Cold War: 1960s in America & the

World
& the Civil
Rights
Movement
SSUSH20-25

Bell Work
If you could travel back to any time
period in U.S. History which would it
be and why?

Election of 1960
1st televised presidential debates
in history
Closest in U.S. History since 1884
(Grover Cleveland)
Kennedy won by fewer than 119,000
votes

Kennedys inauguration set the

tone for a new era in the White
House Camelot Years
And so, my fellow Americans, ask
not what your country can do for
youask what you can do for your
country
Jacqueline Kennedy (his wife);
Caroline & John Jr. (children)

Cuban Revolution
First test of Kennedys foreign policy came in
Cubajust 90 miles off the coast of Florida
Jan. 3, 1961 About 2 weeks before Kennedy
became president, Pres. Eisenhower cut off
diplomatic relations w/ Cuba b/c of
revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro
Castro openly declared himself a communist
& became allies with the Soviet Union
Background Info:
Castro had taken over the Cuban govt (19561959) using guerilla soldiers from dictator
Fulgencio Batista
U.S. recognized the new Cuban govt, but was
very suspicious of Castros intentions

Bay of Pigs
After realizing that Castro had become a Communist, U.S.
began planning for the overthrow of Castros govt
March 1960 Pres. Eisenhower had given the CIA
permission to secretly train Cuban exiles for an invasion of
Cuba
CIA & Cuban exiles hoped it would trigger a mass uprising
that would overthrow Castro
Kennedy learned of the plan only 9 days after his election
although he had doubts, he approved it
April 5, 1961 Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs,
but were crushed by the Cuban Army & Air Force
Some of the invading exiles were killed & others imprisoned
Captured exiles revealed the U.S. support for this invasion

Castro turned to the Soviet Union for military & economic

support
Soviet Union saw Castros request for help as a way to
expand the Cold War into the western hemisphere
Kennedy negotiated w/ Castro for the release of surviving
imprisoned soldiers & paid $53 million in food & medical
supplies
Big disaster & embarrassment for Pres. Kennedy & his
administration

http://www.history.c
om/topics/cold-war/c
uban-missile-crisis/
videos/bay-of-pigs-c
ias-perfect-failure?
m=528e394da93ae&s
defined&f=1&free=fal
se

Cuban Missile Crisis

U.S.-Cuban relations were further worsened when Castro allowed medium-range
nuclear missiles to be installed on Cuba
During the summer of 1962 Soviets brought over more nuclear weapons to
Cuba
Pres. Kennedy responded w/ a warning that the U.S. would not tolerate nuclear
missiles on Cuba
Oct. 14, 1962 U.S. spy planes took pictures of Soviet missiles on Cuba
Oct. 22, 1962 Pres. Kennedy informed the American people of the existence
of Soviet missile sites in Cuba & of his plans to remove them
Kennedy made it clear that any missile attack from Cuba would trigger an all-out attack
on the Soviet Union by the U.S.

For the next 6 days, the world faced the terrifying possibility of nuclear war
In the Atlantic Ocean, Soviet ships (carrying more missiles) headed toward Cuba
U.S. had set up a naval blockade to stop these ships from reaching Cuba
100,000 troops waited in Florida just in case they were needed for an invasion of
Cuba
Soviet ships stopped suddenly to avoid a confrontation at sea
Few days later, Khrushchev said he would remove the missiles from Cuba if in
return the U.S. pledged not to invade Cubaand if the U.S. would remove their
https://www.youtube.com/wa
missiles in Turkey
tch?v=H5ZzL9KsyPY
Both countries agreed and the crisis ended!

Berlin Wall
1961 Nikita Khrushchev
ordered the Berlin Wall to be
built to stop the flow of refugees
from East Berlin to West Berlin
11 yrs since the Berlin Airlift
almost 3 million East Germans
(20% of countrys
population)had fled into West
Berlin b/c it was free from
Communist rule
http://
www.history.com/topics/cold-war/be
rlin-wall

Kennedy Assassinated
Pres. Kennedy was
assassinated in Dallas,
Texas on Nov. 22, 1963
Lee Harvey Oswald
assassin
Many Americans
mourned the loss of
Pres. Kennedy for years
Vice-President Lyndon
http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/jo
B. Johnson became
hn-f-kennedy/videos/john-f-kennedy-assassinate
d president

President Johnson: The Great Society

When Johnson became president he launched a program called
the
Great Society
Johnson hoped to attack the problem of poverty in the U.S.
The Great Society:
War on Poverty 40 programs intended to eliminate poverty by
improving living conditions & enabling people to end the cycle of
poverty
Education 60 separate bills that provided for new & better-equipped
classrooms, minority scholarships, & low-interest student loans
Medicare guaranteed health care to every American over 65 yrs. old
Medicaid provided health care assistance to the poor
Environment introduced ways to help clean air & water
National Endowment for the Arts & the Humanities helped the
Fine Artsbelieved artists, performers, & writers are a priceless part of
our country
Job Corps provided job training for young men & women
Head Start program for 4 & 5-yr old children from disadvantaged
families--gave them a chance to start school early so they would be on
the same level as other children in kindergarten

Civil Rights Movement

1950s-1960s

Integration of the
Military
July 1948 Pres. Truman
signed an
executive order ending segregation in the
military
Integration in the military didnt fully happen
until the Korean War
3 Reasons for Integration in the Military:
1. Growing recognition that segregation went
against U.S.s attitude during the Cold War
2. Wanted to reduce racial tensions within the
military
3. Manpower needed during the Korean War

Integration helped to break down stereotypes

As the Civil Rights movement intensified in
the mid-1950s, many Americans had
developed relationships with other races

Integration in the
Federal Govt

In response to pressure from A. Philip

Randolph (remember him!), Pres.
Roosevelt had ended discrimination on govt
contracted jobs
Next, Pres. Truman banned racial
discrimination in the hiring of federal
employees
Pres. Eisenhower issued an executive order
that required enforcement of no
discrimination in federal jobs
Laterwe will see the Civil Rights Act of
1964 finally stops discrimination in ANY job

Integration in Sports
Sports were the first area for integration
(before the military)
No rule in baseball that required segregated
teams
However, White & African American baseball players
had their own leagues & did not play each other

Mid-1940s began de-segregation in

baseball
Branch Rickey (Brooklyn Dodgers GM)decided to
break the color line in baseball by recruiting an
outstanding Afr. Amer. player
1946 Jackie RobinsonGeorgia nativejoined
the Brooklyn Dodgers after playing for one season
on the Dodgers Montreal farm teamhe became
the 1st Afr. Amer. player in Major League baseball
he becomes the pioneer for later Afr. Amer. baseball
players, like Hank AaronGo Braves!

Southern Christian Leadership

Conference (SCLC)
SCLC grew out of the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott
After forcing an end to discriminatory practices in
Montgomery, other groups followed the same methods to
end segregation of buses
January 1957 Groups met in Atlanta & formed what
became the SCLC
Led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Goal use non-violent protests against discrimination &
segregation
SCLC members well-educated, middle-class Afr.
Americans
Used several different tactics to fight segregation:
Filed class-action law suits against state & local govts for failing
to end segregation
Non-violent civil disobedience actions (sit-ins, boycotts, mass
rallies, & marches)

Student Non-Violent Coordinating

Committee (SNCC)
Grew out of the impromptu sit-in
movement in Greensboro, NC
Afr. Amer. students staged sit-ins at the lunch
counters in the whites only dining sections

Created an organized movement

composed primarily of students who
would systematically challenge the
legality of segregationist laws of the South
Organized sit-ins across the South
Freedom Rides to test the new federal
laws that outlawed discrimination on
interstate bus lines
Initiated the 1963 March on Washington

School Integration:
Brown vs. BOE
Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896) ruled that
separate but equal was the law of the U.S.
In practice this meant that many states had created
2 systems of public accommodationsone White
only, one Black only

1951 Linda Browns dad challenged

segregation by suing the local school board
Linda attended the Afr. Amer. elementary
school
Walked 1 mileeven though the closest elementary
school (white only) was only 7 blocks away

NAACP took on the case

1954 Supreme Court unanimously ruled
separate but equal was not legal in public
schools & that separate facilities were not
equal

 Problem no timeline for desegregation

was issuedso school systems were slow
to de-segregate
Southern states organized the Massive
Resistance movement
shut down state education systems rather
than integrate the schools

http://
www.history.com/topics/black-history/civ
il-rights-movement/videos/separate-but-n
ot-equal?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&
&free=false

Little Rock Nine (1957)

Little Rock, Arkansas
Gov. Orval Faubus attempted to
use the National Guard to block
integration at Central High
School
Pres. Eisenhower responded by
federalizing the Guard &
moving units of the 101st
Airborne into Little Rock to
enforce the law
Faubus countered by closing
Little Rocks schools for a yr!

Letter from a
Birmingham
Jail
April 1963 Civil Rights movement

was focused on ending segregation in

downtown Birmingham, Alabama
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been
arrested for violating a city ordinance
that banned sit-ins
While in jail, Alabama clergy wrote
many letters to Dr. King pleading with
him to end the protests
Kings response (the letter) ultimately
became a key document in the Civil
Rights movement
Kings letter defended the non-violent
methods being used to attack racism

I Have a Dream
Speech
Summer of 1963 leaders
of the Civil Rights
Movement decided to imitate A. Philip Randolphs
planned 1941 March on Washington
Many civil rights organizations were marching in
support of Kennedys proposed civil rights legislation
then before Congress
Aug. 28, 1963 The March on Washington for Jobs &
Freedom (as it is officially known)
Largest demonstration for civil rights in U.S. history
Various civil rights organizations & their leaders
spoke before the Lincoln Memorial, including MLK, Jr.
Kings 17-min speech, I Have a Dream, called forth
an ideal in which racism & prejudice would end & all
races could live in harmony with one another
http://
www.history.com/topics/black-history/jackie-robinso
n/videos/martin-luther-king-jr-leads-the-march-on-w
ashington?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=fals
e

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Outlawed major forms of
discrimination against Afr. Amer.
& women, including racial
segregation
Ended
unequal voter registration
requirements
racial segregation of schools,
workplace, & public facilities
(restaurants, bathrooms, etc.)

Later included no discrimination

in the private work place & wage
discrimination against women

Voting Rights Act of

1965
Ended the practice of literacy tests as a

qualification to vote
Required the federal govt to oversee
elections in the southern states
Also ended the discrimination of Afr.
Amer. to pay a poll tax to vote

Impact of TV on Civil Rights Movement

Nightly television news provided
a regular reminder of the ongoing struggle for civil rights in
the South
Civil Rights leaders used media
coverage to highlight their issues
News footage of attack dogs
biting demonstrators or fire
hoses blasting children caused
many Americans to question the
fairness of segregation laws
Kings I Have a Dream speech
was broadcast live to nationwide audiences in 1963

Warren Court Decisions

1950s & 1960s U.S. Supreme Court
was headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren
known as the Warren Court

Court ruled on many cases that

expanded peoples civil rights & civil
liberties
Famous Court Cases:
1954Brown vs. BOE (segregation in
public schools is unconstitutional)
1963Miranda vs. Arizona (police must
read suspects rights to them when
arrested)
1963Gideon vs. Wainwright (right to
have an attorney even if he/she cannot
afford one)

 Other Key Decisions

from the Warren
Court:
Civil Rights Act of 1964 &
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Overturned state laws that
were discriminatory by
applying the 13th
(abolishment of slavery) &
14th (citizenship to Afr.
Amer.) amendments to the
statesesp. laws against
inter-racial marriage
Struck down state laws