Massive resistance Going against the supreme court

Second Brown Decision The 2 nd Brown decision applied to the states and outlined the process by which the Brown decision was to be implemented. This was a quick process in some areas But in other sections of the country the change was slow or non-existent. In the south only a few schools had desegregated while the majority had defied the federal order.

Central High School Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas was one of these schools defying the courts order. President Eisenhower, not wanting to get involved with the the desegregation process Was reluctant but sent federal troops to protect black students entering the school from angry whites that were trying to block their entrance. Massive resistance was the call in the south.

The Civil Rights Movement begins Growth in the African- American middle class in the post-WWII years created a class of people that became aware of the obstacles that the poor black person faced. Ministers, professionals, and educators took up the cause of black oppression. T.V. also played an important role in the public perception of what was going on in the south. How people of the south were treated, the inequities of the laws set up by Plessy V. Ferguson (Jim Crow laws) Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka Kan. For the first time in history people watched what was going on instead of seeing or hearing the information second hand. There was a constant reminder of how

Civil rights Whites lived and were determined to change it. Community activist encouraged change and was determined to make those changes. The Cold War also Brought attention to human rights and the persecution of people around the world. This embarrassed the United States, people started to do something about racial injustice because we were trying to be the example for the rest of the world. A great spontaneous movement emerges.

“IKE” President Eisenhower represented the view of many Americans that felt. His staunch conservatism and fatherly approach to domestic affairs brought about a feeling that anything was possible. His foreign affairs were strong against communism and the spread of communism. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was main player in Eisenhower’s fight against communism. Either keeping the peace were it was needed or using any means to get the commies out. The main deterrent was the the threat of atomic war.

Vietnam In 1954 France pulled out of Vietnam and left the door open for the communist take the region of the country above 17 th parallel. The French were surrounded at the village of Diem Bien Phu and ended the French involvement after four years. John Foster Dulles the Sec. of State and Richard Nixon encouraged U.S. involvement to save the French and their cause. Eisenhower refused to get involved thinking congress and the public would not go for the idea of another Korea.

CIA The idea of our government changing other governments is less than patriotic. But during the 1950’s this was the purpose of the CIA. The Central Intelligence Agency was involved in the clandestine overthrow of governments in Iran and Guatemala. These actions taken by our government were promoted as general welfare activities and were well hidden from the American public for many years. These activities will carry into the 1960’s with the Bay of Pigs invasion of April 17, 1961.

Space Age The Soviet Union got a head start on the space race with the launching of Sputnik in The satellites launching made national headlines in America and feared many experts into feeling that the Soviets could now launch atomic weapons into space landing in the U.S. The Soviets also beat the Americans to the Punch by launching a man into space in early But the U.S. was not far behind Launching Alan Shepard into space on May 5, The U.S. was more ambitious than their Soviet counterparts with the introduction of NASA in 1958.

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was formed for the sole purpose of beating the Soviet Union in the space race. The initial phase of the project was the satellite program which was followed by manned missions called the the Mercury program. Pilots from all over America auditioned for this program but only seven were chosen to be astronauts or “Space Voyagers.” President John F. Kennedy bold announcement that the U.S. Would land a man on the moon before the end of the decade (1960’s) took the program to a level.

“Our goal is to send a man to the moon and return him safely.” (JFK 1963) With this proclamation by Kennedy the space program went from one man projects to two man projects (Gemini) that tested two men in space. The final step was the Apollo program designed to take men to the moon and land there. On July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin fulfilled Kennedy’s goal by landing and walking on the moon, then returning safely five days later.