by North and South Korea, setting the original boundary, the 38th Parallel, as the permanent boundary
• Truman is the U.S. president until 1952, Eisenhower then takes office

Question 5

Fidel Castro

Answer 5

1953

• Castro an brother, Raul, seek to overthrow American-appointed Cuban leader ; sent to jail ; released because of parent’s status ; fled to Mexico
• in Mexico they planned their second revolution, which was successful
• led to Bay of Pigs invasion ; failed and pushed Castro closer to Soviets
• U.S. tried to assassinate Castro 8 times, which also pushed him closer to Soviets
• led to Cuban Missile Crisis
• Currently, Raul is in power in Cuba and the U.S. has a trade embargo against Cuba

Question 6

Ho Chi Minh

Answer 6

• Japan overtook France’s colony, Vietnam, while German Nazis invaded France
• Japanese troops expelled from Vietnam in 1943 ; the U.S. wanted to turn Vietnam back over to France, but Vietnam (including Ho Chi Minh) wanted indepence
• Vietnamese nationalist fought against France and America
• Ho Chi Minh, a former employee of America’s O.S.S., asserted power in Vietnam on his own
• Minh looked to communist for help once U.S. turned its back on him

Question 7

Voting Rights Act

Answer 7

1965

• signed by Johnson
• ends disenfranchisement for Southern African Americans ; outlawed voting procedures that prevented blacks from voting
• signing of VRA was pushed more after the march on Selma
• led to re-emergence of black political voice (majority Democratic)
• white southerners began to transition to Republican party
• Rise of voter registration in the south ; federal registrars
• 1964. last time VA voted Democratic until the Obama election (2008)

Question 8

Betty Friedman

Answer 8

1963
* led woman’s rights movement
wrote a book, The Feminine Mystique, saying that women have the right to choose their own paths
* says that society has forced women into a housewife role and that women are scared to discuss it because of a fear of judgement
* birth of Levittowns encouraged women to be homemakers
* founded NOW (National Organization for Women), fighting for women’s rights
* civil rights movement led to people joining/supporting other movements

Question 9

Counterculture

Answer 9

1960s

• opposition to consumerism and materialism
• youth movement, rejecting outdated norms of their parents
• anti-war
• drug culture
• new ideas on sexuality
• dropping from modern culture
• supporters of equality
• arose in Haight-Ashbury, California
• led to 1970s response and re-emergence of conservative values/attitudes

Question 10

Nixon

Answer 10

1968-1974

• Former California senator
• served two years as VP
• focused on law and order/conservative values
• foreign policy achievements (China, Soviet Union) ; Detente ; began to withdraw troops from Vietnam ; first SALT treaties
• only president to resign from office (1974)
• rose American suspicion of American government and leadership

Question 11

Detente

Answer 11

1970s

• Nixon and Kissinger
• fr., “release from tension”
• reduced risk of nuclear holocaust
• Nixon became the first president to visit communist China and the Soviet Union
• helped Nixon get re-elected in 1972
• Triangular Diplomacy
• ultimately collapses near the end of the 1970s

Question 12

Watergate

Answer 12

Summer 1972

• CREEP (Committee for the Re-Election of the President) burglars break into Watergate Hotel (Democratic HQ) to obtain their campaign strategies
• led to Nixon’s resignation in 1974
• Ford comes to offices, promises not to pardon Nixon ; after election he pardons Nixon
• Ford’s public approval immediately drops after Nixon’s pardon
• increased American suspicion and distrust
• role of journalists
• oval office recordings/transcripts

Question 13

Iranian Hostage Crisis

Answer 13

November 4th, 1979

• Iranian students invade U.S. Embassy and holds 60 Americans hostage for 444 days
• done in response to American installed Shah fleeing from Iran to America for questionable cancer treatments ; Iranians believed it was a ruse to avoid charges
• ends on Reagan’s inauguration day (January 20th, 1981) ; undercut Carter admin. and hurt Carter’s reputation

Question 14

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

Answer 14

December 1979

• Soviets were seeking strategic ports and Afghanistan had the perfect locations
• Soviets didn’t expect a lot of resistance from the Afghanis
• Afghanistan received help from the U.S.
• last of the Soviet troops left in 1989
• led to increased Cold War tensions and impacted Carter’s presidency
• strained America’s relation with Soviets
• U.S. boycotted 1980 Olympics in Moscow, Russia
• as the U.S. deployed from Afghanistan, it goes into disarray