1950s conformity

A general trend in American culture based on values of the broad middle class - 'the American Dream'

1950s Commercialism/Materialism/Consumerism

Emphasis on status - "keeping up with the Jones" - led to counterculture of the 1960s - stemmed from increased population and increase in economic growth

Arms Race

Cold war competition between the U.S. and Soviet Union to build up their respective armed forces and weapons - led to increased job growth and economic development

Baby boom (short and long term effects)

Increased population after WWII - led to increased movement from the cities to the suburbs - long term population issues with secondary explosions in the 80s and a strain on the Social Security system today

Beatniks/Counterculture

Challenged conformity and consumerism of the 1950s and 1960s - used arts and literature to express frustration cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society - pushed to reform society - rebelled against the conformity of the 1950s - anti Vietnam doves - varied thinking - supported peaceful and violent protests

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 - The Supreme Court overruled Plessy v. Ferguson (a 1896 Supreme Court decision which legalized state ordered segregation so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal) , declared that racially segregated facilities are inherently unequal and ordered all public schools desegregated.

Civil Rights legislation of the 1950s and what it led to in the 1960s

Increased federal government involvement leads to Civil Rights acts of the 1960s

Containment

American policy of resisting further expansion of communism around the world

Economic Growth of the 1950s - related to WWII

Increased in 1950s economy due to job creation during WWII - increased mortgages (secure, low interest, and federally insured) - federal spending on the economy

Education growth and impact on the economy

Federally funded - led to increased job creation - led to increase in spending money and higher standard of living Access to education in the 1950s helped expand opportunities for women and African Americans

Eisenhower Doctrine

Policy of the US that it would defend the Middle East against attack by any Communist country

Eisenhower Farewell Address

Warns of connection between businesses and military; fear of military becoming too powerful (military industrial complex)

Family Structure in the 1950s

Traditional nuclear family - Suburban 'American Dream' - encouraged conformity

GI Bill

law passed in 1944 to help returning veterans buy homes and pay for higher educations - led to increased economy, suburban development and education opportunities

Interstate Highway System

a network of high-speed roads built to make interstate travel faster and easier - expanded the economy - changed the landscape and led to the creation of suburbs

Levittown

New York suburb where postwar builders pioneered the techniques of mass home affordable construction

Little Rock 9 (1957)

First African-American students to attend all white high school in Little Rock, Ark. President Eisenhower sent the U.S. Army to enforce federal law that said States must abide by the 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education

Suburbs

Residential areas surrounding a city - increase in home ownership - assembly line houses

teenagers

related to the baby boom - named as a generational group during the 1950s and 1960s

Televisions

Idealized family life - encouraged conformity - targeted Middle America

Women in the 1950s

Many returned to housewife status - cult of domesticity

Betty Friedan

American feminist, activist and writer. Best known for starting the "Second Wave" of feminism (push for equal rights for women) through the writing of her book "The Feminine Mystique" (discussed the frustration of many women in the 1950's and 1960's who felt they were restricted to their roles of mother and homemaker. It challenged gender roles.).

Black Power Movement

founded by Stokely Carmichael, movement that called for African American independence and pride, self defense, and a movement controlled by African Americans

Civil Rights Movements

Different groups had different goals and methods - made slow but steady progress in the 50s/60s. There was frustration from some for being too slow and not enough federal government action. Major movements were in the Deep South where racism and segregation was the worst. African Americans still disproportionate poverty numbers push for the federal government to take action over state governments Movement splintered into nonviolence v self defense and integration v separatism Much of White America resisted more militant groups and pushed for a 'be patient' attitude

Cold War

the power struggle between the Soviet Union and the United States after World War II - During the 1960s, there was the Vietnam War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Bay of Pigs invasion

Democratic Party in the 1960s

Political party of JFK and LBJ - pushed for civil rights - power shift in the early 1960s away from the 'party of Lincoln' Republicans

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

constitutional amendment passed by Congress but never ratified that would have banned discrimination on the basis of gender - Friedan was a leading activist and Schlafly was a leading anti ERA

Great Society

1964, LBJ's policies of fighting poverty and racial injustice - called the War on Poverty - led to increased funding for social programs, increased role of the federal government in societal issues - spending on the Vietnam War hurt Johnson's plan

Jim Crow Laws

Laws designed to enforce segregation of blacks from whites - overturned by civil rights laws during the 50s and 60s

Lyndon B. Johnson

Democratic President who took over after JFK is killed. Wins in 1964 - signed the civil rights act of 1964 and 1968, voting rights act of 1965, medicare and medicaid - President during the Vietnam War.

Malcolm X

Black Muslim who argued for separation, not integration. He changed his views, but was assassinated in 1965. Believed in a more militant approach - frustrated with the slow progress of the civil rights movement - believed in self defense

Martin Luther King Jr.

Baptist minister and civil rights leader. A great public speaker who believed in civil disobedience (refusal to obey unjust laws). He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. - famous 'Letter from a Birmingham Jail' where he addressed the wait and stop challenging mindset

Nation of Islam

A religious group, popularly known as the Black Muslims, founded by Elijah Muhammad to promote black separatism, self defense and the Islamic religion. Malcolm X was a part of the group.

New Frontier

The campaign program advocated by JFK in the 1960 election. He promised enact reform legislation in education, health care, and civil rights.

Rachel Carson

United States biologist remembered for her opposition to the use of pesticides that were hazardous to wildlife. Wrote Silent Spring to expose the impact of industrialization on the environment that led to environmental regulations - these regulations pushed some companies overseas to outsource - modern era muckraker Population expansion and area clearing for suburbs impacted the environment

School integration

After the Brown vs. BOE decision - battle within school districts to enforce the rulings - led to federal intervention in Little Rock and Ole Miss.

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

An organization for social change founded by college students in 1960. They were pro civil rights and felt that society wasn't moving fast enough for change - more radical liberal group

Vietnam War

A prolonged war (1954-1975) between the communist armies of North Vietnam who were supported by the Chinese and the non-communist armies of South Vietnam who were supported by the United States to spread democracy. Divided the nation - made people question the government and containment - drew funds from LBJ's War on Poverty

Voting Rights

1965; invalidated the use of literacy tests and authorized federal examiners to register voters in states

Kerner Commission

A group that was appointed by President Johnson to study the causes of urban violence and that recommended the elimination of de facto segregation in American society - 1960s characterized by urban unrest due to frustration with economic inequality and racism

Black Panthers

a militant African-American political organization formed in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale to fight police brutality and to provide services in the ghetto - frustrated with slow pace of civil rights and the Vietnam War - pushed for self defense and separatism

Civil Rights Act of 1964

outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in public places

Credibility Gap

American public's growing distrust of statements made by the government during the Vietnam War

Eisenhower Presidency

- Interstate Highway Act - "baby boom" - GI Bill - Eisenhower Doctrine

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

1964 Congressional resolution authorizing President Johnson to take military action in Vietnam - expanded the power of the President

Hawks and Doves

Hawks are people who supported the war's goal. and Doves were people who opposed the war. - growing divide in the US regarding the Vietnam War

integration v separatism

split in the civil rights movement over what was best for African Americans - unified integrated society or separate society

Harry Truman (1945-1953)

"Fair Deal" Cold war Korea Marshall Plan Desegregated the military

Sit-ins

protests by black college students, 1960-1961, who took seats at "whites only" lunch counters and refused to leave until served; in 1960 over 50,000 participated in sit-ins across the South. example of civil disobedience

War Powers Act

1973. A resolution of Congress that stated the President can only send troops into action abroad by authorization of Congress or if America is already under attack or serious threat - designed to limit the power of the President and restore checks and balances after the Vietnam War

White Flight

50's movement where middle-class white Americans fled to suburbs leaving inner cities to decay - segregated suburbs and racist lending practices led inner cities to deal with extreme poverty issues