acc. PHILLIPS
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  • America
    • Introduction
      • Course Overview
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    • 1492-1754
      • Colonization
    • 1754-1848
      • Revolution
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      • Expansion
    • 1848-1898
      • The Civil War
      • The Gilded Age
    • 1898-1945
      • The American Empire
      • The Great Depression
      • The Second World War
    • 1945-1991
      • The Early Cold War
      • The Great Society
      • The Late Cold War
    • 1991-Today
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      • The War on Terror
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        • John Green Videos
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      • 1200-1450
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  • acc. PHILLIPS
  • America
    • Introduction
      • Course Overview
      • Policies
      • Essential Documents
    • 1492-1754
      • Colonization
    • 1754-1848
      • Revolution
      • Constitution
      • Expansion
    • 1848-1898
      • The Civil War
      • The Gilded Age
    • 1898-1945
      • The American Empire
      • The Great Depression
      • The Second World War
    • 1945-1991
      • The Early Cold War
      • The Great Society
      • The Late Cold War
    • 1991-Today
      • The Culture Wars
      • The War on Terror
  • Europe
    • Introduction
    • 1200-1450
    • 1450-1648
      • Renaissance
      • Reformation
      • Exploration
      • Links
      • Assignments
      • Videos
        • John Green Videos
        • Tom Richey Videos
        • Rick Steves Videos
        • Assorted Videos
      • Slideshows
    • 1648-1815
      • Sovereignty
      • Commerce
      • Reason
      • Revolution
      • Links
      • Readings and Assignments
      • Videos
        • John Green Videos
        • Tom Richey Videos
        • Assorted Videos
      • Slideshows
    • 1815-1914
      • Industry
      • Ideology
      • Empire
      • Modernity
      • Links
      • Readings and Assignments
      • Videos
        • John Green Videos
        • Tom Richey Videos
        • Assorted Videos
      • Slideshows
    • 1914-Today
      • WWI
      • WWII
      • Cold War
      • EU
      • Links
      • Assignments and Readings
      • Videos
        • John Green Videos
        • Tom Richey Videos
        • Assorted Videos
      • Slideshows
  • World
    • Ancient
    • Modern
      • Introduction
        • Course Overview
        • Policies
        • Essential Documents
        • Exam
      • 1200-1450
        • Asia
        • Africa
        • Europe
        • Americas
        • Trade
      • 1450-1750
        • Discovery
        • Maritime Empires
        • Land Empires
      • 1750-1900
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        • Industrialization
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      • 1900-Today
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Cold War America
​c. 1945-1991

The Great Society

1950s-1970s

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Contents


The Great Society, 1950s-1970s:

  • JFK and LBJ
  • ​The Civil Rights Movement
  • The Vietnam War
  • Vietnamization
  • ​The Counterculture
  • Assignments and Readings
  • Slideshows
  • Videos

JFK and LBJ

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The Cuban Missile Crisis was a time of great anxiety in America. Eight hundred women demonstrated outside the United Nations Building in 1962 to promote peace.
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Johnson gives Senator Richard Russell the famous “Johnson Treatment.”
JFK and LBJ
  • John F. Kennedy
  • Richard Nixon
  • New Left
  • New Frontier
  • Apollo Program
  • Flexible response
  • Berlin Wall
  • Peace Corps
  • Alliance for Progress
  • Fidel Castro
  • Bay of Pigs invasion
  • Cuban Missile Crisis
  • Hotline
  • Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
  • Warren Commission
  • Lyndon B. Johnson
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964
  • War on Poverty
  • Great Society
  • Barry Goldwater
  • Elementary and Secondary Education Act
  • Economic Opportunity Act
  • Immigration Act of 1965
  • Medicare
  • Medicaid
  • Department of Housing and Urban Development
  • Head Start
  • Warren Court
  • Brown v. Board
  • Mapp v. Ohio
  • Engel v. Vitale
  • Gideon v. Wainwright
  • Miranda v. Arizona
  • Tinker v. Des Moines
  • Loving v. Virginia
  • Reapportionment
JFK and LBJ Quizlet
Review:
  • How did Kennedy respond to the continuing challenges of the Cold War?
  • What were the goals of Kennedy's New Frontier?
  • How did Johnson's Great Society programs change life for most Americans?​
  • ​How did the Warren Court protect Americans' civil liberties?

The Civil Rights Movement

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School desegregation was a tense experience for all involved, but none more so than the African American students who integrated white schools. The Little Rock Nine were the first to do so in Arkansas. Their escorts, the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, protected students who took that first step in 1957.
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In 1959, photographer John Bledsoe captured this image of the crowd on the steps of the Arkansas state capitol building protesting the federally mandated integration of Little Rock’s Central High School. This image shows how worries about desegregation were bound up with other concerns, such as the reach of communism and government power.
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Demonstrators march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965 to champion African American civil rights. 
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Lyndon B. Johnson sits with Civil Rights Leaders in the White House. One of Johnson’s greatest legacies would be his staunch support of civil rights legislation.
The Civil Rights Movement
  • 14th Amendment
  • Plessy v. Ferguson
  • de facto segregation
  • de jure segregation
  • NAACP
  • CORE
  • 1948 Armed Service desegregation
  • New Left
  • Emmett Till
  • Rosa Parks
  • Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Civil disobedience
  • Montgomery bus boycotts
  • Montgomery Improvement Association
  • Civil Rights Act of 1957
  • Malcolm X
  • Nation of Islam
  • Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas, 1954
  • Thurgood Marshall
  • Little Rock Nine
  • James Meredith and Vivian Malone
  • George Wallace
  • Greensboro sit-ins
  • “We Shall Overcome”
  • Freedom Riders
  • SCLC
  • SNCC
  • March on Washington
  • Earl Warren
  • 24th amendment
  • Birmingham Children's Crusade
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964
  • Freedom Summer
  • Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
  • Fannie Lou Hamer
  • Selma March
  • Voting Rights Act of 1965
  • Watts riots
  • Black Panthers
  • Black Power Movement
  • Stokely Carmichael
  • Bobby Seale
  • Huey Newton
  • Kerner Commission
  • Affirmative action
  • 1968 Mexico City Olympics Black Power salute
  • Civil Rights Act of 1968
  • Robert Weaver
The Civil Rights Movement Quizlet
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Los Angeles police violently arrest a man during the Watts riot on August 12, 1965. 
Review:
  • How did African Americans challenge segregation after WWII?
  • Why was Brown v. Board of Education important?
  • Why did Eisenhower send federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas?
  • What role did Parks and King play in the Montgomery bus boycott?
  • How did the civil rights movement gain ground in the 1960s?
  • How did the Civil Rights Act of 1964 try to end discrimination?
  • What impact did the protests in Selma, Alabama have on the nation?
  • What impact did Malcolm X have on the civil rights movement?
  • What gains did the movement make by the early 1970s?

The Vietnam War

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The draft fell disproporiately on working class and minority men.
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anti-war posters
The Vietnam War
  • Ho Chi Minh
  • Vietminh
  • Dien Bien Phu
  • Geneva Accords
  • 17th Parallel
  • Ngo Dinh Diem
  • ​Viet Cong
  • Domino Theory
  • Dean Rusk
  • SEATO
  • National Liberation Front (NLF)/Vietcong
  • Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)
  • Search-and-destroy mission
  • Robert McNamara
  • Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
  • William Westmoreland
  • Operation Rolling Thunder
  • Agent Orange
  • Napalm
  • Hawks and doves
  • Draft dodging
  • Draft amnesty
  • March on the Pentagon
  • Tet Offensive​
The Vietnam War Quizlet
Review:
  • How did the United States become involved in the Vietnam War?
  • Why did American public opinion turn against the war?

Vietnamization

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Richard Nixon campaigns in Philadelphia during the 1968 presidential election.
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Vietnamization
  • Clark Clifford
  • Credibility gap
  • Free Speech Movement
  • Students for a Democratic Society
  • Eugene McCarthy
  • Robert F. Kennedy
  • Hubert Humphrey
  • 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention
  • Richard Nixon
  • Silent majority
  • Southern strategy
  • George Wallace
  • Henry Kissinger
  • Realpolitik
  • Vietnamization
  • My Lai Incident
  • Kent State Massacre
  • Jackson State Massacre
  • Pentagon Papers
  • Daniel Ellsberg
  • Paris Peace Accords
  • Peace with Honor
  • New York Times v. U.S. 1971
  • War Powers Act 1973
  • Ho Chi Minh Trail
  • Bombing of Cambodia
  • Khmer Rouge
  • Cambodian Genocide
  • Fall of Saigon, 1975
  • 26th Amendment
  • Zhou Enlai
  • SALT I
  • Détente
Vietnamization Quizlet
Review:
  • What factors contributed to Richard Nixon's election as president in 1968?
  • What were the consequences of American defeat in the Vietnam War?

The Counterculture

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Epitomizing the folk music and protest culture of 1960s youth, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan are pictured here singing together at the March on Washington in 1963.
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Conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly campaigns against the Equal Rights Amendment in 1977
The Counterculture
  • Counterculture
  • Generation gap
  • Hippies
  • Commune
  • Haight-Ashbury
  • Timothy Leary
  • The British Invasion
  • The Beatles
  • The Rolling Stones
  • Woodstock
  • Women’s liberation/Second-wave feminism
  • Betty Friedan
  • The Feminine Mystique
  • National Organization for Women
  • Gloria Steinem
  • Phyllis Schlafly
  • Roe v. Wade, 1973
  • Equal Rights Amendment
  • Title IX
  • Cesar Chavez
  • United Farm Workers
  • Chicano movement
  • La Raza Unida
  • American Indian Movement
  • Wounded Knee incident, 1973
  • Stonewall Inn Riot
  • Unsafe at Any Speed by Ralph Nader
  • Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
  • Earth Day
  • Environmental Protection Agency
  • Clean Air Act
  • Clean Water Act
  • Endangered Species Act
  • Love Canal
  • Cuyahoga river fire
  • Three Mile Island nuclear accident
  • Superfund
Article: Archaeologists Are Finding Woodstock Really Did Take On Life of Its Own
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The Counterculture Quizlet
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The window under the Stonewall Inn sign reads: “We homosexuals plead with our people to please help maintain peaceful and quiet conduct on the streets of the Village–Mattachine.” Photograph 1969.
Article: Could Women Not Do These 9 Things in 1971?
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In 1971 a woman could not:

  1. Get a Credit Card in her own name – it wasn’t until 1974 that a law forced credit card companies to issue cards to women without their husband’s signature.

  2. Be guaranteed that they wouldn’t be fired for getting pregnant – that changed with the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978.

  3. Serve on a jury -  It varied by state (Utah deemed women fit for jury duty way back in 1879), but women were considered the center of the home, which was their primary responsibility as caregivers. They were also thought to be too fragile to hear the grisly details of crimes and too sympathetic by nature to be able to remain objective about those accused of offenses. It wasn't until 1973 that women could serve on juries in all 50 states.

  4. Fight on the front lines – Prior to 1973 women were only allowed in the military as nurses or support staff. It wasn’t until 2013 that the military ban on women in combat was lifted. 

  5. Get an Ivy League education - Yale and Princeton didn't accept female students until 1969. Harvard didn't admit women until 1977.  Brown, Dartmouth and Columbia did not offer admission to women until 1971, 1972 and 1981, respectively. 

  6. Take legal action against workplace sexual harassment. Indeed the first time a court recognized office sexual harassment as grounds for any legal action was in 1977.

  7. Decide not to have sex if their husband wanted to – spousal rape wasn’t criminalized in all 50 states until 1993.

  8. Obtain health insurance at the same monetary rate as a man. Sex discrimination wasn’t outlawed in health insurance until 2010 and today many, including sitting elected officials at the Federal level, feel women don’t mind paying a little more.

  9. Take the birth control pill: Issues like reproductive freedom and a woman's right to decide when and whether to have children were only just beginning to be openly discussed in the 1960s. In 1957, the FDA approved of the birth control pill but only for "severe menstrual distress." In 1960, the pill was approved for use as a contraceptive. Even so, the pill was illegal in some states and could be prescribed only to married women for purposes of family planning, and not all pharmacies stocked it. Some of those opposed said oral contraceptives were immoral, promoted prostitution and were tantamount to abortion. It wasn't until several years later that birth control was approved for use by all women, regardless of marital status. In short, birth control meant a woman could complete her education, enter the workforce and plan her own life.
Review:
  • Why did many young Americans embrace the counterculture movement in the 1960s?
  • What victories and setbacks did second-wave feminism face?
  • What prompted the American Indian Movement, Chicano movement, and gay liberation movement?
  • Why did adopt Americans new protections for the environment?

Assignments and Readings

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Americans Chapter 28: The New Frontier and the Great Society
americans_chapter_28_reading_guides.pdf
File Size: 106 kb
File Type: pdf
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Americans Chapter 29: Civil Rights
americans_chapter_29_reading_guides.pdf
File Size: 97 kb
File Type: pdf
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Americans Chapter 30: The Vietnam War Years
americans_chapter_30_reading_guides_2.pdf
File Size: 90 kb
File Type: pdf
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Americans Chapter 31: An Era of Social Change
americans_chapter_31_reading_guides_2.pdf
File Size: 103 kb
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Klansville, USA
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klansville_usa.pdf
File Size: 93 kb
File Type: pdf
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The Long Fight for Racial Justice
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long_fight_for_racial_justice.pdf
File Size: 33 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Primary Sources

Barry Goldwater, Republican Nomination Acceptance Speech (1964)

In 1964, Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona accepted the Republican Party’s nomination for the presidency. In his speech, Goldwater refused to apologize for his strict conservative politics. “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice,” he said, and “moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”


Lyndon Johnson on Voting Rights and the American Promise (1965)

On March 15, 1965, Lyndon Baines Johnson addressed a joint session of Congress to push for the Voting Rights Act. In his speech, Johnson not only advocated policy, he borrowed the language of the civil rights movement and tied the movement to American history.


Lyndon Johnson, Howard University Commencement Address (1965)

On June 4, 1965, President Johnson delivered the commencement address at Howard University, the nation’s most prominent historically black university. In his address, Johnson explained why “opportunity” was not enough to ensure the civil rights of disadvantaged Americans.


National Organization for Women, “Statement of Purpose” (1966)

The National Organization for Women was founded in 1966 by prominent American feminists, including Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisolm, and others. The organization’s “statement of purpose” laid out the goals of the organization and the targets of its feminist vision.


George M. Garcia, Vietnam Veteran, Oral Interview (2012/1969)

In 2012, George Garcia sat down to be interviewed about his experiences as a corporal in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. Alternating between English and Spanish, Garcia told of early life in Brownsville, Texas, his time as a U.S. Marine in Vietnam, and his experience coming home from the war.


Selma March (1965)

Civil rights activists protested against the injustice of segregation in a variety of ways. Here, in 1965, marchers, some carrying American flags, march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to champion African American voting rights. 


LBJ and Civil Rights Leaders (1964)

As civil rights demonstrations rocked the American South, civil rights legislation made its way through Washington D.C. Here, President Lyndon B. Johnson sits with civil rights leaders in the White House.


Women’s Liberation March (1970)
​

American popular feminism accelerated throughout the 1960s. The slogan “Women’s Liberation” accompanied a growing women’s movement but also alarmed conservative Americans. In this 1970 photograph, women march in Washington D.C. carrying signs reading, “Women Demand Equality,” “I’m a Second Class Citizen,” and “Women’s Liberation.”

Slideshows

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The Civil Rights Movement.pdf from Dave Phillips
JFK, LBJ, and Vietnam, c. 1960-1973.pdf from Dave Phillips
Vietnamization, the Counterculture, and Reform, c. 1968-1975.pdf from Dave Phillips

Videos

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Digital History Textbook

America in Ferment: The Tumultuous 1960s

This chapter examines the Civil Rights struggle against segregation and racial inequality; the feminist fight for equal educational and employment opportunity; the Mexican American battle against discrimination in voting, education, and employment; the Native American campaign for tribal sovereignty and land rights; the gay and lesbian drive to end discrimination based on sexual preference; and the environmentalist campaign to reduce pollution and promote conservation.
​
​
Thurgood Marshall
Simple Justice
The Mother of the Civil Rights Movement
Eisenhower and Civil Rights
Little Rock
The State of Black America in 1960
Freedom Now
To the Heart of Dixie
Bombingham
Kennedy Finally Acts
The March on Washington
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Voting Rights
Black Nationalism and Black Power
The Civil Rights Movement Moves North
The Great Society and the Drive for Black Equality
White Backlash
The Struggle Continues
The Youth Revolt
The New Left
The Making and Unmaking of a Counterculture
Women's Liberation
Sources of Discontent
Feminism Reborn
Radical Feminism
The Growth of Feminist Ideology
The Supreme Court and Sex Discrimination
The Equal Rights Amendment
Impact of the Women's Liberation Movement
Viva La Raza!
The Native American Power Movement
Gay and Lesbian Liberation
The Earth First
Ralph Nader and the Consumer Movement

American History Home
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© COPYRIGHT 2022.
  • acc. PHILLIPS
  • America
    • Introduction
      • Course Overview
      • Policies
      • Essential Documents
    • 1492-1754
      • Colonization
    • 1754-1848
      • Revolution
      • Constitution
      • Expansion
    • 1848-1898
      • The Civil War
      • The Gilded Age
    • 1898-1945
      • The American Empire
      • The Great Depression
      • The Second World War
    • 1945-1991
      • The Early Cold War
      • The Great Society
      • The Late Cold War
    • 1991-Today
      • The Culture Wars
      • The War on Terror
  • Europe
    • Introduction
    • 1200-1450
    • 1450-1648
      • Renaissance
      • Reformation
      • Exploration
      • Links
      • Assignments
      • Videos
        • John Green Videos
        • Tom Richey Videos
        • Rick Steves Videos
        • Assorted Videos
      • Slideshows
    • 1648-1815
      • Sovereignty
      • Commerce
      • Reason
      • Revolution
      • Links
      • Readings and Assignments
      • Videos
        • John Green Videos
        • Tom Richey Videos
        • Assorted Videos
      • Slideshows
    • 1815-1914
      • Industry
      • Ideology
      • Empire
      • Modernity
      • Links
      • Readings and Assignments
      • Videos
        • John Green Videos
        • Tom Richey Videos
        • Assorted Videos
      • Slideshows
    • 1914-Today
      • WWI
      • WWII
      • Cold War
      • EU
      • Links
      • Assignments and Readings
      • Videos
        • John Green Videos
        • Tom Richey Videos
        • Assorted Videos
      • Slideshows
  • World
    • Ancient
    • Modern
      • Introduction
        • Course Overview
        • Policies
        • Essential Documents
        • Exam
      • 1200-1450
        • Asia
        • Africa
        • Europe
        • Americas
        • Trade
      • 1450-1750
        • Discovery
        • Maritime Empires
        • Land Empires
      • 1750-1900
        • Revolutions
        • Industrialization
        • Imperialism
      • 1900-Today
        • World Wars
        • Postwar World
        • Globalization
  • Research
  • Resources
  • About
  • Contact