McCarthyism

Joseph McCarthy was a politician who served as a Republican Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 to 1957. In January 1950, he realized that he would need a winning issue in order to be reelected in 1952 since he was known as an ineffective legislator in his first 3 years in the Senate. He then decided to charge that Communism was taking over the government. He accused others of being communists without giving specific evidence. His attacks were known as McCarthyism. "McCarthyism" is referred to the unfair tactic of accusing people of disloyalty without providing evidence since the 1950s. He claimed that he had the names of communists in the Senate though he never produced any. People who were accused of being communists suffered from the loss of employment, destruction of career, and imprisonment.

Republicans didn't do much to stop McCarthy, hoping that they would win the 1952 election because of him. However, McCarthy's accusations against the U.S. Army resulted in nationally televised Senate investigation in 1954, which led to his downfall. His bullying of witnesses costed him public support. He was censured by the Senate for his improper conduct. He died from alcoholism three years later. 

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks

"It was time for someone to stand up - or in my case, sit down"

Rosa Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama on February 4, 1913 and since she was very young, she didn't feel like she could ignore racism and she became determined to fight segregation. Long before December 1955, when she was arrested, Parks had protested segregation through everyday acts. She refused to use drinking fountains labeled "colored only". When possible, she shunned segregated elevators and climbed stairs instead.
Parks joined the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP in 1943 and became the organization's secretary. In the summer of 1955, she attended a workshop designated to promote integration by giving students the experience of interracial living.
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to obey a bus driver`s order that she give up her seat to make room for a white passenger. The act became an important symbol of the Modern Civil Rights Movement and Parks became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation. She organized and collaborated with civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., helping to launch him to national prominence in the civil rights movement.
Parks resided in Detroit until she died of natural causes at the age of 92 on October 24, 2005.

McCarthyism—Unjustified Slander


Joseph McCarthy, a Republican Senator of Wisconsin, was one of the most famous anti-Communist activists of the Cold War era. By creating slandering other government officials, he wished to secure his position as Senator in the reelction of 1952. However, his extreme accusations eventually lead the public to oppose his beliefs, which eventually lead to his downfall.

Known to be an inefficient legislator, during his first term in Senate, McCarthy searched for an issue to focus on, to increase support for his campaign. Considering America's paranoia for communist takeover, McCarthy made accustaions about government officials, falsely claiming them to be communist supporters. These accusations, later labled as "McCarthyism", were at first, unnnoticed by the public. He claimed to have the names of 57, 81, then 205 Communist supporters within the state department, though none of these accusations were supported. He was cautious to only make accusations within the Senate, in order to secure his immunity within his position. The Republican party, at first, made no effort to hinder McCarthy's accusations about the other government officials, for they believed they could win the1952 Presidential election despite McCarthy's criticism.

McCarthy's immunity was snuffed in 1954, after he made accusations against the US Army. This resulted in a televised investigation. His unsupported accusations eventually costed him public support; the Senate denounced him for "improper conduct". Three years later, he died.

Written By: Marlin

War in Vietnam

After France surrendered and retreated from Vietnam in 1954, U.S., Soviet Union, and other 4 countries signed the Geneva Record, a peace agreement.

According to the Geneva record, Vietnam was divided into South and North along the 17th parallel. Afraid of losing, the South Vietnam president who is also a strong anti-communist, refused to take part in the 1956 election. Willing to halt the spread the communism, the United States supported South Vietnam.

Although the Geneva Record temporarily ceased the fire, the war in Vietnam had just begun. Vietcong, a communist opposition group supported by North Vietnam, raised power in the South in 1957. After the president of South Vietnam was assassinated in 1963, the South Vietnam fall into anarchy. Instead of withdrawing its troops from Vietnam, the U.S. expended the conflict. President Johnson decided to send more troops to Vietnam in order to end the war sooner. In 1968, the number of U.S. military personnel in Vietnam reached about 53600. However, the Vietcong used hit-and-run tactic and guerrilla warfare to fight the U.S. well-armed forces. In response to Vietcong’s attack, President Johnson approved the operation Rolling Thunder, an aerial bombardment campaign. While the bombing attack caused great damage to Vietcong and other opponents, more than 58000 Americans, in total, are killed.

The long-lasting war caused the downfall of President Johnson’s popularity. In 1969, President Nixon, newly elected Republican President, began the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Vietnam. The American’s longest war eventually came to an end.

Space Program

 

            In 1957 the Soviet Union launched the first space satellite into space called Sputnik. American was in a race to catch up to the Soviets and launch their own satellite into space. The started pouring money into the space program in order to catch up with them. On January 31, 1958 the United States successfully launched its first satellite into space.           

            On April 12,1961 the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin became the first human in space. Kennedy took the opportunity as a challenge and decided that they would do better then the Soviets and send a man to the moon. Later that year a communication satellite called Telstar relayed live television pictures across the Atlantic Ocean. The United States was passing the Soviets fast. NASA began building new launch pads in Cap Canaveral, Florida and they set up a control center in Houston, Texas.

            Seven years later the United States reached its goal on July 20, 1969. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. Universities started putting more money into their science programs. Huge funding for the research and development created new industries and technologies. The space and science programs started growing rapidly.

 

 

    -Yasmeen

 

King and the Washington March

August 28, 1963 was a day that would go down in history as one of the most important days in our nation's history. It was the day that over 250,000 people, both black and white, marched to our nation's capital, Washington D.C. in protest of segregation and racism. The man who led this march was a preacher from Alabama; Martin Luther King Jr. Hand in hand with peace and love all around, they marched to the Lincoln memorial. This is where King gave one of the most influential and important speeches that any man has ever given in the history of this nation, the "I Have a Dream" speech. This speech enlightened every person that had to courage to stand up against the evil of racism and segregation and do what's right in the world.  The main point of the march was not only to protest racism and promote equality, but for congress to pass the Civil Rights bill, giving equal rights to everyone across the U.S.A. 

Space Race

During his acceptance speech for his nomination of presidency, President John F. Kennedy called on Americans to be "new pioneers" and explore the "uncharted areas of science and space." Kennedy's speech was sparked by the achievement of the Soviet Union. On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin became the first human in space. This caused surprise and displeasure for the American citizens, since the Soviet Union is catching up to the United States' level of technology. However, Kennedy viewed this achievement as a challenge for the Americans to overcome. In fact, the president wanted to surpass the challenge and pursue an even greater feat: land on the moon.

Many things were done to expand the space program in the United States. Universities expanded their science programs while space-related industries sprang up in Southern and Western states. Less than a month after Yuri A. Gagarin's journey, the United States also went into space. Later, a communications satellite named Telstar released pictures of the Atlantic Ocean for the public to view. NASA also constructed new launch facilities in Florida and a mission control center in Houston, Texas. Finally, on July 20, 1969, Kennedy's goal was achieved. Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon. After this achievement, America's pride and prestige has been restored.

- Angela

Martin Luther King Jr. and the Washington March

Martin Luther King Jr is one of the most influential and inspirational man to have ever existed. He has given motivational speeches across American and has led many protests for the cause of the civil rights movement. He became a prominent leader of the black freedom movement and gathered a followed of black and white people across America. On August 28th, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr had led a march on Washington DC which included more that 250000 people and in that, 75000 of them were white. They march on the capitol and gathered around the Lincoln Memorial. 

Civil Rights activists Bayard Rustin (of the SCLC) and A Philip Randolph organized and helped gather people. The point of the movement was to further the civil rights movement and to pass the new civil Rights bill that President Kennedy sent to Congress. President Kennedy sent this bill in order to guarantee equal access to all public accommodation and for the U.S. attourney General to have the power to file segregation suites. 

After the assacination of President Kennedy, President Johnson who was the Vice President for Kennedy, became president and vowed to further President Kennedy's ideas in the civil rights movemnt. Two months later the civil rights bill passed.

 Martin Luther King gave hope to the people of America and fought fervently for the equality of African Americans. This in turn caused the turning point in the civil rights movement. 

The Truman Times

Who is Truman?
Harru S. Truman a senator from Missouri, who was well known for being honorable and confident. As the 33rd president of the United States, he maintained the presidency from 1945-1953 as a democrat. His presidency came as a sudden shock when in 1945, current president Franklin D Roosevelt died of a stroke. As FDR's vice president, Truman took the reigns of presidency and inherited the duties and problems of World War II.

What Did He Do?
By the time of Truman's ascension, Germany and Italy had already surrendered to the Allies, leaving Japan the only enemies to the U.S. in the war. The Japenese had been removed from all the pacific islands, and it seemed the only way to end the war was to invade Japan itself. However, this was a strategdy Truman did not want to follow. He instead decided to use the revently developed atomic bombs to attack the major Japenese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This decision lead the Empeoror of Japan to surrender and ultimately end the World War.

Besides ending the greatest war since the first World War, Truman faced the task of revitilizing the post war economy. Due to high prices and low wages (because the lack of war demand) over 4 million workers went on strike. Truman threatened to draft the workers and sieze control of all of the opposing industries, which lead the unions to bitterly give in. At the time, this angered many citizens, causing them to lose trust in Truman and eventually sway to voters to elect republican senators in 1946.

Risking an even lower drop in popularity, Truman selflessly supported the Civil Rights Movement in 1946. He openly expressed his support by addressing equality for all human beings in many of his speeches and creating a President's Commision on Civil Rights. Through the commision, Truman began asking Congress to create a federal antilynching law, ban on poll taxes, and a permanent civil rights commision. The now Republican heavy Congress did not share his ideals and refused to pass many of the bills. As a result, he began executive orders in 1948, to begin integration as protected by armed forces

By the time of 1948 election, the rising inflation and Truman's focus on civil rights lead the a group of right wing Southern "Dixiecrats" to form the States' Rights Democratic Party and nominate candidate. At the same time, a more liberal Democrat group, the Progressive Party, also rose and was headed by former VP Henry A. Wallace. This division gave the Republican candidate, New York Governor Dewey a big lead. However, Truman was prepared. He challenged the Republican dominated congress to pass a record number of reform bills (from federal education aid to extended Social security), which, as he expected , failed to pass. Then, he was able to campaign under the denouncement of a "do-nothing" congress. This tricky move not only gave Truman an extremely close win but returned Congress to the democrats. However, it permanently turned many Southern states, traditionally Democrat, into republican strongholds.

During his second term, Truman proposed a series of economic programs called the Fair Deal, a reference to FDR's own New Deal. It included plans for health insurance and crop subsidies, but nearly everyone in congress rejected the measures. However, he did manage to have the minimum wage practically doubled-- 40 cents to 75. He extended Social Security to millions more and began many flood and irrigation projects.

Truman sets the Stage

Perhaps the most important parts of Truman's presidency were the decisions he made toward the Cold War; his choices shaped US actions for decades to come.

At the Potsdam conference in July 1945, Truman met with Clement Attlee, Britain's prime minister, and the Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin. There, he learned both of Stalin's refusal to keep free elections in post-war, Soviet occupied regions, as well as the plan to take massive reparations from its sections of Germany. When Truman attempted to push to renewal of trade to Eastern Europe, the USSR increased its barriers against the west, setting up a series of easily dominated satellite nations.

In response, Truman and the American diplomat to Moscow, George Kennan, began a policy of containment, the policy of preventing extension of communist rule. This was later exemplified in the Truman Doctrine, in which America provided economic and military aid to support free peoples resisted outside pressures. Specifically, the aid to Western Europe was called the Marshall plan; through $13 billion in aid, Western Europe was easily brought over to the side of America and Britain.

Further conflicts during the early cold war were handled by Truman. He helped oversee the Berlin Airlift, the flight of supplies to a USSR-blockaded Berlin, which boosted the American reputation. NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) created a set of allies in Western Europe against the USSR (which formed its own alliance, the Warsaw pact, with its satellites).

One of the last (and most flawed) actions of the Truman presidency was the Korean War. Following the fall of the corrupt but US supported China to communist leader Mao Zedong (during which fight Truman refused military aid), America become committed to keeping communism out of South Korea. North Korea, as influenced by its northern neighbor, was communist, and its leaders wanted to unite the two nations under communism. The US, originally more removed from the region in post-World war times, petitioned to the UN security council, and troops were sent from the UN to bolster the Souther Korean fight. Despite the work of General MacArthur, the famous Pacific War general, the later entrance of the Chinese to the war lead to an eventual stalemate across the original boundary, the 38th parallel. When MacArthur recommend attacking China with nuclear weapons, Truman fired the hero, causing another plummet in his popularity. 54,000 American casualties and $67 billion later, Korea was still two nations.

After Truman

In 1952, the next election year, America chose the first republican president in 20 years, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Leaving the Presidency, Truman may have had abysmal approval ratings, but today, we can see that he was on of the most influential Presidents in our history.

The Vietnam War

In 1954, the Geneva Accords temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel so that the north was controlled by the communists and the south was controlled by anticommunist nationalists.In 1956, an election for unifying Vietnam was considered but due to the tensions between the north and the south, it didn't occur. In the south, a communist group against the South Vietnam government began to attack the government in 1957. They were called the Vietcong.

The United States became involved in the civil war that broke out between the north and Vietcong and the south because the United States government felt it was their duty to actively work to contain communism around the world, especially during this time, which was in the height of the Cold War. They aided South Vietnam against the communist north and the Vietcong, stating that according to the domino theory, when one country falls to communism, the countries around it also fall, like in a game of dominoes.

The United States started sending in money and military advisors to Vietnam under President Kennedy but it was his successor, President Johnson who expanded the military involvement of the United States in Vietnam. President Johnson, or LBJ as he was called, was certain the United States would be able to quickly win the war. However, he severely underestimated the enemy. The Vietnamese had the advantage of being in their home front - they were familiar with the forest terrains where they could easily hide and attack secretly whereas the American soldiers were new to the land. The guerilla tactics used by the Vietcong, as well as their networks of tunnels throughout the country were an advantage to the communists. In addition, the American soldiers had a hard time distinguishing friend versus foe since both sides of the civil war were Vietnamese.

Incorrect information in the White House and small lies with big consequences brought the United States deeper into the war. An American ship, the USS Maddox was fired on in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of Norht Vietnam. When it and anther ship returned to enemy territory once again, they crew thought they were beign attacked and retaliated. President Johnson used this incident, not knowing that in reality, the two ships weren't attacked, to get Congress of pass the Tokin Gulf Resolution that gave the president the military ability to do anything short of actually declaring war.

Eventually, the sinking morale of the soldiers, the many casualties on both sides, the suffering of United States economy for a war on the other side of the world, and the bad media from the United States agaisnt the American involvement in the war caused President Johnson to work to pull their troops out of the war. The United States finally ended their involvement under President Nixon in 1973 after a few years of slowly decreasing their activity to leave with "honor" and "dignity" and not like they were being chased out.

by Nicky

Vietnam War

From the late 1800s until WWII, the French ruled most of Indochina, including Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia. the tension increased when the french took away freedom of speech, public assembly and jailed many Vietnamese nationalists. During the French retreat, America intervened and assisted the french. The Eisenhower and Kennedy administration provided economic and military aid to South Vietnam. The South's president, Ngo Dinh Diem, was given financial aid and thousands of American troops to train the Vietnamese. By the end of 1963, there were more than 16000 American advisers in Vietnam.
Shortly before his death, Kennedy announced his plan to withdraw U.S. forces from Vietnam. "in the final analysis, it's their war. However, President Johnson escalated the nation's role in Vietnam and eventually began America's longest war. Johnson believed that communist takeover of South Vietnam would be disastrous. In the years following 1965, Johnson began sending large numbers of troops to fight the North Vietnamese.
Working with the Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara and Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, Johnson sent thousands more U.S. soldiers to Vietnam. The conflict was simply getting out of hand.
Protests against the draft continued until President Nixon phased out the draft in the early 1970's. The two opposing views of the war became even more split. The people who opposed the draft were called Doves, and the pro-war advocates were called Hawks. Despite the anti-war protesters, many American citizens in 1967, still remain committed to the war.

The Era of Violence: Assasinations during the 60's

The 1960s was a decade of change for America. Under the leadership of John F. Kennedy, one of the most important issues of the time was civil rights. Although being an advocate of equality made him more popular as a leader, this also created many enemies for Kennedy. Ultimately, it would be one of the reasons leading to his death.

On November 22, 1963, Kennedy and his wife had come to Dallas, Texas to meet with members of Texas's Democratic Party. They were sitting in the back seat of an open limousine with Governor John Connally and his wife, waving to fans along the streets. Mrs. Connally turned to Kennedy and said, "You can't say Dallas isn't friendly to you today." (p. 682 of textbook) Before he could answer, he was shot in the head by a rifle, and before the ambulance could arrive he was dead. Police found the killer quickly: Lee Harvey Oswald, a 24-year old Marine who was a supporter of Fidel Castro and was also against the Civil Rights movement.

In 1965, another important figure was assassinated. Malcom X, a radical believer in the Nation of Islam, initially believed that African-Americans were the superior race. His movement of racial pride was both appealing and controversial. However, he broke with the Nation of Islam and formed his own organization. This change of view upset many Black Muslims. On February 21, 1965, he was shot while giving a speech in Harlem.

April 4th, 1968 tragedy struck America once again when the leader of the Civil Rights Movement was shot down on his hotel balcony. Martin Luther King Jr., an inspiration for millions, preached nonviolent methods of gaining civil rights. He fought hard to gather people to strike and voice their opinions without hurting others. James Earl Ray who was found guilty of assasinating King, caused the largest urban riots in United States history. He did not believe in what King fought for and therefore chose to end his life and take down a man who will be forever remembered for his vital leadership throughout the Civil Rights Movement. He taught that violence was not and will never be the answer and with his death did not come defeat. The movement continued and more civil rights would be won in the near future.

King's assasination however, was not the end to the era of violence. The same year Robert Kennedy was giving a victory speech after winning the California primary elections. On his way out of the hotel in Los Angles he was shot by a young Palestinian immigrant, Sirhan Sirhan. In later questioning they found his motive to be Kennedy's support of Israel. Bobby Kennedy's death was another wrenching tragedy for many Americans.

Thousands mourned the deaths of these important leaders and vowed to keep them in their memories. Without their help we would not be where we are today. And let us today vow not to let another era of violence strike the nation.

-Hannah and Mingming

Race to the space

On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin became the first human in space. Since in this period of time the United States and the Soviet Union were big rivals in nearly every aspect of life, the Americans were crushed when they found out that they lost this “challenge”. Kennedy saw the success of the Soviet Union as a challenge to make it better. In less than a month, the Americans had duplicated the Soviet’s feat.

 In the same year, a satellite called “Telstar” sent live television pictures across the Atlantic from the States to Europe.

Meanwhile the NASA (America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration) constructed a new launch facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and a control center in Houston, Texas. Everybody remembers the famous line from the Apollo 11, which was in trouble in space and sent a help request with the words “Houston, we have a problem”.

Seven Years later, on July 1969 America celebrated a big success in space history: Neil Armstrong was the first person ever to walk on the moon.

There are live television pictures of the first steps on the moon. Some people believe, that this mission wasn’t real and that this was filmed in a studio. These conspiracy theories are mostly quiet now but in the early ‘70’s, a lot of people believed in them. 

Neil Armstrong on the moon, 1969

Tuskegee Airmen

During World War II, African Americans were still subject to discrimination under the Jim Crow laws, with racial segregation extending into the military. However, in 1941, a series of legislative moves by the US Congress forced the Air Corps to form an all black unit. Thus, the 99th Pursuit Squadron was formed.

The group was comprised entirely of African American pilots, all of whom were trained at the Tuskegee Institution. Once the Squadron was deemed ready for combat, they were equipped with P-51 Mustangs, aircraft with which they came to be commonly identified.

The Airmen proved an invaluable help while capturing Sicily, their roles in the attack earning them their first Distinguished Unit Citation. Later, their successful air strikes against German forces earned the Tuskegee Airmen their second Distinguished Unit Citation. The Squadron also acted as escorts for heavy bombers; it was later credited that no aircraft escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen had ever been shot down. After the war, 350 airmen received the Congressional Gold Medal. Approximately 119 of 994 pilots are still alive.

Despite a shining combat record, the pilots of the 99th Squadron still faced discrimination from other units. Their military achievements had done little to quiet the racial discrimination that existed in the U.S.

Grace Mi

FDR and Holocaust

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was running for the 1932 presidential election. Americans were ready for a political change. Roosevelt was elected president during the great depression, dealing with this was just one of many difficult things he underwent as president. Before Roosevelt the government did not cared about the people, and after he came to power he started making the government for the people. While Roosevelt was president he came up with the new deal that was created to alleviate the problems of the great depression. New deal policies focused on three general goals: relief for the needy economic recovery, and financial reforms. On top of the issues happening in the U.S Roosevelt had a mayor problem in Europe, the Holocaust.
Shortly after Hitler took power in Germany, one of his first orders was campaign for racial purity that eventually led to the Holocaust. Jews and other minority groups were send to concentration camps. Prisoners worked from sunrise to sundown with no breaks. Early 1942 Hitler’s top officials agreed to begin a new phase of the mass murder of Jews. Roosevelt had an idea of what has going on in Europe, but he didn't realized to the full extent until it was too late to act. As a result to this million of people all across Europe, more than half of whom were jews, were killed.


Edoardo, and Da Vonnia

JFK Assasination

The Death of an American Hero

JFK was assassinated on November 22, 1963. His death is one of the most controversial presidential deaths and is often shrouded in mystery. After his death the FBI, Warren Commission, and HSCA conducted a search that concluded Lee Harvey Oswald was the murderer of JFK. However his motives remain debated as Mr. Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby before going to trial. In 1979, the HSCA and found the searches done by the FBI and Warren Commission to be faulty and concluded that it was very probabable that one of the conspiracy theories was true. Additionally they determined there was a "high probability" that there were actually two gunmen. However other private investigations have called into question the accuracy in these claims.

At around noon as JFK's limousine wsa entering dealey plaza Lee Harvey Ozwald shot Kennedy in the the back of the head killing him almost instantly the bullet then proceded to hit Governer Connally cause massive internal damage. Connally later recovered and in his statement said he instantly recognized the sound of a high powered rifle at the time he was shot. When he was shot he started crying "Oh, no, no, no. My god, they are going to kill us all!" which has spawned some conspiracy theories relating to his knowledge of the attack.

Lee Harvey Oswald was not captured until an hour and twenty minutes after the shooting. He was declared missing by his supervisor at a depository. When caught, he was found trying to get into a theatre without paying and initially resisted the police, pulline a gun and claiming they were only arressting him because he was a patsy. However he was beaten down and taken into custody. JFK's assassination shock the nation and when they truth does come out. Hopefully he can rest in peace.

-JASON