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American history > The Superpower, 1945-75 > Flashcards

The Superpower, 1945-75 Flashcards

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1
Q

how did truman come to power?

A

vice-president to FDR who died 1945
followed FDR’s plans for post-war reconstruction

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2
Q

what was the economic bill of rights, 1944?

A

postwar prosperity was such that legislation to promote employment seemed unnecessary
maintained full employment
severe problems in labour relations

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3
Q

why was there union unrest at this time?

A

inflation - 25% rise in food prices 1945-1947
wartime restrictions on wage rises slow to be repealed
- General Motors employees demanded wage rise of 35%
- massive coal strike in 1946 threatened recovery - railroads and industrial plants relied on these, may freight loading fell by 75% and many factories had stopped production, called off after gov intervention
- railroad workers threatened industrial action - only averted when Truman threatened to draft railroad workers into army
- 6 mn workers (10% force) went on strike
- 1946 one point over 5000 stoppages

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4
Q

what was the taft-hartley act 1947?

A

passed over Truman’s veto
- outlawed union practices such as closed shop and secondary strikes
- union leaders swear they were non-communist
- insisted on 80 day cooling off period before strikes could take place - time to reach settlement
- required unions to make annual financial statements available for scrutiny

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5
Q

what was the fair deal?

A

reform plans
passed increase of minimum wage, increased social security benefits and more public sector housing
small compared to range of new deal

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6
Q

who was eisenhower and what were his aims?

A

military commander in WWII - very popular
moderate republican
-balanced budget (only achieved 3 times)
-did not believe in minimal gov

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7
Q

what were eisenhower’s reforms?

A

-extended social security programme
- increased minimum wage
- 1953 created the Department of Health, education and welfare
- passed 1956 highways act which saw the construction of 41,000 miles of roads - biggest public works scheme
prosperity meant people felt intervention wasn’t needed

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8
Q

who was Kennedy and what were his aims?

A

democrat with ambitious plans to improve lives with his new frontier programme
-urban renewal, medical care for aged and higher minimum wage
faced hostile congress dominated by conservatives who vetoed his plans
he was conservative who didn’t want to increase gov spending

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9
Q

what did kennedy achieve?

A
  • public works schemes costing $900mn undertaken
  • increased minimum wage
  • measures passed to help long-term unemployed (manpower and training act to help retrain)
    -social security benefits extended
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10
Q

who was Johnson and what were his aims?

A

vice president
war on poverty and introduced the ‘Great Society’
- give poorer people chance to improve own lives
- provide direct help when needed

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11
Q

what was the economic opportunity act, 1944?

A

created various programmes such as Job Corps to work on community projects funded by gov

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12
Q

what was Medicare?

A

healthcare provision paid for out of taxes by gov
- Medical care act provided care for elderly funded in part from their taxes
- medicaid provided healthcare cover for poor

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13
Q

what was the elementary and secondary education act 1965?

A

first time the federal authorities became involved in funding public education - aim to ensure provision was equal across the US

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14
Q

what were the weaknesses of the great society?

A
  • money had to be diverted to the Vietnam war
  • states diverted funds
  • costs of provision were too high so coverage was less
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15
Q

what were Nixon’s aims?

A

interested in FP and was conservative in wanting to reduce gov intervention
did maintain elements of the great society but mishandled the economy

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16
Q

what was the new economic policy and was it successful?

A

response to declining economy
- reduce borrowing by forcing up interest rates
- failed 1971 introduced a 90-day prices and wage freeze and created pay board and price commission to oversee this
inflation did slow and 8% devaluation of the dollar made US goods more competative

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17
Q

what was the watergate scandal?

A

1972 election campaign - burglars discovered in Democrat party headquarters in the Watergate building
found to have been sent by Nixon’s campaign managers to bug the office
nixon and other gov officials denied all knowledge
investigation progressed to presidential level and Nixon was forced to resign in 1974 (only president to do so)
unable to carry out basic duties

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18
Q

what was overall economic change in this period?

A

huge prosperity
not universal - AAs, south worse off
1947 34% all Kentucky farms worth less than $300

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19
Q

why was there an economic boom?

A

7% world’s population, 42% of wealth
income per capita twice as high as Britain
GNP risen by 35% since 1945
economic expansion = more opportunity = more consumerism

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20
Q

what was the GI Bill of Rights or selective servicemen’s readjustment act 1944?

A

offered grants to ex-servicemen for education or business enterprise
8 million received
administered by the veterans’ association
unneccessary fund of $20 per week while looking for work because work was so plentiful
also offered home loans to allow for home ownership - mortgages of 90% with low interest, 2.4mn veterans took advantage

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21
Q

What effect did a rise in consumerism have?

A

advertising fuelled this (TV, 1960 50mn sets)
1951 90% had fridges and 75% washing machines and telephones
purchased on credit - debt increased by $50 bn from 1945-1960
convenience and home life led to frozen meals and cameras and synthetic clothes
baby boom - 4 mn born every year, 1957 nappies $500mn industry per year
consumed 33% of all world’s good for 6% population

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22
Q

Who was McCarthy and what were his aims?

A

Senator who accused state department of being infested with 200 communist spies in 1950, no evidence but caused a witch-hunt against officials with created an investigation of the army.
used ‘multiple untruth’ by which his accusations were so complex they were difficult to refute
he had access to FBI files

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23
Q

who supported McCarthyism?

A

conservatives suspicious of new ideas
church groups who associated communism with the devil
less well-educated and affluent members of society

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24
Q

why did McCarthyism fail?

A
  • lost credibility when his hearings were televised and viewers saw his drunken bullying tactics
  • many thought he had gone too far when he began to investigate the army - it was currently fighting in the Korean War
  • implicated in scandal in deferring military conscriptions for members of his staff
  • eisenhower criticised him for attack on army
    died of alcoholism 1957
    fear meant at its peak millions listened
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25
Q

what was happening the the civil rights movement at this time?

A

gathering pace
- 1954 Brown vs Board of education - ‘separate bit equal’ should not apply to education, important precedent for desegregation of schools but set no decline and many southern areas slow to respond, 1957 240,000 AA kids remained in segregated schools S
- 1957 little rock 9 - eisenhower sent national guard to protect AA students to attend desegregated school
- montgomery bus boycott 1955 - 1956 segregation on transport was unconstitutional
protests and demonstrations undertaken to highlight extent of discrimination and violence
- Martin Luther King Jr led many marches
- student non-violent coordinating committee (SNCC)
- 1965 Selma march to demand voting rights be upheld - children taken with them - brutal
TELEVISED

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26
Q

what were the freedom rides and freedom marches?

A

Congress of racial equality (CORE) organised ‘freedom rides’ in which volunteers tested the resolve of segregation in the south by sitting in white-only areas on public transport and at rest stops - arrests and murder, sept interstate commerce commission insisted bus terminals everywhere be desegregated

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27
Q

what civil rights changes did occur?

A
  • Civil Rights Act 1964, banning discrimination in public places
  • Voting Rights Act 1965 - ensure voting procedures were carried out fairly and no-one could be refused
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28
Q

what were the issues still prevalent around civil rights?

A

laws were not always obeyed
many AAs grew impatient with non-violence and joined more militant groups such as ‘Black power’ especially after King’s assassination 1968

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29
Q

what was significant about youth culture in this time?

A

‘generation gap’ between young and old and between groups of young people

30
Q

what was happening in youth culture at this time?

A

1950 42% under 24
teens had jobs and disposable income
different fashion, musical, film tastes
1960s - massive expansion of music industry e.g. beat music and psychedelic music often enhanced by drugs
began to protest and reject parents’ society

31
Q

what were reactions to youth culture changes?

A

older people feared the breakdown of deference and authority - saw youth as violent and anti-social

32
Q

how did the music industry change at this time?

A

rock and roll began - more fear as it originiated in black culture (different to war ballads)
artists such as elvis presley became celebrities

33
Q

what did students do to protest and why?

A

wanted a society that wasn’t as conservative and materialistic
formed groups e.g. Hippies - lived in ‘communes’ - long hair, liberal attitudes to sex/drugs, resented authority
vietnam war opposition
some advocated for violent revolution - ‘Weathermen’ terrorist attrocities

34
Q

what was happening with the student movement at this time?

A

Students for a Democratic society (SDS) wrote the Port Huron manifesto in 1962 wanting a fairer society - organised sit-ins and protests on campus
supported civil rights, more economic equality and the end of war in Vietnam
1969 700,000 students marched on Washington to protest against the war

35
Q

what were the impacts of youth protests?

A

shocked many older people who could not understand the rejection of a comfortable lifestyle
some support for ending of war in Vietnam
mass media coverage - read and listened about protests
may have influenced gov thinking (e.g. Vietnam)

36
Q

what happened at kent state?

A

970 national guard fired on protesters in Ohio, 4 dead - 2mn students went on strike and national anger

37
Q

where there any divides in young people?

A

tensions between those who supported US lifestyle and war in Vietnam
hippies and others seen as unpatrioic and traitors by some
most young people obeyed the draft to fight and resented those who did not

38
Q

why did the cold war occur and what was the first legislation introduced?

A

After WWII, US worried by influence and expansion of the USSR - communism was spreading through eastern europe
1949 both sides had nuclear weapons
wanted a policy of containment by which america would only react if communist threatened to expand
marshall aid and the truman doctrine promised aid to those who fought against communism

39
Q

what happened in the berlin airlift 1948-49?

A

post-war germany and berlin were divided between the allies. russians tired to take over the whole of Berlin by 1948 blockade, airlifts were made to take in supplies to west germany

40
Q

what did the berlin airlift lead to?

A

formation of NATO after 1948-49 berlin crisis
allience of western european nations (and US) against soviet aggression

41
Q

what happened in the korean war 1950-53?

A

korea originally divided into communist north and capitalist south
north invaded south - UN sent a force, dominated by US to defeat the attack
escalation as communist china was involved but peace was agreed before the USSR could become involved

42
Q

what happened during the cuban missile crisis 1962?

A

1962 USSR built nuclear sites on cuba only 90 miles from us coast
kennedy imposed a blockade
nuclear confrontation was likely, only a last minute settlement was reached

43
Q

how did tensions with the USSR and china change in this time?

A

Stalin died 1953 relations seemed to improve
Khrushchev however refused to meet in berlin after Powers shot down
improving relations with china really reduced the threat of war

44
Q

why did tensions with the USSR begin to thaw? but what were the issues remaining?

A

both sides feared the power of nuclear weapons and realised no one would actually win a nuclear war
Khrushchev seemed more reasonable and met eisenhower and kennedy (red phone)
issues remained:
1. space race developed and nuclear arsenals grew
2. berlin was a flash point with the berlin wall being constructed in 1961
3. cuban missile crisis threatened all out war

45
Q

what was the partial test ban treaty of 1963?

A

after cuba, at attempted to reduce the amount of nuclear weapons
tensions remained

46
Q

how did relations with china change 1945-75?

A

1949 had become communist and fought UN troops in Korea
poor relations with USSR which Nixon exploited
ping-pong diplomacy
1971, US improved relations by listing a trade embargo and direct talks/visit to Peking by Nixon
relations improved and USSR feared alliance against them so wanted to improve relations as well - caused detente

47
Q

why was the period 1969-75 known as detente?
what legislation was introduced?

A

reduction in cold war tensions
1. Strategic arms limitations treaty (SALT) talks 1971 - first formal agreement to limit number of nuclear weapons in US and USSR
2. helsinki agreement 1975 - guaranteed basic civil rights and eliminated potential flash-points in europe emanating from WWII - especially between west and east germany

48
Q

what was the background to us involvement in Vietnam?

A

communist north and capitalist south
south gov unpopular and communist movement in north had lots of support (vietcong)
From 1950s us sent in advisers to help southern forces, 1963 involved in coup against leader van diem who was followed by military dictators none who knew how to hold off vietcong

49
Q

why did the us turn to full-scale involvement in vietnam?

A

Johnson told south vietnam would not survive without us military involvement
1964 used naval attack on us destroyer in the gulf of tonkin to persuade congress to agree to full-scale deployment
1965 agreed to large-scale bombing in operation rolling thunder

50
Q

what were the responses to the involvement in the vietnam war?

A

communist forces continued to gain ground
us divided
many young people opposed it but others wanted to join
more people became disillusioned as war contined and us deaths mounted to 50,000

51
Q

what were the reasons the the lack of us success in the vietnam war?

A
  1. difficult for regular troops to fight guerrillas who were concealed in local villages and fought from ambush
  2. bitterly frustrated - led to brutality my lai massacre march 1968 killed 347 civilians allegedly supporting the vietcong
  3. 1968 tet offensive destroyed us resolve - temporarily gained control of 75% south, eventually failed but devastating for us
  4. veterans returned traumatised and talked of horrors
52
Q

what role did mass media play in the vietnam war?

A

first full-scale war to be televised
americans could see reality - up to tet offensive media supported war, even though it was obvious the us were not winning - colour tv brought out horrors
after tet the media became critical - troops fighting in us embassy (supposed to be the most secure place in vietnam)
1972 effects of napalm bombing shown on 9 year old girl with her back on fire
turned more people against the war

53
Q

what role did nixon play in the vietnam war?

A

nixon was committed to withdrawing troops but still wanted a southern victory
he introduced vietnamisation - south vietnam would take on more responsibility for fighting
peace talks began in paris

54
Q

how did nixon escalate tensions in the war?

A

may 1970 Nixon invaded Cambodia and Laos which the north was using as supply lines
caused communist revolution of Khmer Rouge in Cambodia
troops became more reluctant as war was coming to an end and they knew they were still risking lives

55
Q

when did the us withdraw from vietnam? what happened after this?

A

1972
three years later south conquered by the north
disaster for us

56
Q

what was the general position of the us in 1975 in relation to foreign affairs (communism) and socially?

A

most powerful nation but still socially divided
continued in fight against communism but avoided direct contact - congress refused military aid of angola 1974 or help for south vietnam in final stages of war

57
Q

how did the us continue its world influence in foreign affairs?

A

maintained NATO comittments with 1000s of troops in europe
involved in trying to bring peace in the middle east and continued building nuclear weapons
detente continued - closer co-operation with USSR such as the 1975 Apollo-soyuz linkup in space

58
Q

what was the us economy like by 1975?

A

hurt by the 1973 oil price crisis
1973 a barrel cost $2, 1976 $12 - end of post-war prosperity
1974 recession - unemployment and inflation grew
ford agreed tax cuts but opposed starting growth by public works schemes - end of public spending solutions since new deal
favoured voluntary schemes such as whip inflation now campaign

59
Q

what was the impact of the watergate scandal by 1975?

A

ford angered people by pardoning nixon in 1974
important to close but americans thought nixon should have been held accountable

60
Q

what did ford do with amnesty?

A

offered pardons to draft dodgers and deserters if they agreed to 2 years public service
designed for closure but many resented it, especially those whose loved ones had served, died or been traumatised

61
Q

how was social cohesion by 1975?

A

continued division over issues such as vietnam
generational and ethnic divisions
west and south vs north remained (south especially in coming to terms with race relations)
1975 many felt less confident due to reverses of 60s/70s
Many did enjoy prosperity - 48% households have one car and 80% had a tv (helped to standadise views)
people generally more tolerant, less racist and sexist

62
Q

what happened to divorce by 1975?

A

increasing rates
- 1970s rate increased 66%, 1975 1 million ended every year
- most initiated by discontented wives

63
Q

what happened to religion by 1975?

A

rise in belief (especially christianity)
- family declined, religion increased, aided by television evangelism - religious leaders e.g. billy graham and falwell popular
- allied to growth in conservative politics at federal, state and local levels - some local authorities banned books they thought were anti-christian or insisted creationism be taught
- ‘moral majority’ became huge political force

64
Q

what happened with environmentalism by 1975?

A

growing awareness
60s and 70s more concern, 1970 20mn americans participated in earth day, legislation included:
- 1969 national environmental policy act which committed the gov to improving the environment
- environment protection agency set up 1970 - 1973 budget $2.5bn

65
Q

How did the role of women change in this period?

A

1960s more aggressive feminist movement (National Association of women) and second wave feminism

66
Q

what was the national organisation of women (NOW)?

A

white middle-class women formed in 1966 to combat discrimination
1970s 40,000 members and involved in many court cases

67
Q

how did second wave feminism cause change for women?

A

‘Women’s lib’ less organised than NOW and more direct
participated in demonstrations and action

68
Q

why did second wave feminism not succeed?

A

too broad to be successful - range of views from just wanting fairer work deals to Society for Cutting up men (SCUM) 1967
lacked cohesion

69
Q

what did second wave feminism succeed?

A

equal rights guaranteed by supreme court 1973 and abortion was legalised in roe vs wade case
more women joined professions and expected to be equal partners in marriage
86% of college-educated women were in workforce between 1970-74
numbers in medicine, law and business schools doubled

70
Q

opposition to feminism?

A

many rejected feminism and discrimination continued - most states refused to ratify the 1973 equal rights amendment and despite equal pay having legal enforcement in 1963, women still earned 73% of men in 1975
phyllis schlafly and STOP:
- defended traditional gender roles
opposed abortion and equal rights amendment
- support from conservatives and partly responsible for failure of ERA to gain state support to become constitutional

71
Q

how had the position of AAs change positively by 1975?

A

more assertive
black power (some so extreme it encouraged separation of blacks and whites)
Black panthers (paramilitary organisation) briefly took over policing many AA communities
growing middle-class
more employed in professions
growth of AA mayors and senior public officials

72
Q

how had the position of AAs changed negatively by 1975?

A

civil rights legislation had been passed but it was not enforced enough
discrimination common
teenage unemployment 50%, 50% failed to graduate from school
average income less
1980 only 18 AAs in congress

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