The United States and the World, 1945 - 1989

Main Page: Leaving Cert History - Modern Europe and the Wider World

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The United States and the World brings you across the Atlantic Ocean to examine American history from the end of World War II to the last years of the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union.

If you study this topic for your Leaving Cert, you'll look at US history in these years through a number of layers: first through it's Foreign Policy, meaning how the US relates to other countries in the world. When studying US foreign policy you'll be looking in particular at the Vietnam War, as well as other flashpoints of the Cold War and the United States' relations with the Soviets. You'll also look at domestic factors on foreign policy - in other words, how events in the US shaped its policies outside.

Next, you'll look at the US economy, which went from a post-war boom in the 1940s and 50s to a recession in the 1970s and 80s. You'll look at what different Presidents did to try to encourage economic growth, and whether these attempts were successful or not.

Then you'll look at American society, and how it transformed over the four decades in the course. A society that started out supporting its troops overseas and hunting down suspected communists ended up fracturing, with people expressing the belief that the US should never have become involved in Vietnam, and plenty of different protest movements rising. Specifically, you'll examine the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 60s, and the impact of people such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King on American history. You'll also look at American pop culture in this time, with an emphasis on Hollywood, the mass media, and the role of religion in American society.

Finally, you'll look at how the US developed its military technology, how it managed to land men on the Moon in 1969, and how Information Technology was advanced by companies such as Microsoft and Apple.

It was a busy time for America. Find out more about it through this page!

Politics

Introduction to US Politics

Foreign Policy.

US Foreign Policy, 1945 - 1972

Domestic Factors in US Foreign Policy, 1945 - 1972

US Foreign Policy, 1972 - 1989

Economy

The US Economy: Boom and Recession, 1945 - 1989

Society and Culture

Society in the United States, 1945 - 1989	The "Age of Consensus", 1945 - 1968	Problems in US Society, 1945 - 1989	The Collapse of Consensus, 1968 - 1989
Religion, Mass Media and Higher Education

Science and Technology

Technology in the United States, 1945 - 1989

 Case Studies:

Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam War, 1963-8

The Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955-6

The First Moon Landing, 1969

Key Personalities (Ordinary Level students should focus on these)

Key Concepts  (Ordinary Level students should focus on these)

The United States and the World in the 

Leaving Cert Curriculum

The Leaving Cert curriculum requires students to study each topic through three perspectives: Politics & Administration, Society & Economy and Culture, Religion & Science. 

The table below is copied directly from the curriculum, and shows how those three perspectives are shown in The United States and the World. Each part links to the relevant page (e.g. Decline of Cold War certainties, 1973-89 links to US Foreign Policy, 1972-89).

Perspective	Elements	Case Studies
Politics and Administration	US politics: structures and tensions - federal government and states; the separation of powers. The Presidency from Roosevelt to Reagan. Domestic factors in US foreign policy: McCarthyism, the anti-war movement, race relations. US foreign policy, 1945-72: Berlin, Korea, Cuba, Vietnam. Decline of Cold War certainties, 1973-89: withdrawal from Vietnam, détente, SALT and Star Wars.	Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam War, 1963-8
Society and Economy	Sources of US economic boom: the war, public investment and international financing, 1945-68. The development of the US industrial structure: the multinational corporation, 1945-68. The Vietnam War; the federal deficit; domestic recession; international competition from Japan and Europe, 1968-89. Demographic growth; affluence - consumerism, leisure, the role of work, the changing role of women and the family. Troubled affluence: racial conflict, urban poverty, drugs and crime.	The Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955-6
Culture, Religion and Science	Consensus? 1945-68: Hollywood - the American Dream; the "red scare". Collapse of consensus, 1968-89: youth culture, "counter-culture" and multiculturalism. Religion in modern American culture; the mass media in modern American culture, mass higher education. Advances in military, space and information technology.	The Moon Landing, 1969

In their study of the topic, students should become aware of the role of certain key personalities.

Another "key" to developing understanding will be learning to identify the main issues through a familiarity with certain key concepts.

The United States and the World: Key Concepts

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

Consumerism
The stage in an industrial society when many goods are bought and sold. It can also be called the Consumer Society.

Corporate Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic, political and social system based on private property. Corporate capitalism is the control of this system by large corporations which wanted to increase profits.

Discrimination
Treating a group of people differently because of their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation etc.

Feminism
The belief that women should be treated equally as men with the same rights and responsibilities.

Fundamentalism
A conservative, religious movement among Protestants in the US which emphasised the strict truth of the Bible. It became particularly influential in southern states and fundamentalists became involved in politics.

Globalisation
The spread of institutions, organisations and culture on a global (worldwide) scale. Goods, services and culture eventually become the same around the world.

Internationalism
A political movement that encourages greater political and economic co-operation between nations for the benefit of all.

Imperialsm
Occurs when one country has a great deal of power or influence over others, especially in political and economic affairs.

Liberalism
The political belief concerned with personal freedom and social progress. Liberals favour gradual reform of political and economic matters, and an active government role in the economy.

Mass Media
A medium of communications (TV, newspapers, magazines) which reaches a large population.

Military-Industrial Complex
The combination of the armed forces, the politicians who support them and the industries who supply them. They have a strong influence on government decisions.

Moral Majority
A group which supported the application of strict Christian standards on society.

Presidential Bureaucracy
The civil service which delivers the President's policies. Presidents since 1945 have expanded cabinet posts and federal agencies. Most are approved by the President, but some need approval by Congress.

Public Opinion
The views and attitudes of the people. Governments need public opinion to be favourable to them so they can be re-elected, so they try to influence it through mass media.

Technological Development
The application or use of scientific discoveries in industry.

The United States and the World: Key Personalities

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

Below is the complete list of Key Personalities for The United States and the World, 1945 - 1989.

Each of these personalities are linked on their own relevant pages (e.g. Truman is linked on the US Foreign Policy 1945-72 page).

 

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11 Time-Travelling Photos of World War One: Then and Now

Key Personality: Betty Friedan

Leaving Cert > The United States and the World > Key Personalities

Friedan is a Key Personality for:

Society in the United States, 1945 - 1989

• Early Life:
  Where did Friedan go to college? What did she earn a degree in? What beliefs did she develop there? What did she do in 1949?

• Friedan and the Feminine Mystique:
  What discovery did she make from the questionnaire she gave at her 15-year reunion? When did Friedan write The Feminine Mystique? How well did it sell? How did she incorporate her findings into the book? What kind of person does the book talk about? What is the "feminine mystique" mentioned in the title?

• Friedan and The Problem That Has No Name:
  What expectations were there on middle-class women in the US at this time? How did Friedan feel this was restricting women? Why did she call it The Problem With No Name? What did she compare the second-class status of women to?

• Friedan and her Critics:
  What did her critics say about her? What did they say about her sources? How did her marriage play in to this? Despite the criticism, what effect did her book have on US society?

• Friedan and NOW:
  When did Friedan found the National Organisation of Women? What was their aim? What other group did she found in 1971, and why? What did she write about in The Second Stage in 1981? What was her opinion of extreme feminism?

Women in early and middle parts of the 20th century suffered an enormous amount of discrimination and were seen as second-class citizens.

Friedan (second from left) with other founders of the National Organisation for Women.

President Jimmy Carter signs an extension for the deadline for the Equal Rights Amendment to be ratified.
Despite the extension, it still failed.

Not all women were united behind Friedan's ideas. Some, such as conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, saw ERA as an attack on the traditional role of women in society.

Friedan in later years. She died in 2006.