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Case Study 2: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955-6

Leaving Cert > The United States and the World > Case Study 2: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955-6

Rosa Parks, the woman who inspired the boycott.

African-Americans endured a huge amount of discrimination in the early half of the 20th century, and by the 1950s and 60s the civil rights movement aimed to end that discrimination. Famous civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X dedicated their lives to this cause, but there were many ordinary people who became icons of the civil rights movements simply by just trying to get on with their lives in dignity. Rosa Parks was one such person.

Montgomery, Alabama

Enforced Jim Crow laws.
What was life like here for African-Americans?
What happened when Rosa Parks boarded a bus on 1 December 1955?

Organising the Boycott

What was the NAACP and why did it contact Parks?
Why was Martin Luther King chosen to lead the boycott?
What was the outcome of the boycott?

Continuing the Boycotts

Why did the Montgomery Improvement Association choose to hold more boycotts?
What were the advantages of this? What were the risks?
What was the Transportation Committee?
What role did black churches play?

White Opposition and the Supreme Court Judgement

How did the city authorities and the police attempt to undermine the boycotts? What was the outcome?How did the media influence events?
How did the Supreme Court's decision in 1956 change things? What was the outcome?

Results of the Montgomery Bus Boycotts: What were they?

Rosa Parks receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom award from President Bill Clinton in 1996.
She died in 2005, aged 92.

Higher Level (100 marks each)
2015: Why did the Montgomery bus boycott (1956) take place, how was it carried out, and to what extent was it successful?

2012: What was the significance of one or more of the following in US history: Hollywood 1945-1968; the Montgomery Bus Boycott; religion in modern American culture.

2011: What was the contribution of Martin Luther King to US affairs?

2007: In what ways did the Montgomery bus boycott, 1956, advance the cause of the civil rights movement?

Ordinary Level
2016, The United States and the World, Part C:
How was the 1956 Montgomery bus boycott carried out and how successful was it?

2014, The United States and the World, Part C
2010, The United States and the World, Part C:
What did the Montgomery bus boycott (1956) contribute to the Civil Rights movement? (40)

2012, The United States and the World, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on urban poverty, drugs and violence. (30)

2006, The United States and the World, Part C:
Why was the Montgomery bus boycott (1956) so important to the story of the civil rights movement? (40)

President Barack Obama sits in the same bus in which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat.
It's now on display in the Henry Ford Museum.

Case Study 1: Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam War

Leaving Cert > The United States and the World > Case Study 1: Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam War

President Johnson decorates soldiers on a visit to Vietnam.

US involvement with Vietnam begin under President Eisenhower and continued under President Kennedy, but it was the man who came after him who ended up most associated with it. Lyndon Baines Johnson was Kennedy's Vice President, becoming President himself when Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

Vietnam was to become the first war that the United States would lose. In this case study, you'll examine how President Johnson tried, and ultimately failed, to turn the tide in a war he didn't really believe in himself.

"I don't think it's worth fighting for and I don't think we can get out. I don't see that we can ever hope to get out of there once we are committed. It's just the biggest damn mess."
- President Lyndon Johnson, private phone conversation, 1964

Johnson Becomes President

Supported the Domino Theory. Believed that US influence in south-east Asia depended on a victory. He didn't want to be the first President to lose a war.

The "Candidate of Peace"

Ran for re-election in 1964 against Barry Goldwater, who suggested using nuclear weapons.
Johnson ran as the candidate of peace and won in a landslide, but was faced with two dire options: withdraw and let North Vietnam win or commit a large number of troops.

The Gulf of Tonkin

North Vietnamese boats fired on the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin. They reported the same thing a few days later.
Controversy: was this genuine or was it a set-up by the US patrols?
What led Congress to pass the Tonkin Resolution? What did it allow Johnson to do?

The War Escalates

What was Operation Rolling Thunder? Besides attacks, what else did Johnson announce for the South?
Build-up: How many US troops were stationed in Vietnam by 1967? How much was the war costing?
Four Points vs Fourteen Points: Were the US and the Vietnamese close to negotiating? Why?
What tactics was the US using in the war? What happened in My Lai in 1968? How was success measured? How was napalm used? How many bombs were dropped? Why did the war turn against the Americans?

The Tet Offensive

What was the Tet Offensive? What was its impact? How did it affect Johnson's leadership? US Generals wanted more troops - why did Johnson believe this wasn't possible?
How was Johnson affected by the credibility gap and the anti-war movement?
How did he attempt to change his policy?

Results of the Vietnam War: What were they?

Survivors of the My Lai massacre in 1968.

Higher Level (100 marks each)
2016: Who was the greater president, Truman or Johnson? Argue your case, referring to both.

2014: What were the strengths and weaknesses of Lyndon Johnson as a political leader?

2013: Which president was more successful in his handling of US foreign policy, Harry Truman or Lyndon Johnson? Argue your case, referring to both.

2011: Why did the US lose the Vietnam War?

2010: What were the successes and failures of the presidency of Lyndon Johnson?

2006: Which had a greater impact on the United States: involvement in Korea or involvement in Vietnam? Argue your case, referring to both.

Ordinary Level
2016, The United States and the World, Part C:
Why did President Lyndon Johnson fail to achieve US aims in Vietnam, 1963-1968? (40)

2015, The United States and the World, Part C:
What policies did Lyndon Johnson follow in relation to the war in Vietnam? (40)
2012, The United States and the World, Part C:
How did President Harry Truman conduct foreign affairs between 1945 and 1953? (40)
What problems did President Johnson encounter in dealing with Vietnam? (40)

2011, The United States and the World, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on the Cuban Missile Crisis. (30)

2011, The United States and the World, Part C:
What did Harry Truman achieve as President of the United States? (40)

2010, The United States and the World, Part C:
How successful was Lyndon Johnson as a political leader at home and abroad? (40)

President Johnson listens to a recording by his son-in-law, Marine Captain Charles Cobb, in Vietnam.

Technology in the United States, 1945 - 1989

Leaving Cert > The United States and the World > Technology in the United States, 1945 - 1989

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy promised to put a man on the Moon "before this decade is out".
He didn't live to see it, but it did happen.

In the last half of the 20th century, the United States became the most technologically advanced nation in the world. The strength of the US Army today owes a lot to the technological and scientific advances that were made in weaponry and defence systems. President Eisenhower warned in 1961 of a military-industrial complex developing. His warning became a reality, but what does that mean for the US?

One of the most remarkable technological achievements the US ever accomplished was to successfully send a man to the Moon in 1969. The Case Study on the Apollo 11 mission will show you how that was accomplished.

You're either reading this on a laptop or a smartphone. You have US technological development to thank for that too. The work of Bill Gates and Microsoft, and Steve Jobs and Apple revolutionised Information Technology since the 1970s.

Military Technology

What caused the advances in military technology in the post-war years?
How did military spending create a permanent war economy?
Nuclear Weapons: Why did the US want to develop its nuclear weaponry after the war? When was the hydrogen bomb developed? How did the USSR respond?
Rockets: How did US rocket development benefit from the end of the war? What new rockets and missiles were developed? What was the advantage of ICBMs over other rockets? What warning systems were developed to guard against enemy rockets?
Air War: How did airplanes and helicopters develop? What as the significance of aircraft carriers?
Land War: How did tanks develop? What new technology did soldiers receive to guard against new threats?

Space Technology

How did the Space Race encourage the development of space technology in the US?
What were NASA's early actions?
What were the Mercury and Gemini Projects?
Man on the Moon (see Case Study): What was the purpose of missions to the Moon in the 1970s?
Space Stations and Shuttles: What was the Skylab programme? How did the space shuttle programme develop? How was it impacted in the 1980s?
What would President Reagan's "Star Wars" programme have meant for space technology?

Information Technology:

How were the first computers developed? What difference did the invention of the transistor make?
When were the first personal computers made? What roles did Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and IBM play in the development of PCs?
How did the computer industry develop? How have multinationals like Apple and Microsoft changed the industry?
How was the Internet developed?
What has been the impact of Information Technology? (besides you reading this)

Case Study:
The First Moon landing, 1969

Key Concepts:
Technological Development
Military-Industrial Complex
Globalisation

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, the two men who made personal computers what they are today.
Do you use Windows? Do you have an iPod, iPad or iPhone?

Higher Level (100 marks each)
2016: What was the significance of the moon landing (1969) and/or Star Wars?

2015: During the period 1945-1989, what advances were made by the Americans in military, space and information technology?

2014: How did the Americans achieve a successful moon landing in 1969 and what was its importance for the US?

2011: Why did the US lose the Vietnam War and/or what was the significance of the Moon landing?

2010: What was the impact of the Moon landing on US domestic and foreign affairs?

2006: What was the importance of one or more of the following: McCarthyism; the Moon Landing, 1969; developments in information technology?

Ordinary Level:
2014, The United States and the World, Part C
2010, The United States and the World, Part C:
How did the US achieve a moon landing in 1969 and what was its importance? (40)

2011, The United States and the World, Part C
2007, The United States and the World, Part C:
How was it possible for the US to achieve a Moon landing? (40)

2015, The United States and the World, Part B
2006, The United States and the World, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on the Moon landing, 1969. (30)

The nuclear naval carrier USS Enterprise.

US Society: Religion, Mass Media and Higher Education

Leaving Cert > The United States and the World > US Society: Religion, Mass Media and Higher Education

The Simpsons started airing in 1989 and became a TV phenomenon. It parodies mass media and culture in the US, not to mention higher education (through Lisa) and religion (through Ned Flanders). © Fox

Your study of American society ends with a look at three of its major aspects for the entire 44 years of this topic.

Religion plays a very important role in US politics, even today. Issues such as gay marriage and abortion are still very controversial in the US. Some politicians pride themselves on governing according to their faith. Evangelical pastors preach at mass-meetings, some of which even get televised. How did religion in the US develop in this way? The mass media has a lot to do with it. American TV shows and films have a huge impact on popular culture not just in the US but across much of the rest of the world, even here. How many American TV shows do you watch?

Finally, higher education has seen a great number of changes since the 1950s as well, but how accessible is it for young people in America?

Continue to Technology in the United States, 1945 - 1989

Religion

What factors contributed to the post-war revival of organised religion in the US?
What impact did evangelical preachers such as Billy Graham have on this revival? How did they spread their message?
How did this revival change religious membership in the US?
What difficulties did the Catholic Church face in the 1960s?
How were inter-faith relations at this time?
What inspired the rise of fundamentalism? Why did Jerry Falwell set up the Moral Majority? What were its aims?
What role did religion play in African-American communities? Why did Islam appeal to a large number of African-American people?

Mass Media

Newspapers:

How did newspapers develop in the post-war years? How did they relate to new forms of media such as TV? What influential events were newspapers involved in?

Movies:

How did the film industry respond to declining audience numbers? What kind of films were popular in the 1950s and 60s?
How did channels such as HBO affect the industry? What new kinds of films were developed in the 1970s?

Television:

How much did TV ownership grow by in the 1950s and 60s? How did cable influence this?
What did satellite transmission mean for TV? What impact has the increased role of TV had on family life and on society? How does advertising affect what's shown?
How did TV impact on politics? (Kennedy/Nixon debate, coverage of Vietnam).

Higher Education

Why did higher education see an increase in enrolment?
What problems did this create and how did universities try to solve these problems?
How did the anti-war movement and the counter-culture influence university life?
How did racial conflict influence universities? What was the affirmative action programme?

Key Personalities:
Billy Graham

Key Concepts:
Fundamentalism
The Moral Majority
Mass Media
Public Opinion

President Ronald Reagan (left) with Jerry Falwell, who created the Moral Majority. Falwell, pictured right on the cover of Time magazine, wanted to "bring about a conservative revolution".

Higher Level (100 marks each)
2013: What was the contribution of religion and/or the mass media to modern American culture?

2012: What was the significance of one or more of the following in US history: Hollywood 1945-1968; the Montgomery Bus Boycott; religion in modern American culture.

Ordinary Level:
2014, The United States and the World, Part C:
In what ways did Billy Graham promote religion in modern America? (40)

2013, The United States and the World, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on Billy Graham. (30)

2012, The United States and the World, Part C:
In what ways did Billy Graham represent religion in modern American culture? (40)

The Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeley in 1964.

The Collapse of Consensus, 1968 - 1989

Leaving Cert > The United States and the World > The Collapse of Consensus, 1968 - 1989

The Woodstock music festival was held in 1969, one of the biggest demonstrations of the emerging counterculture.

The late 1960s in America is mostly associated with hippies, Woodstock and protests. Media portrayals of the period nowadays tend to feature hippies wearing bright tie-dye colours and talking about "flower power". The late 1960s were a little more complex than that.

In this section you'll look at how the Age of Consensus came to an end. The emergence of the counter-culture and youth culture brought liberal ideas more to the fore than the had been in the much more conservative Consensus era. Multiculturalism was also on the rise - the "melting pot" of the United States bubbled on. What would all of this mean for American culture?

Continue to Religion, Mass Media and Higher Education

Youth Culture

How did youth culture develop?
What was the influence of rock 'n' roll? What were "delinquints"?
How did the 1960s influence youth culture?
How did the sexual revolution influence youth culture? Why did this end up reversing?

The Counter-Culture

What does counter-culture mean?
How did the hippie movement develop?
What part did rock festivals play in the development of the counter-culture?
How did the counter-culture end?

Multiculturalism

What inspired the growth in ethnic pride in minorities in the US in the 1960s?
How did black, Latino and Native Americans express their ethnic pride?
What was the goal of cultural diversity?
Why did some people oppose multiculturalism?

Key Personalities:
Norman Mailer

James Dean starred in "Rebel Without A Cause". Many older people in the 1950s and 60s were concerned that young people would turn out to be "delinquints", just like Dean's character in the film.

Higher Level (100 marks each)
2007: What contribution did Betty Friedan and/or Norman Mailer make to society in the United States?

Ordinary Level:
2016, The United States and the World, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on Betty Friedan. (30)
Write a short paragraph on multiculturalism in the US. (30)

2015, The United States and the World, Part C:
What criticisms did Betty Friedan or Norman Mailer make about life in the US? (40)

2011, The United States and the World, Part B
Write a short paragraph on Norman Mailer. (30)

2010, The United States and the World, Part C:
What did Norman Mailer and/or Marilyn Monroe contribute to American culture? (40)

2006, The United States and the World, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on youth culture in modern America. (30)

A "Brown Power" march in Los Angeles.

Problems in US Society, 1945 - 1989

Leaving Cert > The United States and the World > Problems in US Society

These people found a way to combine their fears.
Racism was very prevalent in the US in the 1950s and 60s.

Isn't the Age of Consensus great? America is strong, its people are free, and there are no problems!

Except there were. In this section you'll examine the darker aspects of American society from 1945 to 1989 by looking at three areas: racial conflict, urban poverty and drugs and crime.

Racial conflict came to be one of the defining issues of the 1960s in the US. Civil rights marches and protests gathered steam, and Martin Luther King announced his dream to over 200,000 people in Washington that his children might some day "not be judged for the colour of their skin, but for the content of their character".

Urban poverty was an issue throughout the years we'll look at. Several presidents have had grand ideas to eliminate poverty, but how successful have they been? As we will see, this poverty lended itself to drug use and high crime rates, which had Richard Nixon campaigning against crime in 1969 and Ronald and Nancy Reagan urging young people to "Just Say No" to drugs in the 1980s.

Continue to The Collapse of Consensus, 1968 - 1989

Racial Conflict

What was life like for African-Americans before World War II? How did this change after the war? What influenced this change?
Desegregation: How did desegregation take place in the Army? In education? In bussing and transport? What happened with James Meredith?
Civil Rights Movement: What early protests were organised? What was Martin Luther King Jr.'s role? What happened in Birmingham? What happened in Washington? Why did conflict arise between African-American leaders?
Government Reaction: In what ways did the federal government oppose states that were practicing racial discrimination? How did life for African-Americans begin to change? How did the civil rights movement inspire other national minorities in the US?

Urban Poverty

What were the main causes of urban poverty? How did ghettos form? How did housing and tax policies affect poor people?
How was President Johnson's Great Society programme meant to help people in poverty? What actions did he take in his war on poverty? What were the results?
Why did the Watts Riots take place? Why did riots spread? What was their impact?

Drugs and Crime

Why did crime levels rise in cities after World War II?
How did drugs come to be involved in urban crime? How did this link develop by the 1980s?
What concerns did American people have about these issues? How did the US government respond?

Case Study:
The Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955-6

Key Personalities:
Martin Luther King

Key Concepts:
Discrimination
Mass Media
Liberalism

A fire rages behind a police car in the midst of the Watts Riots in 1965.

Higher Level (100 marks each)
2015: Why did the Montgomery bus boycott (1956) take place, how was it carried out, and to what extent was it successful?

2014: Why did race relations remain a major issue in the US, 1945-1989?

2012: What was the significance of one or more of the following in US history: Hollywood 1945-1968; the Montgomery Bus Boycott; religion in modern American culture.

2011: What was the contribution of Martin Luther King to US affairs?

2007: In what ways did the Montgomery bus boycott, 1956, advance the cause of the civil rights movement?

2006: During the period, 1945-1989, what was the impact of one or more of the following on American society: racial conflict, urban poverty, organised crime?

Ordinary Level:
2016, The United States and the World, Part C:
How was the 1956 Montgomery bus boycott carried out and how successful was it? (40)

2015, The United States and the World, Part C:
What leadership did Martin Luther King offer the Civil Rights movement? (40)

2014, The United States and the World, Part B
2007, The United States and the World, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on urban poverty, drugs and crime. (30)

2014, The United States and the World, Part C
2010, The United States and the World, Part C:
What did the Montgomery bus boycott (1956) contribute to the Civil Rights movement? (40)

2012, The United States and the World, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on urban poverty, drugs and violence. (30)

2006, The United States and the World, Part C:
Why was the Montgomery bus boycott (1956) so important to the story of the civil rights movement? (40)

First Lady Nancy Reagan promotes her husband's administration's War on Drugs in the 1980s.

The "Age of Consensus", 1945 - 1968

Leaving Cert > The United States and the World > The "Age of Consensus", 1945 - 1968

Ronald Reagan, President of the Screen Actors' Guild, testifies to the House Un-American Activities Committee, naming suspected Communists in Hollywood in 1947.

An age where all Americans were proud to be American, and the US was the greatest country in the world, guarding against communism.

Well, that was the consensus at the time anyway.

Consensus means agreement, and this was a time when many in the US agreed on the status and role of their country as a dominant superpower ready to protect and defend against its new main enemy, communism. In this section you'll look at what US society was like in this time, particularly how it was influenced by the Red Scare and anti-communist hearings, and you'll also look at the movie industry in Hollywood, which was about to take off like never before. What impact would these two aspects of society have on American culture as years went on? Would the Age of Consensus last?

Continue to Problems in US Society, 1945 - 1989

Consensus

What is consensus? What did it mean in relation to the US economy and politics at the time?

The Red Scare

How did it develop? What people and action inspired it?
What was the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)? What was its relation to Hollywood?
What was the Hiss Case? What effect did it have on the Red Scare?
What was the impact of the Red Scare? How did it affect the American people? The media? Civil liberties? American society as a whole?

Hollywood

Why did Hollywood decline and change in the 1950s and 60s?
What effect did the HUAC have on Hollywood?
What was the star system and why was it developed?
How did Hollywood tap into foreign markets?
How did the relationship between Hollywood and television develop?

Key Personalities:
Marilyn Monroe

Key Concepts:
Public Opinion
Liberalism

Hollywood stars of the 1950s and 60s.
1st row (l-to-r): Audrey Hepburn, Sidney Poitier, Lucille Ball, Rex Harrison
2nd row (l-to-r): Dustin Hoffman, Julie Andrews, Gregory Peck, Grace Kelly
3rd row (l-to-r): Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Frank Sinatra
4th row (l-to-r): Eartha Kitt, Elvis Presley, Wilma Flintstone, James Dean

Higher Level (100 marks each)

2012: What was the significance of one or more of the following in US history: Hollywood 1945-1968; the Montgomery Bus Boycott; religion in modern American culture.

2011: What did one or more of the following contribute to American culture: Marilyn Monroe; Muhammad Ali; Billy Graham?

Ordinary Level:
2016, The United States and the World, Part C:
How was the 1956 Montgomery bus boycott carried out and how successful was it? (40)
What did Billy Graham and/or Muhammad Ali contribute to American life? (40)

2015, The United States and the World, Part B
2016, The United States and the World, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on Marilyn Monroe. (30)

2013, The United States and the World, Part C:
What did Muhammad Ali and/or Marilyn Monroe contribute to the rise of the mass media in modern America? (40)

2011, The United States and the World, Part C:
What did Marilyn Monroe and/or Muhammad Ali contribute to American culture? (40)

2010, The United States and the World, Part C:
What did Norman Mailer and/or Marilyn Monroe contribute to American culture? (40)

Not even Superman was safe from the Reds!

Society in the United States, 1945 - 1989

Leaving Cert > The United States and the World > Society in the United States, 1945 - 1989

You've looked at the US through a number of layers now: foreign policy, domestic factors on foreign policy and the economy. Much of the rest of this topic looks at American society from the years 1945 to 1989. You'll begin in this section by looking at the Consumer Society, the role of work in society, and the role of women and the family.

The US became increasingly consumerist after World War II. Advertisers wanted people to believe that they needed new products and services to be happy, but was that true? Technological developments meant changes in the world of work, but would they be for better or worse? The workforce also included more and more women in this time, but they were still treated as second-class citizens. How did US society move on from this to a woman being seen as the frontrunner for the presidency in 2016?

In the next few sections, you'll examine US society in even greater detail. The key personalities are of great importance to these sections, so make sure you know them!

Continue to The Age of Consensus, 1945 - 1968

The Consumer Society

What is meant by consumerism and affluence? How did consumerism develop after World War II?
How did consumerism influence the growth in car sales? In fast food? In housing? In television ownership?
What were yuppies?
Why did some people criticise consumerism? Who were the Beats?
How did consumerism influence leisure activities such as sport, TV, movies, books and musicals?

Work

What does the American Dream mean?
How did the nature of work change over the 1960s? How did this affect unemployment?
What impacts did the assembly line, mechanisation and automation have on the American worker?
What was the "Organisation Man"? (see Key Personalities)
Why did trade unions decline in the 1960s and 70s?

The Role of Women and the Family

How did the US begin to move away from the traditional role of women?
Why did more women enter the workforce in the years after 1945? What difficulties did they face?
How did the women's movement begin? What was Betty Friedan's role? What is radical feminism?
What successes and challenges has the women's movement faced?
How have marriage rates, divorce and illegitimacy changed the family in US society? What concerns did people have?

Key Personalities:
Muhammad Ali
The "Organisation Man"
Betty Friedan

As a consumer, you'll want your fridge to be as full as this!

Higher Level (100 marks each)
2015: What was the American Dream and to what extent was it reflected in life in the US, 1945-1989?

2011: What did one or more of the following contribute to American culture: Marilyn Monroe; Muhammad Ali, Billy Graham?

2007: What contribution did Betty Friedan and/or Norman Mailer make to society in the United States?

Ordinary Level:
2015, The United States and the World, Part C:
What criticisms did Betty Friedan or Norman Mailer make about life in the US? (40)

2014, The United States and the World, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on Betty Friedan. (30)

2013, The United States and the World, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on the "Organisation Man". (30)
2013, The United States and the World, Part C:
In what ways did the life and work of Betty Friedan reflect the changing role of women and the family in modern America? (40)

2015, The United States and the World, Part B
2012, The United States and the World, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on Muhammad Ali. (30)
2012, The United States and the World, Part C:
What type of person was the "Organisation Man" and how did he reflect American values? (40)

2011, The United States and the World, Part C:
What did Marilyn Monroe and/or Muhammad Ali contribute to American culture? (40)

2010, The United States and the World, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on the changing nature of women and the family. (30)

A fruit processing factory in Hawaii in the 1960s.

The US Economy: Boom and Recession, 1945 - 1989

Leaving Cert > The United States and the World > The US Economy: Boom and Recession, 1945 - 1989

One of the very first McDonald's restaurants to open in the 1950s, in Des Plaines, Illinois. It's now a museum.

By now, you've looked at the United States' foreign policy and how it became more involved in world affairs as the Cold War began. You've also looked at how domestic events taking place within the US shaped that foreign policy and influenced the decisions of the Government. Now we're going to look at another layer - the economy.

From your own life, you should already be very familiar with how an economy performing well or badly can impact on the decisions a government takes. Our own economy has been poor for the last five years, and we're living through the decisions our own government is taking because of that. In the years after World War II, the American economy was performing extremely well (a boom), which contributed to America's new position as one of the world's dominant superpowers. Nothing lasts forever though, and the US economy eventually fell into recession.

In this section, you'll learn how the booming economy contributed to how the US Government acted at home and abroad, how the recession began to change that, and what the Presidents of the 1970s and 80s tried to do to repair it.

Continue to Society in the United States, 1945 - 1989

Causes of the Boom

How did World War II influence the US economy?
What advantages did the US economy have over Europe in the postwar years?
How did public investment develop? What did the government spend on? What role did research & development play? What role did cheap energy play? What role did technological development play?

Industry

Multinational Corporations: What caused multinational expansion? How did foreign investment change over the years? What external factors were there?
Globalisation: What is "Americanisation"? Give reasons for and against globalisation.
Military-Industrial Complex: What was Eisenhower's warning about? How did the complex develop? What was the Iron Triangle?

Demographics

Causes of the population increase: Birth rates, immigration.
Demographic Changes: Population structure, mobility, growth of suburbs, interstate infrastructure.

Recession

Causes: What was the Vietnam War's impact? What is a deficit?
Domestic Impact: Labour costs, Unemployment, Stagflation.
Government Response: What economic actions did Nixon, Ford and Carter take? Were they successful? What was Reaganomics and what effect did it have?
International Competition: Japan and West Germany: How did they close the gap between themselves and the US?

Key Concepts:
Technological Development
Corporate Capitalism
Globalisation
Imperialism


More American families moved to the suburbs in the 1950s and 1960s. Photo © AMC

Higher Level (100 marks each)
2016: What were the strengths and weaknesses of the US economy, 1945-1989?

2014: What were the significant developments in the US economy, 1945-1989?

2013: What was the impact on the US economy of one or more of the following: the multinational corporation; the military-industrial complex; international competition from Japan and Europe?

2012: To what extent did the US economy experience both success and decline during the period 1945-1989?

2010: Why did the United States experience an economic boom, 1945-1968, and what was its impact on society?

Ordinary Level:
2014, The United States and the World, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on the US economic boom, 1945-1968.

2006, The United States and the World, Part B
2010, The United States and the World, Part B
2012, The United States and the World, Part B
2016, The United States and the World, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on the multinational corporation, 1945-1968.

President Ronald Reagan's economic policies came to be known as "Reaganomics".

US Foreign Policy, 1972 - 1989

Leaving Cert > The United States and the World > US Foreign Policy, 1945-72

US President Richard Nixon (right) talks with Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev (left) through an interpreter in 1973.

When he became President of the United States in January 1969, Richard Nixon faced a very difficult decision when it came to his nation's foreign policy: what was he going to do about Vietnam? His decision to withdraw US troops and hold a peace conference - effectively surrendering South Vietnam to the North - left an impact on US foreign policy which lasted right up to the 1990s and 2000s.

Free of Vietnam, Nixon and his successors turned their attentions to Russia. A new policy called "détente" was born, where both superpowers would try to peacefully co-exist - that is, until the election of Ronald Reagan as President, a man who decried the Soviet Union as an "evil empire". It was expected that Reagan would butt heads with the leaders of the Soviet Union, but his meetings with the new Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev had results that nobody thought were possible...

Continue to The US Economy: Boom and Recession, 1945 - 1989

Nixon and Vietnam (1969 - 1973)

What was Vietnamisation? What was peace with honour? What was the Nixon Doctrine?
What did Nixon do in Cambodia? Why? What were the effects of this?
What was the credibility gap and how did it come about?
What happened as a result of the peace treaty?
What was the legacy of the Vietnam War on the United States?

Nixon and Détente (1969 - 1974)

What is détente?
What was the impact of Nixon's visit to China?
What was the SALT agreement with Russia?
How did the Arab-Israeli War break out? What was Nixon's response?
Why did Nixon become involved in Chile?

Ford, Carter and Détente (1974 - 1981)

President Ford: Meetings with Brezhnev, Helsinki Agreeement, relations with Congress.
President Carter: Moral Principles, Camp David Accords, SALT II.

Reagan and the "Evil Empire" (1981 - 1989)

Why did US-USSR relations deteriorate in the late 70s and early 80s?
Why did Reagan begin an arms build-up?
What was Reagan's approach to the Soviet Union? What was the "evil empire" speech?
What was the Strategic Defence Intiative (Star Wars)?
How did Reagan's relationship with Gorbachev change things?
What did Gorbachev's reforms result in?

Higher Level (100 marks each)

2012: What part did one or more of the following play in US foreign policy: Korea; Cuba; SALT and Star Wars?

2011: Why did the US lose Vietnam?

2007: What were the significant developments in US foreign policy, 1973-1989?

2006: What were the successes and failures of the political career of Ronald Reagan?

Ordinary Level:
2015, The United States and the World, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on SALT and Star Wars (30).

2014, The United States and the World, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on the US withdrawal from Vietnam. (30)

2011, The United States and the World, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on the Détente, SALT and Star Wars. (30)

President Jimmy Carter (centre) meets with Egyptian President Anwar al Sadat (left) and Israeli Prime Minister Menachim Begin (right)
at Camp David.