Bailey, Kennedy & Cohen: chs. 38 (894-906), 40-43

WWW: Hiroshima/Nagasaki readings, NSC-68, McCarthy speech, JFK inaugural, Schwartz on communists, MLK: "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," Black Panther platform, Vietnam Era readings, Nixon: ‘silent majority" speech, SDI reading

On library reserve: Betty Friedan, Feminine Mystique (excerpt)

- World War II: Ending, defeat of Axis, US homefront, Atomic bombs dropped & the end of the war: facts, debate & ongoing controversy

- early Cold War: sig. of Yalta, post-war Europe, "domino" and containment theories, 1949 and beyond: atomic weapons race, formation of NATO, Korea, McCarthyism - connection to age of consensus (?):

- American society: 1945-1963: age of consensus (?), economic prosperity, baby boom generation, cultural conformity, space race begins (Sputnik, 1957) - "Pax Americana" - does this fit? JFK and early 1960's: "New Frontier," message of activism, media president for a new era-appeal to American youth, Cold War tensions: Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crises

- African-American Civil Rights: 1954-1968: Brown vs. Bd. of Ed., 1954, Montgomery-1955, school, social integration battles, 1957-1964, leadership/philosophy of MLK, Little Rock, Eisenhower/JFK approaches, resistance by pro-segregation forces, SNCC, Civil Rights Act, 1964, 24th amendment, Voting Rights Act, 1965, mid-1960's: rise of black separatism: Black Power, violence, resentment of mid-1960's, legacies?

- Vietnam War Era (1964-1973): beg. of American intervention, origins of Ho Chi Minh and Vietnamese communists/nationalists, Cold War connection: effects of Vietnam partition, Diem regime in S. Vietnam (1954-1963), rising American support for the war, Gulf of Tonkin affair & res.- rapid escalation of effort under LBJ: 1964-1968, difficulties w/progress of war, growing opposition at home, – alternative war "theories - LBJ downfall, Nixon & "Vietnamization":1969-1973, invasion of Cambodia, cease-fire, 1973, fall of Saigon, 1975 - legacies?, decade of discontent: anti-war movement, activism: feminist movement: Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinam & NOW, empowerment of youth? a politicized society?"

- 1970's: Watergate and domestic politics: Ford, Carter rise, problems of Carter administration: foreign affairs: Nixon-détente, est. relationship w/China society, Carter & human rights, camp David, Iran/hostage crises, society: oil crisis & "stagflation," 'me decade,' modern immigration (Asian & Latin American)

- 1980's-Reagan Era: New Right & "Reagan Revolution:" economic expansion -

reaction against 60's values - resumption of full-scale Cold War, income polarization, increasing drug use - "crack" epidemic & AIDS crisis are major social issues by late '80's, Iran-Contra scandal plagues Reagan administration - "yuppie" culture

1.Explain the connections between the Civil Rights movement (1955-1965) & the activism of the Vietnam era. What were key methods, themes and issues? How were these successful or unsuccessful? In your opinion, what are the most significant lessons from the era?

2.How did Cold War captivate Americans between 1945 and 1990? What were key issues, events, circumstances, controversies, etc.? Was the Cold War justified? Explain.

3.Explain the short and long-term significance of the Vietnam War. What were its causes? Outcomes? What were key aspects, events, strategies, etc. in the military operations of the war? Why does it continue to bring about strong emotions to Americans, 30 years after the fact? Are there any lessons, etc. that Americans should have learned from the experience?