The Freedom Riders

The Freedom Riders were a group of Civil Rights Activists who traveled in a series of bus trips throughout the South during the 1960's.  The CORE, or the Congress of Racial Equality, established in 1942, who fought for the rights of minorities, worked with the Freedom Riders in an attempt to desegregate the south.  The Freedom Riders defied segregation by using bathrooms and restaurant counters, that were labeled white only. The freedom riders received an incredible amount of violence from whites while traveling southern.  Although they faced little suppression in Virginia, with some violence and arrests from South Carolina, which later culminated in violence in Birmingham Alabama. A group of Ku Kulx Klan members attacked a Freedom Rider bus, slashing its tires and firebombing it. They held the door closed, trying to burn the riders inside, and beat them after they were able to escape. Despite warnings from Rob Kennedy, who opposed the riders from continuing, after hearing of the violence, the riders continued to Alabama, where they were met with mobs and many were arrested.
Below: The Freedom Riders in their bus
http://mdah.state.ms.us/freedom/

The Silent Spring

In the midst of the of the 1950's and the 1960's the amount of pesticides used increased incredibly. The use of pesticides was popularized after World War Two because of of their ability to kill insects such as lice, that caused malaria, and typhus.  The pesticide that was popularized was called DDT, which saved the lives of thousands of soldiers during World War Two. Later the pesticide was used to treat  crops as well as yards and neighborhoods. The government endorsed the product, claiming that it was completely safe, and exaggerating the problems of insects, in order to increase the use of pesticides that were forty times more poisonous that DDT. Despite the dangers, people continued to use the pesticides because they believed that large corporations would not try to harm them. However, despite this, the use of pesticides caused severe environmental damage, killing off wildlife, causing fish to explode, and the death of children after playing with the pesticides. Rachel Carson, a marine biologist noticed these changes.  She had already written best selling books such as, Under the Sea Wind, The Sea Around Us, which wrote about the interconnections of all living creatures.  In her book The Silent Spring, she wrote about the consequences of the government deciding to live in "a world without insects". She stated that the amount of Parathion, a pesticide, on the planet could destroy the world 5 to 10 times over She believed that people had the right to live in non toxic environments and criticized men for forgetting the true meaning of the planet.  She received a lot of criticism, with many people stating that a marine biologist was not capable of speaking intelligently on pesticides, some even stated that Carson was a Communist or a "hysterical" women, another way of saying that because of her sex, she was not knowledgeable scientist.  
Below: Rachel Carson
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/story-silent-spring
                        

The Kitchen Debate

In the height of the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union decided to hold cultural exhibits in each country, with the United States having an exhibit in Moscow, and the Soviets having an exhibit in New York City. President Eisenhower influenced the making of these exhibits, advocating for the two countries to learn more about each other in order to work for peace together. The Lacy-Zaroubin Agreement (1958) made this possible, allowing for both countries to agree in the exchange of cultural, educational, and technological knowledge.  Although both sides wanted to share knowledge, they also hoped to impress one another with their prowess in technology and living standards, as well as the opportunity for undercover KGB and CIA operatives to infiltrate opposite groups. The Kitchen Debate occurred at the American exhibit in Moscow.  It began when Nixon showed Khrushchev through the exhibit and demonstrated color television sets.  The debates also occurred over the conditions of American kitchens and houses.  Khrushchev argued that the capitalist means of these inventions, was made to support consumerism and were not made to last, as well as trap housewives in their roles, things that did not occur under communism. Nixon argued that it was important that it is important that these good conditions and innovation be available to everybody.  They also argued over the Soviet production of missiles, and Khrushchev claimed that the Soviet Union, although young would advance to the level of United States technology.  They also argued over the ideologies of communism and capitalism, with Nixon claiming that there must be a free exchange in ideas and that "You must not be afraid of ideas".
Below: Khrushchev and Nixon debating
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchen_Debate

1950s Suburbs

During the Post War era, people craved peace, and the chance to get over the sacrifices made in the Great Depression and the Second World War.  This led to a huge growth of suburban living.  The suburban lifestyle was perfect for the growth of families, and it was more popular than ever for people to have children at young ages, due to their belief that after the violence of the war, prosperity was assured. During the "baby boom" in the mid 1940s, a record amount of 3.7 million babies were born in one year, with a consistent amount of about 4 million babies being born each year in the 1950s. Moving out to the suburbs, and away from the cities was made possible by the popularity of automobiles. At the time, automobiles reached a price that they could be afforded by almost anybody, and contributed significantly to the economy, with one and six workers being employed in the automobile industry.  The growth of cars in America in the 1950's was incredible with the growth of 25 million registered automobiles in 1950 to 67 million in 1958. The National Highway System, created by Eisenhower, allowed for greater access to bigger roadways that connected cities and suburbs, making it easy for people to move from their jobs in the cities to their homes in the suburbs, as well as go on vacation and road trips to other places in the country.  The rise of consumerism in cars was similar to that of other goods in the 1950's.  During this decade, household appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines, refrigerators, etc., were being marketed to the mainstream, and people hurried to buy them in order to "Keep up with the Joneses" or make sure that they had the same luxuries that everybody else in America had.  The suburban lifestyle of a family with a wife, husband, and two or three kids, all living in nearly-identicle "box" house was seen as the American Dream.  However, this dream was limited to mostly the white middle class.  Many African Americans were denied the right to move into these neighborhoods, and remained in urban areas throughout the 1950's.
Below: 1950's box houses
https://paulmullins.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/race-and-suburban-homogeneity-the-flanner-house-homes-and-post-urban-african-america/

Women's Liberation

The feminist movement in the 1960s and 1970s began with the rejection of previous values.  In the 1950s, the women was considered the wife, and nothing else. Women in the 1950s married at some of the youngest ages, many tying the knot soon after high school, with only 1.2% of women at that time period attending universities.  The role of women were to be perfect wives, who cooked, cleaned, and took care of their children and husbands. The spread of suburbs and the general longing among the country after the war to settle down and gain peace and prosperity provided the perfect situation for this to occur.  Those who did work were greatly held back by their sex, receiving far less than men.  Their jobs also proved to have little chance in upward mobility without a college education, with 70% of working women working in clerical or assembly line jobs. However things began to change in later years.  The pill was invented in the 50s, giving women the chance to put off having a family.  Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique criticized the domestic lifestyles that women were often forced to lived, and made many women realize that there was something that they wanted to make of themselves other than wives and mothers. Many women began to reject symbols of feminine domesticity, such as beauty products and homemaking magazines. They threw away these items in the Freedom Trashcan Protest and the protests of the Miss America Pageant, advocating for themselves to be seen as more than their bodies. They also began to advocate for sexual reproduction rights and equal wages, issues that are still present today.

Sixties Counterculture

The counterculture in the United States started during the mid 60's ending in the early 70's, ignited by the growing tension over the Vietnam War, and inspired by the rejection of the stereotypical ideals of the 50's. The majority of people who were part of the counter culture movement came from the middle class, and were white. An early start of counterculture can be seen in the Beatniks, poets who gained recognition in New York, and rejected materialism as well as explored the inner self and philosophy. One of the most lasting consequences of the counterculture movement was the formation of several great rock bands.  Rock music had been first made mainstream by Elvis the 50's, but gained popularity in the 60's and 70's with bands such as  the Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Aerosmith, the Rolling Stones, gaining popularity. To the horror of older generations, many youths began to reject old-fashioned ideas such as worth ethic and monogamy, and used drugs. The Sexual Revolution was brought about by women's access to birth control, as well as the growing freedoms brought about by Civil Rights movements influenced by the African American fight for Civil Rights. San Francisco was the center of the counterculture movement, home of the hippies, other acid users, and fans of psychedelic movement, such as Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead.


Below: A group of dancing Haight Ashbury Hippies
http://hippies101.blogspot.com/2009/02/haight-ashbury-hippie-headquarters.html

The Space Race

The Space Race started on October 4, 1957, when the Sputnik, an unmanned satellite, made it's way orbiting around Earth.  They later launched the Sputnik II (complete with a space dog, Laika), leaving the United States even farther behind in the space race, with several of their own rockets exploding disastrously on the launch pads, nicknaming them "Kaputnik". The thought of the possibility of Soviet Union missiles circling the world, prepared to launch missiles at any time struck fear into the hearts of Americans, feeding into the Red Scare and anti- Communism that had built up during the Cold War, and propelling the United States into the Space Race. On April 9, 1959, NASA announced the Mercury Seven, the first United States men designated to be astronauts. The US aimed to put the first man in space, only to be beaten by the USSR's Yuri Gagarin, the first man to orbit Earth in 1961, chased by the US Alan Shepard the first US man in space (though not in orbit) later that year. In early 1962 the United States put their first man, John Glenn (who later became the oldest man in space at age 77) into orbit around the Earth three times. The Mercury missions ended in 1963, when Gordo Cooper was sent to orbit the Earth twenty- two times.  So far the United States had largely denied the possibility of a female astronaut, a belief that was not shared by the Soviet Union, who sent pregnant astronaut Valentina Tereshkova into orbit around the Earth forty-eight times, doubling Cooper's achievement a month earlier. The US was yet to have a win until the Apollo 8 mission in which Jim Lovell, Bill Anders, and Frank Borman became the first men to orbit around the Earth in late 1968.  The Apollo 11 mission finally completed the ;ate President Kennedy's promise to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade on July 20, 1969 when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched down on the moon (accompanied by Michael Collins).  Although there were other missions after the Apollo 11, including the near- deadly Apollo 13 in which an oxygen tank exploded, the Apollo 11 was ultimately the flight that led to the US "winning" the space race.
Pictured below: the Original Mercury Seven Astronauts

The Boston Massacre

The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770, where British redcoats fired into a crowd of colonists, killing five. The event was caused by the growing tensions between the redcoats and the colonists, who were upset over the growing presence of British soldiers among them, who had been sent to enforce the Townsend Acts, which imposed duties on glass, lead paint, paper, and teas that were imported to the colonies. By the colonists, these acts were seen as unfair and an abuse of Britain's power .
An angry riot began when a group of fifty citizens attacked a British group of soldiers.  The mob began to throw sticks, snowballs, and stones at the group of soldiers, and one of the officers, Captain Thomas Preston called for more soldiers to arrive at the scene. Those soldiers were also attacked, leading to them firing into the crowd, killing three right away and wounding eight (two of which would later die).
Two of the officers were convicted of manslaughter, while Captain Preston was tried, but not charged for murder.
The Boston massacre was later sensationalized in order to create the appropriate outrage from the American public.  The most famous was the depiction of the event, an engraving made and circulated through newspaper by Paul Revere, who was not even at the massacre himself. The engraving depicted the mob as powerless and the British as angry killers.  The Sons of Liberty used the massacre as a piece of propaganda against the British, and pushed the British and the colonists even closer to a Revolutionary War.  The Paul Revere image can be seen here below.


Sources:
http://www.bostonmassacre.net/
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/massacre.htm
http://www.landofthebrave.info/boston-massacre.htm
http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/townshend-acts
http://www.bostonteapartyship.com/paul-revere

The Second Great Awakening

The Second Great Awakening occurred between the years 1790 and 1840.  With the ideals of Manifest Destiny becoming more popular, more and more people were heading out west, where churches were scare, leading to some losing faith in their previous religious convictions.  During the Great Awakening, Methodist and Baptist churches experienced a large growth in membership, due to preachers who were able to make a lasting impression of their religion's messages to people by being less conservative and more emotional, shocking some.
Many religious revivals were hosted throughout the country, were people from multiple branches of religions preached about the beauty of God, instead of focusing on the strict boundaries between and rules of religions such as Catholicism and Protestantism.  People enjoyed the new found democracy and freedom that one could now find while choosing their religion.  This led to a popularity increase in Evangelical churches which had a more populist, and less strict approach on spirituality.America became much more Protestant, and the Calvinists gained popularity especially through their ideas of free will, and choosing salvation, which was open to all human beings.  During these revivals and camp meetings, preachers often encouraged audience behavior, and it was common to see people sing, praying, and crying ans screaming on the ground, overcome with the emotions of what was going on around them.
This change in religious thinking also made its way to politics.  As people realized that they had a democratic choice of religion, they began to wish for the same things from their government, and became less willing to let elected officials represent them, and instead supported a more government in which citizen's could vote on matters that affected them.


Sources:
http://www.ushistory.org/us/22c.asp
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma95/finseth/evangel.html
https://www.citelighter.com/history/history/knowledgecards/the-second-great-awakening

George Custer

George Custer  was born on December 5, 1835. Despite him graduating last in his class at West Point, he became the youngest brevet brigadier general in the Union army, somewhat due to the lack of available men.  He became known for his actions in the Civil War, where he was assigned to aid George McClellan, and his successes were said to be due both to his courage and audacity. Despite his successes he was known for being gallant, aggressive, and reckless
After the war ended, Custer returned to the rank of a captain and led several minor fights against Native Americans in Kansas.  Twice he was punished for leaving duty, once to visit his wife Elizabeth, and once when he left the field without searching for a missing unit that had been killed.
Later in 1874, he violated the Treaty of 1868 by taking troops up into the sacred Black Hills.  Later in 1876, the government ordered an attack on the Lakota, under the command of General Alfred Terry, using a three- pronged approach .  However, Custer decided to disregard Terry's orders and attack the Lakota before the other two prongs arrived, a show of the recklessness that he was famous four.  The result was a disaster as he and his 647  men were slaughtered by the 2,500 men of Crazy Horse.  his battle later became known as "Custer's Last Stand" and has been portrayed and reenacted may times in a heroic, sensationalized, and inaccurate manor.
Sources:
http://www.biography.com/people/george-custer-9264128#battle-at-little-bighorn
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/george-armstrong-custer-1.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

The Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance took place after World War One until the mid 1930s.  It was a movement in literature, art music, and kindled a new African American cultural identity.  Many whites became fascinated with the world of Harlem, and sought out black writers.  Many of these authors wrote books of realism on the topic of black life the ghetto, and racial inequality.  One of the most famous of these writers was Langston Hughes, a famous poet and social activist who is credited with being one of the first "jazz poets" who focused on the life and struggles of African Americans.  The Harlem Renaissance encouraged lots of black writers, however many of them were ignored at the end of the Renaissance in the 1930's, near the start of World War Two.  Many black authors regained popularity during the Civil Rights Movement.
Many Harlem artists gained inspiration from African masks, and other types of African art by creating abstract and avant-garde paintings and sculptures that brought into light the African culture that was often ,misunderstood by whites, in a new light.
The Renaissance also became a musical era of blues and jazz, with artists such as Alberta Hunter, Bessie Smith, Clara Smith, and Ma Rainey, whom had until recently been unknown gaining attention and fame.  The music often expressed longings and emotions, and were written in the perspective of the black working class.   Famous jazz musicians and soloists emerged, including the most remembered, Louis Armstrong.  This type of music later migrated and gained popularity in Chicago from New York City.
Although black culture was embraced by both blacks and whites during this time period, racism still was still very prevelent. Interest waned in racial matters the years of World War Two, and would not comeback until the Civil Rights movements several years later.
Sources:
http://www.britannica.com/event/Harlem-Renaissance-American-literature-and-art
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_harlem.html

The Red Scare

The "Red Scare" refers to the fear of communism.  One of the Red Scares occurred in the 1920's despite there being only about 150,000 anarchists or  communists at the time, only making up 0.1% of the United States population. The Red Scare was caused by the end of World War One and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.  People began to fear a revolution at hand in America, especially after several anarchist bombings, including an attempt to kill Attorney General,  A. Mitchell Palmer, and an anarchist bomb killed 38 on Wall Street on September 16, 1920.
 Many people were suspect for being communist for being unpatriotic, draft dodgers, slackers, or anything that could be argued as detrimental to the United States.  In 1919, 249 political radicalists were deported.

This turn of events was very detrimental towards the working class, and the labor movement.  At the end of the war, due to increasing inflation, workers striked in order to make enough money to support themselves.  Over 3,300 strikes occurred, and a small group formed a radical Communist Labor Party in 1919, which only increased hysteria.  Many and employers were willing to lable unions and strikers as socialists and communists who were trying to cause a revolution in order to lose public and police support for them, a practice that carried into the Great Depression.  On January 1, 1920, 6,000 people were arrested, as a campaign against communists, and many were released only a few weeks later due to lack of evidence,

One famous trial was that of Nicola Sacco and Batolomeo Vanzetti, who were accused and charged for the murder of during a robbery.  Despite the lack of evidence, the fact that they were anarchists and socialists seemed to confirm that they were the killers.  They were tried by Judge Thayer, famous for hating "Reds" and were accused of being seen at the murder seen by 61 people and were said to be somewhere else at the time of the crime by 107 people.  However the two were charged, and sentenced to death in 1927.
Sources:
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/SaccoV/redscare.html
http://www.ushistory.org/us/47a.asp
https://keithyorkcity.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/anarchists-in-america-the-wall-street-bombing-of-1920/

Susan B. Anthony

The women's rights movement had grown in the 1850s, but lost support and enthusiasm by the Civil War, in which after the 14th and 15th Amendments were made, defining citizenship, and giving black men the right to vote.  Born in 1820, Susan B. Anthony was an abolitionist who dedicated her life to the women's suffrage movement.
Anthony and her family lived in Rochester, where she was a teacher at a girls school.  Her family was part of the abolitionist movement, and she helped slaves escape to freedom through the Underground Railroad.  Due to her beliefs and actions, Anthony encountered much opposition such as mobs, threats, and being hung in effigy (model of the person). In 1852 Anthony began to campaign for woman's suffrage, equal pay.  In 1856 she joined the American Anti Slavery Society where she continued to work for the cause until the start of the Civil War.
In Rochester, Anthony was the teacher of a girl's school.  In 1852, she and Elizabeth Stanton formed the Women's New York State Temperance Society, which later also began to focus on woman's suffrage and equal rights. In 1866 she and Stanton formed the Women's National Loyal League which sought to end the Civil War and abolish slavery which later disbanded after the war.  She later joined the American Equal Rights Association (AERA) where she supported both black and women's suffrage, both which were later shot down in Kansas by popular vote. After the 15th Amendment granted blacks the right to vote, the AERA refused to support a 16th Amendment giving the same right to women, causing both Anthony and Stanton to leave and form the Nation Women's Suffrage Association, which advocated suffrage, easier divorce, and the end of discrimination in employment and pay.
In the 1870's she campaigned within 26 states and gained 10,000 signatures, which were later dismissed by Congress. She became president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1892 due to Stanton's retirement and retired in 1900 at the age of 80.  Anthony died in 1906.
Overall, Anthony was part of several important movements and events in American history.  When women got the vote in 1920 due to the 19th Amendment, it also became known as the Susan B. Anthony movement.  The flapper movement in the 1920's in which women became free and less bound to "ladylike" constraints can be attributed to their recently gained right to vote.
Sources:
http://www.biography.com/people/susan-b-anthony-194905#womens-right-to-vote
https://susanbanthonyhouse.org/her-story/biography.php
http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/susan-b-anthony-believed-black-humanity

Bootleggers and the Organized Crime

When the 18th Amendment prohibited the making, transporting, and selling (but not the private ownership of) alcohol in 1920.  Anti- alcohol movements can be seen from the mid 1800s, starting with the groups such as the Women's Christian Temperance Movement and the Anti- Saloon League, which seeked to to reduce crime, violence, prisoners, and deaths.  However, the prohibition movement had a negative impact, creating a lucrative business out of bootlegging, or the illegal sale of alcohol. It also led to a drinking spree among the nation, inspired by disrespect for the law.  Many cities claimed to have the most alcohol and speakeasies, secret bars with codes needed to enter.
Bootleggers found ways to avoid the law, including bribes, obtaining medical alcohol licenses, and a general lack of law enforce  Ships from the Caribbean would carry rum and drop them off on three miles from the U.S. coast, outside of the control of authorities and small "contact boats" would bring the rum back to shore, outmaneuvering the Coast Guard. The founder of these so- called "rum rows" was Captain William S. McCoy, a built builder and captain of an excursion boat, as well as ironically, a non- drinker. McCoy and his brother were also credited for bringing in the largest amount of illegal cargo to New York at its time, 1,500 cases of liquor.  These operations were carried out from 1921, despite laws being passed in 1924 which moved the jurisdiction of the United States to 12 miles past the coast, which although made it harder but not impossible.   They also used denatured alcohol however, this alcohol was full of toxic chemicals which had to be cleaned, mixed with tap water, and sometimes real liquor. All these factors led to a rise in mobs and organized crime.

One of the most famous mobster's Al Capone's Chicago operations focused on bootlegging, prostitution, and gambling. It was also rumored that about 1,000 gunman and half of the Chicago police force was being paid by him, contributing to his influence and power. He was the head of many brutally violent acts, the most famous the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929 that killed 7 of his rival mobsters, contributing to the 800 gangsters killed in Chicago during the prohibition era. Although he was never indicted for any of these violent crimes, he was jailed in 1931 for income- tax evasion, released after seven and a half years, and died in 1947.
Overall, not only were bootlegging and organized crime a way to making massive sums of money, but was contributed to the rise of mass culture seen in the roaring 20's. With many becoming richer and richer (America's wealth doubled between 1920- 1929), the partying lifestyle was popular among the wealthy, now including women who had recently gained more rights and freedom, who embraced luxuries, including alcohol.

Why Does the American Form of Government Work?

The Federalist No. 10

1. "No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause, because his interest would certainly bias his judgment, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity. With equal, nay with greater reason, a body of men are unfit to be both judges and parties at the same time; yet what are many of the most important acts of legislation, but so many judicial determinations, not indeed concerning the rights of single persons, but concerning the rights of large bodies of citizens? And what are the different classes of legislators but advocates and parties to the causes which they determine?"

2. "In the first place, it is to be remarked that, however small the republic may be, the representatives must be raised to a certain number, in order to guard against the cabals of a few; and that, however large it may be, they must be limited to a certain number, in order to guard against the confusion of a multitude. Hence, the number of representatives in the two cases not being in proportion to that of the two constituents, and being proportionally greater in the small republic, it follows that, if the proportion of fit characters be not less in the large than in the small republic, the former will present a greater option, and consequently a greater probability of a fit choice."

The Federalist No. 51

1. "But the great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in the same department, consists in giving to those who administer each department the necessary constitutional means and personal motives to resist encroachments of the others. The provision for defense must in this, as in all other cases, be made commensurate to the danger of attack. Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary."

2. "But it is not possible to give to each department an equal power of self-defense. In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates. The remedy for this inconveniency is to divide the legislature into different branches; and to render them, by different modes of election and different principles of action, as little connected with each other as the nature of their common functions and their common dependence on the society will admit."

The American form of government works due to its ability to cater to the masses and the states while maintaining order through the three branches.  Because America is a democracy,  members of society are allowed to vote for their representatives in the House of Representatives, their Senators, and the President.  However, they are not individually represented when it comes to proposing/ passing laws, bills, making decisions about wars, and other major national events, allowing the government to have a higher up power, and avoid chaos caused by multiples upon multiples of opinions (Article 10 quote 2).  However, by having the three branches of government that check and balance each other, one person or group is unable to gain control of the government and work for their own personal gain (Article 10/ 51 quotes 1). The government also caters to the states by making the legislative branch split between the House of Representatives and the Senate and electoral votes to please both bigger and smaller states (# 51 quote 2).  The way the Constitution was wrote also provides a strong federal government while allowing states freedom in establishing laws that are not directly mentioned in the Constitution.