How did the political environment change, 1945-80? Flashcards
When was Harry S. Truman president?
Republican or Democrat?
Name three characteristics of his personality
What phrase did some people use to describe him because of this?
How did he view the media?
Give two facts about his work with the media
Give three facts about his relationship with the public
What were his speeches like?
What was his organisational ability like?
What was his relationship with congress like?
1945-53
Democrat
Not charismatic, not confident, could be overwhelmed by the importance of the job and make mistakes under pressure
“To err is Truman”
He saw it as important
He gave briefings with a flipchart and pointer, He sometimes did not explain enough (eg. Korean War)
Didn’t instantly appeal, didn’t try to connect, didn’t try to explain strategy (Korean war)
His set speeches were wooden, sometimes made serious mistakes in ad-lib speeches
He worked well with the white house but didn’t always choose the right people
Did not work well with congress; they blocked many of his reforms
When was Dwight D. Eisenhower president?
Republican or Democrat?
What was his personality like?
How did he view the media?
What was his relationship with the public like?
What was his organisational ability like?
What was his relationship with congress like?
1953-61
Republican
deliberately cultivated optimistic, friendly manner
He saw it as important but often obscure/minimised a problem
Good, used clear imagery in his speeches
He had exceptional organisational abilities and set up regular briefings and long term planning sessions
He worked well with congress, good at political bargaining and persuasion
When was John F. Kennedy president?
Republican or Democrat?
What was his personality like?
How did he work with the media?
What was his relationship with the public like?
Name three ways in which his organisational ability was bad
What was his relationship with congress like?
What helped with this?
1961-63
Democrat
Charming and good self-presentation
He learned names and had personal chats, had a great television presence
Good, accessible, attractive
His advisors competed for attention rather than working together, Robert Kennedy and Theodore Sorensen did much of the work and reported, he abandoned regular meetings, didn’t always consult the right people, less long term planning
Worked well with Congress, good at political bargaining and persuasion
his political family connections
When was Lydon B. Johnson president?
Republican or Democrat?
What was his personality like?
How did he work with the media?
What was his relationship with the public (speeches) like?
What was his organisational ability like?
What was his relationship with congress like?
1963-69
Democrat
He had been in politics for a while so understood the importance of winning people over, he could change his style and opinions to get what he wanted
He was not natural with the media but was careful to keep them informed
He could give good speeches or stiff, awkward ones and was best with smaller groups
He kept Kennedy’s organisational style despite not liking it, but his own organisation was good
Worked well with congress, good at using connections and persuading, good at creative thinking and making things happen
When was Richard M. Nixon president?
Republican or Democrat?
What was his personality like?
How did he view the media?
What was his relationship with the public like?
What was his organisational ability like?
What was his relationship with congress like?
1969-74
Republican
Clever, capable but suspicious and hated people disagreeing with him. He could make spur of the moment decisions and the backtrack
He distrusted it and was very bad at managing it (Watergate)
Not good- often seemed awkward or insincere
He reinstated regular meetings and briefings with White House Staff but wasn’t good at taking advice
Awkward (due to his suspicious nature)
Between what dates were the second red scare?
What happened to many soviet owned countries after WW2?
Under what context did the red scare take place?
1947-1954
They became communist
The Cold War, the Korean war
What was one specific reason for the USSR spying on the USA?
On what date did Elizabeth Bentley tell HUAC that she, along with others, had been part of a Moscow led spy ring?
What does HUAC stand for, when was it made permanent, what did it focus on?
What was the name of the second government employees who revealed, three days later, that there were more government employees involved with Moscow?
Name two examples of high profile people that were involved in spying, when were their trials and what could be said about the verdicts?
What year did China become communist/USSR hold its first nuclear weapons test?
Why did members of the ‘China lobby’ accuse Truman of being responsible for China falling to communism?
What were Truman’s reasons for not doing this?
What event confirmed the fears of Truman’s china policy critics? Why?
Who began to question the government’s approach to fighting communism, what impact did this have?
to get hold of atomic weapon secrets
31 July 1948
House Un-American Activities Commission, 1945, communists
Whittaker Chambers
Alger Hiss- An advisor to Roosevelt (1949; retrial 1950), the Rosenburgs (1951), had conflicting evidence
1949
They claimed he had not done enough to support the leader of the Chinese government against communist rebels
The government was corrupt, advisors thought the Chinese governments wanted only communist china, not worldwide communism like the USSR
Korean war- China supported communist North Koreans
The media, became a significant factor in the blowing up of the Second Red Scare
What year did the Hollywood ten (directors etc) refuse to answer HUAC questioning?
Who marched in protest and what happened to them?
What date did Truman use an executive order to set up the Loyalty Boards, what did they do?
1947
Movie stars, many hundreds blacklisted by Hollywood, also
21st March, 1947-ran investigations on all government employees by the FBI, those that were possibly disloyal were fired
Between what years did senator Joseph Mccarthy head the second red scare?
On what date did he announce to a Republican women’s group that he had the names of 205 known communists working in the state department?
What did he say had happened when reporters asked to see the list?
What did he revise the number to the following day?
When called to senate what had the number, again, been changed to?
Despite ill-substantiated facts what did he have a lot of?
What was set up to investigate his charges?
How did his anti-communist speeches and TV appearances influence the violence across the nation?
On what date did the Tydings committee issue a majority report (that the republicans would not sign) and what did it say?
Until what year did he remain powerful, who did he investigate that year- which made the senate pass a vote of censure against him?
How many people watched his televised investigation?
1950-1954 9th February 1950 He had left the list on an aeroplane 57 81 support the Tydings Committee In many parts of the country vigilante groups of 'red baiters' hounded people at work and home 14th July 1950, Mccarthy's accusations were a muddle of half-truths and lies 1953, the army 20 million
What powers were the Fbi given to investigate Anti-communism (1954-80)?
How did this affect the political scene/peoples views?
In the late 1950s what fraction of librarians removed books, such as the works of Karl Marx, from their shelves-to avoid being accused of having communist sympathies?
What year did the leader of the USSR visit the USA, what was he met with, what was one phrase that was used?
Between what years did not one senator (Republican or Democrat) publicly support softening the attitude towards the USSR or China?
Name an example of one of the groups that were set up from the 1950s onwards to press the government to take a hardline towards communist governments
What year was it reformed, who did it include?
to bring people to be questioned by Loyalty boards/HUAC on very little evidence, to tap phones, open letters and bug offices and homes
It put a curb on civil liberties/made people afraid to express even vaguely liberal views
1/3
1959, large anti-communist demonstrations, “the only good communist is a dead communist” (Placard)
1953-1962
the Committee on the Present Danger
1976, many powerful government advisors
What did President Kennedy say about liberalism?
Who were liberals, usually?
What were three things that liberals supported?
What five groups of people did liberal politicians introduce the idea of “positive discrimination” for?
Name three examples of civil liberties which support increased for in the 1960s
“if it meant foward-thinking, flexible, concern towards the welfare of the people and willing to try to be less suspicious abroad then he was happy to be classed as one”
educated, middle class or even wealthy
equality, civil rights, social welfare
American Indians, Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, women
Civil rights, equal opportunities, legalising abortion
What year did the Democratic National Convention meet in Chicago to decide Vietnam policy?
What did police use to break up anti-war protests in the park outside of the meeting?
Who led a march against police brutality the following day, how many marched and what did this show about liberal politicians?
What were three examples of reforms/acts that could have only been passed with a liberal-minded congress?
Despite this, what did a lot of civil rights and other campaigners face throughout the 1960s and 1970s?
1968
tear gas, batons (violence)
Donald Peterson (one of the delegates), 2,000, they were more likely to align themselves with people who thought in a similar way than along party lines, happy to be involved in politics
The Civil Rights Act, the Voting Reforms Act, President Johnson’s Great Society welfare reforms
Violent opposition
What did members of counter-culture do?
How did this differ from liberal politicians?
They would behave differently without the government telling them what to do
-liberal politicians tried to change the face of politics from within, many of the youth from counter culture wanted to remake society altogether
What did hippies believe, what did they think about the tight family system?
What else did many of them support?
Despite wanting to change society, what were many of them prepared to do?
When was the Woodstock festival?
Under just how many tickets were sold?
Between how many people were estimated have gone?
In what ways did it summarise the fears of opponents to the movement?
Peace/a simple way of life, they wanted to loosen it and live in communal societies
smoking zoots/doing other mind-altering drugs, wider sexual freedom than marriage offered
live according to their beliefs, separate from others in communal groups
15-18 August 1969
200,000
400,00-500,000
Loud music, drugs, sexual freedom
What did radical student groups want to do?
Give two examples of what they wanted to change?
Who were the SDS, when were they set up?
What year was their Port Huron statement, what did they say?
Change society in the USA to produce a more equal world
The way their courses were organised, end the war in Vietnam
Students for a Democratic Society, 1960
1962, denounced all conventional politics as having forgotten the principle of all men being created equal-urged a return to equality
Who organised the first mass rally against the Vietnam war, what year?
What was the name of the radical group which led a campaign on The University Of California Campus, what year?
Whose tactics did they copy to try and achieve their aim of free speech on campus?
During the two months that it ran, over how many students were arrested for sit-ins and other activities?
Across the country, who had to be called in due to the radical groups resorting to violence?
What date did Ohio National Guardsmen shoot unarmed students during a protest at the invasion of Cambodia (Vietnam war)?
How many were shot, How many were injured?
On what date did an extremely radical student group detonate a bomb outside an army research base in Wisconsin?
How many did it kill, injure and what was the total cost of damages?
the SDS, 1965 The Free Speech Movement, 1964 Civil Rights Groups 700 state National Guards 4th May 1970 4 shot, 9 injured 24th August 1970 One researcher, 4 injured, $60 million
What were three reasons for many older Americans disliking counter-culture?
What did they feel members of counter-culture were taking for granted?
It challenged family values, rejected consumer culture, rejected traditional Christian values and patriotism
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