1945-1980

6 Things to Know about Period 8

1. The United States positioned itself as a global leader. The Cold War, an escalating struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union, defined this period. Fearing the expansion of communism, the United States got involved in two major military engagements in Korea and Vietnam.

2. Initially, there was major American support for an anti-communist foreign policy. As the war in Vietnam dragged on, however, mass antiwar protests broke out across the United States. Passionate debates over war in southeast Asia, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the power of the executive branch were all central to the politics of this period.

3. Civil rights activists energized a new nationwide movement for racial progress. Martin Luther King Jr. used the strategies of nonviolent protests, direct action, and legal battles. The landmark Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education (1954) was a significant achievement for civil rights activists, but progress was slow and resistance was high.

4. Spurred by the civil rights movement, other social movements advocated their causes. Debates raged over issues such as sexuality, gender, the environment, and economic equality, and the counterculture of the 1960s emerged.

5. In the 1960s, President Johnson’s Great Society program attempted to use the power of the federal government to eliminate poverty, end racial discrimination, and promote social justice. Fearing a cultural and moral decline, conservatives challenged such actions and sought to limit the role of the federal government.

6. In the 1970s, the public grew increasingly distrustful of the government’s ability to solve problems. This distrust reached a peak with the Watergate scandal, the stalemate in Vietnam, and President Nixon’s resignation from office.