Post-War United States

Transcription

1 Post-War United States (1945-Early 1970s) PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES By Marty Gitlin

2 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES Published by Weigl Publishers Inc th Avenue, Suite 3304 PMB 6G New York, NY Website: Copyright 2008 WEIGL PUBLISHERS INC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gitlin, Marty. Postwar United States / Marty Gitlin. p. cm. -- (Presidents of the United States) Includes index. ISBN (hard cover : alk. paper) -- ISBN (soft cover : alk. paper) 1. Presidents--United States--Biography--Juvenile literature. 2. Presidents--United States--History--20th century--juvenile literature. 3. United States--History Juvenile literature. 4. United States--Politics and government juvenile literature. I. Title. E176.1.G '2--dc22 [B] Printed in the United States of America Project Coordinator Heather C. Hudak Design Terry Paulhus Photo Credits: Federal Highway Administration: page 23 (map); LBJ Library: pages 34, 35. Every reasonable effort has been made to trace ownership and to obtain permission to reprint copyright material. The publishers would be pleased to have any errors or omissions brought to their attention so that they may be corrected in subsequent printings. All of the Internet URLs given in the book were valid at the time of publication. However, due to the dynamic nature of the Internet, some addresses may have changed, or sites may have ceased to exist since publication. While the author and publisher regret any inconvenience this may cause readers, no responsibility for any such changes can be accepted by either the author or the publisher. 2

3 POST-WAR UNITED STATES Contents United States Presidents Post-War United States Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman s Early Years Truman s Early Political Career Truman s Second Term The 22nd Amendment Dwight Eisenhower Dwight Eisenhower s Early Years Eisenhower s Military Career and Presidential Nomination Eisenhower s Presidency and Legacy.20 The Interstate Highway System John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy s Early Years Kennedy s Military Career and His Rise to the Presidency Kennedy s Presidency Kennedy s Legacy Kennedy s Assassination Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Johnson s Early Years Johnson s Early Political Career Johnson s Presidency Johnson s Great Society Johnson s Legacy Timeline Activity Quiz Further Research Glossary Index

4 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES United States Presidents REVOLUTION AND THE NEW NATION (1750 EARLY 1800s) George Washington ( ) John Adams ( ) Thomas Jefferson ( ) James Madison ( ) James Monroe ( ) EXPANSION AND REFORM (EARLY 1800s 1861) John Quincy Adams ( ) Andrew Jackson ( ) Martin Van Buren ( ) William Henry Harrison (1841) John Tyler ( ) James Polk ( ) Zachary Taylor ( ) Millard Fillmore ( ) Franklin Pierce ( ) James Buchanan ( ) CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION ( ) Abraham Lincoln ( ) Andrew Johnson ( ) Ulysses S. Grant ( ) DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRIAL UNITED STATES ( ) Rutherford B. Hayes ( ) James Garfield (1881) Chester Arthur ( ) Grover Cleveland ( ) ( ) Benjamin Harrison ( ) William McKinley ( ) 4

5 POST-WAR UNITED STATES THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN AMERICA ( ) Theodore Roosevelt ( ) William H. Taft ( ) Woodrow Wilson ( ) Warren Harding ( ) Calvin Coolidge ( ) THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND WORLD WAR II ( ) Herbert Hoover ( ) Franklin D. Roosevelt ( ) POST-WAR UNITED STATES (1945 EARLY 1970s) Harry S. Truman ( ) Dwight Eisenhower ( ) John F. Kennedy ( ) Lyndon Johnson ( ) CONTEMPORARY UNITED STATES (1968 TO THE PRESENT) Richard Nixon ( ) Gerald Ford ( ) Jimmy Carter ( ) Ronald Reagan ( ) George H. W. Bush ( ) William J. Clinton ( ) George W. Bush (2001 ) 5

6 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES Post-War United States In 1956, the Supreme Court declared that separating people of European ancestry and African Americans on buses was unconstitutional. This decision ended the boycott of public buses by African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama. 6

7 POST-WAR UNITED STATES On August 15, 1945, millions of Americans poured into the streets to celebrate the Japanese surrender that marked the end of World War II. The celebration could not last forever. Soon, they returned to their homes to wonder what life would be like in the post-war United States. The soldiers who had helped win the war in Europe and Asia returned to the United States and started families. The result was the greatest baby boom in the history of the nation. In 1945, the U.S. population was about 140 million. By 1965, it had reached almost 195 million. Even though the United States and most of Europe had fought for democracy and freedom, many still did not enjoy those rights back home or overseas. African American soldiers were only allowed to fight alongside other African American soldiers. African American soldiers returned to the states only to find themselves treated poorly. In the South, they were not allowed to vote or be with people of European ancestry in public places, such as restaurants. African American children attended inferior schools. African Americans were shunned throughout the country in aspects of society, such as employment and housing. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled segregated schools unconstitutional. In 1955, an African American woman named Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus. This set off a boycott of the bus system and thrust Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a civil rights activist, into the American spotlight. The Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act of the 1950s and 1960s legally broke down racial barriers. Meanwhile, halfway around the world, the United States became increasingly entangled in the Vietnam War. More than 58,000 U.S. troops were killed in an attempt to prevent all of Vietnam from falling to Communism. Communism is a form of government where the government owns everything and distributes it between the people. The Vietnam War was the most controversial war in U.S. history. As time progressed, violent opposition grew. By 1968, most Americans had turned against the war. His unpopular policies caused Lyndon Johnson to turn down the chance at a second full term as president. The era began with Americans celebrating the end of a war nearly all people believed in. It ended in heated debates over a war that fewer people supported every day. The Vietnam War grew increasingly unpopular among Americans. 7