unit 8 Flashcards
(21 cards)
korean war
soviets controlled north, us controlled south. communism organized in the north, democracy in the south. both claimed authority and border clashes began. the north invaded the south, the south resisted.
vietnam war
japanese invaded vietnam, french, ruled Laos and cambodia. vietnam had a growth in nationalism and didnt want to be ruled by foreigners. vietminh created: united comms and non comms in struggle to expel japs. domino theory: idea if vietnam fell to communism, the rest of se asia would, so eisenhower aided the french rule in vietnam. vietnam won. geneva accords divided vietnam along the 17th parallel, vietminh control N, pro west control south
vietnam after division
vietnam was supposed to hold an election to unite their country, bc south refused to permit the elections. the vietcong, organized by minh, were southerners that hated diems rule and assassinated government officials. diem is overthrown and executed.
us reacts to vietnam
“search and destroy”. dropped napalm to destroy forests. began a war of attrition, strategy by wearing them down
vietnam antiwar movement
people began receiving contradicting evidence from the media and political leaders. a credibility gap developed. teach ins began to discuss issues of war and many saw that the us had no business interfering, others saw S viet as a corrupt dictatorship and believed defending was immoral and unjust. young people were more likely to be sent to the viet draft bc they couldnt afford college, many minorities, treatment of black soldiers was poor. many refused to serve and were prosecuted. haws: withdraw doves: stay
26th amendment
18+ had right to vote and go to war
the tet offensive
the vietcong and northern viets launched a massive surprise attack. guerillas attacked us airbases, us blasted back heavily, there were no supporters, the credibility gap was too large to repair
steps to end war
linkage: to improve relations with SU and china to persuade them to cut back aid to north viet. vietnamization: gradually reduced number of troops in s vietnam, began air strikes in north vietnam.
protest at kent state
troops ordered to destroy vietcong bases there. police killing student demonstrators, congress repealed the gulf of tonkin resolution which gave the prez complete power in war
end of vietnam war
- peace negotiations
- us agreed to withdraw troppes and exchange power
- longest war in ush–8 yrs
- peace agreements collapse, north viet launches a full scale invasion on the south.
- united under communist rule
legacy of vietnam war
- cost 170 billion
- death 58,000 youth
- injured 300,000
- many POW and MIA
- created movement to honor vets
impact on the nation of vietnam war
war powers act: reestablish limits of executive power. required president to inform congress of any commitment of troops within 48 hours to withdraw in 60-90 days unless approved
new policy of detente
relaxation of tension between us and soviet/china. negotiation with comms offered a better way for the us to achieve international goals
the reagan doctrine
- support guerilla groups fighting to overthrow communism/pro su
- aid to the afghan rebels: su invaded afghanistan, reagan sent 570 million which strained the su econ and they withdrew.
- nicaragua and grenada: su rebels overthrew us dictator in nicaragua: they set up a socialist gov and accepted cuban and su aid. reagan responded by secretly arming anti guerillas, the contras. when congress learned of it, the banned further aid.
- marxists overthrow grenada: reagan sent troops to defeat cuban and grenadian soldiers.
- iran contra scandal: ppl in reagans admin illegally supported rebels. secretly sold weapons to iran and exchange for us hostages.
nuclear test banning
- people pushed for nuclear freeze: no more deployment of nuclear misiles. he offered to cancel deployment if su removed theirs. proposed Strategic arms reduction talks: su refused.
- intermediated range nuclear forces treaty: called for destruction of nuclear weapons. marked beginning of end of cold war.
end of cold war
- su collapses: 15 su republics declare their independence.
- revolution in east europe: allowed private enterprise, profit making, freedom of religion and speech, berlin wall taken down, e and w germany unite to become fed republic of germany.
the second red scare
reveal of plans by su of massive effort to infiltrate gov in canada and us by getting info about atomic bomb.
the loyalty review program
began screening all people.gov to determine if they were communist based on looks, hobbies, readings etc
mccarthyism
accused 205 state employees of communist accusations, never providing evidence, but people believed him and voted for him into senate.
- mccarran act: illegal to combine, conspire, or agree with any person to perform ant act that would contribue to est totalitarian gov
- mccarthys tactics: search for disloyalty based on flimsy evidence and irrational fears, damaging reputations with vague charges
- downfall: people began to lose suppport, senate passed a vote of censure against him
suburbia
after WWI, baby boom spurred and there was a problem with population increase, housing shortage from returning war vets
- families move out of cities and into suburbs
- sparked hwys, fast food, hotels, motels, etc
- levittown: mass produced track homes
- affordability
GI Bill
rise in franchises: privately owned businesses because american buss in other countries began bc of cheaper labor
