Space Race

Space Race- the competition

between the superpowers (US
and Soviet Union) to outdo the
other in space exploration
In 1957, the Soviets launched
Sputnik I, the first artificial
satellite to orbit the earth
Sputnik II was launched later
that year and carried a small
dog
In 1959, the US created NASA
to oversee Americas space
exploration, making it a
national priority of the US
Polio
Polio was a frightening
disease that caused
paralysis, even death,
especially in children
It is said that during the
1950s parents had two
dreadful fears- nuclear war
(Cold War) and polio
The fact that FDR also had
polio that paralyzed him
increased the fear of the
disease
In 1955, Dr. Jonas Salk
figured out the cure for polio,
truly a medical breakthrough
Warren Court
Supreme Court Chief
Justice Earl Warren took
an activist approach to
civil liberties and social
issues during his time as
chief justice (1953-1969)
Many important rulings
were made under his
watchexamples- Brown
v. Board of Education
(1954) and Miranda v.
Arizona (1966)
 Civil Rights Movement
Jim Crow laws had been in effect
since the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling
by the Supreme Court in 1896,
which had established the doctrine
of separate but equal
In 1954, one of the most prominent
forms of segregation was in
education
In the monumental court case
Brown v. Board of Education, the
Brown family sued to allow their
daughter to attend a white school
closer to their home
The NAACP (National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People)
represented the Brown family, with
Thurgood Marshall being the lawyer
who led the case
The courts decision that segregated
schools were unconstitutional was a
major step in the right direction
(overturned Plessy v. Ferguson)
Challenging Segregation
Rosa Parks in 1955 decided to challenge the
segregation in public transportation, sitting in the
white section of a bus
Parks was the spark that started the Montgomery Bus
Boycott to protest the segregation policy on buses
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was influential in this
boycott, which resulted in the integration of buses in
Alabama in 1956
Little Rock Central High
School
In 1957, Little Rock Central
High School in Arkansas
refused to integratethe
governor of Arkansas
supported the blocking of
nine African American
students from entering the
high school
President Eisenhower
responded by sending in U.S.
Army troops to enforce the
Supreme Courts decision
The nation observed the
conflict at Little Rock,
furthering the attention of
the nation on civil rights
Civil Rights Organizations
NAACP was very influential during the Civil Rights Movement,
as was the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference)
and the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)
All of these groups worked to help African Americans gain civil
rights in America during a time of established segregation
Sit-in- a form of protest where demonstrators refuse to leave
an establishment when refused service, these were used
against segregation across the nation
JFK elected
The 1960s was a chaotic time in America full of civil
rights marches, antiwar demonstrations, protests of
the Vietnam War, drug use, and Cold War tension
John F. Kennedy (JFK) was elected president in 1960,
becoming the first Catholic president
JFK worked to help achieve civil rights for African
Americans
Civil Rights Movement
(cont.)
Freedom Rides- bus rides taken by SNCC
and others to see if the interstate bus
system had been integrated
James Meredith- man who integrated Ole
Miss in 1962
March on Washington- a gathering in
Washington, DC, to support civil rights
legislation and jobs for Af Am, this is
where Dr. King gave his famous I Have a
Dream speech
Freedom Summer- a campaign to register
Af Am voters in Mississippi
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party- Af
Am alternative to the all-white Mississippi
Democratic Party
Fannie Lou Hamer- SNCC organizer who
helped Af Am register to vote in
Mississippi amidst dangerous
circumstances
Civil Rights
Malcolm X- spokesman for the Nation of Islam who
had many ideas different than Dr. King, encouraged
Af Am to set up their own communities and to solve
their own problems without the help of whites
Black Panther Party- founded by Huey Newton and
Bobby Seale, a more radical Af Am civil rights group
that sometimes carried weaponsthe Black Panther
Party did a great deal of work in their communities,
even starting a Free Breakfast for School Children
Program
Bay of Pigs
Cuba at this time was under
the leadership of a
communist government led
by a dictator named Fidel
Castro
The CIA planned to help
Cuban exiles overthrow
Castro and his communist
regime
This attempted invasion,
taking place at the Bay of
Pigs (a bay is a body of
water) was a failure, and JFK
had to take the blame
Missiles in Cuba?!?!
The Cold War almost turned hot when the U.S.
discovered that the Soviets were trying to put missiles
in Cuba
Due to this threat (Cuban Missile Crisis), the U.S. was
on the brink of war with the Soviet Union
The result of this intense situation was the Soviet Union
offered to remove the missiles if the United States
pledged not to invade Cuba and to remove missiles
from Turkey that were aimed at RussiaJFK agreed
JFK assassinated; Johnson takes
over
On November 23, 1963, John F Kennedy was assassinated in
Texas
Not only was this a blow to the Civil Rights Movement, but
America had lost a popular, young president
JFKs vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson took over as president
Johnson declared a War on Poverty, and his social welfare
agenda was known as the Great Society
Food stamps were part of this program as were Medicare and
Medicaid
Bloody Sunday
Selma to Montgomery
March (1965)- organized
march encouraging the
government to pass
voting rights legislation,
the peaceful protestors
were met with violence
which was televised and
outraged many
Americans- Bloody
Sunday Dr. King led
the people in another
march for same purpose
Civil Rights Act of 1964 and
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Passed by Johnson although JFK had laid
the groundwork, the Civil Rights Act of
1964 outlawed public segregation and
discrimination, forbade racial
discrimination in the workplace
This monumental legislation was followed
by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which
banned literacy tests and sent thousands
of federal voting officials to the south to
supervise registration... This resulted in a
huge jump in the African American voter
rate
Vietnam War
Vietnam, similar to Korea, was under the threat of falling to
communism in the 1950s
North Vietnam had become communist, and South Vietnam was
capitalist (free)
Domino Theory- theory of Eisenhower that if one Southeast
country turned communist, the others would fall like dominos
The U.S. had supported South Vietnam since the 1950s, but aid
to South Vietnam increased during JFKs presidency
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution- with North Vietnam becoming more
aggressive, Congress passed this resolution which gave President
Johnson the power to respond
It wasnt until 1965 that the first U.S. combat troops arrived in
Vietnam and the U.S. increased their involvement in a very
controversial Vietnam War
America pulled out of the war in 1973 and in 1975 North Vietnam
took over all of Vietnam under a united communist government
Dr. King Assassinated
Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis on
April 4, 1968
The assassination was another major blow
to the Movement, but Dr. Kings legacy and
the impact that he made on the history of
the United States was monumental
First Man on the Moon
In 1969, Apollo 11
carried three
astronauts to the
moon, and Neil
Armstrong became
the first human to
set foot on the
moon
That's one small
step for man, one
giant leap for
mankind- Neil
Armstrong