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America in the 1950s The Eisenhower Era
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American Society The Baby Boom
Between 1946 and 1961, 63.5 million babies Effects Short term Long term
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American Society Economic Boom Consumer Demand “The Affluent Society”
Why? For what?
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American Society Growth of the Middle Class Suburbs
Levittown Reemergence of the Cult of Domesticity Reflected by TV Dr. Benjamin Spock Sunbelt vs. Frostbelt Why? How?
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American Society Sunbelt vs. Frostbelt Why? How?
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American Society Pop Culture Television Movies
1950s – the decade of the greatest conformity in American history? Why or why not? Television Movies
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American Society Rock n’ Roll Elvis Presley Generation Gap
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American Society Art: Abstract Expressionism Jackson Pollock
Willem de Koonig
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American Society The Beat Generation (beatniks) Late 1950s
Jack Kerouac’ s On the Road Allen Ginsburg Characteristics
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American Society Conformity Resistance to Conformity
Middle class values and anti-communism Examples David Riesman’s The Lonely Crowd (1950) Resistance to Conformity Civil Rights Rock n’ Roll Beat Generation
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Politics of the 1950s Election of 1952 – Review – “I Like Ike” Ad
Eisenhower defeats Adlai Stevenson
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Domestic Politics Dynamic Conservatism
Meant “being conservative when it comes to money and liberal when it comes to human beings.” Social Security benefits extended Minimum wage raised to $1 an hour Pragmatic, less ideological – What does this mean?
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Domestic Politics Dynamic Conservatism
Interstate Highway System – Why? Effects? St. Lawrence Seaway Creates Department of HEW – Why? Three balanced budgets in eight years
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Domestic Politics Ike Reelected in 1956 Defeats Stevenson again
Electoral vote States carried Popular vote 35,579, ,028,028 Percentage % %
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Domestic Politics Labor Unions Merger of AFL-CIO - 1955
Jimmy Hoffa and the Teamsters Landrum-Griffin Act 1959
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Domestic Politics Alaska and Hawaii become the 49th and 50th states
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Civil Rights Earl Warren (and Ike)
Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka Kansas 1954 Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson “Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”
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Civil Rights Response to Brown Massive resistance in the South
Protesting the Little Rock Nine
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Civil Rights Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955-1956
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rosa Parks
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Civil Rights Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock Nine Ike’s Response
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Civil Rights Dr. King and non-violence Sit-ins
Greensboro Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
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Civil Rights What is the point of the cartoon?
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Civil Rights Other minorities Mexican-Americans Native Americans
Bracero program “Operation Wetback” Native Americans Reverses New Deal law
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Cold War Key Advisors John Foster Dulles Allen Dulles (CIA)
(SoS) Allen Dulles (CIA) Eisenhower’s foreign policy Korea (visits in December 1952) Liberation of Eastern Europe Massive retaliation – define Brinksmanship Rejected containment – Why?
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Cold War American Reactions Spending Cheyenne Mountain The Greenbriar
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Cheyenne Mountain
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Cold War Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) “New Look Military”
Define: deterrent “New Look Military” Farewell Address Warning: growth of the military-industrial complex
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Cold War Stalin dies-1953 Warsaw Pact
1955 New Soviet leader – Nikita Khrushchev “Peaceful coexistence” or “We will bury you” (economically)
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Cold War Events Geneva Summit – 1955 Hungarian Uprising-1956
Suez Crisis – 1956 Nasser and Egypt Britain, France & Israel attack Egypt – Why? Eisenhower Doctrine
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Cold War Events Sputnik National Defense Education Act
1957 (above, right) National Defense Education Act Explorer I launched 1958 (below, right) NASA founded
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Cold War Events Conflict with the USSR Kitchen Debates U-2 Incident
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The Cold War & the CIA Iran – 1953 Guatemala – 1954
Coup that installed the Shah as dictator Iranian revenge in 1979 Guatemala – 1954
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Vietnam Ho Chi Minh Dien Bien Phu – 1954 SEATO Domino Theory
Vietnam divided – how? Ngo Dinh Diem SEATO Domino Theory
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Cuba Fidel Castro Successful coup, January 1, 1959 American response
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The Affluent Society New Industrial Society R & D Computers
Silicon Valley
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The Affluent Society New Industrial Society Effects Rachel Carson
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The Affluent Society Was everyone wealthy?
Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man Michael Harrington The Other America: Poverty in the United States
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