USA 1929-2000
Paul Bourke
United States of America 1929 to 2000 Wall Street Crash of 1929 and aftermath The strength of America’s economy in the 1920′s came to a sudden end in October 1929 – even if the signs of problems had existed before the Wall Street Crash. Suddenly the ‘glamour’ of the Jazz Age and gangsters disappeared and America was faced with a major crisis that was to impact countries as far away as Weimar Germany – a nation that had built up her economy on American loans. The huge wealth that appeared to exist in America in the 1920’s was an illusion. For example the African Americans and the farmers had not benefited in the Jazz Age but neither had 60% of the whole population as it is estimated that a family needed a basic minimum of $2,000 a year to live (about £440) and 60% of US families earned less than this. Almost certainly some of the 60% included those who had gambled some money on Wall Street and could least afford to lose it in the crash of October ‘29. The very rich lost money on Wall Street but they could just about afford it. But the vast bulk could not afford any loss of money. This had a very important economic impact as these people could no longer afford to spend money and therefore did not buy consumer products. Therefore as there was no buying, shops went bust and factories had no reason to employ people who were making products that
were not being sold. Therefore unemployment became a major issue. The depression took a while to get going but by the winter of 1932 it was at its worse. The impact of the Wall Street Crash: 1) 12 million people out of work 2) 12,000 people being made unemployed every day 3) 20,000 companies had gone bankrupt 4) 1616 banks had gone bankrupt 5) 1 farmer in 20 evicted 6) 23,000 people committed suicide in one year – the highest ever There was no system of benefit for the unemployed. Charities such as the Salvation Army gave out free food and shelter. It is known that some people actually starved to death. In some states men deliberately set fire to forests to get temporary employment as fire fighters while farmers killed their animals as no-one could afford to buy them in the cities despite there being great hunger there. What did the government do? The president was a Republican, Herbert Hoover. He believed that if you were in trouble you should help yourself and not expect others to help you. This he called “rugged individualism”. Therefore he did not do a great deal to help those out of work. Hoover – “It is not the function of the government to relieve individuals of their responsibilities to their neighbours, or to relieve private institutions of their responsibilities to the public.” Hoover did not believe that the depression would last – “Prosperity is just around the corner” is what he said to businessmen in 1932 when things were just about at their worst. Squalid cardboard campsites were created in cities to live in…called “Hoovervilles”. The nick-name of the soup given out by charities for the unemployed was “Hoover stew”. However, Hoover did do some good. Money was used to create jobs to build things such as the Hoover Dam. In 1932 he gave $300 million to the states to help the unemployed (Emergency Relief and Reconstruction Act) but it had little impact as states run by the Republicans believed in “rugged individualism” more than Hoover did and they used only $30 million of the money offered to them. Many saw Hoover’s attempts as being “too little too late”. In the November 1932 election, Hoover was heavily defeated by the Democrat candidate. This man had promised the American public a “New Deal”. His name was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Thirteen years of Republican rule had come to an end.
The Great Depression
Caused by the ‘Wall Street Crash’ of 1929
Affected the USA and every country that traded with it (much of Europe was badly affected) – Germany was particularly badly hit because of the ‘Dawes plan’ they had borrowed lots of money from the US to pay back reparations after the first world war – the wall st crash meant that they had to pay back America much sooner than they had thought.
As a result of the Wall Street Crash unemployment in the US went from 1.6 million in 1929 to 14 million in 1933
In 1931 238 people were admitted to hospital in New York suffering from malnutrition or starvation and 45 of them died.
Shanty towns built up outside all the big cities
People were forced to travel around to try to find work – they just had to live wherever they could, often in shacks and makeshift houses
Over-farming, drought and poor conservation turned farmland into desert
Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin D Roosevelt Hoover was regarded as a ‘do nothing’ president. This was mainly because he did nothing to help people cope with the effects of the great depression. He believed, as did most Republicans, that the federal government shouldn’t interfere with people’s lives. He thought that the economy naturally went in cycles of boom and bust and that intervention would mean people became dependent on help rather than try to help themselves. Hi reputation was damaged in 1932 when he badly mismanaged a situation. Thousands of veterans (soldiers who had fought in the First World War) peacefully protested outside the White House to demand the war bonuses they had been promised. Hoover refused to come out to speak to them and instead sent out his trusted General Douglass Macarthur to deal with them. MacArthur got it into his head that they were all communists and so tear gassed them and burned their camps. Hoover refused to admit that this action had been a mistake/failure and publicly said that he ‘thanked god’ that the US still knew how to deal with a mob! Needless to say this made him extremely unpopular!
Roosevelt believed in ‘active government’ where the federal (Central) government played a par in people’s daily lives
He also asked a range of experts such as factory owners, union leaders and economists for their input and advice on policy making
He spent government money on getting people into employment.
He went on a tour around the country to get extra support and won by 7 million votes – a ‘landslide’ victory
New Deal Focused on:
Getting Americans back to work
Getting US industry and agriculture back on their feet
Providing relief for the sick, elderly and unemployed
Protecting people’s savings and property In the first 100 days of his presidency, Roosevelt passed many acts and laws to try to achieve the aims of the ‘New Deal’ generally he was seen to be actively trying to solve the problems created by the depression. His acts and new agencies included the Emergency Banking Act (closed banks then reopened a select group of them) and the Securities Exchange Commission which helped with this. Then there was the Federal Emergency Relief Commission who spent $500 million on soup kitchens for the poor plus employment schemes and blankets for those in greatest need. The Civilian Conservation corps ran environmental protection projects with the help of young unemployed men, the Agricultural Adjustment Administration tried to help farmers get back on track and the National Industrial Recoveries Act set up the Public Works Organization to get road building and schools and hospitals built and the National Recovery Organization to improve working conditions and pay. He also created the Tennessee Valley Authority to deal with areas worst hit by drought across the ‘dust bowl’ states. -The hundred days helped restore confidence in banks – .It also helped to create more jobs in various ways New Deal 2
The first New deal had faced lots of criticism. People on the ‘left’ such as Huey Long, Governor of Louisiana, thought he was doing too little to help those in need and that the New Deal was too complicated. People on the ‘right’ (eg: The rich, big businesses, factory owners and landowners) thought he was doing too much and that he should leave the economy and the society to ‘market forces’. The US was slower to recover from the Depression than Europe and many felt this was because of a failure or partial failure of the New Deal.
In June 1935 gathered Congress and said he wanted a whole load of new laws passed to improve the last New Deal this became known as the Second New Deal
The Supreme Court was made up of lots of republicans who were opposed to the New Deal – they tried to block laws and legal cases but in the end they backed down and allowed many of the second New Deal laws to pass
The New Deal Acts
The Federal government insured people’s deposits in banks against losses Emergency Banking Act 1933 caused by public panic. This helped restore the public’s confidence in the nation’s banking system This act had three parts to it. It set up the Public Works Administration National (PWA) to manage public works projects; The PWA spent $7 billion and Industrial Recovery Act ’33 employed millions of men. It set up the National Recovery Administration to set up codes of practices for such things as hours worked, wages, unfair competition and outlawing child labour. 16 million workers were covered by these code and child labour was outlawed.
Workers went on to a 8 hours week and a minimum wage of $1.25 was introduced. The third strand of the NIRA was to give trade unions the legal right to bargain with employers. Membership of trade unions increased after the introduction of this act. NIRA was declared unconstitutional in 1935. Agricultural Adjustment Act 1933
Tennessee Valley Development Act ’33 National Labour Relations Act ’35
Social Security Act 1935
Soil Conservation Act 1936 Fair Labour Standards Act 1938 Agricultural Adjustment Act 1938
This act paid farmers to limit the amount of crops they grew or simply to dig back into the ground crops already grown. The federal government bought farm animals and then slaughtered then to raise the price of farm products.Between 1933 and 1937, farm prices doubled but in 1936 the AAA was declared unconstitutional. This set up the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Its sole task was to re-develop the Tennessee Valley which encompassed 7 states and 40,000 square miles.HEP stations were built, flood control was introduced as was soil conservation. The valley was regenerated. This act forced employers to deal with trade unions. Workers were also given the right to form and join trade unions and to take part in collective bargaining. A board was set up to investigate and punish those companies bosses who did not abide by the rules of the NLRA.In 1935 trade union membership stood at 3.6 million. By 1941 it was 8.6 million. In 1935 the CIO (Congress of Industrial Organisations) came into being. This act set up the first national old age pensions scheme. Workers and employers had to pay into a federal pension fund. Each state was also expected to work out a plan for unemployment insurance.This one act covered 35 million people despite opposition from Republicans who felt the whole idea smacked of socialism. The federal government paid subsidies to farmers who agreed to leave land fallow or planted crops that put nitrogen back into the soil. The federal government also financed research into soil conservation. The FLSA sort to cut the maximum hours someone could work and to raise the minimum wage for those who worked in inter-state trade.This act gave protection to over 13 million people. It introduced a 40 hour week and a minimum wage of 40 cents an hour. The act introduced the Federal government subsidising the price of many farm products. The aim was to gradually increase the subsidy until farm prices reached their pre-1914 figure to give all farmers a guaranteed minimum income.
The New Deal Agencies
Civilian Conservation Corps of This employed jobless single men between the ages of 18 and 25. They worked for 6 months in mountains and forests 1933 where they were taught forestry, flood control and fire prevention. Nearly 3 million men took part in the scheme which ran from 1933 to 1941. The WPA coordinated all public works schemes. It spent Works Progress over $10.5 billion of Federal money and employed 3.8 Administration of 1935 million men from 1935 to 1941. It had built 77,000 bridges, 24,000 miles of sewers, 664,000 miles of road, 285 airports, 122,000 public buildings and 11,000 schools.
Reconstruction Finance Corporation Farm Credit Administration
This agency loaned money to state and local governments to assist the poor. It also lent money to firms which were in debt or wanted to invest. This agency used Federal money to pay off farm creditors and save farmers from bankruptcy.
What was the impact of the Second World War on the US economy? World War II brought the US economy out of the ‘Great Depression’, which had been caused by the Wall Street the 1939 Cash & Carry Act boosted the US economy with immediate payments for War goods (tanks, artillery, planes, etc). When Britain ran out of money, Churchill and Roosevelt agreed the Lease-Lend Act in 1941. This was done after they agreed to defend democracy through the Four Freedoms, in the Atlantic Charter. Unemployment ceased as over 17 million Americans found employment and such a demand for workers meant they could expect a 30% increase in wages. The War Production Board made sure scare products like tin, copper, rubber, etc were only used for the war effort, and toothpaste tubes, tin-cans and bicycles, fridges were not made, as munitions factories opened and produced War products. Whilst jobs rose by 52%, production trebled and US industrial output was greater than Japan, Germany and Italy. The US worker was now clear of economic depression and enjoyed a good lifestyle. Social problems occurred with absent fathers and mothers in factories and a generation of ‘latch-key kids’ were involved in an increase in juvenile crime.
What was the impact of the Second World War on the US Society? World War II mostly affected three groups within US Society; women, black Americans and Japanese Americans. What was the impact of the Second World War on women in the USA? The War gave many American women the opportunity to cast off traditional stereotypes of housewife and mother, as many trained for new skills in jobs previously considered for men only. For example women could now train as engineers, mechanics, drivers, lumberjacks, welders, riveters, toolmakers, rail-track-layers ship builders, machinists, etc, as many men were conscripted into the armed forces. Eventually, over 6 million women worked in war production factories. ‘Rosie the Riveter’ (a fictitious character, created by Norman Rockwell) who appeared on the front cover of the Times Magazine) became the new model for the American woman. Women expected equal pay for doing the same work as men, but during the War, only four states agreed to this. Women were often ridiculed by men in factories and were often on the receiving end of some nasty practical jokes. They had to put up with such sexist attitudes when men returned from war and they were expected to simply give up their jobs. Despite this, women had gained much from their war efforts and had a strong argument for equality, though most returned to their homes as housewife and mother.
Women could also serve in the armed forces and over 350,000 served in the army, with 80,000 working overseas as nurses, interpreters and in administration. Groups such as the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) or the Naval Women Appointed for Voluntary Emergency Services (WAVES). Many joined the Red Cross, but don’t forget that the most significant group to benefit from the war, were black American women who could now train as professional nurses to tend black troops in Jim Crow hospitals. What was the impact of the Second World War on black Americans? Segregation continued into the War, with segregated combat units, but despite this over 1 million black Americans served their country during WW2. Most were given menial jobs as cooks, cleaners, laundry workers, but as the War continued, many became regular troops. At the beginning of the War, only 12 black officers were appointed, but this increased. Such was the bravery of black soldiers, Roosevelt decided to introduce mixed-race combat units by 1944, and many black troops excelled at the Battle of the Bulge. Black people were not allowed to give their blood for transfusions, but the War gave black women a wonderful opportunity to train as nurses. Some black airman trained as pilots after a shortage from 1944. The Tuskegee experiment trained over 600 black pilots. The War gave many black Americans an opportunity to migrate to the northern states, where jobs in factories and basic work such as cleaning, etc could be found. The northern states reacted badly to the arrival of over 2 million black Americans from the southern states and this resulted in violence against them, at times breaking into riots. In Harlem, (New York) over 300 people were injured and 6 blacks died. But blacks were there to stay and they soon established their own culture and lifestyle (jazz, blues, smart clothes, etc), but mostly lived in slum districts of the cities. Significantly the War boosted the Civil Rights Movement as Roosevelt believed that black Americans contributed to the War effort, and so he introduced the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC), which attempted to prevent large companies from getting production contracts unless they outlawed discrimination in their factories. Also the NAACP increased tenfold from 46,000 to 460,000 as many black Americans joined during the War. CORE was established in 1942. Both groups attempted to argue that black Americans had helped the USA win the War and reined the Us government that over 1 million fought for their country, with many thousand giving their lives for a democracy they were not part of in their Jim Crow world.
What was the impact of the Second World War on Japanese-Americans? After the attack by the Japanese on US naval base Pearl Harbor, Japanese-Americans were considered a risk to national security, as potential spies, espionage and saboteurs. They were known as ‘Intern Enemy Aliens’. Over 110,000 Japanese-Americans were removed from their homes, on the West Coast of the USA. One third of Japanese were Issei (foreign-born Japanese), but two-thirds were Nisei (US born from Japanese immigrants). The US government cared little for either group and in 1942, all Japanese-Americans were forced into internment camps upon Roosevelt’s
orders. Conditions in such camps were appalling. Japanese-Americans were forced to sell their belongings and lost $500 million as a result. Despite this, over 9,000 Japanese-Americans volunteered to fight for the USA during the War, and over 8,000 were conscripted. Significantly for the, the 442nd Nisei Combat Regiment was the most decorated (given medals and other honours) of all US military combat units during WW2.
What was McCarthyism and the ‘Red Scare’?
Why had the USA developed a fear of communism by 1950?
By 1945, Allied (USA, Britain and French) forces had met in Berlin. Europe, Germany and Berlin were divided between east and west, both of which locked into a Cold War. This was reinforced by an ‘Iron Curtain’, which divided both sides, and the Wartime alliance of the USA and Russia to defeat Germany was now truly over.
All government workers were forced to sign and swear an oath with the Federal Employees Loyalty Programme (FELP). The McCarran Internal Security Act also made sure government employees could be singled out and interviewed without any notice.
In 1949, tension further increased when the USSR exploded its first atomic bomb and China turned over to communism; meaning over half the world’s population was now communist.
In 1950, Communists in North Korea also invaded the democratic South Korea and in this year, two scientists, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were convicted of passing nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union. Significantly, Senator Joseph McCarthy began to make his reputation by stirring American anti-Communist fears by claiming he had a list of 205 members of the Communist Party working in the State Department. Nobody dared challenge McCarthy, who was enjoying the media attention, which claimed him a crusader against communism saving the USA. Even Truman at first feared McCarthy, in case the nation turned on him. McCarthy used televised trials to persecute his opponents and used the press to expose them. Communist suspects were blacklisted and interviewed by the CIA.
McCarthy forced 2375 innocent people to appear before the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAAC). Although he failed to produce any evidence against them from his briefcase, 400 were sent to jail. To be simply ‘blacklisted’ was the ruination of many, who with their family would be evicted from their homes, lose their jobs, and suffer abuse at the mercy of their communities. These events became known as the McCarthy ‘Witch-hunts’.
In 1953, the Rosenberg’s were executed. This particularly upset the public as Ethel Rosenberg experienced a cruel death vividly described by media witnesses. This was a turning point. In 1954, McCarthy accused Army officers of being spies. The televised trials of the Army-McCarthy hearings showed the abusive, bullying nature of McCarthy, against the cool, composed and dignified defence by the Army attorney, Joseph Welch. The list of 205 communist suspects went down to 81 to 57 to ‘a lot’. When McCarthy again refused to present evidence from his briefcase, he was dismissed.
In total, 9500 civil servants were sacked, 15,000 resigned, 600 teachers were forced out of their jobs, and many actors, scriptwriters and performers lost their jobs. Sadly, many committed suicide. It would take the USA many years to come to terms with the embarrassment of the McCarthy period, and many continued to hate communists and treat those blacklisted with suspicion for many years after. The Communist Party was still banned for many years after. Up until 1960, many states in the USA still demanded an ‘Oath of Loyalty’ against communism from their employees. Today, many Americans from that generation prefer not to discuss McCarthyism, and lessons of the McCarthy ‘witch-hunts’ are a warning to all.
The Civil Rights Movement. A brief background to the Civil Rights Movement goes back to the import of black-Africans who were transported to the Southern states of the USA and sold as slaves to work on plantations growing tobacco, sugar and cotton from the 1750s. The movement to ‘abolish’ slavery in Britain could be seen in the USA by the 1830s, but it took the American Civil War, when the northern states led by Abraham Lincoln, defeated the southern states to help free black slaves. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and personally signed the 13, 14 and 15thAmendments of the US Constitution (laws), which abolished slavery and granted citizens and voting rights for all Americans. Unfortunately, because of different state laws, each state was free to reinforce or disregard these laws. Many states chose to operate laws of segregation, where black Americans were considered ‘separate but equal’ to white Americans. From the end of the Civil War in 1865, the Ku Klux Klan emerged, made up of defeated white southern army officers and racist individuals, to use ‘lynch law’ to brutally control black Americans. By the early 1900s these racist laws became known as ‘Jim Crow Laws’ after a stage character that ridiculed Negroes. In the southern states these laws made sure:
All public facilities such as schools, transport, parks, water fountains, shops, swimming pools, benches, etc were segregated.
Black hospitals and schools were understaffed and poorly supplied.
Black people were prevented from voting through intimidation and literacy tests.
Civil Rights under President Truman. Roosevelt tried to end segregation by providing black Americans with many opportunities during the World War II. However, it was Truman who actually introduced the 1948 Desegregation of the Armed Forces Act. Despite this he was unable to effectively introduce and Civil Rights Acts granting other equalities for black Americans. Brown Vs Topeka, Montgomery Bus Boycott and Little Rock High. Two key areas of segregation were in education and public transport. Jim Crow schools were indeed poor and under-funded compared with white schools. Segregation on public transport amounted to
the back four rows of any public transport vehicle being reserved for ‘blacks only’, provided white passengers had a seat: both black and white passengers paid the same fare. Brown Vs Topeka Board of Education, 1951-54. In 1951 Oliver Brown became upset when his eight-year-old daughter Linda Brown had to attend a Jim Crow school for black children. Brown challenged segregation laws that stated all facilities for black Americans should be ‘separate but equal’. Oliver Brown said this was not true as: 1.
His daughter Linda was forced to travel 20 blocks to a Jim Crow school, when there was a perfectly good ‘all-white’ school only two blocks distant.
2. The school Linda Brown attended was very inferior in facilities and appearance to the closer ‘allwhite’ school.
Oliver Brown took the Topeka Board of Education to the state court, but lost. He turned to the NAACP, who appointed their leading black lawyer Thurlgood Marshall to deal the case. It took Marshall over two years to get the case to the Supreme Court, where he challenged Chief Justice Earl Warren over the ‘separate but equal’ facilities being poorer for black American children. Marshall prompted Earl Warren to quote the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, from which he urged the court to desegregate all schools. Earl Warren quoted “the constitution of the USA is indeed colored-blind”. He further added that to continue segregation in Education would affect ‘the hearts and minds of young black Americans for the rest of their lives”. He immediately ordered all schools in the USA to desegregate; though not all did until 1964. The significance of this was that as a test case, it not only allowed desegregation in all schools, but also it gave black Americans their first legal victory, by the Supreme Court itself. This would inspire other Americans to fight for their rights.
Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955-56 On 1st December 1955, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, was travelling home in Montgomery, Alabama, after a long day’s work, when she was requested to give up her seat for a white person. She refused, and the driver stopped the bus and removed her. A patrolling police car noticed the incident, stopped and arrested her. Rosa Parks objected to her treatment and refused to pay her $14 fine. The new and young Baptist Minister from her chapel named Dr Martin Luther King was asked to help her. He was also treated badly by the police authorities, so he decided to call a ‘bus boycott’. He encouraged all Negroes within Montgomery to abandon the state buses and walk or share car-pools, which they did. The black community of Montgomery kept up this boycott for one whole year, almost forcing the Montgomery Bus Company into bankruptcy. In December 1956, the US Supreme Court declared that segregation on buses was illegal. The significance of this case was not only desegregation of all buses, but also the emergence of Martin Luther King as a new voice and face for black Americans. Of course, King, inspired by the
success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott would go on to organize other ‘non-violent protests’. King formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) which hundreds of Christian Ministers joined to help support the Bus Boycott. Lets not forget the impact of the media, who brought the case to an international audience.
Little Rock High School, 1957. The decision of Chief Justice Earl Warren after the Brown Vs Topeka Board of Education case, to desegregate all schools was not accepted at all schools. Little Rock High School, was one that denied the decision and when nine black students turned up in September 1957 to enrol, they found that the state governor Orval Faubus had sent hundreds of national guardsmen to stop them entering the school. The students were turned away. Again the press were on hand to broadcast the event. The whole world witness’s extreme intimidation and an angry lynch mob (who appeared ready too hang one of the students Elizabeth Eckford). Faubus shut the school down. The following day, the students returned to a similar hostile crowd, again with the media on hand. The nation was shocked. President Eisenhower became involved and ordered Faubus to open the school to the black students; he also sent down 10,000 of his own federal troops to protect the students. Faubus again tried to close all schools in Arkansas, unless the government agreed to end its ban on segregated schools. The Supreme Court overruled him and ordered the re-opening of all schools to black students. The nine black students were very brave and attended Little Rock for a whole year with armed guard protection. It was not until 1964, that desegregation was reinforced in all schools in the USA. The significance of this was that it was another victory for black Americans in the Civil Rights struggle and reinforced Brown Vs Topeka. The media coverage gave the Civil Rights Movement an international audience. Civil Rights under President Kennedy. John F. Kennedy faced difficulties with the Civil Rights Movement. He was voted into power by a majority of southern-whites, many of who were racist. Despite this he explained that he wanted to end discrimination. He supported the Freedom Riders and Martin Luther King. He sent in national guards to protect James Meredith, when he wanted to attend Mississippi University in 1962. He genuinely looked to appoint black Americans into government office. He supported black voters, by trying to ban literacy tests, where Negroes were not allowed to vote unless they could read. However, this was abused as they were asked to quote all of the American laws, or asked questions like how many bubbles to get from a bar of soap? When the Negroes could not answer, they were not allowed to register to vote. Congress failed to pass a Civil Rights Act presented by Kennedy in 1963. Martin Luther King continued to inspire the Civil Rights Movement with his ideas of ‘non-violent protest’. He encouraged other boycotts, and ‘sit-ins’, where Civil Rights Protesters walked into ‘whiteonly’ bars, restaurants and cafes, and sat down requesting to be served. Many were beaten and abused. The media were always on hand to show the violence and sufferings of the non-violent protesters.
Freedom Riders appeared on buses to defend black Americans on desegregated buses and protest at the ‘Jim Crow’ facilities still used by the bus companies; for example toilets and rest rooms. Several buses were firebombed, and this was well publicised by the media. Marches perhaps proved the most successful of non-violent protests. At Birmingham, Alabama,Eugene “Bull” Connor, the well-known, racist police chief (who patrolled the city in a white tank) was ready for King’s march, which ended in disturbing violence. King was arrested but managed to smuggle out a letter from Birmingham Jail, which was published in the national newspapers. The letter described the racist violence used by the police against peaceful protestors. Photographs of a police dog attacking an elderly black woman sickened Kennedy after they arrived on his desk. Another march at Selma, Alabama, ended in extreme violence and baton-weilding police using tear-gas, were seen on national television and in the press. Kennedy offered police protection to Civil Rights protestors who marched on Washington in March 1963. He wanted this to be a peaceful protest, mainly because over 250,000 people were difficult to police and the media coverage was international. During the march, King delivered his famous “Dream Speech”, which captured the hearts of a global audience. The significance of these events was that Kennedy tried in June 1963 to introduce a Civil Rights Act. However, King used a global media to support the Civil Rights Movement and expose the problems for black Americans. This led to his award of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, which he also used to deliver a passionate speech about how despite the award; Civil rights had not been achieved for black Americans. You must remember that many Civil Rights protestors where white.
Civil Rights under Lyndon B. Johnson. Lyndon Johnson hated the Jim Crow laws and racism. As a teacher in a southern school, he witnessed racism every day, and when he became president, he promised himself one achievement – to pass the Civil rights and Voting Rights Acts. Despite threats to his life, he immediately did this, perhaps able to in the sympathy felt for the nation after Kennedy’s assassination. The 1964 Civil Rights Act gave equality to all black Americans and made all segregation illegal. However, the white population of the US still controlled all business and industry and therefore employment. There were very few Negroes in the government or the legal system. Johnson therefore introduced the Voting Rights Act in 1965 and this outlawed literacy tests. In 1967, laws banning inter-racial marriages were also outlawed. In 1968, the Civil Rights Act was extended to outlaw unfair distribution of welfare housing – where black were placed in ghettoes. The way was clear now for black Americans to progress.
Why did the Black Power Movement develop? Despite such changes in the law, progress was painfully slow for black Americans. Unemployment figures showed a vast majority of Negroes. Housing for black Americans was still inferior. Investment into black opportunities was slow. Now black Americans faced non-direct discrimination; for
example if 20 black Americans applied for a job, and only one (less qualified) white American, then often the white person would get the job. This was difficult to deal with. Malcolm X was the leader of the black Muslim movement ‘The Nation of Islam’. During the early 1960s he heavily criticised Martin Luther King’s methods as being too slow. He believed in creating a ‘separate’ black society, where whites were considered inferior to blacks. He had a strong following and tremendous power and believed violence was the only way forward. He publicly criticised MLK. However, when he fell-out with the Nation of Islam leader, the Rev. Elijah Muhammad, and formed his own group, he was assassinated. This brought a new leader named Stokely Carmichael to the front of black politics. Carmichael was president of the Student non-violent co-ordinating Committee (SNCC), which supported MLK at various sit-ins and marches. He immediately expelled all the white members and helped formed another more extreme group called the ‘Black Panthers’. The black Panthers armed themselves with weapons and planned strategic attacks against key figures, places and events in white American society. Stokely Carmichael built on the ideas of Malcolm X and also said that MLK’s non-violent methods were too slow. He highlighted all the problems young black Americans faced and stated that violence was the only answer. For the next three years violence, riots arson and civil disobedience became a regular feature of city life. Such widespread damage cost the USA a great deal in insurance. Black leaders stated that though the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts had given them freedom, they could see no results or change to their lives. In 1968 Martin Luther king was also assassinated, and the voice and the leading hope of black American had been silenced. Many black Americans felt they had nothing, to more extreme riots occurred. As fire engines turned up to extinguish fires, they too were attacked. White people and even police officers could not go into black controlled ghetto areas. Looting and robbery occurred every day. Johnson understood that the focus of protest had moved away from Civil Rights to Vietnam, where much of the economy was being spent, instead of helping poor black Americans. TheKerner Report was ordered in 1967 and delivered in 1968. It spelt out these same problems to Johnson, who couldn’t cope and so decided not to stand for re-election. Johnson had not been able to build his ‘Great Society’. The problems for young black Americans were then dealt with and opportunities in employment, welfare and housing improved and the riots ceased by the early, 1970s. How did the role of American women change during the 1960s? World War 2 had given women many new roles and opportunities, but when the men returned home, they were simply expected to go back home and resume life as mother and housewife. Throughout the 1950s American society provided little opportunity in employment and just a few universities offered anything suitable for women. However, by the late 1950s, young American women were opening their eyes to Hollywood idols and fashion and exiting new music like ‘Rock and Roll’. A rejection of parental values and traditions resulted in many young women looking for their own individuality and voice, different from their parent’s generation. In the 1960s, the birth control pill became available. This allowed many women chances to consider higher education, careers and plan families, as well as give them sexual independence. In 1961, John
F. Kennedy appointed Eleanor Roosevelt to lead a Commission on the Status of Women. This revealed that women did not have equality of opportunity in education and employment with men in the USA. Equal Pay was a big issue and the 1963 Equal Pay Act helped overcome this. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, not only overcame discrimination and inequality for black Americans, but women gained from these things too, by banning all sorts of gender discrimination. The new voice of confidence for American women came in 1963 from Betty Friedan, whose bookThe Feminine Mystique argued that all women should have equal political, social and economic rights to men in the USA. Betty Friedan encouraged women in the USA to challenge men in education and careers, and not to simply accept a passive life as housewife and mother. Betty Friedan was the founding members and first President of the National Organisation for Women (NOW), which formed in 1966 to challenge traditional stereotypes of women. They protested that women’s rights highlighted by Eleanor Roosevelt’s Commission and the 1964 Civil Rights Act were too slow in coming. NOW inspired other feminist groups, such as National Black Feminist Organisation. In 1968, a mock Miss World competition was staged by feminists who crowned a sheep the winner, and in further protests against female stereotypes and femininity they publicly burnt their bras, hair curlers, mini-skirts, stiletto-heeled shoes amongst other traditional female items. By the early 1970s, the women’s movement had made good progress. Now had over 40,000. 1972 was a very progressive year for the women’s movement as the Educational Amendment Act, made it illegal to stereotype women in textbooks and examinations. In July of the same year a new feminist magazine named Ms, sold over 300,000 copies in just eight days, showing just how strong the women’s movement had become. Though women still struggled to find a way forward in some professions dominated by men, such as politics, a significant breakthrough came through in 1976 women were admitted to West Point and Anapolis, the specialist and elite training academies for army and naval officers. The student movement. Young people within the USA also challenged their parent’s attitudes and values by the late 1950s, again with fashion and inspired by Hollywood idols such as James Dean, Elvis Presley and Marlon Brando. However, by the early 1960s a new ‘student movement’ had emerged from the growing group ofmiddle-class youngsters (including many young women) who not only challenged their parents ideals but also the traditions and values of their government and society. The two significant issues were Civil Rights and the Vietnam War. Civil Rights groups were well supported in non-violent protests such as sit-ins, boycotts, freedom rides and marches by these white middle-class youngsters. The Civil Rights group known as the Students Non-violent Co-ordinating Committee (SNCC) was strongly supported by many young white students, and of the 250,000 people at the March on Washington, 80,000 were white, among them many white youngsters. Freedom riders where white youths. With over 3 million Americans being conscripted into the US Army to fight in Vietnam, many young people protested and publicly burnt their draft papers. With the average age of the combat troop
being 19, many youngsters were involved in fighting the War. The protest chant “Hey, Hey, LBJ, How many kids you killed today” haunted Johnson in the final months of his presidency. Such public brutality, such as that shown through the American media covering the Vietnam War upset many American students and with Civil Rights protests inspired the formation of the important Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). This was a very intellectual movement, which protested directly to the American government. They addressed the media, politicians and government directly. They organised student marches and demonstrations. They combined with anti-nuclear demonstrations and hundred of anti-War protest at university and college campuses across America. The student developed a style of fashion of their own in the ‘Hippie Movement’ which preached ‘make love not War’. ‘Flower Power’ became a slogan for the youth movement, which now revelled in LSD drugs, free love, vegetarianism, and communal living. Lyrics from popular songs by artists such as Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Simon and Garfunkel, expressed anti-War and anti-nuclear feelings. The assassination of public American leaders such as John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, disturbed many young people. Rumours of some corruption in the government also led to mass student demonstrations, like those at Kent State, Ohio in 1970, which resulted in armed guards opening fire upon student protestors, killing four and wounding eleven. Many others were injured. The scenes were covered by the media and horrified the nation. Parents bowed their heads, politicians stopped to listen. From now on, older generations would try to understand their youth….and listen. John Fitzgerald Kennedy and the “New Frontier”. (Jan, 1961-Nov, 1963. Many Americans felt that the USA had come to stagnate under President Eisenhower. When John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960, many experienced and elder politicians felt that being age 43, he was too young. However, Kennedy had tremendous support from the southern states, but many expected his loyalty and hoped he would stop the Civil Rights Movement from gathering pace. Kennedy appealed to the younger generations to move the USA forward, this also irritated elder statesmen, who believed his vision of a ‘New Frontier’ was far too radical ambitious. The government was very concerned about Kennedy’s spending plans, and taking too much responsibility for the poor and black minorities. Kennedy immediately ran into trouble, by not balancing the budget to get unemployment down and the economy moving. A public works programme of $900 million he also increased the minimum wage from $1.00 – $1.25 which greatly upset employers who threatened to make staff redundant to cover the extra wages. Despite such problems the reforms were successful on the whole and Kennedy gained in popularity. Less successful were 1961 Medical Care Act and the1961 Education Bill, which were not passed or supported by Congress. However, Kennedy was very successful with the Housing Act, which helped slum clearance and provided loans for inner-city redevelopment. The Area Redevelopment Act also gave loans to states which suffered with high, long-term unemployment and generated much work with public schemes including house and road building, street lighting and the creation of public facilities such as parks, libraries and swimming pools. The Manpower and training Act provided training for many unemployed.
Kennedy did attempt to pass a Civil Rights Act in 1963 and his brother Robert (who was shot in 1968, whilst running for presidency) helped many black Americans find jobs with the US government. Kennedy also helped James Meredith compete his degree at Mississippi University, by offering permanent protection during his time there. Kennedy was hard on the Mafia and worked hard to break-up, convict and jail leading Mafia figures. He was also involved in some scandals, such as the death of Marilyn Monroe. The Cold War rather intensified under his presidency, but he held his own with Khrushchev over significant events such as the building of the Berlin Wall and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Today the USA still asks the burning question: Who really shot JFK and Why? Lyndon Baines Johnson and the “Great Society”. (1963-69). At his first address to the American public in 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson shared the sense of loss at the assassination of John F. Kennedy. He stated that he shared Kennedy’s vision of a ‘New Frontier’ but wanted people to understand that he would be a different president. He talked of a ‘Great Society’ and stated how he would wage a ‘War on Poverty’ and end racism. Despite this, a great deal of money was being spent on Vietnam, which Johnson wanted to end as a heavy economic drain on the American economy. He immediately passed the 1964 Civil Rights Act, ending discrimination against black Americans and Women. Jim Crow laws and any form of discrimination were now illegal. This was followed in 1965 with the Voting Rights Act, which made literacy tests illegal and gave a genuine vote to all American citizens. On the social front Johnson helped many poor people by introducing the 1965 Medical Care Act, where the elderly and those on welfare benefits were entitled to free treatment. The 1966 Model Cities Act, followed on from Kennedy and helped slum clearance and improved housing for the poor. Like Kennedy, to help overcome poverty he also raised the minimum wage from $1.25 to $1.40. However, by the late 1960s, the Vietnam War had escalated and was costing the economy dearly. As a result, many projects and developments for the poor and black Americans were shelved because of a lack of funding. Extreme black protest groups, forming the Black Power movement reacted badly to this and claimed the government had done nothing promised from the Civil Rights Acts to help them. The resulting costly riots, black-related violence and crime hit Johnson’s presidency hard. The Kerner Report confirmed this in 1968. The student movement also criticised and protested against the Vietnam War, along with the women’s movement for equal rights, making it impossible for Johnson to achieve his ‘Great Society’, so he did not seek re-election in 1968, when Richard Nixon was elected. The Watergate Scandal and its Impact.
President Nixon was welcomed into office in 1968, with promises to end the Vietnam War and cool relations in the Cold War, by visiting communist China and the Soviet Union. He loved popularity. Nixon had been defeated by Kennedy in 1960 and lost out to the wave of sympathy felt for Kennedy and the Democratic Party, and as a Republican he lost-out. However, in 1968, he had, at last arrived.
The Watergate Scandal began, when five burglars were caught trying to break into the offices rented by the Democratic Party presidential election team in the Watergate building in Washington DC. They men were all involved in a group called CREEP that stood for Campaign to Re-Elect the President. They broke into the offices in an attempt to find any information about the Democratic Party election strategies, or any other personal information on the candidate. An off-duty policeman noticed the activity and with support entered the buildings and arrested the five burglars. The men were put on trial after Nixon had been successfully re-elected. When faced with lengthy prison sentences, one of the men John McCord stated that White House had been involved. Nixon denied this, but at this time a payment of $460,000 was made to the five men from White House funds. A Senate investigation committee questioned Nixon who continued to deny any knowledge, however two of Nixon’s closest advisors were forced to resign. One of these was John Dean, who stated that Nixon had no part in planning the burglary, but had tried to cover up the scandal afterwards. Significantly, Dean also stated that Nixon had secretly bugged all the offices in the White House and audio-taped every conversation since 1972. He said the truth could be revealed by listening to the tapes. In April 1973 Nixon appeared publicly on television and stated “there can be no whitewash at the White House”. To protect himself, Nixon appointed Archibald Cox as a special investigator to ‘whitewash’ the scandal. Dean then stated that Nixon had tried to cover-up other parts of the scandal. In October 1973, Nixon ordered the Attorney General to sack Cox, but he reused and with his own Deputy and Cox, all three resigned. His replacement Leon Jaworski, stood-up to Nixon and demanded all of the audiotapes. Nixon handed the over, but they had been edited. Jaworski demanded the un-edited tapes, which were played in court. They revealed Nixon to be a foulmouthed, racist, sexist, bully. The senate decided that Nixon’s behaviour had been unacceptable and steps should be taken to impeach him. Further tapes, held back by Nixon revealed that he had tried to corrupt the Watergate investigation. Impeachment proceedings followed, but Nixon resigned before they were complete. His successor Gerald Ford gave Nixon and ‘unconditional pardon’ when he became president in 1974. Remarkably, Nixon was the only man associated with the Watergate scandal not to be arrested! The consequence of the Scandal was that the powers of the US president would from then on be greatly reduced. For example, the President must now consult Congress before sending any US troops into enemy action. The US President must not use federal money for personal reasons. Congress must now all set limits on contributions to presidential campaign funds and also with the Freedom of Information Act, must allow private citizens access to any files that the federal government have about them. Since these times, successive US presidents have worked hard to restore the credibility of the US Congress and political system, and are not beyond public questions and scrutiny. But then…they’re only human!
Ronald Reagan and ‘Reaganomics’
A popular Republican President in the 1980s – Reagan based his domestic policy on the principles of reducing the size and role of the federal government and “Reaganomics,” one of the popular terms given to his economic policies. President Reagan also increased government spending on defense, even though he had campaigned against increased spending. Reagan spent hundreds of billions of dollars on the military, weapons, technology, and research. George Bush
George Bush was the 41st president of the United States, from January 20, 1989 to January 20, 1993. In his first year, Bush was confronted with the Lebanese hostage crisis, the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, and the continuing War on Drugs. His public approval soared following the invasion of Panama in late 1989, but a spectacular budget deficit and a savings and loan crisis caused the president’s popularity to dip sharply in his second year. That decline followed Bush’s relinquishment of his famed campaign “no new taxes” pledge as he sat down with congressional leaders to tame the budget deficit and deal with a flagging economy. President Bush organised 30 nations to free Kuwait following an invasion by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in August 1990. Operation Desert Storm stands as an example of presidential leadership and American resolve in an uncertain and often dangerous world. The coalition forces drove out the Iraqi invaders in little more than a month after Desert Storm was launched on January 17, 1991, and a nation grateful for sensing the end of the “Vietnam syndrome” gave the president an 89 percent approval rating in the polls. However, the high rating fell as the year went on, as doubts persisted about the war’s outcome. Iraqi president Saddam Hussein remained in power. President Bush’s leadership proved critical to the resolution of some of the most daunting conflicts of the time; the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany, the end of the Cold War. The Bush administration promoted new ideas for educational reform, home ownership, and environmental protection. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) paved new ground for accommodating disabled people, and the revision of the Clean Air Act was deemed the most significant environmental legislation ever passed. In the 1992 presidential election, Bush was defeated by Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas.
Bill Clinton – President 1993-2001 Very few American presidents have figure skated through their terms in office with a perfect “10,” and Bill Clinton was no exception. Controversy and scandal overshadowed a remarkable turnaround in the economy during his tenure, erasing a budget deficit of about $250 billion and creating a budget surplus of about $525 billion.
Clinton was the first president to be a part of the baby boomer generation, and was the third youngest president elected in U.S. history. If there were major criticisms, they would have to fall into the categories of foreign policy and his personal behaviour in the White House. He can, however, be credited with initiating or signing into law significant legislation, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Minimum Wage Increase Act, and the Taxpayer Relief Act. Clinton’s most notable campaign promise, to reform health care (with the task force led by Hillary Clinton), was shot down in a ball of flames by conservatives and the health insurance industry. Clinton could claim that more than 22 million jobs were created during his administration, as well as the lowest government spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product since 1974, among other favorable economic indicators. For Clinton, foreign policy was a mixed bag. He sent troops into Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993 in an attempt to capture a local warlord. That operation included the “Blackhawk Down” incident and was a miserable failure and embarrassment to the U.S. But perhaps his biggest gaffe was, because of Somalia, he, and other First World nations, declined to send troops into Rwanda to stop the genocide there in 1994. More than 1 million Tutsis and Hutus were slain in about three months. Clinton was often accused of womanising behind his wife’s back. This bad behaviour nearly cost him the Presidency. In 1998 a young White House Intern (work experience) worker named Monica Lewinsky claimed that she had had an affair with Clinton in the Oval Office of the White House. Clinton denied this, famously saying, “I did not have sex with that woman”. However evidence was produced (including a stained dress) suggesting that Clinton had lied. Clinton became the second US President ever to be impeached (Nixon was the first). He was found not guilty of lying but admitted the affair and apologised to the American people. His popularity ratings with the American people were actually higher than ever after the ‘Monicagate/ Clintongate’ scandal.