Post War USA

Immediately after the warImmediately after the war

• What was the world like? (be What was the world like? (be specific)specific)

• Europe?Europe?• Asia?Asia?• Africa?Africa?• South America?South America?• The USA?The USA?

Returning soldiersReturning soldiers• 2/3 of American men were in the 2/3 of American men were in the

militarymilitary• Immediately after the war, they would Immediately after the war, they would

need jobs, homes, etc.need jobs, homes, etc.• Congress passed the Congress passed the GI Bill of RightsGI Bill of Rights

–Helped returning vets to: set up Helped returning vets to: set up farms & businesses, pay for college farms & businesses, pay for college or new homes, paid unemployment.or new homes, paid unemployment. GI Bill continues to help veterans GI Bill continues to help veterans

todaytoday

President Truman• Took over

following FDR’s death

• Won 1948 election (surprise)

• Attempted reforms (Fair Deal), Congress rejected most of them; including a national health care plan.

From this point on, the USA begins to resemble the America you currently

reside in

I like Ike• WWII General

Republican Dwight Eisenhower elected 1952.

• 1st TV campaign• “Middle of the

Road”… used both Republican & Democratic ideas

Eisenhower Administration• Ended Korean War• Cut federal budget• Expanded social security & other New Deal

programs• Sponsored the Civil Rights Bill of 1957

(Congress weakened it… became useless)• Federal Highway Act of 1957 (why we have

the interstate system, why we are so dependant on cars)

• Kept the peace during Cold War madness

Baby Boom• US population grew by 29 million in 1950’s• Why?

– Returning soldiers marrying & having kids– Lower infant mortality

Economic Boom• New technology made workers more

productive• US was manufacturing EVERYTHING• People had jobs, therefore money to buy

things

Spending Spree!• High standard of living• Americans saved less &

spent more

• Cars, appliances, homes, etc.

Moving to the suburbs• William Levitt created first burb in Long William Levitt created first burb in Long

IslandIsland• New development, outside of city, all New development, outside of city, all

houses look the samehouses look the same• No African Americans allowedNo African Americans allowed

Suburbs begin decline of citiesSuburbs begin decline of cities

• Millions move Millions move from cities to from cities to suburbssuburbs

• Thousands of Thousands of business follow business follow people to suburbspeople to suburbs

• Cities lose Cities lose businesses, businesses, populations, taxespopulations, taxes

• Who is left in Who is left in cities?cities?

1950’s culture1950’s culture• Cars… everyone was buying American Cars… everyone was buying American

cars, especially GMcars, especially GM• TV: TV: homogenized homogenized American cultureAmerican culture• Rock n’ Roll: invented sprang from Rock n’ Roll: invented sprang from

African American R & B (ChuckAfrican American R & B (Chuck

Berry, Little Richard)Berry, Little Richard)

later popularized by whitelater popularized by white

Musicians like Musicians like ElvisElvis

““Teenagers” Teenagers” inventedinvented

• Word Word “teenager” “teenager” coined in coined in 1950’s1950’s

• Rock n’ roll Rock n’ roll music & music & culture culture provided provided teens with teens with a way to a way to rebel rebel against against their their parentsparents

The BeatsThe Beats Beatniks rejected new Beatniks rejected new

American culture of American culture of materialism and materialism and homogeny.homogeny.

Writers like Kerouac, Writers like Kerouac, Ginsberg, & Burroughs Ginsberg, & Burroughs wrote poetry & fiction in wrote poetry & fiction in new ways, exploring new ways, exploring the the darker side darker side of of American life & culture American life & culture

Howl

I saw the best minds of my generation

destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked,

dragging themselves through the negro

streets at dawn looking for an angry

fix,

Howl

angelheaded hipsters burning for

the ancient heavenly

connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of

night,

Howl

who poverty and tatters and hollow-

eyed and high sat up smoking in the

supernatural darkness of cold-water flats floating across the

tops of cities contemplating jazz,

Howlwho bared their brains to Heaven under the El and

saw Mohammedan angels staggering on tenement

roofs illuminated, who passed through

universities with radiant cool eyes hallucinating

Arkansas and Blake-light tragedy among the

scholars of war,

Howl

who were expelled from the academies for crazy

& publishing obscene odes on the windows of

the skull, who cowered in

unshaven rooms in underwear, burning their money in wastebaskets

and listening to the Terror through the wall,

Music

• Outside of Rock n’ Roll towering figures in jazz such as Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck emerged in the 1950’s.

The Civil Rights MovementThe Civil Rights Movement

Racial discrimination was a fact of Racial discrimination was a fact of life throughout the country for both life throughout the country for both African Americans and Hispanics.African Americans and Hispanics.

In the North minorities faced housing In the North minorities faced housing and job discriminationand job discrimination

In the South they also faced In the South they also faced segregation (Jim Crow laws). They segregation (Jim Crow laws). They were forced to use inferior facilities were forced to use inferior facilities everywhere they went.everywhere they went.

SegregationSegregation• In 1896 the In 1896 the

Supreme Supreme Court ruled Court ruled that that segregation segregation was legal in was legal in the Plessy v. the Plessy v. Ferguson Ferguson casecase

• ““Separate Separate but equal”but equal”

Even baseball was segregated

1947; Jackie Robinson

• Born in Georgia to a family of Born in Georgia to a family of sharecroppers, Robinson sharecroppers, Robinson became the first African became the first African American in MLB since 1889.American in MLB since 1889.

• Played for the Brooklyn Played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, for years he Dodgers, for years he endured open hostility from endured open hostility from fans & teammatesfans & teammates

• He won NL Rookie of the yearHe won NL Rookie of the year• In 1997 his number was In 1997 his number was

retired throughout MLBretired throughout MLB

1948; The military integrates1948; The military integrates

• In 1948, In 1948, President President Truman ordered Truman ordered that the military that the military be integrated.be integrated.

• The Korean War The Korean War was the first war was the first war fought with an fought with an integrated integrated military.military.

1954; Brown v. Board of Education1954; Brown v. Board of Education

The Supreme Court combined The Supreme Court combined five cases under the heading of five cases under the heading of BrownBrown v. Board of Education, v. Board of Education, because each case was about because each case was about desegregating schoolsdesegregating schools

The NAACP helped to bring the The NAACP helped to bring the lawsuits to the Supreme Court lawsuits to the Supreme Court

The DecisionThe Decision Chief Justice Earl Warren worked diligently to Chief Justice Earl Warren worked diligently to

make sure that the Supreme Court’s decision make sure that the Supreme Court’s decision was was unanimousunanimous

Separate but equal was declared Separate but equal was declared unconstitutional on the basis of the 14unconstitutional on the basis of the 14thth amendment.amendment.

- - ““We conclude that in the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are always unequal.”We conclude that in the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are always unequal.”

• Between 1882-1968

3,446 African Americans

were lynched

Lynching

Strange Fruit– Southern trees bear strange fruit,Southern trees bear strange fruit,

– Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,– Black body swinging in the Southern breeze,Black body swinging in the Southern breeze,– Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

– Pastoral scene of the gallant South,Pastoral scene of the gallant South,– The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,

– Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh,Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh,– Then the sudden smell of burning flesh!Then the sudden smell of burning flesh!

– Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,– For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,

– For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,– Here is a strange and bitter crop.Here is a strange and bitter crop.

1955; Emmett Till lynched• 14 year old

Emmett Till was kidnapped & brutally murdered for whistling at a white woman. Two men were arrested, then acquitted by an all-white jury.

Emmett Till• A 14 year old African American

boy from Chicago went to the small town of Money Mississippi to visit relatives

• He and his cousins stopped at a white-owned grocery for refreshments

• Emmett whistled at the store-owner’s wife

• Several days later he was kidnapped and murdered

The Murder• Roy Bryant (the storeowner) & his Roy Bryant (the storeowner) & his

brother-in-law J.W. Milam kidnapped brother-in-law J.W. Milam kidnapped Emmett from his uncle’s home.Emmett from his uncle’s home.

• They took him to a barn, beat him They took him to a barn, beat him brutally, took him to the edge of the brutally, took him to the edge of the Tallahatchie River, shot him, then Tallahatchie River, shot him, then fastened a large metal fan from a fastened a large metal fan from a cotton gin to the child with barbed cotton gin to the child with barbed wire, and sunk him in the river.wire, and sunk him in the river.

The Trial• Milam and Bryant were acquitted by an all-white jury of murdering Emmett Till after the jury deliberated only 67 minutes. One juror told a reporter that they wouldn't have taken so long if they hadn't stopped to drink pop. Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam stood before photographers, lit up cigars and kissed their wives in celebration of the not guilty verdict.

• The killers were never brought to justice, both died of cancer

Outrage• Jet magazine, the

nationwide black magazine owned by Chicago-based Johnson Publications, published photographs of Till's mutilated corpse, shocking and outraging African Americans from coast to coast.

Why was this lynching important?

• The case’s injustice and publicity shocked the nation and inspired many to join the Civil Rights cause.

1955; Rosa Parks• Montgomery, AL: NAACP activist, Rosa Parks refused give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger.

• She violated a city ordinance and the bus driver had her arrested.

• Her arrest sparked a successful boycott of the Montgomery busses led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Montgomery bus boycottMontgomery bus boycott

• Led by MLK, African Americans refused to ride busses for over a year

• They used carpools or walked to work• They were threatened by police and

others• King’s home was bombed• Supreme Court ruled bus segregation

illegal• Boycott launched civil rights movement &

proved success of non-violent protest

1957, Desegregation in Arkansas• AK governor Orval Faubus refused to

desegregate AK schools• He used AK national Guard (state’s rights)

to stop African American students from attending Little Rock High

• Eisenhower called in federal troops to force Eisenhower called in federal troops to force desegregation of schooldesegregation of school

• ““Little Rock Nine” first African American Little Rock Nine” first African American students at the high schoolstudents at the high school

• They faced violent discrimination, but They faced violent discrimination, but graduatedgraduated

1960, Woolworth’s Sit-in

• On February 1, 1960, four African American college students sat down at a lunch counter at Woolworth’s in Greensboro, NC, and politely asked for service.

• Their request was refused. When asked to leave, they remained in their seats. Their peaceful sit-down demand helped ignite a youth-led movement to challenge the Jim Crow South.

1960, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee formed

• In October, 1960, students involved in these sit-ins held a conference and established the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). The organization adopted the Gandhian theory of nonviolent direct action. This included participation in the Freedom Rides during 1961.

1961, Freedom Rides Begin1961, Freedom Rides Begin• During the Freedom Rides, SNCC members During the Freedom Rides, SNCC members

rode buses through the deep where rode buses through the deep where discrimination and segregation were most discrimination and segregation were most prominent. prominent.

• Their goals: organize sit-ins and protests Their goals: organize sit-ins and protests against segregation and to register African against segregation and to register African American votersAmerican voters

• Many southern whites were opposed to this Many southern whites were opposed to this “interference”“interference”

• The freedom riders faced violence and The freedom riders faced violence and several were murdered. several were murdered.

Murder!Murder!

• On June 21, 1964, three young civil On June 21, 1964, three young civil rights workers—a 21-year-old rights workers—a 21-year-old black Mississippian, James black Mississippian, James Chaney, and two white New Chaney, and two white New Yorkers, Andrew Goodman, 20, Yorkers, Andrew Goodman, 20, and Michael Schwerner, 24—were and Michael Schwerner, 24—were murdered near Philadelphia, in murdered near Philadelphia, in Nashoba County, Mississippi. Nashoba County, Mississippi. They had been working to register They had been working to register black voters in Mississippi during black voters in Mississippi during Freedom Summer and had gone to Freedom Summer and had gone to investigate the burning of a black investigate the burning of a black church. They were arrested by the church. They were arrested by the police on trumped-up charges, police on trumped-up charges, imprisoned for several hours, and imprisoned for several hours, and then released after dark into the then released after dark into the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, who hands of the Ku Klux Klan, who beat and murdered them. beat and murdered them.

1963, March on Washington• 250,000 people marched to promote Civil

Rights and economic equality for African Americans. Participants walked down Constitution and Independence avenues, then — 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed — gathered before the Lincoln Monument for speeches, songs, and prayer. Televised live to an audience of millions, the march provided dramatic moments, most memorably the Rev. Martin Luther King’s "I Have a Dream" speech.

• 1 year later MLK won Nobel Peace Prize

1965, Murder at 161965, Murder at 16 thth St Baptist Church St Baptist Church

• Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham was used as a meeting-place Birmingham was used as a meeting-place for civil rights leaders for civil rights leaders

• On Sunday, 15th September, at 10.22 a.m., a On Sunday, 15th September, at 10.22 a.m., a bomb exploded killing Denise McNair (11), bomb exploded killing Denise McNair (11), Addie Mae Collins (14), Carole Robertson Addie Mae Collins (14), Carole Robertson (14) and Cynthia Wesley (14). The four girls (14) and Cynthia Wesley (14). The four girls had been attending Sunday school classes had been attending Sunday school classes at the church. Twenty-three other people at the church. Twenty-three other people were also hurt by the blast.were also hurt by the blast.

The Victims

Some measure of justice… eventually• It was more than a decade before state authorities

took action. Then Attorney General Bill Baxley charged Klan leader Robert "Dynamite Bob" Chambliss with murder. In 1977, he was convicted.

• Chambliss died in jail, never publicly admitting to the bombing. Baxley left office before he could pursue charges against Chambliss' suspected accomplices. One of them has since died.

• Thirty-eight years after the bombing, Thomas Blanton Jr. was finally convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. A year later, in May 2002, Bobby Frank Cherry was also found guilty for the deaths of the four girls, and given a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

1964, 24 th Amendment

• On January 23, 1964, the United States ratified the 24th Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting any poll tax in elections for federal officials

Civil Rights Act of 1964• This act, signed into law

by President Lyndon Johnson on July 2, 1964, prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal. This document was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction.

1965, Malcolm X Murdered

• Assassinated at his Harlem mosque. Nation of Islam suspected

1965, Selma, AL Bloody Sunday• Blacks begin a march to Montgomery in Blacks begin a march to Montgomery in

support of voting rights but are stopped at support of voting rights but are stopped at the Pettus Bridge by a police blockade. Fifty the Pettus Bridge by a police blockade. Fifty marchers are hospitalized after police use marchers are hospitalized after police use tear gas, whips, and clubs against them. tear gas, whips, and clubs against them. The incident is dubbed "Bloody Sunday" by The incident is dubbed "Bloody Sunday" by the media. The march is helps to push the media. The march is helps to push through the voting rights act five months through the voting rights act five months later. later.

1965, The Voting Rights Act1965, The Voting Rights Act• Literacy Literacy

tests, poll tests, poll taxes, and taxes, and other such other such requirements requirements that were that were used to used to restrict black restrict black voting are voting are made illegal.made illegal.

1966, Black Panther Party Formed• Oakland, CA by Huey Newton & Bobby Seale

– 1. We wont freedom We want power to determine the destiny of our Black Community.

– 2. We want full employment for our people. – 3. We want an end to the robbery by the white man of our Black Community – 4. We want decent housing, fit for shelter of human beings. – 5. We want education far our people that exposes the true nature of this

decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present-day society.

– 6. We want all black men to be exempt from military service.– 7. We want an immediate end to POLICE BRUTALITY and MURDER of black

people. – 8. We want freedom for all black men held in federal, state, county and city

prisons and jails. – 9. We want all black people when brought to trial to be tried in court by a jury of

their peer group or people from their black communities, as defined by the Constitution of the United States.

– 10. We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace. And as our major political objective, a United Nations-supervised plebiscite to be held throughout the black colony in which only black colonial subjects will be allowed to participate, for the purpose of determining the will of black people as to their national destiny.

Black Power

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. AssassinatedRev. Martin Luther King Jr. Assassinated

• King Killed, James Earl Ray is King Killed, James Earl Ray is convicted of his murder. convicted of his murder. Five Five days of race riots erupted in days of race riots erupted in Washington, D.C. following Washington, D.C. following the April 4, 1968 the April 4, 1968 assassination. Civil unrest assassination. Civil unrest affected at least 110 U.S. affected at least 110 U.S. cities; Washington, along with cities; Washington, along with Chicago and Baltimore, were Chicago and Baltimore, were among the most affected.among the most affected.

The 1968 Civil Rights Act Passed

• Civil Rights Act Civil Rights Act 1968; prohibiting 1968; prohibiting discrimination in discrimination in the sale, rental, the sale, rental, and financing of and financing of housing. housing.