Harry Truman’s Presidency

               Harry S. Truman was born in 1884 in the state of Missouri. After the WW I, he invested in a men clothing store, but the business failed and he sought a career in politics. His blunt and outspoken style won both loyal friends and bitter enemies. As president, his decisiveness and willingness to accept responsibility for his decisions earned him respect that has grown over the years. 

              Truman put his presidency on the line for civil rights, and in 1946 created a President’s Commission on Civil Rights. Following the group’s recommendations, he asked Congress for several measures, including a federal antilynching law, but Congress refused to pass the measures. In 1948, he issued an executive order for integration of the armed forces and ordered an end to discrimination in the hiring of government employees. Although many Americans blamed Truman for the nation’s inflation and labor unrest, he won the elections in 1948. Congress raised the hourly minimum wage from 40 cents to 75 cents, extended Social Security coverage to about 10 million more people and initiated flood control an irrigation projects.

              Despite some social and economic measures (Fair Deal, an extension of Roosevelt’s New Deal, for example), Truman’s approval rating sank to an all-time low of 23 percent in 1951.

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks, is known as the "mother of the civil rights movement". She was one of the most important citizens of the 20th century. Rosa Parks lived in Montgomery, Alabama, at the time of her righteous act. In December of 1955, she refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white passenger could sit down. The bus driver had her arrested, for basically not being "nice" to a white passenger. Rosa Parks was convicted of violating a local ordinance.

Her act inspired a citywide boycott of the bus system by blacks that lasted more than a year.This really hurt the bus system considering that blacks were the main people to ride the bus. AS a result of this boycottt Martin Luther King, Jr, started to speak out for black all over the south. The U.S. Supreme Court decision outlawing segregation on city buses. Over the next four decades, she helped make her fellow Americans aware of the history of the civil rights struggle. This pioneer in the struggle for racial equality was the recipient of some honors, including the Martin Luther King Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Rosa Parks, Woman of Soltitude

Rosa Parks was an outstanding woman who did not give in to the pressures of society and stood up, or in this case stayed seated, for what she believed in. December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks a seamstress and an NAACP officer sat in the front row of a public bus. The bus began to fill up and even though the law was that African Americans had to move to the back when white people needed room, she remain seated. After warning Rosa Parks that she was violating segregation laws, the bus driver called the police to notify them of Ms. Parks actions. She was later convicted and brought to jail. This was the turning point of segregation because it began a chain reaction for African Americans around the United States to stand up for themselves and boycott segregation. Rosa Pars and her case led to the Brown v Board supreme court case which was one of the most important cases of all time for the abolishment of segregation where the Court overturned parts of Plessy v Fergessen and began to accept that seperate-but-equal was unconstitutional. Although it took many years after that to completely overcome discrimination of the African American race, Rosa Parks and her courage led to the advancement of black people. It took many decades to abolish segregation in the US but trough determination, moral integrity and unity for these laws to be overturned and for society to begin accepting people not for their race but for who they are.

Journey to the New Frontier

Space Program:



April 12, 1961 was the first time a human was sent into space. This project was launched by soviets. Kennedy saw this soviet advance in science as a challenge between capitalism and communism. He wanted to surpass the soviets by placing a man on the moon. With the drive of competition, the United States sent a man on the moon within a month. Americans also sent a satellite into space named the Telstar, which relayed television pictures across the world. NASA began constructing launch facilities in Florida and an admission control center in Texas. The Americans caught up to the Soviets in the space race, and national pride was restored.

Seven Years later, on July 20th 1969, the U.S watched astronaut Neil Armstrong take his first steps on the moon. As a result of the space race, space programs increased and universities advanced their science programs. Funding paid for new industries and technology.

-Felix, Kevin

Women in Wartime

Women played a large role both at home and on the front during World War II. On May 15, 1942, the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps was established. This gave members status and salary, but fewer benefits than male soldiers. The WAAC was comprised of women volunteers that served in noncombat positions. Later, in July 1943, the 'auxiliary' status was dropped, and WACs were granted all the Army benefits. Women in the WAC worked as nurses, ambulance drivers, radio operators, electricians, and pilots, but did not participate in any direct combat.

Due to the war, industries and other businesses were short of male workers. Contractors then began to hire women to work in factories, though many believed that women lacked the stamina to work in factories. But when women proved themselves capable for the job, the number of female workers increased to 6 million, about a third of the workers in the United States. Despite these gains, women still earned sixty percent of what men earned.

Grace

1950's Culture

During 1950's the economy boomed and many Americans enjoyed material comfort. The business expanded rapidly, economy prospered, and new technologies and business ideas created opportunities for many Americans.

More people worked at higher paid jobs than ever before, especially in sales and advertising. Franchises were born and companies started to mass produce. Mcdonalds, for example was one of the biggest franchises in the 50's, mass producing hamburgers at 15 cents each. Large corporates and a board of directors were brought about in the business world. Xerox, American telephone and telegraph, and General Electric were a few of the major companies.

Americans enjoyed the highest level of living in the world. Franchises standardized the way of living. Most Americans also had stable jobs and steady income. Employees worked 40 hour weeks, and earned several weeks vacation per year. Most Americans worked in cities, but few lived in them. Due to highways and affordable automobiles, suburban lifestyle was ideal for Americans. The suburbs embodied the American dream of affordable single family housing, good schools, and a safe and healthy environment for children. Most people owned dishwashers, dryers and power lawnmowers. These labor saving devices allowed more time for recreational activities. More fans attended football and baseball games and others watched on tv sets.

Radical Rosa!

Personal Backstory
Born 1913, Rosa Parks was an African-American activist for the Civil Rights movement. A seamstress and an officer for the NAACP, she often protested against everyday segregation. For example, she refused to use segregated drinking fountains and elevators. Parks began her activism in the Civil Rights Movement when she began working as a secretary of the Montgomery division of the NAACP in 1943. But her fights for equality did not stop there.

What was going in her Time
During the time Rosa Parks became more involved in the Civil Rights Movement, things began to change. The Brown vs Board of Education case was setteled and outlawed segregation in schools. Four days following the Brown vs Board of Education decision, the mayor of Montgomery was asked to desegregate the Bus system, but he refused. This set the stage for Rosa Parks' famous protest!

The Protest
Rose Parks disagreed with the mayors decision and was not afraid to show it. On December 1st, 1955, Ms Parks sat in the colored on a crowded Montgomery bus. When a white man requested to be seated away from any African-Americans, Ms Parks and her friends were asked to vacate the rows and move to the back of the bus. Ms Parks refused to comply and to let her herself to be treated as a second class citizen. She remained in her seat. Parks was then arrested for her "act of disobiedence".
As news of her arrest spread, leaders of the African-American community started the Montgomery Improvement Association, headed by a young Martin Luther King, Jr. He and other leaders like Jo Ann Robinson and NAACP leader E.D. Nixon planned a boycott on the bus system. They planned car pooling and had people walk instead of drive for 381 days. Support from the United Auto Workers, Montgomery's Jewish Community, and sympathetic White southerners lead to the 1956 outlaw of bus segregation by the Supreme Court.

Later Life

Rosa Parks became a symbol of the civil rights movement, and both gained and suffered from her position. She was often fired from jobs by racist store owners, for example. Later, she worked in Congress as a secretary. She died of progressive dementia on October 24, 2005 and was given a 7 hour long funeral for her meritous life before her burial at Detroit's Woodlawn Cemetery.


Cat Volpe
Gayan

Japanese Concentration Camps in America

During World War II, many citizens of the United States were panic-stricken after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This panic turned into fear of the Japanese-Americans, thus leading to the Japanese internment camps.

Early in 1942, the War Department called for a mass evacuation of all Japanese-Americans in Hawaii. However, since Japanese-Americans made up 34% of the population in Hawaii, General Delos Emmons, the military governor of Hawaii, was able to negotiate and turn in only 1% of Hawaii's Japanese-American population. 

On the West Coast, however, only 1% of the population in California was Japanese. Along with prejudice and fear, the fact that the Japanese was only a small minority in the state caused them to be unable to resist internment. 

On February 9, 1942, Franklin Roosevelt, president at that time, signed an order requiring the removal of Japanese-Americans from California, parts of Washington, Oregon, and Arizona. He justified this action as necessary for national security. Japanese-Americans were only a short time to pack up their belongings and move to the internment camps. Japanese-Americans who joined the 442nd Regiment were the only ones who were able to avoid the internment. However, their families and friends were all in the camps.

In the end, no specific charges were filed against Japanese-Americans, and no evidence of corruption was ever found. During and after the war, the Japanese-Americans fought for reparations. In 1944, the Supreme Court justified that the government's policy of internment was necessary when deciding on Korematsu v. United States. In 1965, Congress authorized $38 million for the government to spend on compensation for lost property of the Japanese. In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill that promised $20,000 to every Japanese American sent to a relocation camp. 

However, the reparations were not enough to pay for the losses of the Japanese since the $20,000 lost value as time went by. The only thing the government can do is prevent the occurrence of another mass internment of a minority group.

- Angela 

Women in Wartime

The US threw their all into the war effort for World War II. Everyone joined in - men, women, and even children. Of course the men were important for the war effort, making up the army, but women were essential for the war effort, too.

When the war started and factories were changed to boost war production, there needed to be many workers to build ships and supplies efficiently and quickly. Because the draft took away many men for the war, more than 6 million of the almost 18 million workers in war industries were women. The factories were skeptical at first, thinking that women would only slow them down for lack of stamina. However, the hired women workers soon proved their fears unfounded by determinedly showing how well they could work - as well as men. After that, industries hired more and more women, seeing how good they could work and seeing how women were paid only 60% of what men were paid for the same work.

Non-working women contributed too, with rationing and participating in nationwide drives. Housewives and their children would find scrap iron, tin cans, rags, cooking fat, etc. in their houses and donate them to the drives that that War Production Board (WPB) organized to collect things to recycle for war production. Besides nationwide drives, housewives contributed to the war effort by rationing goods like meat, shoes, sugar, coffee, and gasoline for cars. The Office of Price Administration (OPA) handed out little coupon books that people would use to buy the scarce goods. Since housewives ran the domestic scene, they dealt with the rationing.

by Nicky

The Tuskegee Airmen

Tuskegee Airmen

During World War II, many African Americans were subject to the Jim Crow laws—locally established laws which held poorer treatments for African Americans—and therefore suffered racial segregation. Such separation was evident in the American military, as separate units and divisions were created for African Americans, as well as other minorities. One of the most prominent divisions was the Tuskegee Airmen, a unit of African American combat pilots who were part of the 332^nd fighter group.

The Tuskegee Airmen first earned their fame through in Sicily, where the Allies launched their invasion against Italy, resulting in Benito Mussolini’s resignation. After registering their first victory against enemy aircrafts did the Tuskegee Airmen get their names known by the public. After their first triumph, the Tuskegee Airmen continued to impress America by their several victories against the German Luftwaffe. As a reward for their exceptional aerial combat, the Tuskegee Airmen received two Distinguished Unit Citations, as the military’s highest commendations.

Not only did the Tuskegee Airmen receive fame for their brilliant work, but they helped ease the tensions of the prejudice and segregation. By ignoring the criticism they faced upon establishment, the Tuskegee Airmen were able to successfully complete their missions, and earn their names as American heroes.





Written by-Marlin and Jason
March 2, 2010 Period A

McCarthyism

During the 1950s, a fear of communism had spread around the world. People in United State feared that the communist would take over the government. At this time, Joseph McCarthy started his “witch hunt” to the communist.
As a senator with undistinguished achievement, Joseph McCarthy wanted to take advantage of people’s fear in order to get reelected in 1952. In 1950, he declared that he had a list of members of communists who were employed in the State Department. Although he had never produce a singe name, he rose to a national fame. He had also accused the Democratic Party for allowing communist infiltration into the government.
Because the attack on the communist and the Democratic might help the republicans win the 1952 presidential election, few Republicans spoke out to stop McCarthy’s attack. As their wish, the republican Dwight Eisenhower won the 1952 presidential election.
McCarthy successfully accused the State Department, the administration of President Truman, and the United State Army. In 1954, McCarthy experienced his downfall as he accused U.S. Army of coddling Communist. Millions of American watched McCarthy malign people with no defense from television. McCarthyism became a term which stands for making accusations without proper regard for evidence. Also in 1954, McCarthy was disciplined due to the vote of senate.

Japanese Concentration Camps in America

After Pearl Harbor in 1941, American citizens became fearful that the Japanese would attack America. This was shown in everyday life: American citizens with Japanese ancestry were treated like an enemy, ignored and feared, even though they didn't do anything. FDR signed the executive order 9066 in February 1942. It said that every American citizen could be removed and replaced for their own protection. Very soon people found out that "everyone" were only people with Japanese background.

In the weeks after the order was signed, the military relocated over 110 000 Japanese Americans and put them in "relocation centers" aka prison camps. They had to leave everything they owned behind. They sold their houses and shops and packed as much furniture as possible to take with them. But they lost everything. A lot of these people were born in the States and legal citizens and most of them were loyal to the US.They showed it by volunteering for the war in Japan. Many of them never returned home, because they believed to do the right thing, but the Military just used them. When they came home and expected to be treated like war heroes, they soon discovered that the opposite was occurring.

There were no legal charges ever filed against the imprisoned people and no evidence of subversion was ever found. Most of these American citizen were forced to sell everything they owned: houses, businesses and most of their belongings.

The Japanese American Citizen League fought for justice in a lot of cases. In 1965; Congress gave $38 million for their purpose. A lot of Japanese Americans went to court, but the court rejected them with the argument, that these camps were a basis of “military necessity”.

In 1978, Ronald Reagan signed a bill promising $20 000 for every Japanese American in the camps who are still living. For imprisoned people who had already died, the family got nothing. But these checks were sent in 1990 with an apologetic letter from President George Bush senior. That shows how much the country cares for its history.

1950’s Culture

Compared to another means of communication, television developed with lightning speed during the 1950’s and the 1960’s. At the beginning, it was a small box with round screen and broadcasts were in black and white. During the Post-World War II, other innovations appeared, like the microwave, for example. Although TV turned out to be wildly popular, radio and movies survived, and the number of radio stations increased by 50 percent. In the movies, stereophonic sound was introduced in 1952 and by 1954 more than 50 percent of movies were in color. 

During the 1950’s, the beat movement arose, expressing the social and literal nonconformity of artists, poets, and writers. Followers of this movement, called beats, lived nonconformist lives. They tended to shun regular work and sought a higher consciousness through Zen Buddhism, music, and drugs.

The musicians in the 1950’s added electronic instruments to traditional blues music, creating rhythm and blues. In 1951 a Cleveland radio disc jockey named Alan Freed to first play the music, and he called it rock’n’roll. After that, other artists, like Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley brought rock’n’roll to a frantic pitch of popularity among the newly affluent teens who bought their records.

Japanese Concentration Camps in America

During World War II, Japanese Americans and Japanese aliens were moved to assembly centers then to internment camps in 1942, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The Japanese American Internment was the relocation and internment of Japanese people forced by the United States government in 1942. Japanese and Japanese Americans(approximately 120,000) were forced to move into the "Wartime Relocation Camps"  of America. Japanese Americans who lived on the West Coast at that time were mostly interned. However, Japanese Americans who lived in Hawaii, on the other hand, were not subject to mass evacuation. Out of the 150,000 Japanese people composed of one-third of the population, only 1,444 were sent to internment camps. According to Japanese American Internment Camps by Gail Sakurai, it was due to cultural and economic reasons: "There was no mass relocation and internment in Hawaii, where the population was one-third Japanese American. It would have been impossible to transport that many people to the mainland, and the Hawaiian economy would have collapsed without Japanese American workers. " 62% of the Japanese who were interned were American citizens. 

The Executive Order 9066, authorized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, allowed local military commanders to designate "military areas" as "exclusion zones."  The order required the removal of people of Japanese ancestry from California and parts of Washington, Oregon, and Arizona.

Many Japanese families sold their homes, businesses, and belonging for lower prices due to the relocation. Some families were even separated during it. 

Japanese Americans fought for justice in the courts and in Congress. Though the initial result wasn't good, the Japanese American Citizens League(JACL) pushed the government to compensate for the loss of those Japanese Americans who were interned after the war. In 1965, the Congress authorized the spending of $38 million, which was less than a tenth of their actual losses.

In 1978, the JACL demanded for the payment of reparation to each individual who was interned. On August 10, 1988, Congress passed and President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, promising $20, 000 for every surviving former internee. The Act also apologized for the violation of constitutional right, provided a public educational fund to inform the public about the internment, and discouraged such violations of civil liberties in the future. 

Rosa Parks, a woman to remember

Rosa Parks was an unforgettable woman who changed history by standing up for what was right. Parks identified as an African American civil rights activist, later known as the mother of the American Civil Rights Movement. She changed the way people viewed African Americans, and served as an inspiration to act against the gross injustice in America during her time.
On December 1st, 1955 Rosa made a statement that would be forever remembered when on a bus she refused to move for a white man to sit. She was arrested and taken into custody for this action, because she had violated a city ordinance. The incident of her arrest led to outrage from civil rights leaders and later the formation of the Montgomery Improvement Association and a boycott on the bus company. In 1956, the Supreme Court finally outlawed bus segregation, a step towards the outlawing of segregation all together.
The rest of her life, Parks fought for civil liberties and the equality of all people. She worked with Martin Luther King Jr. in the Civil Rights Movement and was a boost the morale of colored people and those fighting for equality across American. She is a woman whose life we must cherish and remember, because without brave acts like hers, America would be very different.

"I worked on numerous cases with the NAACP," Mrs. Parks recalled, "but we did not get the publicity. There were cases of flogging, peonage, murder, and rape. We didn't seem to have too many successes. It was more a matter of trying to challenge the powers that be, and to let it be known that we did not wish to continue being second-class citizens."

McCarthyism

The phrase McCarthyism was first coined in the late 40’s to 50’s during the suspicious political climate against communists. The phrase refers to Senator Joseph McCarthy, a senator from Wisconsin, and his political tactics. McCarthy had a bad reputation for being an infected legislature, so he desperately tried to find an issue to capture the publics’ votes and become re-elected.

Being an anti-communist activist, McCarthy claimed that communists were taking over the government. Feeding off the publics’ fear of communism, McCarthy continued to make false accusations about communists in the government. These attacks on supposed communists became known as McCarthyism.

The meaning today is accusing others of treason with unsupported accusations. McCarthy claimed that up to 205 communists were in the State Department. He also bashed the Democratic Party for treason by allowing communists to infiltrate the government. He was careful to make his false claims in the Senate, where he had legal immunity.

Other republicans did not stop McCarthy, but when he made accusations against the army, the government issued an investigation on McCarthy. Shown as a criminal, McCarthy quickly lost public support. The Senate condemned him, and 3 years later, he died from the effects of too much alcohol.

-Felix, Kevin

Epic Battles of the Pacific

The attack of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese against the United States of America on December 7, 1941, caused a catastrophic turn of events which brought the United States into World War 2. The Japanese planned to attack Pearl Harbor because that was the major navel base during the time. By doing so, the Japanese expected to demolish the spirits of the US and diminish the US Navy so that the Japanese could further expand their empire into the Pacific. Japan flew 180 war planes into pearl Harbor, killing 2,400 Americans and sinking 21 ships. However, the Japanese did not succeed what they set out to accomplish, due to a few major errors in their calculations failing to destroy the aircraft carriers or the oil supplies. The US overthrew their policy of isolationism and joined forces with the allies to stop the Axis powers. Following Pearl Harbor, fights in the Pacific included the battles of Midway, Iwo Jima and the battle for Okinawa. The battle of Midway was a turning point in the Pacific war where the Allies started Island hopping and won each island individually, gaining ground in the defeat of the Japanese. Iwo Jima battle followed the Midway turning point, where the island of Iwo Jima was heavily guarded by 20,700 Japanese soldiers and more than 6,000 US marines died fighting to overcome the Japanese. The last battle fought in the Pacific was the battle Okinawa where Japanese unleashed more than 1900 kamikaze attacks sinking 30 ships and killing 5000 seamen, leading to the further surrender of Japan. These epic battles caused the beginning of the end of World War 2.

Space Program

Space Program

 

 

“ We Stand today on the edge of a New Frontier” Kennedy wanted to broaden his vision of progress in what he called the New Frontier which inspired the quote above.  Kennedy addressed Americans as “New Pioneer” and he wanted to explore “ uncharted areas of science and space”. After this speech Kennedy gave young engineers a challenge for the future, and a goal of sending a man to space. The dream that Kennedy was trying to achieve was difficult to accomplish because by 1960 America was in a recession.

On April 12, 1961 Soviet consmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin became the first human in space. Kennedy took this as a challenge, and proposed America to surpass the soviets by sending a man to the moon. In less than a month America had made a replica of the soviet fleet, later that year the communications satellite called Telstar sent live pictures across the world. NASA constructed new launch facilities at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Houston, Texas, which would also be mission control. Seven years later, on July 20, 1969, the U.S would achieve its goal. People around the nation, watched US astronaut Neil Armstrong take his first steps on the moon. 

As a result of this famous achievement Universities extended their science, and space programs. Federal funding for research gave birth to new industries and also new consume good’s for the nation.

By: Da Vonnia, and Edoardo

 

           

 

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks (1913-2005)

Born as Rosa Louise McCauley on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama, she grew up suffering from bad health and segregation of Blacks and Whites. Soon after her parents separated, she became an active member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Since she lived in the South, the segregation was especially hard. The Jim Crow laws made it illegal for Blacks and Whites to be in the same part of bars, buses and basically every public place. Since high schools were public places, there was a white school and a black school, in which she didn't finish high school when she was young.

In 1932, she married Raymond Parks and her name changed to Rosa McCauley Parks. He was a member of NAACP and urged her to participate. With his support, she finished high school as one of less than 7% of African Americans in these days.

In December 1943, she became active in the Civil Rights Movement and soon was elected volunteer secretary of the president of NAACP. She was the only woman in the movement.

At about 6 pm on Thursday, December 1, 1955 in downtown montgomery, Rosa Parks would do something for what she would be always remembered.

She entered the bus to go home, she sat down in the first "black" row in the back of the bus, right behind the ten rows reserved for Whites only. When all the white seats were full and there were still white people coming, the bus driver moved the "black section" sign a few rows back and told the our black people who sat in the front to move. Three of them left. Rosa Park didn't. After she argumented with the driver, James Blake, he called the police an had her arrested. She was bailed out a few days later, but her action will always be remembered as a brave woman standing up for her rights.

-Miriam & Yasmeen

Japanese Concentration Camps in America

Following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941, was a wave of suspicion and hatred toward Japanese Americans. It didn't help that most Japanese Americans lived in the Pacific coast and Hawaii, where Pearl Harbor is located. This widespread fear and prejudice toward Japanese living in the US caused the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

In 1942, the War Department demanded an evacuation of all Japanese Americans living in Hawaii. The military governor of Hawaii, General Delos Emmons, opposed because the Japanese Americans were crucial to the economy of Hawaii, being a significant part of the population. However, he was forced later to confine some of the the Japanese Americans in concentration camps.

Also in 1942, President Roosevelt signed the order to relocate people of Japanese ancestry - American citizen or not - to concentration camps for "national security". People were paranoid that Japanese Americans would spy for Japan and help cause another major attack on the US. Most of the people confined to these camps were Nisei, or natural citizens (born in America) with Japanese immigrant parents, and many of them had already joined the army. They found it frustrating and ridiculous that they were stripped of their rights just for being of Japanese descent.

There were never any specific charges against the Japanese Americans and some fought for their rights, for example in the Supreme Court case Korematsu v. United States when Fred Korematsu refused to leave his home and then was charged for defying a military order. Despite their efforts, Japanese Americans were still rounded up and forced into the prison camps. After the war, the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) worked to make the government compensate for the concentration camps and in 1965 and 1990, Congress finally allowed giving money to families who were in the camps.

by Nicky