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The Cold War Americas conflicts with the Soviet Union (USSR) after WWII The United States sent troops all over the world to fight during WWII. They stuck around after the fighting was over when they and their allies had won the war in 1945. After WWII, the United States had troops and military bases all over the world. 1. Describe where some U.S. military personnel and bases were after WWII. The US claimed they needed to keep US military troops around the globe to defend the world from dictators like the ones they defeated in WWII. The new enemy after the war was Communism. The USSR (Soviet Union) led these countries and also stationed troops and helped out Communist movements around the globe. 2. After the Fascists were eliminated after WWII, who became the new enemy? 3. What was the USSR doing around the globe that was similar to what the U.S. was doing? Communism in Theory and Practice 4. Why would people in places like China support Communism? 5. What was a Communist country really like? In theory, communism was a system in which all the workers would take control of the businesses and run them so that everyone was treated fairly, got a good wage, and no one got rich off the work of others. In practice, Communist Party leaders took control of the government, denied people’s rights and freedoms, and controlled businesses as well as many other parts of the society. The U.S. government gave money and military support to many brutal, murderous dictators in the name of fighting Communism. U.S. leaders believed a country would be able to develop into a democracy over time. But if it got taken over by Communists, then it would never become democratic. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was involved in killings and other bad deeds in the name of fighting Communism. 6- Why did the US support dictators? 7- What were American leaders hoping would happen in these countries? American leaders claimed that an anti-Communist dictator was better than a Communist dictator. They could help create a capitalist, market economy. American companies could do well and profit in such a country. This would create jobs and money for people in the country as well. In the long run, Americans believed a capitalist economy would lead to a democratic political system. The US supported Chile’s General Pinochet taking over the government from democratically officials who were suspected of supporting Communism 8. What economic reasons did Americans have for supporting dictators? 9. Which political and economic systems fit together, according to American leaders? The US military was involved in two major wars after WWII up to the Gulf War in 1991. The first one was the Korean War (1950-53). US leaders supported this war as an effort to stop the spread of communism. Many American troops died as well as many Koreans. China had already become Communist in 1948 and U.S. leaders were afraid other countries would fall to Communism in a “Domino Effect.” 10. Why did the U.S. fight in Korea? 11. What did people mean by the “Domino Effect”? G.I. Bill After WWII, many soldiers and other military personnel benefited from this law. It provided funding for education and allowed many of them to go to college. For many of the people who came from working-class and farming backgrounds they were the first in their families to get a higher education degree and enter the middle class. 12. What service did the GI Bill provide for military veterans? 13. What effect did it have on these people and their lives? African Americans after WWII African Americans began moving to the cities in large numbers during WWI, and this trend greatly increased during and after WWII. In 1900 most blacks lived in rural areas and farmed. By the 1970s most blacks lived in cities. Their WWII experiencesmoving to cities and to the North, getting better paying jobs, getting out of the South, and fighting in the waralso led more African Americans to fight for their rights. 14. What demographic shift was occurring in black America after WWII? 15. How did WWII influence the struggle for equality? The Civil Rights Movement Rosa Parks' refusal to move to the back of the bus sparked the Montgomery bus boycott and the larger Civil Rights Movement. The movement was led by black Christians but included people from all races and religions. The horrific murder of Emmett Till caused Americans to see the brutal, murderous side of segregation. 16. What strategies did activists use to make changes to segregation? 17. What actions did President LBJ do in response to the movement? 1963 March on Washington Lunch counter sit-ins After protests, boycotts, and sit-ins, LBJ signed into law the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. LBJ also enacted Great Society legislation that helped out poor people with jobs and economic assistance. MAJOR WARS - Vietnam The US military was involved in another major war after WWII and that was the Vietnam War (1960s to 1973) in Southeast Asia. 18. Where was the other major war during the Cold War? Many American troops died as well as many Vietnamese (estimates are in the millions of dead Vietnamese). Both sides were involved in horrible fighting conditions. The television media covered the war, including atrocities like the My Lai Massacre, and many Americans began to turn against it. 19. Why did some Americans turn against support for another war against Communism? The My Lai massacre where Vietnamese civilians were killed. The war in Vietnam dragged on and thousands of US troops died. Images of a losing war effort were on television all the time. And when the US started drafting more young men, especially college aged men, protests against the war increased. Protests at the 1968 Democratic Convention 20. What caused many young people to protest the war? CBS’s Dan Rather reporting from Vietnam A student protestor at Kent State shot dead by the Ohio National Guard (1970) The Women’s Movement Although women had gained the right to vote in 1920, they still faced prejudice and discrimination in the schools and workplaces of America. Some women’s rights activists, or feminists, also pushed for social equality and advocated for things like men taking a larger role in raising children and greater opportunities for girls in public school sports programs. One victory in 1972 was Title IX (an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964) which outlawed discrimination in education and school programs. Women’s and girl’s participation in sports and entry into colleges has increased dramatically since then. 21. What forms of discrimination did women face in 1960s and 1970s? 22. What led to women having more opportunities in sports programs?