World War II and the Manhattan Project

World War II and the Cold War

• VJ Day was declared after the atomic bombs were dropped, ending the war with Japan, but citizens continued to die due to radiation illnesses and had a higher risk of cancer for the rest of their lives.
• Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and other Allied leaders met at least 20 times to discuss priorities and strategy during WWII.
• The Yalta Conference (1945) planned the future of Europe, dividing Germany into four occupation zones and establishing the Soviet Union's sphere of influence.
• The Potsdam Conference (1945) made plans to remake Germany and issued an ultimatum to Japan.
• The Cold War (1945-1991) was a significant period in history, influencing the space race, nuclear arms race, and political decisions.
• The Truman Doctrine (1947) aimed to slow the spread of communism in Eastern Europe through containment.
• Joseph Stalin led the USSR and refused aid from the Marshall Plan.
• The National Security Act (1947) established the CIA and National Security Council.
• NATO was established in 1949 to keep peace in Europe, including the major European powers and the United States.

The Cold War and Its Events

• Mao Zedong took control of the People's Republic of China and assisted the USSR and North Korea in the Korean War.
• The USSR launched the first satellite, Sputnik, into space, winning the space race.
• The U.S. adopted McCarthyism, an idea that prompted the Red Scare, leading to Americans believing communists had infiltrated the government.
• The Bay of Pigs Invasion led to the Cuban Missile Crisis, where tensions rose between the U.S. and the USSR.
• The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963) was an agreement to disarm nuclear weapons, amended in the 1990s to ban all nuclear weapons worldwide.
• The Vietnam War was a significant period in the Cold War, where American troops fought against communist forces for democracy.

The Iron Curtain and Containment

• The Iron Curtain was a symbolic divide between democratic and communist states, running from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic Sea.
• The concept of containment was used to prevent the spread of communism abroad.
• The U.S. government investigated citizens accused of being communist through the HUAC, and Americans worried about the spread of communism endangering the stability of the United States.

John F. Kennedy and the Cold War

• John F. Kennedy became president during the height of the Cold War, engaged in a nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union.
• Kennedy saw the Berlin Wall as a symbol of communism and delivered an anti-communist speech to support those seeking freedom.
• The Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis were significant events during Kennedy's presidency.
• Kennedy implemented the New Frontier policies, which addressed economic and foreign policy, civil rights, and social welfare.

The Vietnam War and Proxy Wars

• The Vietnam War (1954-1975) was a proxy war between the Soviet Union and China backing communist North Vietnam, and the U.S. providing military and economic aid to South Vietnam.
• The conflict in Syria was also a proxy war, where opposing powers used third parties to fight on their behalf.
• The U.S. chose to send ground troops to Vietnam after the 1965 bombing campaign, Operation Rolling Thunder, did not effectively turn back the North Vietnamese.

The Civil Rights Movement

• The goal of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s was to end segregation and discrimination against Blacks, fighting for equal rights and freedoms.
• Significant events include the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the emergence of the Little Rock Nine, the Montgomery bus boycott, and the March on Washington.
• The movement faced oppression, assassination, and lack of funding, but was largely successful in promoting equality and reducing racial discrimination.

The Poll Tax and the Civil Rights Movement

• Historically, a poll tax was a standard fee that every eligible voter would have to pay prior to casting a vote, which had a greater impact on those living in poverty.
• The 24th Amendment to the Constitution (1964) eliminated the poll tax throughout the United States and its territories.
• The poll tax was considered legal because it was a fee that was applied to everyone, not one specific group, but was used to perpetuate the disenfranchisement of African Americans.

The Student Movement and the Civil Rights Movement

• The student movement of the 1960s was a significant period of activism in the United States, fighting for a more just society through nonviolent action and peaceful protest.
• The New Left movement emerged, leading to a break from the Old Left.
• The Free Speech Movement was founded by Marco Savio, spreading across college campuses, and the Weather Underground applied radical, often violent, means to achieve its goals.

The Women's Rights Movement

• The women's rights movement in the U.S. occurred in a series of waves from the nineteenth through the twenty-first centuries.
• The first wave of feminism began in roughly 1848 with the Seneca Falls Convention and culminated around 1920 with the ratification of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote.
• The second wave of feminism began in the 1960s, with the book The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan being published in 1963, helping to rise the second wave of feminism.### Vietnam War and Women's Movement
• The Vietnam War was fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam and the United States from the mid-1950s to 1975.
• Richard Nixon was the President of the United States from 1969-1974 and implemented the "madman theory" to negotiate a ceasefire.
• The Tet Offensive in 1968 convinced the United States that the war was not worth fighting.
• Nixon implemented a series of troop withdrawals, which led to the close of the Vietnam War.

Watergate Scandal

• The Watergate Scandal involved a plot to spy on the Democratic headquarters by President Richard Nixon and his associates.
• The scandal led to Nixon's impeachment and resignation in 1974.
• Nixon was pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford.

Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter

• Gerald Ford became president after Nixon's resignation and tried to bring order to the country and stabilize the economy.
• Ford pardoned Nixon, which made him unpopular.
• Jimmy Carter succeeded Ford and was the 39th President of the United States.
• Carter proposed progressive energy and economic policies, but they were quashed by Congress.

World War II and the Cold War

• The United States entered World War II after Japan's invasion of Pearl Harbor in 1941.
• The Manhattan Project was a secret project to develop an atomic bomb, which was successfully tested in 1945.
• The United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leading to Japan's surrender and the end of World War II.
• The Cold War was a period of political and social tension between the Soviet Union and the United States from approximately 1945 to 1991.
• The Potsdam Conference and the Yalta Conference were significant events that triggered the beginning of the Cold War.

The Civil Rights Movement

• The Civil Rights Movement was a significant event in the 1950s and 1960s that fought for equal rights and freedoms for African Americans.
• The movement helped pass laws that protected against discrimination and segregation.
• The movement faced opposition and suppression from the government, leading to the assassination of top leaders.

The Iron Curtain and Containment

• The Iron Curtain was a symbolic divide between democratic and communist states during the Cold War.
• The term was popularized by Winston Churchill in a 1946 speech.
• The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to prevent East Germans from fleeing to West Germany.
• The United States practiced the policy of containment, preventing the spread of communism abroad.

John F. Kennedy and the Cold War

• John F. Kennedy became president at the height of the Cold War.
• Kennedy saw the Berlin Wall as a symbol of communism and delivered an anti-communist speech.
• The Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis heightened tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union.
• Kennedy implemented the New Frontier policies, which focused on foreign policy, civil rights, and social welfare.### The 15th and 24th Amendments
• The 15th Amendment outlawed the denial of voting rights based on race, aiming to give African American citizens the right to vote.
• However, the poll tax, which was applied to everyone, prevented many African Americans from voting due to their lack of accumulated wealth.
• The 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, eliminated the poll tax throughout the US and its territories as part of the Civil Rights Movement.

The Student Movement of the 1960s

• The student movement was a significant period of activism in the United States, peaking in the 1950s and 1960s.
• Young people got involved in political issues, standing up for what they believed was right.
• The movement gained momentum as students challenged the conformity of the 1950s and protested policies that allowed for social injustice.
• Grassroots efforts and organizations worked together to fight for a more just society through nonviolent action and peaceful protest.

The Women's Rights Movement

• The women's rights movement in the US occurred in a series of waves from the 19th to the 21st centuries.
• The first wave began in 1848 with the Seneca Falls Convention on women's rights and culminated in 1920 with the ratification of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote.
• The second wave of feminism began in the 1960s, led by books like "The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Friedan, and involved disagreements between conservative and radical women's groups.

The Vietnam War

• The Vietnam War was fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam and the US from the mid-1950s to 1975.
• Richard Nixon was a Republican President who served from 1969-1974 and adopted the "madman theory" to negotiate a ceasefire.
• The Tet Offensive was a massive military operation that took place during Nixon's election campaign and helped convince the US that the war was not worth fighting.

The Watergate Scandal

• The Watergate Scandal was a scandal involving a plot by President Richard Nixon and his associates to spy on the Democratic headquarters during his re-election campaign.
• The scandal became known as Watergate because the headquarters were located in the Watergate office complex.
• Nixon was able to win the election, but the scandal eventually led to his impeachment and resignation.

Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter

• Gerald Ford became president without being elected as president or vice president and tried to bring order to the country after the Watergate scandal.
• Ford pardoned Nixon, which made him unpopular, and was unable to effectively reduce inflation, leading to his loss in the election to Jimmy Carter.
• Jimmy Carter was the 39th president of the United States, serving between 1977 and 1981, and was known for his foreign policy successes, including the Camp David Accords.