We talked about our next assigned blog. Mine is Reagan's attempted assassination. Then we continued our president blog discussion.
Harry Truman- vice president for only a few months and came in when FDR died, few months before WWII ended. reelected in 1948. first ever national televised, all the poles thought that Dewey was going to win and started printing papers, but they were wrong. Knew nothing of Manhattan project. passed the Fair Deal-aimed to help the economy and poor people. faced a lot of people who opposed it in the Southern Democrats and the Republicans, most Fair Deal proposals didn't get passed like FDR New Deal. Fair Deal went after Civil Rights, housing, extended social security, expanded minimum wage, education, health, labor, land. Supported Civil Rights-black rights. Desegregated the military, created Truman doctrine-wanted to stop Communism in Turkey and Hungrary. led us through Korean Conflict-fired General MacArthur in Korean Conflict, this made him very unpopular. Marshall plan-helping people rebuild after WWII, passed 22nd amendment, said you could only run for two terms, no more than ten years. ended WWII, dropped atomic bombs. 22% approval rating when left office, but over last 60 years it has improved greatly. Potsdam Conference/Declaraton-German consequences, wanted Japan's surrender or else face destruction. people thought that after WWII we were going back into a depression, and he had to get the economy going still and it boomed. helped organize and later join the United Nations. Took a hard-line stance against communistm and the Soviet Union-Policy of Containment-try to stop communism. Created the Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) and the National Security Council. recongnized Israel as a homeplace for the Jewish people for what happened to them with Hitler. got U.S involved in Vietnam by giving aid to France, Berlin Airlift, NATO established, Chinese Civil War ends, McCathyism, Korean Conflict and firing of Generla Douglass MacArthur.
Dwight Eisenhower- 34th president, two term president. first president to run in all 50 states. ended Korean War, created NASA, Cold War dominated is presidency. Famous WWII general. kept U.S out of war with Soviet Union, people thought he was going to end Cold War. scandal: accused of having an affair with his drive. defeated Stevenson in both elections. inspired confidence and people trusted him. decided to join Republican Party after WWII. Richard Nixonwas his Vice-President. Dominated by the Cold War-Containment Policy. used CIA to do covert-ops to disrupt communist governments abroad(Iran/Guatamala). opened relations with Spain, ended Korean Conflict as promised in his 1952 election campaign, defensive alliances were signed with South Korea and Taiwan. SEATO was formed- alliance with South East Asia to help end communism. increased US involvement in Southeast Asia (Vietnam)- US advisors sent. developed idea that nuclear weapons would be defensive weapones(deterrence). started NASA after Soviet Sputnik launch. US spy plane (U-2) was shot down over USSR. allowed MrCarthy to do his thing but privately did not approve. Eisenhower doctrine that said if a communist country tried to take over middle eastern countries, that we would help aid them. believe in laissez-faire, balanced budget, deported around one millinos illegal immigrants(mostly Mexicans), sent federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to help in the desegregation of all public schools-1954-Brown case. helped pass the Federal-Aid for the Interstate Highway system.
John F. Kennedy- my blog, Courtney L's blog, Cold War Issues dominated JFK's presidency, Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to split Berlin b/c of communist. Bay of Pigs Invasion-1961, invading Cuba. Cuban Missile Crisis. alliance for Progress with Latin America, Kennedy increased the numbers of helicopters, military adivors, and undeclared US Special Forces in the Vietnam. CIA helped the new Ba'ath Party gov't overthrow Communists in Iraq. This new party systematically murdered large #'s of Iraq's educated elite. killings in which Saddam Hussein himself is said to have participated. Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed in 1963- banned tested nuclear weapons above ground. New Frontier-promised federal funding for: education, medical care for elderly, economic aid to rural regions and gov't intervention to halt the recession, and racial discrimination. Peace Corps was established in 1961 where Americans volunteer to help underdeveloped nations in areas such as education, farming, health care, and construction. Signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963, a federal law aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex. worked to get a man on the moon.
Lyndon Johnson-JFK's vice-president. took over as President after JFK was assassinated. from Texas to try to get southern votes. won over 60% for the next election. campaign commercials-Daisy Girl and Ice Cream. Johnson used scared tactics to win. put together the Arren Commission to investigate the JFK assassination, passed Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed most forms of racial segregation, passed voting rights act(1965), which outlawed discrimination in voting, thus allowing millions of southern blacks to vote for the first time. started affirmative action laws forced companies and colleges to hire african americans and other minorities. passed immigration act of 1965 which allowed more non-European people to immigrate to US. Immigration more than doubled between 1965-1970. The Great Society-his plan to aid education, attack disease, Medicare and Medicaid, urban renewal, beautification, conservation, delevopment of depression regions, war on poverty, control and prevention of crime, removal of obstacles to the right to vote. the great society, elementary and secondary education act allowed fed. money for go to public schools. higher education act of 1965 focused on funding for lower income students, economic opportunity act helped start Head Start, food stamps, Work Study, Medicare and Medicaid. Gun Control Act of 1968 regulates the firearms industry and firearms owners. The Vietnam Conflict dominated much of Johnson's presidency, believed in Domino Theory, Gulf of Tonkin Resolution- congress gave Johnson power to wage war in Vietnam as he saw fit.
Richard Nixon- only president to be elected twice to both presidency and vice presidency. on president to reign from office. Vietnam dominated much of his presidency, promised to end war- "Peace with honor" expanded the war to Cambodia and Laosbombing to Ho Chi Minh Trail. Started pulling troops out of Vietnam as promised. The Nixon Doctrine- "Vietnamization" of the war.- pulling our troops out and letting the Vietnam people handle it. Paris Peace Accords signedin 1973 to stop fighting and get out of the war. Enviromental Decade- National Envitomental Policy Act, Clean Air Act, made several acts and agency to help keep the enviroment clean and safe. War on Drug-1971, Supplemental Security Income- provides $ to low-income people who are either aged, blind, disabled, saw large scale integration of schools in south, supported affirmative action, Signed Title IX prohibiting gender discrimination in all federally funded schools, Equal Employment Opportunity Act- enforced laws against the workplace to discriminate. abortion was legalized. US astronauts landed on the moon. Nixon approved the development of NASA's Space Shuttle program. in 1972, Nixon traveled to China where the president was to have direct talks with Mao Zedong and Chou En-lai. this eased relations with the US and China and China(not Taiwan) was recognized as the official China. I n Moscow SALT I was signed, limiting nuclear weapons in Soviet Union. Anti-Bassile Missile Treaty was signed which banned the development of systems designed to intercept incoming missiles. This led to a new era of "peaceful co-existence" and detente with the USSR. 1972 election Nixon won by a blow-out; riged by running against someone who had no chance. supported Israel, lowered the maximum US speed limit to 55 miles per hour to conserve gasolind during the crisis, Nixon took US completely off the gold standard. Watergate- five men were caught breaking into Democratic party headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in D.C. to find dirt on Democratic party. FBI informant gave the info. and told them to "follow the money" Nixon tried to cover up by using the CIA to try to throw off the FBI's investigation.
Gerald Ford- Nixon vice president. took over when nixon resigned. only person to be elected vice president and president without being elected, two attempted assassination within three weeks.Pardoned Nixon-a "corrupt bargain" , offered conditional amnesty program for Vietnam War draft dodgers who had fled to countries such as Canada. "Whip Inflation Now" called for Americans to reduce their spending and consumption in an attempt to stop inflation, education for All Handicapped Children Act(1975) established special education in school throughout the US. continued detente with the USSR, Ford wanted to help South Vietnam when North Vietnam invaded in 1974 but Congress refused, by April 1975, all of Vietnam became communist, Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act was passed to allow refugees to immigrate to the US.
COLD WAR PRESENTATIONS-
Causes of the Cold War- United States v. Soviet Union. Democratics(freedom) v. Communists(controls you). 1945-1990. differences in gov't, US didn't like it and thought that they would try to push communists to us and other countries. Free Trade- we thought that it would be good for us, Soviet Union didn't like it. US thought that Soviet Union wanted to over power us, and they thought we wanted to over power them(rivalry). separting Germany into 4 parts Britain, France, US=West, Soviet Union=East. they didn't know what to do with Europe. tensions between controlling Germany and the gov't there help start the war. Soviet Union didn't like Truman Doctrine- US can help any country that is threatened by communism, or the Marshall Plan- US rebuilding European countries. Atomis Bomb- US and Soviet Union both had nuclear weapons, but agreed not to use them, but intensified the Cold War. Truman didn't like Stalin- he said the only thing Stalin understood was us going to war with him. Red Scare.
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