APUSH Period 8 review

1945 to 1980 redux

How does the College Board summarise this period?

“After World War II, the United States grappled with prosperity and unfamiliar international responsibilities while struggling to live up to its ideals.”In short, it’s a time of American hegemony, and yet, at the same time, America has never felt more insecure. We are the undisputed “leaders of the free world,” and this is a responsibility we find difficult to bear.

What’s the first key concept?

“The United States responded to an uncertain and unstable postwar world by asserting and attempting to defend a position of global leadership, with far-reaching domestic and international consequences.”This key concept asks us to look at the US’ foreign policy, particularly how it reacts to the rise of the Soviet Union as a superpower. Our foreign policy largely defines our government for this period.

What’s the second key concept?

“Liberalism, based on anticommunism abroad and a firm belief in the efficacy of governmental and especially federal power to achieve social goals at home, reached its apex in the mid- 1960s and generated a variety of political and cultural responses.”Specifically, this key concept is referring to the presidencies of JFK and LBJ, who worked to enact much of our present-day welfare system. Liberalism waned around the 80s, the end of the period.

What’s the third key concept?

“Postwar economic, demographic, and technological changes had a far-reaching impact on American society, politics, and the environment.”This is a very broad-reaching concept, but it essentially asks us to look at the historical events that led American society to be what it is today. We went from barely understanding flight to neutron bombs and moon-landings, and it reshaped our national psyche drastically.

What were the important events from 1945 to 1964?● 1945 - World War II ends with overwhelming American victory and bombing of Japan● 1947 - Truman Doctrine unveiled; Stalin orders his satellite nations not to accept US aid● 1948 - Truman elected President over Dewey to national surprise; brings fresh life to New

Deal Coalition● 1949 - Soviet Union tests first nuclear weapon; first steps towards Soviet-US military

parity● 1952 - Eisenhower elected thanks to Draft movement; maintains status quo and contains

Communism● 1953 - Stalin dies, ushering in potential change for Soviet Union; Korean War ended● 1954 - Landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision; educational segregation now

illegal● 1957 - Sputnik launched, inciting massive paranoia and a push towards the maths and

sciences● 1960 - JFK elected as youngest ever President, representing the nation’s hope for the era● 1963 - JFK assassinated in a moment of national trauma; LBJ becomes President● 1964 - Civil Rights Act passed thanks to LBJ; LBJ passes a great deal of legislation

What were the important events from 1964 to 1975?● 1964 - LBJ trounces Barry Goldwater in a firm rejection of hardline conservative Republicanism● 1964 - Economic Opportunity Act passed, initiating some of America’s first concerted anti-

poverty efforts● 1964 - Gulf of Tonkin Resolution begins America’s first formal war in Vietnam● 1965 - Voting Rights Act passed; black voter registration in South skyrockets● 1965 - Medicare and Medicaid launched, providing healthcare to millions of the disadvantaged

and elderly● 1969 - Apollo 11 lands the first ever man on the Moon; the US is seen as having won the Space

Race● 1969 - Woodstock Festival occurs, signifying apex of counterculture/”hippie” movement● 1971 - Bretton Woods status quo ends; US dollar no longer convertible to gold● 1972 - Equal Rights Amendment passed by Congress; failed to be ratified due to conservative

women● 1973 - Yom Kippur War spurs OPEC to end shipments of oil to nations supporting Israel● 1973 - Roe v. Wade makes official American women’s rights to have an abortion in all states● 1974 - Nixon resigns due to Watergate scandal; Ford becomes President and pardons Nixon● 1975 - South Vietnam and the US formally lose the Vietnam War; Saigon has fallen after US

retreat

What were the important events from 1975 to 1980?● 1975 - American cities reach the nadir of their decline; NYC

requests a bailout and Ford denies it● 1976 - Jimmy Carter, a Georgia political outsider, becomes the

first postbellum President from the South● 1979 - Iranian Hostage Crisis begins; simultaneous massive

economic recession● 1979 - Ties are formally restored with China, culminating Nixon’s

feat of diplomacy

Review in Pictures

The Allied leaders at the Yalta Conference in 1945; this summit established the post-World War II status quo (Key Concept 1)

The Space Race is seen by many as concluded with the United States’ historic landing on the Moon in 1969 (Key Concept 3)

The Korean War was the United States’ first major Cold War-era proxy war, costing nearly 40k American lives(Key Concept 1)

The United States began to migrate from the dense inner-cities to generic suburbs like Levittown in the 1950s(Key Concept 3)

The March on Washington was the height of the Civil Rights Movement, enabling a path from institutionalised racism(Key Concept 2)

Forces on both sides committed atrocities in the Vietnam War effort to contain communism and/or imperialism(Key Concept 1)