The History of the United States

Part 7 (1945-1964)

“Give light and people will find the way”

- Ella Baker
After World War Two, there was the start of an economic boom in America. Culture
changed rapidly and Americans back then witnessed new conflicts, the growth of suburbia,
the spread of rock plus pop music, and the continuation of the evil of Jim Crow. Many
activists during this era from Ella Baker to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. contributed heavily to
defeating Jim Crow once and for all. Also, Republican and Democratic Presidents focused
heavily on Cold War policy. The Cold War reached dangerous proportions with the Cuban
Missile Crisis and other various standoffs. This era saw new nations form in Africa, Asia,
and Latin America in their rejections of colonialism and imperialism. The history of the
United States of America during this period witnessed new challenges, old debates, and the
same cause of justice being advanced by heroic human beings.
 The Table of Contents
*Introduction
*The Early Era of the Cold War
*Anti-Communism and McCarthyism
*President Harry Truman
*President Dwight D. Eisenhower
*1950’s Society
*President John F. Kennedy
*The early era of President Lyndon Baines
Johnson
*The Beginning of the Vietnam War
*The Early Civil Rights Movement (1945-1964)
*Appendix A: Honoring the Power of Motown
 Introduction
From 1945 to 1964, the United States of America witnessed massive changes. World War Two ended with
the liberation of millions of human beings from fascism and other forms of oppression. Also, there was the
start of the Cold War which pitted the capitalist United States and the Communist USSR against each
other. China became Communist too after the Chinese civil war. Proxy wars flourished, and they
transpired in the Korean peninsula, the Vietnam peninsula, and other locations. Western Europe was
rebuilt in part by the Western Marshall Plan. Billions of dollars’ worth in loans, which originated from the
United States, aided places like France, Britain, and Western Germany. America invested heavily into
Japan immediately after WWII. Later, Japan grew to be a technological powerhouse and continues to be
so today in late 2018. Economic growth expanded into new heights. Conversely, poverty (when the poor
suffered great suffering), sexism, and racial injustice flourished throughout America during that time
period too. That is why members of the Civil Rights Movement fought for the Little Rock Nine, the
Brown decision, the Freedom Riders, and other unsung heroes who desired freedom plus justice. This
same Civil Rights Movement (with heroes like Ella Baker, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Septima
Clark, Medgar Evers, etc.) ultimately ended Jim Crow apartheid via the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights
Act. America and other nations formed NATO or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as a buffer
against Communist growth in Europe. The Soviets responded to this development by establishing the
Warsaw Pact.

This era of time saw the rise of liberal Democratic Presidents like Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, and
Lyndon Baines Johnson along with the center-right or moderate President Dwight D. Eisenhower (who
supported the expansion of Social Security and the development of the interstate highway system). The
Beat movement started during the 1950's that displayed art, poetry, and a rejection of conformity
involving our society functions. McCarthyism harmed the freedom of speech, but heroes stood up against
the extremism of Joseph McCarthy too. Great liberal legislation was difficult to pass in Congress during
this time because of the Conservative Coalition. By 1964, the Great Society would begin and some of the
most progressive legislation in human history would exist (by a liberal Congress formed in 1964).
America's involvement in the Vietnam War would develop during this time, but signs of a catastrophic
war would transpire even in the early 1960's. This time was the start of the Cold War. The Berlin Airlift
helped many human begins. The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 saw real leaders (among those from America
and the USSR) coming together to prevent WWIII literally with their deeds. Labor unions reached
substantial power, and more people saw cultural excellence like Motown, athletic greatness, and diverse
fashion styles. The Baby Boomers were born in that age and America grew its impact on the world scene
even more.
The Early Era of the Cold War
The Cold War has a long history. Isolationism and totalitarianism made the world see that intervention for a
righteous cause, without archaic views, is a necessity. Franklin Delano Roosevelt saw the start of a new
international United States government. Shortly before the end of World War II, the once allies of America and the
Soviet Union started to break down their friendship. Both were in unison in opposing Nazi Germany. They had many
disagreements even before the end of World War II. America’s government embraced capitalism. It had laws the
promoted free elections, religious freedom, and the embrace of political differences. America had many economic
liberties, but it hasn’t lived up to true equality because of racism and discrimination. Stalinism dominated the Soviet
Union. Stalinism was a perversion of socialism. Stalinism made the Communist Party control of all economic and
military-political decisions. Anyone questioning Stalin could face imprisonment or death as the Stalin purges
attested. In the Soviet Union, Stalinism suppressed religious liberty, and people couldn’t own private property
readily. When Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met at Yalta in February of 1945, everyone from the Allies knew that
they were going to win the war. The question was how to deal with a post-war world. By that time, the Soviet Union
had already occupied Eastern Europe and parts of Germany. Stalin wanted Germany to be divided, and he
dominated Eastern Europe. America and Great Britain wanted a strong, unified Germany with independent nations
existing in Eastern Europe. The Yalta conference ended with Stalin agreeing with free elections in Eastern Europe
while the Allied powers divided Germany into occupation zones (where Allied powers would control a specific
section of Germany). By the spring of 1945, Stalin’s forces still conquered almost all of Eastern Europe.

The satellite states of the Soviet Union would be Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. Eastern
Germany was under control of the Soviets too. The Soviets didn’t want a repeat of a Nazi Germany, so they were
very concerned to maintain control of Eastern Europe. The Potsdam meeting took place in the summer of 1945.
FDR passed away by this time. The meeting had the American President Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin, and the new
British Prime Minister Clemente Attlee. Truman and Attlee wanted Stalin to confirm the decisions promised at Yalta.
Stalin refused to do so, and he refused to allow free elections in Eastern Europe. Truman was a more of a hardliner
against the Soviets than FDR. His advisers and Truman himself believed that the Soviets wanted world domination,
which is ludicrous. This distrust among both sides ultimately resulted in the Cold War. The Red Army was very
powerful, and both Americans including the Soviets didn’t cause an actual resolution to solve the complex issue of
Eastern Europe.
Winston Churchill also believed in the myth that the Soviet Union wanted world domination. He was more of a
hardliner than Truman in many respects. That is why Churchill gave his famous, disturbing Iron Curtain speech. He
gave this speech on March 5, 1946, at Missouri at Fulton College. Churchill did this intentionally since Missouri was
Truman’s home state. Churchill said that a virtual iron curtain has descended from Eastern Europe. He said that
Stalin wanted to spread communism in Western Europe and East Asia. He
wanted democratic countries to stand firm to oppose communism. The Soviet
Union installed more communist governments in Eastern Europe. Stalinism
created a police state system to crush political plus religious dissent. There is no
excuse for that. Truman agreed with Churchill. Truman was born poor and was a
WWI veteran who served in France during that war. He had a steadfast
personality. 1947 was the year when the Cold War came into a new era. The
Communist movement spread in Europe and Asia. Turkey had communists, and
U.S. President Harry S. Truman a right-wing Greek government had a civil war against communists back in 1947.
introduced his guest speaker, Greece and Turkey wanted foreign aid and America did give both nations
British statesman Winston assistance. The date of March 12, 1947, was when Truman gave a speech to
Churchill, at Westminster both Houses of Congress. He said that he wanted Congress to send aid to
College Fulton, at Missouri. Turkey and Greece in promoting democracy. Congress agreed and provided
Churchill went on to make his $400 million to both countries. Aiding nations in opposing communism became
famous "Iron Curtain" speech. known as the Truman Doctrine.
This source is from Bettmann /
Contributor / Getty Images. George K. Kennan was an American diplomat and a researcher of the Soviet
Union. He wrote an article entitled, “The Sources of Soviet Conduct” under the
pseudonym X. It promoted the containment doctrine or that the best way to stop Communism was to contain it in its
borders as it is. Kennan wrote that Stalin wouldn’t risk an overt war with America since it would be too costly. So,
Kennan wanted Stalin contained, so the spread of communism in other lands would decline. Kennan also wanted
total American economic, political, and military power to confront Stalin along with patience. After World War II,
Western Europe was devastated. There were significant shortages of fuel, food, and medical supplies. Winters were
brutal. That is why the Secretary of State George C. Marshall established a plan to make a recovery for Europe. He
gave a speech at Harvard University. He said that the economic health of the world must develop to achieve real
peace. His plan was the Marshall Plan. Congress passed the Marshall Plan in early 1948. It allowed America to give
about $13 billion in grants and loans to nations in Western Europe. It provided food to reduce famine, fuel to heat
houses, and factors. It gave money to grow the economy. It lasted for four years. It offered cash to Europe in
Eastern Europe, but Stalin refused to accept the money. The Marshall Plan was a success to rebuild Western
Europe, and it proves that government money can save people’s lives literally. Conversely, America’s economy
grew as trade increased between Western Europe and the United States of America. The Marshall Plan was a
political measure also to try to stop the spread of communism.
During the early Cold War, Germany was one major flashpoint. So, the Allied Powers divided Germany into zones
controlled by France, Britain, and America. These nations were in Western Germany. The Soviet Union controlled
Eastern Europe alone. The Allies controlled West Berlin. The Soviets controlled East Berlin. West Berlin had more
economic prosperity than East Berlin. Stalin wanted to control West Berlin, so he stopped all highway, railway, and
waterway traffic from western Germany into West Berlin. This Berlin Airlift took place in June of 1948. He wanted to
blockade the city. So, America and Britain supplied West Berlin via a massive airlift. Food, fuel, medical supplies,
clothing, and toys were sent to West Berlin by various forms of transportation. Planes flew to the city around the
clock. Some aircraft existed in one plane per minute. American and British planes flew in the rain and snow. The
Berlin airlift showed how far America would go into promoting its interests. Stalin realized that the blockade was over
by May 1949. The barrier was over. After the airlift, Western allies formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or
NATO in 1949. NATO was a military alliance against Soviet expansion. It promoted to defend each other if one
nation experienced an attack. Initially, it was made up of 12 Western European countries and North American
nations. They supported collective security. West Germany was in NATO by 1955. The Soviet Union responded by
forming the Warsaw Pact. The Warsaw Pact was a military alliance that included communist states of Eastern
Europe except for Yugoslavia. It was about each nation defending each other if one suffered an attack. The Soviet
Union controlled the pact entirely.

Unsung, Glorious Artists of the 1940’s

Katherine Dunham Marian Anderson (1897- Sister Rosetta Tharpe Lena Horne (1917-
(1909-2006) 1993) (1915-1973) 2010)

She was a dancer, a As a great opera singer, she
choreographer, an made history as the first
educator, and a social African American to sing at
activist. the Lincoln Memorial in
1939 at Washington, D.C.
As a singer, songwriter, and
guitarist, she worked in
both gospel and rhythm
and blues.
She was a dancer, a civil
rights activist, and she was
born at Bedford-
Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NYC.
 Significant Cold War History

The Iron Curtain here in this picture Mao Zedong ( 毛泽东 ) Here Douglas MacArthur observed the
is depicted as a black line. Warsaw lived from December 26, naval shelling of Inchon from USS Mount
Pact countries on one side of the 1893 to September 9, McKinley at September 15, 1950 with
Iron Curtain appear shaded red; 1976. He was the Brigadier General Courtney Whitney (on
NATO members on the other Communist founder of the left) and Major General Edward M.
shaded blue; militarily neutral the People’s Republic of Almond (right).
countries shaded gray. The black China. He was the
dot represents West Berlin. Chairman of the
Yugoslavia, although communist- Communist party of China
ruled, remained largely from 1949 to 1976.
independent of the two major blocs
and is shaded green. Communist
Albania broke off contacts with the
Soviet Union in the early 1960s,
aligning itself with the People's
Republic of China after the Sino-
Soviet split; it appears stripe-
hatched with gray.

Soon, Cold War conflicts would exist in Asia. In China, Jiang Jieshi was fighting Mao Zedong in the Chinese Civil
war. Jiang is also known as Chiang Kai-shek. Both men were allies in fighting Japan during WWII. They were
enemies after World War II. America supported Jiang while Stalin supported Mao. Many nationalist generals were
not apt to follow justice. Many corrupt nationalists used the money for their benefit instead of funding the Chinese
people starving. Mao promised to free the Chinese people. Mao gained more popularity in China, and the
Communists won the Chinese civil war. Jiang had corruption issues after he wanted American military intervention.
By 1949, Jiang fled to Taiwan. Mao controlled China and called his country the People’s Republic of China. Many
Americans were shocked about China being Communist as China is the most populous nation on Earth. The
division of Korea took place along the 38th parallel. North of that line was the Communist government and south
was the non-communist government. American occupation troops were in South Korea until June of 1949. North
Korea built up its military. On June 25, 1950, North Korea attacked across the 38th parallel. The Soviets aided North
Korea with tanks and other weapons. 90,000 North Korean troops overran the capital of Seoul and went after the
South Korean Army who was retreating. Truman created his response. He wanted intervention in South Korea in not
repeating in his mind of German aggression during World War II. Truman called on the UN to promote a military
response in the conflict. The Soviet Union wasn’t present for the votes which it could use its veto power to stop the
call for an intervention. The Soviets were not present since the UN refused to seat Mao in the UN. Truman used a
UN resolution instead of Congressional authorization to intervene in the Korean War.

Truman deployed troops from Japan to South Korea. The problem was that these soldiers lacked combat readiness
for the environment, for the terrain, and military equipment. They joined the South Koreans and fled too. They
gathered at Pusan or a city in South Korea. The Allies held fast. New supplies and troops helped the American plus
South Korean forces. By September 1950, the UN counterattack started. General Douglas MacArthur held a bold
plan to drive out the North Koreans. He said that North Korea had a rapid advance, but its supplies were low. So, he
wanted to strike North Korean forces by using a surprise attack on the port city of Inchon behind enemy lines.
Inchon was a poor landing site, so MacArthur believed that the North Koreans wouldn’t deduce such an attack on
that region would transpire. He took a risk, and he succeeded. By September 15, 1950, U.S. Marines landed at
Inchon. They launched an attack into the rear guard of the North Koreans. Communist forces were being defeated
and fled into North Korea. The 38th parallel was the border. U.S. officials debated about what to do next. Some
wanted to end the war since the UN mandate completed its order. Some wanted to push onward into North Korea.
Truman didn’t want China to be involved in the fight if U.S. forces traveled into North Korea. Chinese leaders didn’t
want Americans to go near its borders.

MacArthur ignored China’s warnings. He believed that China wouldn’t intervene in the war. Later, America wanted a
resolution to have a unified Korea. MacArthur attacked north of the 38th parallel. North Korea existed with
mountains. The temperature was cold. By Thanksgiving 1950, U.S. forces were near the Chinese border at the Yalu
River. By November 25, 1950, 300,000 Chinese soldiers attacked the Americans and South Koreans.
Outnumbered, the UN troops retreated. Now, China was in the war. America had a dangerous conflict. Truman
never wanted atomic weapons dropped. MacArthur wanted an invasion of China, which is ludicrous. Truman was
angry at MacArthur. MacArthur opposed a limited war and wrote a letter to the House criticizing Truman. Truman
later fired MacArthur for insubordination. America had an outcry and MacArthur was hailed as a hero in America.
Ironically, the Korean War would end in a stalemate. By the Spring of 1951, the Allied forced regrouped and
stabilized their position near the 38th parallel. Diplomats had a peace strategy. Dwight D. Eisenhower won the 1952
election in part because of the stalemate of the war. Eisenhower studied the war and formed a peace deal. The
cease-fire came on July 27, 1953, after Stalin died.

Millions of Koreans experienced death including 37,000 Americans. From that moment onward, North Korea
became communist, and South Korea would be non-communist. The Korean War expanded military U.S.
involvement overseas, and the pro-US Southeast Asia Treaty Organization SEATO was formed in Asia (to fight
communism. It included Pakistan, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, France, Britain, and the United
States). Military spending was half of the federal U.S. budget. Japan improved relations with America. Like Truman,
future U.S. Presidents would send troops to war without Congressional declarations of war. By 1950, the Cold War
expanded. The two dominant superpowers of America and the Soviet Union controlled most of the resources on
Earth. The Soviet Union tested its atomic bomb on September 2, 1949. It shocked the world. Truman created the
Atomic Energy Commission. Nuclear bases grew in America. America first tested the hydrogen bomb in 1952. J.
Robert Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein opposed this development as promoting an arms race. The arms race
grew. Eisenhower believed in fighting communism by building nuclear weapons in America. He wanted more
planes, missiles, and submarines to deliver them. Conservatives opposed this view as reducing ships and tanks.
Liberals feared that this policy provoked WWIII.

Eisenhower’s ally was the Secretary of state John Foster Dulles. Dulles in 1954 threatened usage of nuclear
weapons to stop the spread of communism. Dulles’ brinkmanship policy was part of the Cold War. Stalin’s death
caused Nikita Khrushchev to take power in the Soviet Union. He wasn’t as cruel as Stalin, but he opposed American
policies. He condemned the errors of Stalin and wanted more peaceful relations with the West. Khrushchev met with
Eisenhower in Geneva via conference on July 1955. Peaceful co-existence would be harder to enact than many
realized. Eastern Europeans yearned for more freedoms. Hungarian students and workers had the Hungarian
revolution (which was headed by progressives and socialists). Although, the Soviets crushed it and they killed
hundreds of Hungarians. The Soviet Union and Hungary fought at a water polo match in the 1956 Olympics in
Melbourne, Australia.

The Suez Canal crisis existed. Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser was a nationalist. He wanted a dam on the
Nile River at Aswan. America and France supported the plan at first. Nasser recognized China and talked with the
Soviets, so the Eisenhower team didn’t fund that project anymore. Nasser then nationalized the Suez Canal and
placed it under government control. The canal was a place where Western powers gained resources. So, Britain,
France, and Israel joined forces to attack Egypt. President Eisenhower opposed the actions of Britain, France, and
Israel. He didn’t supply them with U.S. oil. When this happened, the three nations withdrew its troops from Egypt.
Eisenhower used his doctrine to handle money and troops to fight communists. He used the CIA to organize coups
in Iran by 1953 against the democratically elected government of Iran. In 1954, the CIA aided forces to fight in
Guatemala. The CIA was involved in many corrupt actions for actions under the guise of “anti-Communism.” The
Soviet Union flew the satellite Sputnik 1 into space. Sputnik 2 had a dog in orbit called Laika. It died after it orbited.
This shocked Americans and America funded NASA to invest in space research plus technological growth. The Cold
War had bomb drills, shelters, and other posters.

Anti-Communism and the McCarthyism

The massive anti-Communism and the vicious McCarthyism of the late 1940’s to the 1960’s represented a time in
America where civil liberties and the First Amendment rights in general were violated in general as a means for
some to promote the lie that every Communist wanted to take over the world (and make a totalitarian empire). It
was a time where debates about national security and protecting human freedoms were abundant. After World War
II, the Cold War existed in full swing by the late 1940’s. This new Red Scare was part of the McCarthyism era and
the overall paranoia that some embraced about Communism when Communism is not monolithic. There are
variations in the Communist system as the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has accurately stated. Me personally, I
don’t believe in Stalinist Communism (as Stalin is complicit in the overt murder of millions of people and used
totalitarianism to violate the human rights of people in the Soviet Union just like the anti-Semitic murderous Czars
did before Stalin was born). I do believe that laissez faire, neoliberal capitalism is evil since it involves little to no
regulation of the market and it abhors a public social safety net. Not to mention that many imperialists and
colonialism have used laissez faire capitalism historically to dominate and harm the peoples of the world (especially
people of color). Capitalism readily promotes covetousness, a lust for profit, and an ignoring of human solidarity.
The promotion of the common good is a prerequisite for better society. That is why the individual has a responsibility
to use his or her gifts in the best way possible and the collective has a responsibility to improve society in general.
The role of government to is to promote the general welfare for the people. By the 1950’s, the Korean War existed.
American life changed. Weapons and supplies were grown by American industries. Popular culture, movies, and
newspapers promoted the idea of us vs. them (being the Soviets).

The Cold War was truly global and murderous at times. Ironically, it was an extension of World War II. The paranoia
of Communists infiltrating every aspect of American society was promoted by General J. Howard McGrath. He was
Truman’s Attorney General. Truman was a staunch anti-Communist throughout his Presidency. McGrath said that
communists were in businesses, offices, street corners, etc. Communism grew in Eastern Europe and Asia. Some
Americans felt that this meant that Communists would try to take over the American government.

The truth is that only a few American communists were agents of the Soviet Union. Only a handful of them were in
high ranking positions in government. Most government officials were loyal to the United States. President Truman
by March of 1947 created the Federal Employee Loyalty Program. This allowed the FBI and the government
security agencies to screen federal employees for signs of political disloyalty. Then, about 3,000 federal employees
were dismissed or resigned after investigations. The Attorney General then formed a list of what he deemed fascist,
totalitarian, and subversive organizations. People of those groups were scrutinized by the Attorney General. Many
were fired for jobs since they were labeled “security risks.” The Truman administration used the 1940 Smith Act to
try to cripple the Communist Party in America. The act made it illegal to teach or advocate the violent overthrow of
the U.S. government. A New York jury found 11 communists guilty of violating the Smith Act in 1949. They were
sent to prisons. Congress wanted to search for communists too.

The House Un-American Activities Committee or HUAC was created in 1938. It was done to investigate actions of
possible fascists, Nazis, and communists. HUAC investigated Communists more after World War Two. They
investigated the government, newspapers, science, education, unions, armed forces, and other parts of American
life. What we know about HUAC comes heavily from their persecution of Hollywood actors and actresses back in
1947. They accused many actors and actresses of being communists. Many actors and actresses were
Communists and some were just progressive left wing non-Communist people. Regardless, these human beings
have the right to believe in what they want as stated in the First Amendment. Left wing writers, directors, and
producers were known as the Hollywood Ten. These people refused to answer questions as asserting their Fifth
Amendment rights against self-incrimination. The Congressional HUAC hearings were filled with yelling, accusations
and counter-accusations. The Hollywood Ten were later cited for contempt of Congress. They were tried, convicted,
and sent to prison. This was bad. Also, it was evil for many movie executives to circulate a blacklist of entertainment
people who they didn’t hire because of accused communist ties. Many careers of actors and actresses ended
because of the new Red Scare hysteria that violated the freedom of conscience.

It wasn’t until the Supreme Court decision in 1957 with the Watkins v. United States decision that witnesses before
HUAC couldn’t be forced to name radicals that they knew. HUAC bullied filmmakers during that time to only show
films about entertainment. Before that time and before the Hays Code, films had controversial subjects and talked
about issues like racism including anti-Semitism. Freedom of speech was further violated with the Hollywood Ten
incident and other situations during that time. Many Americans, who lost their jobs, were of organizations that they
belonged to as a product of the Attorney General’s list. Some people were fired for just talking with communists or
making statements those authorities deemed “disloyal.” Communists were expelled and blacklisted from academic
places, labor unions, scientific laboratories, and city hall. J. Robert Oppenhemier was investigated too. He led the
Manhattan Project that led to the creation of the atomic bomb. He was the chairman of the General Advisory
Committee of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission or the AEC (after World War II). Oppenheimer had ties to the
Communist Party including his wife and brother. He didn’t deny this, but he had the right to believe in what he
wanted to believe in without persecution. By 1954, the AEC denied Oppenhiemer access to classified information.
There is no evidence that Oppenheimer was disloyal to America, but they did it anyway. Many spy cases came
about during this era too. They were the cases of Alger Hiss and Julius plus Ethel Rosenberg. Hiss was educated at
Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Law School. The Rosenbergs were from the poor, lower east side of
Manhattan. Alger Hiss had a long career. He worked in New Deal agencies and helped to form the United Nations.
Whittaker Chambers came to accuse Hiss of something. Chambers was a communist and then opposed it because
of Stalin’s brutality. He wrote about his views of Communism being evil omitting that Stalin isn’t representative of all
Communists on Earth. He testified before HUAC about his communist past. He accused Alger Hiss was one of his
contacts in the federal government Hiss talked before HUAC. He denied that he was a communist agent or
espionage agent. He denied that he knew Whittaker Chambers. Richard Nixon back then was a young member of
Congress from California. Nixon told other committee people to keep the pressure on Hiss. Hiss’s story fell apart.
Information proved that Chambers did know about Hiss. Hiss was given confidential government documents.
Chambers had a microfilm copy of some of these documents. They were stored by him in a pumpkin on his
Maryland farm. Hiss was tried for perjury. He had a hung jury at first and was convicted during the second trial. He
was sentenced for five years in prison.

After his convictions, some believed that Alger Hiss was innocent. People among both sides exist. Hiss being
accused of being a communist threat grew anti-Communist paranoia in America. Richard Nixon was in the national
spotlight. That is why in 1952, Richard Nixon was named Eisenhower’s running mate and would be President by the
late 1960’s. The Rosenbergs were accused of helping the Soviets to build the atomic bomb. Klaus Fuchs was
accused of sending atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. When authorities investigated Klaus Fuchs, it led to Julius
and Ethel Rosenberg. The trial of the Rosenbergs has been debated to this very day. The word of one confessed
spy was used against the Rosenbergs. The Rosenbergs pleaded innocent to all charges. They said that they are
being persecuted because they are Jewish Americans and they held unpopular views in America. Both were found
guilty and sentenced to death. Some believed that the harsh sentence was used to try to find others of the alleged
spy ring. Both Rosenberg denied knowledge of any spy ring. They were on death row for 26 months. They were
electrocuted in 1953. Debates existed to this very day. Some believe that they are guilty and others view both
human beings as innocent. Some believe that anti-Semitic sentiment influenced the outcome. Back in the 1990’s,
new evidence claimed that Julius Rosenberg was a recruiter for the Soviet Union (according to the VERONA
documents) and Ethel Rosenberg had a minor role in the espionage. Others believe that the death penalty was too
harsh for both people. In 2015, following the most recent grand jury transcript release, the Rosenberg’s' sons,
Michael and Robert Meeropol called on the Obama administration to acknowledge that Ethel Rosenberg's
conviction and execution was wrongful, and issue a proclamation to exonerate her. Similarly, on September 28,
2015, the 100th anniversary of Ethel's birth, 11 members of the New York City Council issued a proclamation stating
that "the government wrongfully executed Ethel Rosenberg", and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer
officially recognized, "the injustice suffered by Ethel Rosenberg and her family", and declared it, "Ethel Rosenberg
Day of Justice in the Borough of Manhattan.”

Joseph McCarthy was famous for his anti-Communist zealotry. He used ruthless tactics. The early Cold War had
many historical events like the Chinese Revolution, Soviets testing nuclear bombs, and the Soviet agents in
America. Americans in many cases lacked confidence. McCarthy exploited these American fears as a way for him to
harass witnesses and promote the lie that every Communist is a treacherous proponent of world dictatorship.
McCarthy believed that American traitors were undermining America. By February of 1950, Joseph McCarthy
accused many State Department leaders of being communist agents. He held a paper citing names of such
individuals. This happened in Wheeling, West Virginia. McCarthy was a Senator from Wisconsin. This caused
people to want McCarthy to say names. He said that 205 people had security risks. Later, he claimed that 57
employees were communists. Names on his list soon changed. He had never publicly shown the list of names.
When the Korean War started by June of 1950, more Americans heard of McCarthy. He used anticommunism to win
another term as Senator. Then, he promoted his anti-Communist witch hunt called McCarthyism. It lasted for the
next 4 years. He made many reckless allegations against people. From 1950 to 1954, he was one of the most
powerful Senators in America during that time. He was the head of the investigative subcommittee, but he made
false accusations against people.

Many people lost jobs and had their reputations destroyed for just being accused by McCarthy of being communist.
McCarthy was caught telling lies and then told another one. Then, McCarthy accused former Secretary of State
George Marshall (a national hero and author of the Marshall Plan) of being a Communist. Other Senators feared
him. They were afraid that they would be called sympathizers of communists. Members of the far right American
Security Council aided McCarthy. Joseph McCarthy was educated at the Jesuit Marquette University. J. Edgar
Hoover agitated anti-Communism too and he abhorred anyone promoting progressive causes regardless if that
person was Communist or not. It isn’t a secret that the government (even backed by the AFL-CIO back then) helped
to suppress left wing unions like the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, and the Maritime Cooks
and Stewards Union. Dorothy Bailey (who was a black woman) worked in the U.S. Employment Service in
Washington, D.C. She was fired from her job in 1949 just for opposing Jim Crow segregation. She was very loyal to
America and only admitted to being a brief member of the American League for Peace and Democracy. Many
people criticized the accusers for asking the following question to her since that question was offensive: “…Did you
ever write a letter to the Red Cross about the segregation of blood? What was your personal position about that?”
Great lawyers like Thurman Arnold, Abe Fortas, and Paul Porter defended her and the Supreme Court defended the
firing. Later, Dorothy Bailey worked with the lawyers in a new job. The Eisenhower administration later opposed
McCarthy too. The Supreme Court threw out state sedition laws that were on the books in 33 states. It cut back the
Federal loyalty program and grew out a number of Smith Act convictions. McCarthy went after the United States
Army in 1954. He said that it was filled with Communists. Army leaders said that McCarthy went personal.

The Senate formed televised hearings to figure out the truth. Many Americans saw the emotional coverage. Many
didn’t like McCarthy’s bullying tactics. The TV showed McCarthy snicker at others’ sufferings, twist the truth, and
harass witnesses. In mid-June, he had lost many of his supporters. The Senate censured and condemned him for
his false allegations. The journalist Edward R. Murrow was one of the few journalists who criticized Joseph
McCarthy. McCarthy continued to serve in the Senate. Yet, he had little power and influence. The Red Scare
declined by 1954. McCarthyism and the Red Scare saw free speech suppressed and lax debate about issues.
Americans later realized that democratic institutions are important and the First Amendment is great to preserve not
suppress because of ideological views.
President Harry Truman
After WWII, America saw a massive economic boon. The growth of the middle class existed. More than 12 million
Americans were in the military by August 1945. When the war ended, the military economy converted into a
peacetime economy. July 1946 was when 3 million people stayed in the military. Many soldiers were worried about
losing their benefits. So, the government created the famous GI Bill of Rights. It gave veterans many benefits. It
gave college aid, unemployment payments to veterans who couldn’t find work. Some veterans struggled to get loans
to start businesses and own homes. The GI Bill was one of the most significant governmental programs in history. It
was involved in an increase of home ownership and the growth of the suburbs. 8 million veterans came into
education. A baby boom existed too. Many families grew more children being more confident in the future. From
1940 to 1955, there were from 130 million to 165 million Americans. Economic issues existed when prices of goods
increased. By this time, America had the highest standard of living in the world by producing 50 percent of the
world’s total output with only 6 percent of the world’s population. Worker productivity increased, and technologies
developed into a higher level. More government spending also enhanced this economic growth. Truman was
President in the age of labor strikes, the growth of Communism, and an uncertain domestic situation. Unions wanted
wage increases. Employers didn’t want this, so labor strikes existed in coal, steel, railroad, and automotive
industries. The Taft Hartley Act curtailed many labor union rights that existed during the New Deal. Truman vetoed
the Taft-Hartley Act and Congress overridden his veto. FDR was afraid of the white southern senators and
representatives who agreed with segregation. Truman formed a civil right committee to investigate race relations in
America. The committee made recommendations for civil rights policies. Congress rejected those
recommendations. No comprehensive civil rights laws passed until the 1960’s. Truman desegregated the military via
executive order. By 1951, most units integrated.

By the spring of 1948, Truman’s popularity was low. He faced opposition from the left and the right. Southern
Democrats didn’t like his support for civil rights. Some were in the States’ Rights Party whose head candidate was
Strom Thurmond or a South Carolina governor. From the left, Henry Wallace ran for President in the new
Progressive Party of 1948. Wallace was once FDR’s Vice President during FDR’s third term. Republican candidate
Thomas Dewey was a New York state governor. Many viewed Dewey as the winner. Truman traveled the nation
and defeated Dewey in an upset. After his victory, Truman wanted to promote the Fair Deal. The Fair Deal wanted
to improve on the New Deal with new programs like national health insurance. Congress didn't readily pass
Truman's legislative proposals, and the Korean War situation caused his popularity to decline. He didn’t seek the
1952 Democratic nomination.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
The 1952 election saw Eisenhower as the victor. The Democratic candidate was Adlai Stevenson from Illinois as
Senator. Eisenhower was a war veteran and was very much beloved by people. He worked in the military for almost
his adult life. Eisenhower was a center-right man, so his moderate policies are found throughout his Presidency. He
wanted the federal government to not be too strong, but he didn’t repeal New Deal programs. He didn’t oppose
Social Security and the minimum wage. Federal spending increased in both of his terms. Eisenhower formed many
new large programs. One was the interstate highway system and he spent federal dollars for education in training
more scientists, etc. The 1950’s economy was powerful and Eisenhower experienced a Presidency filled with
development and he saw the rise of the modern day Civil Rights Movement. This era saw more than 40 million
Americans coming into the suburbs from 1940 to 1960. Rural areas experienced a massive decline in population.
William Levitt and other leaders promoted houses in Levittown (in Long Island, NY) and other places. The Federal
Housing Administration and the GI Bill facilitated the growth of suburban housing. Also, many black people were
discriminated against heavily from living in suburban housing. The suburban culture was heavily white, middle class,
and had the stereotypical image of conformity back then.

More people owned and drove cars in America. The 1956 Interstate Highway Act helped to create expressways
nationwide. It grew infrastructure. Vacations were in abundant. Migration for the Sunbelt grew. The Sunbelt is the
region from the Southern and Western states. More Americans came into Houston, Los Angeles, etc. People
migrated for economic reasons and wanted to get into aerospace and electronics industries that were found in the
Sunbelt. Air coordinating caused more people to visit places like Florida, Texas, and Arizona. The South and the
West became stronger politically in the House and in the Senate. Computer technology saw more women and
people of color in those industries. Corporations evolved to be multinational like IBM, General Motors, and General
Electric. Education focused more on STEM fields and the increase of research universities, state colleges, and
community colleges spread. The National Defense Education Act sent $1 billion to create more scientists and
science teachers. It gave money for high school and college graduates to continue their scientific education. Unions
like the AFL-CIO reached its peak of power especially within the Democratic Party. Franchise businesses were
modernized back then. So, this era was an era filled with massive happenings.
1950's Society
The 1950’s saw America in a paradox. It saw the existence of suburbia and Jim Crow simultaneously. It was the
combination of the presence of a large number of nuclear families and poverty found in urban plus rural
communities. It saw the explosion of musical expression, especially among black artists, but also the massive co-
option (or what we call cultural appropriation today) of black music by numerous white artists too. Therefore, the
1950’s witness cultural growth regarding literature and the Beat movement along with other events that showed the
imperfections of the United States of America in general at the same time. Back then, many reactionaries promoted
the stereotype that men must work, and women must stay at home and take care of children. This time was the time
of the explosion of television. More spending and consumerism came existed. With an expanding economy,
Americans brought more cheap items. Median family income rose from $3,319 to $5,417. America was more
prosperous than the 1920’s. Buying on credit was advanced by General Motors and other companies. More
appliances were commonplace in American households like refrigerators, ranges, dryers, and electric washing
machines. This decreased the burden of people to do work. These specific tasks of house cleaning became more
efficient in houses. Suburbia saw a boom in shopping malls. By the end of the 1950’s, 90% of American households
had at least one television.

As for women, millions of women were working in factories during World War II. As high as 25 percent of all workers
in the wartime auto industry were women in 1943. After the war, most women, who were in the factories, worked at
home as homemakers. Many women worked in the 1950’s too. Many conservatives back then promoted the nuclear
family which was made up of a mother, a father, and children. This agenda wanted women to be solely
homemakers. TV shows supported this idea including movies like The Tender Trap from 1955. The lie that a woman
must have children and have a marriage to validate her womanhood was a common perspective back then. So,
there is nothing wrong with nuclear families, extended families, and other types of families either. Also, families
cared for children. One scholar was Dr. Benjamin Spock. His book, “Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care”
promoted a balance of discipline and nurturing children for children to exist as functional, strong adults. Spock was a
progressive and would oppose the Vietnam War, ally with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and supported socialism.
Spock wanted children to be respected. Many parents spent tons of money on children. Religion expanded during
the 1950’s too. Revivals, TV religious shows, and an expansion of church attendance were real. 80 million people
came to church in 1958 as compared to 50 million in 1940. The evangelist Billy Graham was the most popular
preacher back during the 1950’s with his worldwide sermons. He met with Presidents, international leaders, and
other human beings. Roman Catholic Bishop Fulton Sheen showed his message. This religious fervor and anti-
Communist sentiments in America caused Congress to add the words “In God We Trust” to the dollar bill and “under
God” to the Pledge of Allegiance back in the 1950’s.

These policies came in response to the Red Scare and some believing in the threat of what they deem "atheistic
communism." Scientific achievements grew too. Dr. Jonas Salt worked on a vaccine against polio in 1954. Many
children were killed before to the development. The vaccines and antibiotics increased longevity and saved the lives
of millions of people. Penicillin is a known antibiotic. Television entertainment evolved into a complex array of news,
comedies, dramas, thrillers, and other aspects of human expression. The 1950’s saw Lucille Ball in I Love Lucy,
Beat the Clock, The Lone Ranger, Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones, and other classic shows. The Mickey
Mouse Club and Leave It to Beaver existed. Many of these shows expressed the views of the people during that
period. One weakness of mainstream TV shows of the 1950’s is that most of them lacked African American
characters. Also, these shows omitted the real-life issues of alcoholism, racism, poverty, depression, and mental
illness. Ironically, many family TV shows didn’t show the total components of family problems in honest terms. You
can't sugarcoat reality. Reality ought to be shown without the filter.

Numerous TV Shows of the 1950’s

I Love Lucy (1951- Gunsmoke (1955- The Honeymooners Father Knows Best The Nat King Cole
1957) had humor 1975) had famous (1955-1956) (1954-1960) was Show (1956-1957)
and numerous theme music, showed the diverse the quintessential was a historic show
adventures of one Western stories, and experiences of two show about a middle of a very talented
couple and their a leading actor who families during class nuclear family black man who
friends. was a World War II 1950’s America. in the midst of shown the world
veteran. massive conformity. that anybody has the
right to express
themselves filled
with excellence and
class.
 Billie Holiday took
jazz to another
level. She
performed Strange
Fruit to protest Sammy Davis Jr.
lynching. She also changed the game
worked hard to in many ways. He
break down was a singer,
barriers with her Chuck Berry was an innovator of rock dancer, comedian,
magnificent talent. and actor. He was
and roll. He was from the Midwest a key legend of the
and started so many styles of 1950’s.
showmanship during the 1950’s.

The Style, Music, and

Fashion of the 1950’s
During the 1950’s, dynamic styles existed. There
was rock and roll, doo wop, and other forms of
music that inspired creativity in America. Also, Little Richard was
Ella Fitzgerald was another innovator
fashion was abundant with both conservative
born in Newport of rock and roll
clothing and other creative fashion as well. Jazz
News, Virginia in the too. His lyrics, his
was very prominent with legendary artists like fashion, and his
757. She worked in
Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. Teen contributors to
jazz for decades and
expression and adult philosophies found in the music can never be
had a very exquisite
Beat movement, etc. developed. The Civil Rights understated.
voice.
Movement reached into new heights of power
and the 1950’s was an important prelude to the
revolutionary decade of the 1960’s.

Elvis Presley was a Marilyn Monroe

Ray Charles was from the musician who had lived a life filled
South and he performed jazz talent and was with love and
These African American women and soul music constantly. He educated on rock tragedy. She was
are in Harlem, NYC in 1952 as music by black also a progressive
found in Good Housekeeping
loved his audience and he people in woman who
magazine. Women’s fashion wanted a show that would Memphis. He was believed in
back then was diverse from capture musical greatness. a hit maker and a equality, social
formal dress, petticoats, capri person who made justice, and she
pants, jeans, and other clothing. innovations in was a friend of
music. Dorothy Dandridge.
 Hazel Scott and Dorothy Dandridge were legendary black women
artists.
By 1952, presidential candidates used TV to advertise their ideologies. By the 1950’s, music was exciting with the
growth of gospel, R& B, jazz, bluegrass, country, and ultimately rock and roll. By the summer of 1951, DJ Alan
Freed advocated rock and roll music. Rock music came from black people in America. Rock and roll came from the
rhythm and blues music from African Americans in the South. Many black Americans came from the South and
traveled into the North to spread culture and music. Many companies promoted rhythm and blues music too. Chuck
Berry was an originator rock music innovator. Even Elvis Presley was inspired to show his rock music by watching
African Americans in Memphis perform. Blues players like B. B. King had their music demonstrated by Sam Philips.
Philips advanced Elvis. Heartbreak Hotel was his first hit. Then, Elvis was everywhere from Ed Sullivan to other
shows. Back then, America was a much more conservative nation. So, Elvis’ dancing and lyrics had objections from
ministers and some politicians. Some members of Congress accused rock and roll of being subversive. To this very
day, individuals debate certain types of music about its content and other aspects of its components. Little Richard
was another famous rock and roll innovator.

Additionally, racism was abundant during the 1950’s. Claude Brown, who was a
black man, touched on these issues from his novel Manchild in the Promised Land.
Many people criticized the culture of the 1950’s as too conformist. The quality of life
in America wasn’t beneficial to millions of African Americans and the poor. Suburbs,
shopping malls, and new equipment readily saw materialism, and this malaise of
excessive materialism including conformity is what intellectuals criticized also.
Sociologists David Riesman and Nathan Glazer in The Loney Crowd book didn’t
want conformity to replace individualism. Many authors wrote about the alienation
that some felt. Sloan Wilson wrote about such feeling in his bestseller The Man in
the Gray Flannel Suit. Movies like Rebel Without a Cause outlined teenage angst,
and the actor James Dean starred in the film.

Beatniks or Beats existed as a social movement who wanted to fight back against
the materialism and cultural conformity of the 1950’s. Many of them were writers
and artists. One was Allen Ginsberg. Ginsberg is not representative of all Beats as
The Sister in the picture
Ginsberg is a wicked person (by supporting a pro-pedophile organization. He was
right to oppose the Vietnam War and on other issues, but he was dead wrong to is wearing capri pants
support a pro-pedophile group). Other Beat scholars included Ira Cohen, Ed Dorn, from the 1950’s.
Josephine Miles, and other human beings. It is true that many in the middle class
back then concerned themselves more with the status quo than freedom and justice for all people. Urban and rural
poverty was enormous back then. Poverty was widespread in the midst of suburbs, malls, highways, and gated
communities. Michael Harrington in his The Other America book from 1962 documented how poverty existed in the
cities and towns of African Americans, Mexican Americans, poor white people, etc.

An Important Message

We have to show great honor to Hattie McDaniel

and Sidney Poitier for breaking down barriers not
only in acting but in other occupations as well.
They advanced excellence throughout their lives.
 Classic Black Films of the 1950’s
I have seen many of these
monumental movies before. They
stir up our imaginations and they
make us aware that black talent
flourished in any era of American
history indeed. The black actors and
black actresses who worked in these
films sacrificed so much so we
could work and live in this time. We
owe a lot to black heroes who paved
the way for us in December of 2018.
The essence of cultural change
epitomized many movies from the
1950’s. These films document the St. Louis Blues (1958) Porgy & Bess (1959)
greatness of Black Excellence in This movie had a great cast of Life in Charleston, South Carolina
fully display. actors and actresses. It was about related to the plot of this movie. It
the story of the life of W. C. Handy. talked about romance, problems,
It starred Nat King Cole, Pearl and the strength of the African
Bailey, Ella Fitzgerald, Mahalia American experience.
Jackson, Ruby Dee, Eartha Kitt, and
Barney Bigard.

Black Orpheus (1959) Carmen Jones (1954) Bright Road (1953)

A film about Afro-Brazilians
represented its composition. It was
revolutionary and outlined the
beauty of Afro-Latino culture.
Dorothy Dandridge head this Dorothy Dandridge starred in this
movie with an ensemble black cast film as an elementary school
about love, romance, WWII, and teacher who helps a child with
tragedy. Harry Belafonte, Pearl problems.
Bailey, Olga James, Joe Adams,
Brock Peters, Roy Glenn, and
Diahann Carroll all participated in
this historic film.
 More Classic Black Films of the 1950’s

Native Son (1951)
This movie was based on the book
by author Richard Wright. Richard
Wright starred in this movie about
race relations and the criminal
justice system.
Take a Giant Step (1959)
This movie was ahead of its time in
talking about a young black teen
experiencing angst, suffering
racism, talking with prostitutes,
and finding who he is in a
changing American society.
Imitation of Life (1959)
This was one of the saddest
movies of all time. Juanita Moore
played a widow who tries to find a
better relationship with her
stubborn, self-hating daughter.
Only when Juanita’s character
passed away when her daughter
finally expressed sincere guilt for
her selfish actions against her own
mother. This was a film with many
lessons about life in general.

As early as the 1950’s, when African Americans came into the cities from rural areas, many whites traveled from the
cities to the suburbs. Cities in many regions saw their populations decline. Many middle-class persons moving into
the suburbs caused a decline in tax revenues which caused economic problems in the cities. Suburbs gained
political power, and a more conservative Congress was hesitant in investing in urban and rural communities in the
billions of dollars. Cities saw a lack of public services from street repair to recycling. The inner city saw poverty and
crime. Many inner cities had poor schools and dilapidated housing. The federal government used urban renewal to
address this problem. The problem with urban renewal is that in tons of causes, neighborhoods are destroyed in the
process to make highways and other expensive housing. So, more impoverished people moved into more crowded
areas. Many people lost their homes in urban renewal projects from New Jersey to East Harlem, New York. In
attempting to combat the shortage of affordable housing, the federal government created public housing. At first,
many people loved public housing being inexpensive, having running water, etc. The problem is that many forms of
public housing concentrated in the midst of poverty and no subsequent plans existed to help the poor or integrate
the poor in communities filled with a diversity of income levels. Fences and other confining architectural
arrangements surrounded many public housing areas. Today, that is why people are creating solutions to solve
poverty.
Rural poor areas had issues too. Mississippi Delta sharecroppers suffered a great deal. Rural residents experienced
mayhem in many cases. Miners in Appalachia and other people experienced corporate exploitation. Large farmers
dominated farm production. Independent farmers suffered. Some farmers moved into the cities, and some stayed.
Other Americans experienced injustices too. Puerto Ricans came heavily into New York City after World War II.
Many of them served in WWII. Some of them suffered poverty and housing discrimination. They had little political
power back then. Many of them organized into organizations to fight for better services, education, and an end to
discrimination. Mexican Americans fought for their rights too. The bracero program was the usage of Mexican labor
to deal with agricultural services in America. Mexican immigrants had temporary visas to do the action. Many
employers exploited numerous workers. Mexican workers worked in crops throughout the Southwest. The migrants
suffered so unjustly that one U.S. Department of Labor criticized it. That is why Mexican American Ernesto Galarza
worked to organize unions for Mexican farm laborers. Native Americans saw the termination policy. This policy
wanted to end tribal governments and relocate Native Americans to the cities (and it stopped the federal
responsibility for the health and welfare of Native Americans). Some criticized this policy as creating more burdens
for Native American people. The 1950's culture was diverse and multifaceted in its arrangement.

President John F. Kennedy

The Presidency of John F. Kennedy was one of the most historic times in American history. JFK had charisma,
intellect, and leadership qualities. One of his greatest strengths was that he didn’t always follow the dictates of the
military industrial complex, he evolved to be more progressive, and he advanced a sense of idealism that impacts
the world today. He became the 35th President of the United States of America from January 1961 to his
unfortunate assassination on November 22, 1963. He was President during the peak of the Cold War, and he
handled many issues with the Soviet Union. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in
Massachusetts and was a U.S. Senator before being President. Brookline, Massachusetts was the place of his birth.
He was also a Navy WWII veteran. JFK believed in volunteering and community work, which is why he mentioned
many words about promoting activism in everyday life. 1960 was an era of change, and John F. Kennedy politically
battled Richard Nixon (then-Vice President of Eisenhower) for the Presidency in 1960. Kennedy argued that
Eisenhower didn’t do enough to handle the conflicts of the Cold War internationally and new change ought to exist.
Nixon’s views were that he was the successor of Eisenhower’s successes and that Kennedy had inexperience and
that didn’t merit him to achieve the Presidency. By the end of Eisenhower’s 2nd term, there was economic growth.
There was still poverty. The Brown decision existed along with the racist backlash against it; Sputnik 1 came about,
the U-2 spy plane incident existed, and the Montgomery bus boycott documented the evil of Jim Crow apartheid.
John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon were born in the 20th century. Each served in the U.S. Navy during World
War II. Each was a Senator before, and each had a great understanding of foreign policy affairs. Each man didn’t
agree with Communism. They had differences too. Kennedy was born in a wealthy family as his father was a
businessman in many areas. Nixon was from a struggling family environment in California. Kennedy was much more
progressive than Nixon on many issues.

The election was close from the beginning to the end. The televised debate between Nixon and Kennedy changed
many Americans’ minds. While those who listened to the radio viewed the debate as nearly even or Nixon winning it,
many watchers of the debate on TV viewed John F. Kennedy as the victor. Kennedy wanted to change while Nixon
wanted a continuation of the policies of Eisenhower. Nixon looked tired after recovering from an illness. Kennedy
tanned from a California campaign. About 70 million Americans watched the televised debate. By this time, Dr. King
and other African Americans were in a Georgia jail for protesting in Atlanta. Coretta Scott King was scared, so she
called Robert Kennedy. Later, John F. Kennedy called her. Kennedy worked to allow Dr. King released on bail. This
action increased the support among African Americans for Kennedy. JFK would call himself a liberal in a speech,
and he endorsed the separation of the church and state where he said that the Vatican's religious views would
never influence his political decisions. The election was close with Kennedy winning the popular vote 49.7% to
49.6%. JFK won the Electoral College too. JFK started his Presidency as a Cold Warrior.

He wanted the fight against Communism to be firm. He saw the new communist government in Cuba under Fidel
Castro as wrong. He wanted to fund more missiles. Eisenhower, ironically in his Farewell Address, opposed the
excessive defense spending of the military industrial complex while JFK in his early term wanted an increase of
defense spending. He was the first President born in the 20th century, so he gave his historic Inaugural Address to
promote a new generation of Americans to handle challenges worldwide. His military policy of a flexible response
advanced the Green Berets and other mobile units of the military to handle crisis overseas. He also dealt with the
Third World. The developing nations of Africa, Asia, and Latin America saw the hypocrisy of American capitalism.
Many of them allowed support from the Soviet Union. JFK knew this and believed that the only way to get developed
nations on America’s side was to promote the rhetoric of democracy and
fair dealing to limit or contain communism. So, Kennedy organized the
Peace Corps (its first director was JFK’s brother in law Sargent Shriver)
and the Alliance for Progress to help the Third World with resources,
education, and health services. Many people in both groups were sincere
in helping people. It is true that both programs were created in part to
compete against the Soviet Union ideologically. Many wanted to win the
ideological battle against communism. Volunteers in the Peace Corps
since 1961 helped many people of color overseas. The organization of
the Peace Corps grew to 5,000 members by March 1963 and 10,000 the
year after. Since 1961, over 200,000 Americans have joined the Peace
Corps, representing 139 different countries.
This was when President John F.
Kennedy met with Soviet Premier Nikita
Also, Kennedy dealt with Castro. Castro overthrew the dictator Fulgencio Khrushchev in Vienna in the year of
Batista in 1959. At first, America wanted to have a good relationship with 1961. They had an evolution from a more
Castro. This situation changed when Castro nationalized services, contentious relationship to a more
received funds from the Soviet Union, kicked the Mafia out of Cuba, and conciliatory one.
used other reform measures. Many wealthy and middle-class Cubans fled into America. These Cubans would be
anti-Communists. Castro was right to end the reign of a tyrant like Batista. Castro made the mistake of embracing
Stalinism in his revolutionary path. American elites didn’t want a nuisance solution in dealing with Castro back then.
They explicitly wanted to overthrow and kill Castro. Eisenhower authorized the CIA to plan an invasion of Cuba to
overthrow Castro’s new government. The CIA recruited many Cubans in Guatemala to do it. Eisenhower now was
gone from the Presidency. Kennedy was pressured by the CIA to go forward with the plan which he did (on April 4,
1961). On April 17, 1961, the Bay of Pigs invasion occurred. The attack was lax, and it transpired improperly. There
was no protective cover. JFK refused to use protective cover since it might have provoked a more extensive
invasion. 300 of the 1,400 invaders (called Brigade 2506) were captured or killed. CIA director Allen Dulles later
stated that they thought the president would authorize any action that was needed for success once the troops were
on the ground. Kennedy negotiated the release of the 1,189 survivors. Castro was becoming stronger. The CIA and
many Cubans hated Kennedy for this. This invasion defeat was one reason why the some in the CIA and the military
industrial complex, in general, had a vendetta against JFK. JFK fired Allen Dulles too.

The Berlin Crisis existed in 1961. John F. Kennedy met with French leader Charles de Gaulle who told him to ignore
Khrushchev’s abrasive style. De Gaulle respected Kennedy and his wife. Khrushchev wanted a peace treaty to have
western zones of Berlin to be ruled by East Germany. JFK refused to do so, but the Soviets wanted skilled East
German workers to not to go into West Berlin. Kennedy wanted West Berliners, and West Germans to reject
Communism. The conference at Vienna in June of 1961, both men talked about the Berlin issue. It failed.
Khrushchev viewed Kennedy as young and inexperienced. Both men argued. Kennedy wanted no occupation of
Western Berlin by Soviet forces. Tensions rose. Kennedy asked Congress to increase military spending.
Khrushchev allowed the building of the Berlin Wall between West and East Berlin. The Berlin Wall was a sign of the
Cold War for decades to come. In response, Kennedy sent 1,500 U.S. troops to West Berlin. Soviet and American
tanks moved next to each other. War could have existed, but cooler heads prevailed.

Kennedy took personal responsibility for the pro-American invasion of Cuba since he was President. Kennedy said
that he wanted to resist communist “penetration” in the Western Hemisphere. The Cuban Missile crisis was another
event that ultimately strengthened Kennedy’s powers. Initially, the U.S. government found missiles in Cuba. These
missiles came from the Soviet Union. By August and September 1962, the U.S government found this out. CIA U-2
spy planes took photographs of the Soviets’ construction of intermediate-range ballistic missiles in Cuba. Radical
generals wanted an invasion of Cuba which President John F. Kennedy refused to do so. These missiles could
harm the East Coast and the Panama Canal. Kennedy wanted the shells removed. On October 22, 1962, Kennedy
gave a speech and blamed Nikita Khrushchev for the actions. So, JFK used a blockade to prevent further materials
from coming into Cuba that involved missiles. It was a naval blockade. The U.S. Navy would stop and inspect all
Soviet ships arriving off Cuba, beginning October 24. The Organization of American States gave unanimous support
to the removal of the missiles. The President exchanged two sets of letters with Khrushchev, to no avail. United
Nations (UN) Secretary General U Thant requested both parties to reverse their decisions and enter a cooling-off
period. Khrushchev agreed, but Kennedy didn't.

One Soviet-flagged ship was stopped and boarded. On October 28, Khrushchev agreed to dismantle the missile
sites, subject to UN inspections. The U.S. publicly promised never to invade Cuba and privately agreed to remove
its Jupiter missiles from Italy and Turkey, which were by then obsolete and had been supplanted by submarines
equipped with UGM-27 Polaris missiles.

Kennedy formed a diplomatic settlement with help from Attorney General Robert Kennedy or his brother. Kennedy
agreed to remove U.S. missiles in Turkey and Italy, and the Soviets withdrew their weapons from Cuba. Many
military generals called this evil and had more hatred of JFK. From that moment onward, Kennedy and Khrushchev
would work more together in trying to have a peaceful co-existence. Both sides moved towards détente. Each had a
hotline to between tensions as found in Moscow and Washington, D.C. They communicated, and by 1963, America,
Great Britain, and the Soviet Union signed the historic Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. This banned above-ground nuclear
tests. 36 other nations signed it as well. During the summer of 1962, Kennedy had a secret taping system set up in
the White House, most likely to aid his future memoir. It recorded many conversations with Kennedy and his Cabinet
members, including those concerning the "Cuban Missile Crisis.”

JFK aided Israel but opposed Israel having nuclear weapons. JFK supported the CIA-backed coup of Qasim on
February 8, 1963. The aftermath was a puppet pro-Ba’ath Party leader ruling Iraq. Qasim promoted human rights
and restricted Western ownership of Iraqi oil. JFK visited his ancestral home of Ireland in June 1963 where he
accepted a grant of bearings from the Chief Herald of Ireland and received honorary degrees from the National
University of Ireland and Trinity College, Dublin. He visited the cottage at Dunganstown, near New Ross, County
Wexford, where his ancestors had lived before emigrating to America. Kennedy also was the first foreign leader to
address the Houses of the Oireachtas (the Irish parliament).

Kennedy promoted a neutral Laos and dealt with the Vietnam War. Kennedy wanted an end to communism in South
Vietnam. He gave political, economic, and military support to the South Vietnam government. In late 1961, the Viet
Cong began assuming a predominant presence, initially seizing the provincial capital of Phuoc Vinh. Kennedy
increased the number of military advisors and Special Forces in the area, from 11,000 in 1962 to 16,000 by late
1963, but he was reluctant to order a full-scale deployment of troops. JFK also promoted Operation Ranch Hand
that supported aerial defoliation in South Vietnam. On August 21, just as the new U.S. Ambassador Henry Cabot
Lodge, Jr. arrived, Diem and his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu ordered South Vietnam forces, funded and trained by the
CIA, to quell Buddhist demonstrations. The brutal suppression of the rights of the Buddhists in South Vietnam was
evil by Diem. Lodge was instructed to try getting Diem and Nhu to step down and leave the country. Diem would not
listen to Lodge.

Cable 243 (DEPTEL 243), dated August 24, followed, declaring that Washington would no longer tolerate Nhu's
actions, and Lodge was ordered to pressure Diem to remove Nhu. Lodge concluded that the only option was to get
the South Vietnamese generals to overthrow Diem and Nhu. At week's end, orders were sent to Saigon and
throughout Washington to "destroy all coup cables.” U.S. clergy from the Ministers' Vietnam Committee expressed a
first formal anti-Vietnam war sentiment. Kennedy wanted to research about Vietnam. Kennedy desired the
withdrawal of 1, 000 troops by the end of 1963 and all troops sent home by 1965. The coup against Diem happened
on November 1, 1963. Kennedy supported the coup excluding assassination. South Vietnamese generals like Big
Minh led the coup. The South Vietnamese generals' forces killed Diem and Nhu, and JFK was shocked by their
deaths. The Vietnam War situation would be more unstable since then. There were statements made by Secretary
of Defense McNamara in the film "The Fog of War" that Kennedy was strongly considering pulling the United States
out of Vietnam after the 1964 election. The film also contains a tape recording of Lyndon Johnson stating that
Kennedy was planning to withdraw, a position in which Johnson disagreed. Kennedy had signed National Security
Action Memorandum (NSAM) 263, dated October 11, 1963, which ordered the withdrawal of 1,000 military
personnel by year's end, and the bulk of them out by 1965. Such an action would have been a policy reversal, but
Kennedy was moving in a less hawkish direction since his speech on world peace at American University on June
10, 1963. It is uncertain to know what JFK would have gone, but it is most likely that JFK would have never
escalated the American military involvement in the war like LBJ did.

John F. Kennedy’s domestic policies were part of the New Frontier. It wasn’t as progressive as the New Deal, but it
was liberal. He had a conservative Congress, so his domestic policies were opposed by many in Congress.
Kennedy still wanted changes in Social Security, invested in anti-poverty measures, and made strategies in fighting
racial discrimination. JFK also fought against U.S. Steel experiencing a price increase, and he wanted to eliminate
tax loopholes for oil companies. On March 22, 1962, Kennedy signed into law HR5143 (PL87-423), which abolished
the mandatory death penalty for first-degree murder suspects in the District of Columbia, the only remaining
jurisdiction in the United States with such a punishment. His cabinet included many college-educated men like
Robert McNamara, Dean Rusk, and others. The liberal Arthur Schlesinger Jr. inspired ideas for President John F.
Kennedy. Kennedy wanted to deal with the economy, education, healthcare, and civil rights. It would be 1963 when
JFK would focus more on domestic issues. The socialist Michael Harrington wrote his book entitled, “The Other
America” that made many Americans witness the epidemic of poverty in America. Kennedy pushed through a higher
minimum wage, an extension of Social Security benefits, and improvements in the welfare system. He promoted the
study of women suffering injustices with the President’s Commission on the Status of Women. The Equal Pay Act of
1963 wanted equal wages for equal work.

“…What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American
weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine
peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and
nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children--not merely peace for
Americans but peace for all men and women--not merely peace in our time but peace for all
time...So, let us not be blind to our differences--but let us also direct attention to our common
interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now
our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our
most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all
cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal…”

-President John F. Kennedy’s America University speech on June 10, 1963 (at Washington, D.C.).

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 would ultimately ban discrimination by employers by race, color, religion, national origin,
or sex. The economy was stagnant at the beginning of JFK’s term. JFK promoted tax cuts to encourage businesses
to invest in new factory equipment. He increased military spending. He promoted Keynes’ deficit spending theory.
That means that you borrow money to spend more than is received from taxes. He promoted tax cuts form middle-
class Americans and increased the tax burden on wealthier people. His policies contributed to the economic growth
of the late 1960’s. JFK was timid on civil rights during the early part of his Presidency. He believed in civil rights but
feared Southern resistance in Congress. During his first year in office, Kennedy appointed many black people to
office including his May appointment of civil rights attorney Thurgood Marshall to the federal bench. In his first
State of the Union Address in January 1961, President Kennedy said, "The denial of constitutional rights to
some of our fellow Americans on account of race – at the ballot box and elsewhere – disturbs the national
conscience, and subjects us to the charge of world opinion that our democracy is not equal to the high
promise of our heritage." JFK believed in legislative actions beyond grassroots organizing in getting civil rights
achieved. The truth is that you have to do both since solutions come by the grassroots organization by definition.

There were the Freedom Riders, who organized an integrated public transportation effort in the South, experienced
white mob violence, including by law enforcement officers, both federal and state. Kennedy assigned federal
marshals to protect the Freedom Riders rather than using federal troops or uncooperative FBI agents. On March 6,
1961, Kennedy signed Executive Order 10925, which required government contractors to "take affirmative action to
ensure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment without regard to their
race, creed, color, or national origin." It established the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity.
Displeased with Kennedy's pace addressing the issue of segregation, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his associates
produced a document in 1962 calling on the president to follow in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln and use an
Executive Order to deliver a blow for Civil Rights as a kind of Second Emancipation Proclamation. Kennedy did not
execute the order. JFK reluctantly sent troops to protect James Meredith to be enrolled at the University of
Mississippi in September of 1962. Both the President and the Attorney General were concerned about King's ties to
suspected Communists Jack O'Dell and Stanley Levison. After the President and his civil rights expert Harris
Wofford pressed King to ask both men to resign from the SCLC, King agreed to ask only O'Dell to resign from the
organization and allowed Levison, whom he regarded as a trusted advisor, to remain. The truth is that Levison left
Communism by 1960.

Also, O’Dell was a Communist and so what. He has the right to believe what he wants. The First Amendment says
that we have the right for the freedom of speech. JFK promoted executive orders and other policies in opposition to
racial injustice, but he never promoted a strong federal civil rights bill until 1963. That was when we had Birmingham
where cops brutalized men, women, and children with water hoses and dogs back in 1963. 1963 was a significant
year for the Civil Rights movement. President John F. Kennedy had no choice but to act. Kennedy gave his historic
June 11, 1963 speech where he explicitly endorsed human equality and called for the passage of the civil rights bill
that would punish violators of civil rights and federally promoted civil rights. President John F. Kennedy initially didn’t
support the 1963 March on Washington for fear of losing support for civil rights legislation in Congress. Later, he
supported it, and the March was a huge success. The price that was that many speeches had censorship (i.e. John
Lewis's speech was censored in 1963) and other actions were taken to make the march more “palatable” for his
liking.

RFK authorized the FBI to wiretap King and other leaders of the SCLC in October 1963. Although Kennedy only
gave written approval for limited wiretapping of King's phones "on a trial basis, for a month or so," Hoover extended
the clearance, so his men were "unshackled" to look for evidence in any areas of King's life they deemed worthy.
The wiretapping continued through June 1966, and the revelation of it existed in 1968. JFK promoted progressive
immigration reform. JFK also wanted to use government agencies to get land, handle damages, and use assistance
to help the displaced Seneca Native Americans after a Kinzua Dam construction project flooded their lands. JFK
invested in the space race. With Sputnik 1 in space, America created NASA. Yri Gagarin was the first human to orbit
Earth in April 1961. So, Kennedy allowed NASA to cause Alan Shepard to have a space flight. JFK desired human
beings to go to the Moon before 1970. The first American to orbit Earth was astronaut John Glenn in February of
1962. Humankind would go into the moon by July 1969 with Neil Armstrong via the Columbia. By the end of 1963,
Diem died via assassination. The civil rights bill was in Congress. Détente was growing. President John F. Kennedy
was in high spirits. He came into Dallas after his historic American university speech where he called for world
peace. Soviet leaders and Americans respected him by the end of 1963. He came into Dallas by November 22,
1963, to end tensions in preparing for his 1964 Presidential reelection bid. He was in a motorcade when he died via
a murderous assassination. Three shots from a rifle killed him. Lyndon B. Johnson would be President. The Warren
Commission would say that Lee Harvey Oswald did it alone from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book
Depository. Many would disagree with that view to this very day. Millions of Americans had sadness by the evil
assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
His wife wanted his funeral to be similar to Lincoln’s funeral as both men would have significant similarities. There
was a Requiem Mass done at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle on November 25, 1963. John J. Cavanaugh
officiated the funeral service. His internment existed at the Arlington National Cemetery. 16 million people visited his
grave from 1964-1966. On March 14, 1967, Kennedy's remains were disinterred and moved only a few feet away to
a permanent burial plot and memorial. It was from this memorial that the graves of both Robert and Ted Kennedy
modeled their graves from the JFK memorial.

The honor guard at Kennedy's graveside was the 37th Cadet Class of the Irish Army. Kennedy was much
impressed by the Irish Cadets on his last official visit to Ireland, so much so that Jackie Kennedy requested the Irish
Army to be the honor guard at her husband's funeral. The burials of Kennedy's wife Jacqueline and their two
deceased minor children existed in the same plot. JFK's brother Robert was buried nearby in June 1968. In August
2009, Ted's burial positioned next to his two brothers. John F. Kennedy's grave lit up with an "Eternal Flame.”
Kennedy and William Howard Taft are the only two U.S. presidents buried at Arlington. According to the JFK Library,
"I Have a Rendezvous with Death," by Alan Seeger "was one of John F. Kennedy's favorite poems and he often
asked his wife to recite it.”

With Kennedy’s death, America would never be the same again. John F. Kennedy was a man filled with both
promise and unrealized dreams. He made great policies and made great mistakes (like his extramarital affairs).
Many people back then didn’t realize his massive health issues like Addison’s disease, hypothyroidism, back pain,
etc. A man with great leadership and intellect was gone, but the spirits of progressive Americans remained. John F.
Kennedy’s legacy will be that he had an incredible amount of wit, leadership qualities, aptness to change when it
was the right thing to do, and courage. A man with multiple diseases, being hated by many in the military industrial
complex, and experiencing massive tragedies plus still accomplish the things that he did (in a short span of time)
takes much courage. So, we certainly are inspired by President John F. Kennedy to continue in the work of
promoting freedom and justice for humankind.
The early era of President Lyndon Baines Johnson
President Lyndon Baines Johnson became President after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Many of
LBJ’s policies came from the Kennedy administration from civil rights legislation to anti-poverty measures. Also, LBJ
signed laws more progressive than JFK on domestic issues, and he executed a foreign policy much more
reactionary than John F. Kennedy. Lyndon Johnson had a dual legacy which encompasses both the good things
that he did regarding civil rights and the environment along with the bad policies that he made concerning escalating
the Vietnam War and other foreign policy issues. By November 27, 1963, LBJ addressed a joint session of
Congress to call for the fulfillment of John F. Kennedy’s legacy by passing civil rights and tax legislation. LBJ signed
the Clean Air Act on December 17, 1963. By January of 1964, LBJ talked about the Soviets. January 2, 1964, was
when President Johnson held a budget conference with United States Postmaster General John Gronouski.
Gronouski said after the meeting that the plan designed to save money for the upcoming fiscal year of 1965 would
not cut back on the utilities of the mailing service. The US received a note from the Soviet Union calling for the
renunciation of force in disputes of territory ownership. President Johnson released a statement on labor-
management relations. The next day, President Johnson issued a report on the attempted assassination of
President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. Nkrumah fought against colonialism and saw his nation achieve
independence after much struggle. Lyndon Baines Johnson also signed the Executive Order 11136, which formed
the President’s Committee on Consumer Interests and it formed the Consumer Advisory Council. He released the
Task Force on Manpower Conservation report on January 5. United States Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz
announced that the federal government would step in to mediate the railroad work rules disputes. On January 8,
1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson gave a historic speech.

It was the 1964 State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress. He gave his speech to focus on the War
on Poverty. He wanted government investments on all levels of government to eradicate poverty in America. The
War on Poverty cut poverty in America in half from 1960 to 1970, and we still have a long way to go today in ending
income inequality too. In January 1964, LBJ also met with business leaders on tax reduction, and he focused on
solving political issues with Panama. January 17, 1964, was when President Johnson released a statement to
comment on a report by the Immigration and Naturalization Service which advocated legislation to abolish the
discriminatory national origins system. The Twenty Fourth Amendment to the Constitution was passed in early 1964
which repealed the poll tax. LBJ also attended the 12th Annual Presidential Prayer Breakfast at the Mayflower Hotel
at Washington. He consistently supported the tax bill during February of 1964. He also signed Proclamation 3573
calling the week National Poison Prevention Week starting on March 15, 1964. He also promoted Medicare for
elderly Americans.

On February 11, 1964, President Johnson signed a bill amending the Library Services Act in the Cabinet Room.
President Johnson said that the legislation "expands a program which helps make library services available to 38
million Americans in rural areas" and "authorizes efforts to strengthen inadequately funded urban libraries. This act
authorizes for the first time grants for the construction and renovation of library buildings." On March of 1964, LBJ
sent condolences to Alaskans in the aftermath of the earthquake harming their state, and he sent help to Governor
Egan. By July 2, 1964, Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964. It extended rights to
African Americans, women, and other Americans in opposition to racism and discrimination.

The Beginning of the Vietnam War

American involvement in the Vietnam War has existed long before 1960. Communist activist Ho Chi Minh was once
not a Communist, and he wanted Woodrow Wilson to support his independence movement after the end of World
War One. Wilson refused to do. So, Ho Chi Minh continued in his activism. By the time of World War II, Japanese
forces occupied Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh was a part of the pro-Allied troops who wanted to end the Japanese
occupation. During World War II, Minh formed the Viet Minh group or the Vietnam Independence league. The
American OSS or the Office of Strategic Services allied with Ho Chi Minh and his Viet Minh guerrillas to fight the
Japanese plus help downed American pilots. By 1945, the Japanese ousted the French colonial government, and
the puppet leader Bao Dai was its puppet ruler. Ho Chi Minh spread his movement in the midst of famine and
starvation in Hanoi by the summer of 1945. The Allied Potsdam conference wanted non-Vietnamese people to
control the Indochina peninsula. Japan surrendered on August of 1945. Ho Chi Minh occupied Hanoi and
proclaimed a provisional government. He quoted the Declaration of Independence and wanted America to support
him. Truman ignored his calls, and British troops arrived at Saigon on September 13, 1945. In North Vietnam,
150,000 Chinese Nationalist soldiers looted Hanoi and other Vietnamese villages. In South Vietnam, the British
forces allowed 1400 French soldiers to go on a rampage against the Viet Minh on September 22, 1945.

The French mob killed innocent children too which was supported by many French civilians who joined in the
rampage. Viet Minh used a strike and fought back. The Binh Xuyen killed people, and they were a Vietnamese
criminal organization. An American OSS officer died by a Vietnamese person. His name was Dewey, and he was
mistaken for a French soldier. He wanted America to leave Southeast Asia. The French, led by World War II
General Jacques Philippe Leclerc, seized South Vietnam. The French expelled the Viet Minh from Saigon. Ho Chi
Minh wanted total Independence of Vietnam from the French. Yet, the French refused to do so. So, in 1946, the
French continued to occupy Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh had no choice, but to fight back. By December 19, 1946, Viet
Minh started their large-scale attack against French occupation. This war was the First Indochina War. "The
resistance will be long and arduous, but our cause is just, and we will surely triumph," declares Viet Minh military
commander Vo Nguyen Giap. "If these [people] want a fight, they'll get it," French military commander Gen. Etrienne
Valluy stated.

The French used Operation Lea for them to fight Viet Minh guerrilla positions in North Vietnam. The Viet Minh fought
back. The puppet leader Bao Dai ruled South Vietnam during the early 1950's, and the U.S. and the British
recognized him. China recognized Ho Chi Minh’s Democratic Republic of Vietnam. General Giap of Vietnam
organized fortifications to fight back against the French. During his term, Eisenhower will significantly increase U.S.
military aid to the French in Vietnam to prevent a Communist victory. U.S. military advisors would continue to
accompany American supplies sent to Vietnam. To justify America's financial commitment, Eisenhower will cite a
'Domino Theory' in which a Communist victory in Vietnam would result in surrounding countries falling one after
another like a "falling row of dominoes." The Domino Theory will be used by a succession of Presidents and their
advisors to justify ever-deepening U.S. involvement in Vietnam. We know that the domino theory is false. The
French were finally defeated by the forces of Ho Chi Minh after the siege at Dien Bein Phu when 45,000 Viet Minh
troops trapped almost 10,000 French soldiers. Some including some French leaders wanted Eisenhower to send
nuclear weapons or a ground force to protect the French, but Eisenhower refused to do so. The French surrendered
by May 7, 1954. After eight years, the French enacted withdrawal from Vietnam. On May 8, 1954, The Geneva
Conference on Indochina began, attended by the U.S., Britain, China, the Soviet Union, France, Vietnam (Viet Minh
and representatives of Bao Dai), Cambodia and Laos, all meeting to negotiate a solution for Southeast Asia. By July
21, 1954, the Geneva Accords divided Vietnam in half at the 17th parallel, with Ho Chi Minh's Communists ceded
the North, while Bao Dai's regime received the South. The accords also provide for elections to be held in all of
Vietnam within two years to reunify the country.

The U.S. opposed the unifying elections, fearing a likely victory by Ho Chi Minh. Bao Dai installed Ngo Dinh Diem as
his prime minister in South Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh controlled
North Vietnam. Diem wanted Vietnamese Catholic people to
come into the South to grow political power, so nearly
1,000,000 Vietnamese people came to the south and
thousands of Communists from the south traveled to North
Vietnam. The organized crime group of Binh Xuyen was
cracked down by Prime Minister Diem. Ho Chi Minh received
Soviet aid. Diem takes power entirely by October
23, 1955. CIA-connected U.S. Air Force Col. Edward G.
Lansdale advised Diem. Historians have said the election
that caused Diem to have power to being rigged. Diem
refused to do radical land reform. In 1957, the Soviet Union
Ho Chi Minh in this Ho Chi Minh also exposed wanted a permanent division among North and South
picture is giving his American racism in the Vietnam, but the U.S. rejected this plan by not wanting to
historic September 2, following quotation from recognize North Vietnam.
1945 address to the 1924: “… It is well-known
Vietnamese people to that the Black race is the While Diem used persecution against his opponents with
advocate most oppressed and the brutal force, the Viet Minh guerillas do use a campaign of
independence and most exploited of the terror in South Vietnam where over 400 South Vietnamese
freedom from the evils human family. It is well- officials were killed in October 1957. By March of 1959, the
of imperialism & known that the spread of call by Ho Chi Minh to unite all of Vietnam starts. This event
colonialism. capitalism and the was the beginning of the Second Indochina War. The Ho Chi
discovery of the New World Minh trail was constructed starting on May 1959. On July 8,
had as an immediate result 1959, two U.S. military advisors, Maj. Dale Buis and Sgt.
the rebirth of Chester Ovnand, were killed by Viet Minh guerrillas at Bien
slavery…American Negroes
Hoa, South Vietnam. They are the first American deaths
still endure atrocious moral
during the Second Indochina War. Americans have called
and material sufferings, of
this war the Vietnam War. President Diem experienced a
which the most cruel and
failed coup on November 20, 1960. He and his brother Nhu
horrible is the custom of
caused over 50,000 people to suffer arrests by the police,
lynching…”
and many civilians were tortured and also executed in
November of 1960. Support for Diem continued to decline. Many fled to North Vietnam and sent back to infiltrate
South Vietnam as part of the People’s Liberation Armed Forces. On December 20, 1960, the National Liberation
Front existed by Hanoi, and they acted as a political organization in South Vietnam. When John F. Kennedy was
President, he had criticisms for Diem, but he didn’t want South Vietnam to fall to the Communists. JFK wanted a
military intervention to provoke a political settlement in Vietnam just like he did with Laos.
LBJ called Diem the Winston Churchill of Asia when Kennedy was in office. By May of 1961, President Kennedy
sent 400 U.S. Green Beret “advisors” to South Vietnam. They trained South Vietnamese soldiers to use
counterinsurgency against Vietnamese pro-North Vietnam forces. JFK expanded military advisors. Helicopter units
came into Vietnam. On January 15, 1962, during a press conference, President Kennedy was asked if any
Americans in Vietnam are engaged in the fighting. "No," the President responds without further comment. One of
the evilest parts of the Vietnam War was Operation Sunrise. This action was the Strategic Hamlet program that
Vietnamese people were uprooted from their ancestral farmlands and resettled into fortified villages defended by
local militias. Many Viet Cong killed or intimidated village leaders. Diem ordered bombing raids on Viet Cong
controlled hamlets. Some U.S. pilots along with the South Vietnamese Air Force were involved in the bombings.
Many civilians died. The North Vietnamese victory in the Battle of Ap Bac on January 3, 1963, sent shockwaves
worldwide. Three American helicopter members died as a product of murder. Diem (in 1963) continued to persecute
the Buddhists by suppressing their religious liberty rights. On June and August of 1963, many Buddhists burn
themselves to death to protest the mistreatment of Buddhists. JFK was shocked. Ambassador Lodge met with Diem.
On September 2, 1963, during a TV news interview with Walter Cronkite, President Kennedy described Diem as
"out of touch with the people" and adds that South Vietnam's government might regain popular support "with
changes in policy and perhaps in personnel." Also during the interview, Kennedy commented on America's
commitment to Vietnam "If we withdrew from Vietnam, the Communists would control Vietnam. Pretty soon,
Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaya, would go..."

Generals from South Vietnam like Dương Văn Minh organized the coup. JFK in his diary said that his administration
bore some responsibility for it. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. Debates
continue about what JFK would have done as it related to Vietnam if he had lived. In 1964, more generals in South
Vietnam ruled like General Minh and General Nguyen Khanh. Johnson continued the policy of militarily being
involved in Vietnam. LBJ allowed the CIA to back South Vietnamese commandos to use speedboats to harass radar
sites along the coastline of North Vietnam. The U.S. Navy supported the raids via their warships in the Gulf of
Tonkin including the destroyer U.S.S. Maddox which conducted electronic surveillance to pinpoint the radar
locations. The Gulf of Tonkin incident of August of 1964 expanded U.S. military involvement in Vietnam into another
level. The first attack on August 2, 1964, was real with little damage to American ships. The second attack on
August 4, 1964, was proven to be not part of reality as said by former United States Secretary of Defense Robert S.
McNamara in the 2003 documentary The Fog of War. LBJ exploited this deception of the second attack for him to
escalate the Vietnam War with the Gulf of Tonkin resolution which was passed by Congress. LBJ used his incident
to win the 1964 election against a fellow anti-Communist Barry Goldwater (Yet, Goldwater was much more
reactionary than Johnson on domestic issues). The Vietnam War would never be the same again.
The Early Civil Rights Movement (1945-1964)
It is always important to recognize the heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. It was a movement that existed long
before the 20th century, but whose impact is national in America plus global internationally. Also, it is important to
note that the Civil Rights Movement was a collective movement of brave women, brave men, and brave children
who worked together to fight for the freedom of black people and humanity in general. The leaders of this movement
desired freedom and justice. Many of them were murdered, abused, mocked, and slandered, but they continued
onward in their cause for human liberation. By 1945, the world has changed. From April 5-6, 1945, it was the time of
the Freeman Field Mutiny. This was when black officers of the U.S. Army Air Corps wanted to desegregate an all-
white officers’ club in Indiana. In August of 1945, the first issue of Ebony was released. Ebony shined the light of
black culture and inspired people to promote Blackness unapologetically. In 1946, in Morgan v. Virginia, the U.S.
Supreme Court invalidated provisions of the Virginia Code which required the separation of white and black
passengers where applied to interstate bus transport. The state law is unconstitutional insofar as it is burdening
interstate commerce – an area of federal jurisdiction. In the same year of 1946, black police officers existed for the
first time in Daytona Beach, DeLand, Sanford, Fort Myers, Myers, Tampa, and Gainesville (in Florida). Black officers
existed in Little Rock, Arkansas; Louisville, Kentucky; Charlotte, North Carolina; Austin, Houston, Dallas, San
Antonio in Texas; Richmond, Virginia; Chattanooga and Knoxville in Tennessee. Paul Robeson (who was a
renowned actor and singer) founded the American Crusade Against Lynching organization. Robeson was a great
hero who spoke out against imperialism, against colonialism, against racism, against capitalist exploitation, and
against all injustices.

The Congress of Racial Equality or CORE did something on April 9, 1947. CORE wanted equality. On that date,
CORE sent 16 men on the Journey of Reconciliation to protest Jim Crow apartheid. Jackie Robinson played his first
game for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. This was the first time when a black baseball player played in the
major leagues in 60 years. From Slavery to Freedom was the classic book written by John Hope Franklin in 1947 as
well. John Hope Franklin was one of the greatest historians of all time. In 1948, the United Nations, Article 4 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights banned slavery globally. On January 12, 1948, in Sipuel v. Board of Regents
of Univ. of Okla., the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the State of Oklahoma and the The power of African
University of Oklahoma Law School could not deny admission based on race ("color"). American people
By May 3, 1948, in Shelley v. Kraemer and companion case Hurd v. Hodge, the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot enforce racially restrictive covenants
and asserts that they are in conflict with the nation's public policy. On July 12, 1948,
Hubert Humphrey gave a courageous speech in favor of American civil rights and racial
equality at the Democratic National Convention. Many white racist segregationists
walked out to form their short-lived Dixiecrat party. On July 26, 1948, President Harry S.
Truman issued Executive Order 9981 ordering the end of racial discrimination in the
Armed Forces. Desegregation comes after 1950. Also, in 1949, the city of Atlanta hired
its first black police officers. On January 20, 1949, the Civil Rights Congress protested
the second inauguration of Harry S. Truman.

In June 5, 1950, in McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents the U.S. Supreme Court ruled
that a public institution of higher learning could not provide different treatment to a Here, Dick Gregory and
student solely because of his or her race. By June 5, 1950, in Sweatt v. Painter the U.S. his wife were protesting
for freedom during the
Supreme Court ruled that a separate-but-equal Texas law school was actually unequal, 1963 Birmingham
partly in that it deprived black students from the collegiality of future white lawyers. In the movement.
same day, in Henderson v. United States the U.S. Supreme Court abolished segregation
in railroad dining cars. The University of Virginia, under a federal court order, admitted a
black student to its law school. The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights was created
in Washington, D.C. to promote the enactment and enforcement of effective civil rights
legislation and policy in 1950. In the same year, Orlando hired its first black officers, Dr.
Ralph Bunche won the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize, and another thing happened. In 1950,
Chuck Cooper, Nathaniel Clifton and Earl Lloyd break the barriers, so they were in the
NBA.

The Martinsville Seven were executed on February 2 and 5, 1951. In February 15, 1951,
the Maryland legislature ended segregation on trains and boats; meanwhile Georgia
legislature votes to deny funds to schools that integrate. On April 23, 1951, high
This June 1965 cover of
school students in Farmville, Virginia, go on strike: the case Davis v. County School Ebony showing the
Board of Prince Edward County is heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954 as part of Supremes describe the
Brown v. Board of Education. Segregation is upheld by a federal court ruling in South cultural strength of Ebony
Carolina public schools on June 23, 1951. White residents riot in Cicero, Illinois when a magazine in general.
black family tried to move into an apartment in the all-white suburb of Chicago; National Ebony is going strong to
this very day in
Guard dispersed them by July 1951. The United States Army high command December of 2018.
desegregated the Army by July 26, 1951. "We Charge Genocide" petition presented to
United Nations by the Civil Rights Congress accused the United States of violating the Genocide Convention existed
by December 17, 1951. The Civil Rights Congress was right. By December 24, 1951, the home of NAACP activists
Harry and Harriette Moore in Mims, Florida, was bombed by a KKK group; both die of injuries. In December 28,
1951, the Regional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL) was founded in Cleveland, Mississippi by T.R.M. Howard,
Amzie Moore, Aaron Henry, and other civil rights activists. Assisted by member Medgar Evers, the RCNL distributed
more than 50,000 bumper stickers bearing the slogan, "Don't Buy Gas Where you Can't Use the Restroom." This
boycott campaign successfully pressured many Mississippi service stations to provide restrooms for black
Americans. On January 5, 1951, the racist Governor of Georgia Herman Talmadge criticized television shows for
depicting black people and whites as equal.
By January 28, 1951, there was Briggs v. Elliott: after a District Court had ordered separate but equal school
facilities in South Carolina, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case as part of Brown v. Board of Education.
On March 7, 1952, another federal court upheld segregated education laws in Virginia. By April 1, 1952, Chancellor
Collins J. Seitz finds for the black plaintiffs (Gebhart v. Belton, Gebhart v. Bulah) and ordered the integration of
Hockessin elementary and Claymont High School in Delaware based on assessment of "separate but equal" public
school facilities required by the Delaware constitution. On September 4, 1952, eleven black students attend the first
day of school at Claymont High School, Delaware, becoming the first black students in the 17 segregated states to
integrate a white public school. The day occurs without incident or notice by the community. On the next day, the
Delaware State Attorney General informed Claymont Superintendent Stahl that the
black students will have to go home because the case is being appealed. Stahl,
the School Board and the faculty refused and the students remain.

The two Delaware cases are argued before the Warren U.S. Supreme Court by
Redding, Greenberg and Marshall and are used as an example of how integration
can be achieved peacefully. It was a primary influence in the Brown v. Board case.
The students become active in sports, music and theater. The first two black
students graduated in June 1954 just one month after the Brown v. Board case.
Ralph Ellison authored the novel Invisible Man in 1952. It exposed racism in real
terms and the novel won the National Book Award. Segregation laws were struck
down by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 8, 1953. By August 13, 1953, Executive
Linda Carol Brown (1943- Order 10479 was signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as it established the
2018) was a lifelong advocate anti-discrimination Committee on Government Contracts. In the landmark case
for equality in education. She Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company, WAC Sarah Keys, represented by civil
was a schoolgirl back in 1954 rights lawyer Dovey Roundtree, became the first black human being to challenge
who was center in the Brown "separate but equal" in bus segregation before the Interstate Commerce
v. Board of Education case. Commission (on Sepember 1, 1953). Also in 1953, James Baldwin’s semi-
The Supreme Court ended autobiographical novel Go Tell It on the Mountain was published. It was ahead of
segregation in public schools. its time.
She was a public speaker, was
a Head Start teacher, and a On May 3, 1954, in Hernandez v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that
program associate in the Mexican Americans and all other racial groups in the United States are entitled to
Brown education. She had equal protection under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The historic
day of May 17, 1954 was when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the
two children and continued
"separate but equal" doctrine in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans. and
to work for justice in Kansas.
in Bolling v. Sharpe, thus overturning Plessy v. Ferguson. July 30, 1954 was when
at a special meeting in Jackson, Mississippi called by Governor Hugh White,
Rest in Power Sister Linda
T.R.M. Howard of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership, along with nearly one
Carol Brown.
hundred other black leaders, publicly refused to support a segregationist plan to
maintain "separate but equal" in exchange for a crash program to increase spending on black schools. On
September 2, 1954, in Montgomery, Alabama, 23 black children are prevented from attending all-white elementary
schools, defying the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Washington, D.C. ended segregated education and
Baltimore, Maryland does the same thing on September 8, 1954. On September 15, 1954, protests by white parents
in White Sulphur Springs, WV forced schools to postpone desegregation another year. This was the start of the
white resistance movement against desegregation.

Mississippi responded to the Brown v. Board of education decision by abolishing all public schools with an
amendment to its state constitution on September 16, 1954. Integration of a high school in Milford, Delaware
collapsed when white students boycotted classes on September 30. There were students demonstrations against
integration of Washington, D.C. public schools on October 4, 1954. By October 19, 1954, the federal judge upheld
an Oklahoma law requiring African American candidates to be identified on voting ballots as "negro"..” The total
completion of the desegregation of the U.S. Armed Forces were said to be finished by October 30, 1954. By
November 1954, Charles Diggs, Jr., of Detroit is elected to Congress, the first African American elected from
Michigan. Marie Frankie Muse Freeman was the lead attorney for the landmark NAACP case Davis et al. v. the St.
Louis Housing Authority, which ended legal racial discrimination in public housing with the city. Constance Baker
Motley was also an attorney for NAACP: it was a rarity to have two women attorneys leading such a high-profile
case.

On January 7, 1955, Marian Anderson (of 1939 fame) became the first African American to perform with the New
York Metropolitan Opera. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10590, which established the
President's Committee on Government Policy to enforce a nondiscrimination policy in Federal employment on
January 15, 1955. Demonstrators from CORE and Morgan State University stage a successful sit-in to desegregate
Read's Drug Store in Baltimore, Maryland on January 20, 1955. On April 5, 1955, Mississippi passed a law
penalizing white students who attend school with black Americans with jail and fines. NAACP and Regional Council
of Negro Leadership activist Reverend George W. Leeis was killed in Belzoni, Mississippi on May 7, 1955. The U.S.
Supreme Court ruled in "Brown II" that desegregation must occur with "all deliberate speed" on May 31, 1955. The
University of Oklahoma decided to allow black students on June 8, 1955. Virginia’s governor and Board of
Education decided to continue segregated schools into 1956. The NAACP won a U.S. Supreme Court suit which
ordered the University of Alabama to admit Autherine Lucy by June 29, 1955. A federal appeals court overturned
segregation on Columbia, SC buses.

On July 11, 1955, the Georgia Board of Education ordered that any teacher supporting integration be fired. On
August 13, 1955, Regional Council of Negro Leadership registration activist Lamar Smith is murdered in
Brookhaven, Mississippi. On August 28, 1955, the teenager Emmett Till was murdered in Money, Mississippi. The
women admitted that she lied about Till. Till was captured, kidnapped, abused, and murdered. His face being shown
inspired more civil rights leaders to fight injustice. It started the modern day Civil Rights Movement as we know it. By
November 7, 1955, The Interstate Commerce Commission banned bus segregation in interstate travel in Sarah
Keys v. Carolina Coach Company, extending the logic of Brown v. Board to the area of bus travel across state lines.
On the same day, the U.S. Supreme Court bans segregation on public parks and playgrounds. The governor of
Georgia responds that his state would "get out of the park business" rather than allow playgrounds to be
desegregated. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a bus, starting the Montgomery
Bus Boycott. This occurs nine months after 15-year-old high school student Claudette Colvin became the first to
refuse to give up her seat. Colvin's was the legal case which eventually ended the practice in Montgomery. Roy
Wilkins became the NAACP executive secretary by 1955 too. On January 9, 1956, Virginia voters and
representatives decide to fund private schools with state money to maintain segregation.

On January 16, 1956, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover writes a rare open letter of complaint directed to civil rights
leader Dr. T.R.M. Howard after Howard charged in a speech that the "FBI can pick up pieces of a fallen airplane on
the slopes of a Colorado mountain and find the man who caused the crash, but they can't find a white man when he
kills a Negro in the South." Governors of Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Virginia agree to block integration
of schools on January 24. The racist Virginia legislature passes a resolution that the U.S. Supreme Court integration
decision was an "illegal encroachment" on February 1, 1955. By February 3, Autherine Lucy is admitted to the
University of Alabama. Whites riot for days, and she is suspended. Later, she is expelled for her part in further legal
action against the university. Later, Lucy would graduate from college. The policy of Massive Resistance is declared
by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr. on February 24, 1956. Later, the Southern Manifesto, opposing integration of
schools, is created and signed by members of the Congressional delegations of Southern states, including 19
senators and 81 members of the House of Representatives, notably the entire delegations of the states of Alabama,
Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Virginia.

On March 12, it is released to the press. Wilmington, Delaware had its school board to end segregation on February
13. 90 black leaders in Montgomery, Alabama were arrested for leading a bus boycott on February 22. By February
29, 1955, the racist Mississippi legislature declares U.S. Supreme Court integration decision "invalid" in that state.
The racist Alabama legislature votes to ask for federal funds to deport blacks to northern states on March 1, 1956.
By March 12th, the U.S. Supreme Court orders the University of Florida to admit a black law school applicant
"without delay.” On March 22, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. sentenced to fine or jail for instigating Montgomery bus
boycott, suspended pending appeal. Singer Nat King Cole is assaulted during a segregated performance at
Municipal Auditorium in Birmingham, Alabama.

This took place on April 11 and Nat King Cole never performed in the Deep South again. On April 23, the U.S.
Supreme Court struck down segregation on buses nationwide. Circuit Judge Walter B. Jones issues an injunction
prohibiting the NAACP from operating in Alabama by May 26, 1956. The Tallahassee, Florida bus boycott started on
May 28, 1956. On June 5, 1956, the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR) is founded at a
mass meeting in Birmingham, Alabama. Teargas and National Guard used to quell segregationists rioting in Clinton,
TN; 12 black students enter high school under Guard protection. Smaller disturbances occur in Mansfield, TX and
Sturgis, KY. All of this transpired from September 2-11, 1956. Just in September 10, two black students are
prevented by a mob from entering a junior college in Texarkana, Texas. Schools in Louisville, KY are successfully
desegregated.

On September 12, four black children enter an elementary school in Clay, KY under National Guard protection;
white students boycott. The school board bars the 4 again on September 17. Louisiana banned integrated athletic or
social events in October 15. Nat King Cole hosts the first show of The Nat King Cole Show. The show went off the
air after only 13 months because no national sponsor could be found. This started on November 5. On November
13, 1956, in Browder v. Gayle, the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Alabama laws requiring segregation of buses.
This ruling, together with the ICC's 1955 ruling in Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach banning "Jim Crow laws" in bus
travel among the states, is a landmark in outlawing "Jim Crow" in bus travel. Federal marshals enforced the ruling to
desegregate bus systems in Montgomery. This was in December 20. On December 24, African Americans in
Tallahassee, Florida started to defy segregation on city buses. The parsonage in Birmingham, Alabama occupied
by Fred Shuttlesworth, movement leader, is bombed. Shuttlesworth receives only minor scrapes on December 25.
The next day, the ACMHR tests the Browder v. Gayle ruling by riding in the white sections of Birmingham city
buses. 22 demonstrators are arrested. In that same year, the racist Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission
formed. Director J. Edgar Hoover orders the FBI to begin the COINTELPRO program to investigate and disrupt
"dissident" groups within the United States.

By February 8, 1957, the racist Georgia Senate voted to declare the 14th and 15th Amendments to the United
States Constitution null and void in that state. On February 14, 1957, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
was formed. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is named after its chairman. Florida Senate votes to consider U.S. Supreme
Court's desegregation decisions "null and void" on April 18. Later, on May 17, 1957, the Prayer Pilgrimage for
Freedom in Washington, DC is at the time the largest nonviolent demonstration for civil rights, and features Dr.
King's "Give Us The Ballot" speech.
On September 2, 1957, Orval Faubus or the governor of Arkansas called out the National Guard to block the
integration of Little Rock Central High School. The federal judge ordered Nashville public schools to integrate
immediately by September 6. New York Times reports that in 3 years since the decision, there has been minimal
progress toward integration in 4 southern states, and no progress at all in seven on September 15. By September
24, 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower federalized the National Guard and also orders US Army troops to ensure
Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas is integrated. Federal and National Guard troops escort the Little Rock
Nine. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was signed by President Eisenhower on September 27, 1957. The finance
minister of Ghana is refused service at a Dover, Delaware restaurant on October 7. President Eisenhower hosts him
at the White House to apologize October 10. Florida legislature votes to close any school if federal troops are sent
to enforce integration on October 9, 1957. Officers of NAACP arrested in Little Rock for failing to comply with a new
financial disclosure ordinance.

The Norfolk 17 of Norfolk, Virginia helped to integrate Norview Lorraine Hansberry was a
High School and other schools in Norfolk. These African genius who created the play
American students would go on to make great contributions in called “A Raisin in the Sun.” It
Norfolk and throughout Hampton Roads, Virginia in general. was about a black family trying
These students experienced the age of J. Lindsay Almond Jr. (or to move into a suburb and
the Governor of Virginia) and the racist Massive Resistance experiencing racism and
movement in Virginia. They were allowed to school on the date discrimination along their
of February 2, 1959. The names of the Norfolk 17 are: Louis journey. Lorraine Hansberry
Cousins, Olivia Driver, LaVera Forbes, Patricia Godbolt, Alvarez (1930-1965) was also a heroic
Frederick Gonsouland, Andrew Heidelberg, Dolores Jonson, activist who stood up for racial
Edward Jordan, Lolita Portis, Betty Jean Reed, Johnnie Rouse, justice in her life.
Geraldine Talley, James Turner Jr., Patricia Turner, Carol
Wellington, Claudia Wellington, and Reginald Young.

This was on October 31. On November 26, 1957, the Texas legislature votes to close any school where federal
troops might be sent. On January 18, 1958, Willie O'Ree breaks the color barrier in the National Hockey League, in
his first game playing for the Boston Bruins. The June 29, 1958 Bethel Baptist Church bombing took place at
Birmingham, Alabama by the Ku Klux Klan. It murdered four girls. In NAACP v. Alabama, the U.S. Supreme Court
rules that the NAACP was not required to release membership lists to continue operating in the state (on June 30,
1958). By July of 1957, NAACP Youth Council sponsored sit-ins at the lunch counter of a Dockum Drug Store in
downtown Wichita, Kansas. After three weeks, the movement successfully got the store to change its policy of
segregated seating, and soon afterward all Dockum stores in Kansas were desegregated. On August 19, 1958,
Clara Luper and the NAACP Youth Council conduct the largest successful sit-in to date, on drug store lunch-
counters in Oklahoma City. This starts a successful six-year campaign by Luper and the Council to desegregate
businesses and related institutions in Oklahoma City. On August 1958, Jimmy Wilson sentenced to death in
Alabama for stealing $1.95; Secretary of State John Foster Dulles asks Governor Jim Folsom to commute his
sentence because of international criticism. On September 2, the racist Governor J. Lindsay Almond of Virginia
threatens to shut down any school if it is forced to integrate. Justice Department sues under Civil Rights Act to force
Terrell County, Georgia to register blacks to vote on September 4, 1958. A Federal judge orders Louisiana State
University to desegregate; sixty-nine African-Americans enrolled successfully on September 12. In Cooper v. Aaron
the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the states were bound by the Court's decisions. Governor Faubus responds by
shutting down all four high schools in Little Rock, and Governor Almond shuts one in Front Royal, Virginia (on
September 12, 1958).

By September 18, 1958, Governor Lindsay closed two more schools in Charlottesville, Virginia, and six in Norfolk on
September 27. The U.S. Supreme Court rules that states may not use evasive measures to avoid desegregation on
September 29, 1958. A Federal judge in Harrisonburg, VA rules that public money may not be used for segregated
private schools on October 8. 13 African Americans were arrested for sitting in front of a bus in Birmingham by
October 20. Federal court throws out Louisiana law against integrated athletic events on November 28. Voter
registration officials in Montgomery refuse to cooperate with US Civil Rights Commission investigation on December
8, 1958. Paul Robeson’s autobiography was published in 1958 called Here I Stand. Robeson was a courageous
black man. In 1959, many things happened. On January 9, 1959, one federal judge threw out segregation on
Atlanta, GA buses, while another orders Montgomery registrars to comply with the Civil Rights Commission. Motown
Records was founded by Berry Gordy on January 12, 1959. The Federal Appeals court overturns Virginia's closure
of the schools in Norfolk; they reopen January 28 with 17 black students on January 19, 1959. On high school in
Arlington, VA desegregated and allowed four black students to go into the location by February 2, 1959. Three
schools in Alexandria, Virginia desegregate with a total of nine black students on April 10. Dr. King spoke for the
integration of schools at the rally of 26,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Mack Charles
Parker was lynched three days before his trial on April 24, 1959. Alabama passed laws to limit black voter
registration on November 20, 1959. A Raisin in the Sun or a play by Lorraine Hansberry debuted on Broadway in
1959. The later film version will star Sidney Poitier.

On February 1, 1960, four black students sit at the Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina,
sparking six months of the Greensboro sit-ins. On February 13, 1960, the Nashville sit-ins begin, although the
Nashville students, trained by activist and nonviolent teacher James Lawson, had been doing preliminary
groundwork towards the action for two months. The sit-in ends successfully in May. Dr. King was indicted by an
Alabama grand jury of tax evasion on February 17. Virginia Union University students, called the Richmond 34
stage sit-in at Woolworth's lunch counter in Richmond, Virginia on February 19, 1960. By February 22, there was
the Richmond 34 staging a sit in in the Richmond Room at Thalhimer’s department store. Vanderbilt University
expelled James Lawson for sit-in participation on March 3, 1960. On March 4, 1960, Houston's first sit-in, led by
Texas Southern University students, was held at the Weingarten's lunch counter, located at 4110 Almeda in
Houston, Texas. On March 7, Felton Turner of Houston was beaten and hanged upside down in a tree with the
initials KKK carved on his chest. Turner was a black man and he inspired more black people to fight Jim Crow in
Houston, Texas. San Antonio was the first city to integrate lunch counters on March 19.

Florida Governor LeRoy Collins called lunch counter segregation unfair and morally wrong. From April 15-17,
19560, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee or SNCC was formed in Raleigh, North Carolina. The
Mother of SNCC was Ella Baker who promoted grassroots organizing and decentralized leadership. Z. Alexander
Looby's home was bombed, with no injuries on April 19. Looby, a Nashville civil rights lawyer, was active in the
cities ongoing sit-in movement. Nashville sit-ins end successfully by May 1960. The Civil Rights Act of 1960 was
signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on May 6. William Robert Ming and Hubert Delaney obtained an
acquittal of Dr. King from an all-white jury in Alabama on May 28. June 24th was the time when King met Senator
John F. Kennedy. Bayard Rustin resigned from the SCLC after being criticized by Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. on
June 28. To Kill a Mockingbird was published on July 11. Elijah Muhammad on July 31 called for an all-black state
as membership in the Nation of Islam was estimated at 100,000 people.

In August, Reverend Wyatt Tee Walker replaces Ella Baker as SCLC's Executive Director. Dr. King and fifty others
were arrested at sit-in at Atlanta's Rich's Department Store. Later on October 26, Dr. King's earlier probation
revoked; he is transferred to Reidsville State Prison. Dr. King was free on bond by the intervention of Robert F.
Kennedy on October 28. On November 8, 1960, John F. Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon in the 1960 Presidential
election. November 14 was when Ruby Bridges becomes the first African-American child to attend an all-white
elementary school in the South (William Frantz Elementary School) following court-ordered integration in New
Orleans, Louisiana. This event was portrayed by Norman Rockwell in his 1964 painting The Problem We All Live
With. In Boynton v. Virginia, (on December 5, 1960), the U.S. Supreme Court holds that racial segregation in bus
terminals is illegal because such segregation violates the Interstate Commerce Act. This ruling, in combination with
the ICC's 1955 decision in Keys v. Carolina Coach, effectively outlaws segregation on interstate buses and at the
terminals servicing such buses. January 11, 1961 was when racists rioted over court-ordered admission of first two
African Americans (Hamilton E. Holmes and Charlayne Hunter-Gault) at the University of Georgia leads to their
suspension, but they are ordered reinstated. One member of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and nine
students were arrested in Rock Hill, South Carolina for a sit-in at a McCrory's lunch counter by January 31. JFK
issued Executive Order 10925, which establishes a Presidential committee (on March 6) that later becomes the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The first group of Freedom Riders, with the intent of integrating
interstate buses, leaves Washington, D.C. by Greyhound bus.
 Ruby Bridges has shown courage throughout her life.
The group, organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), leaves shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court has
outlawed segregation in interstate transportation terminals on May 4, 1961. May 14th was when the Freedom
Riders' bus is attacked and burned outside of Anniston, Alabama. A mob beats the Freedom Riders upon their
arrival in Birmingham May 14. The Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, and spend forty to sixty
days in Parchman Penitentiary. Nashville students, coordinated by Diane Nash and James Bevel, take up the
cause of the Freedom Riders, signaling the increased involvement of SNCC on May 17. More Freedom Riders were
assaulted in Montgomery, Alabama at the Greyhound Bus Station by May 20. During the next day, Dr. King, the
Freedom Riders, and congregation of 1,500 at Reverend Ralph Abernathy's First Baptist Church in Montgomery are
besieged by mob of segregationists; Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy sends federal marshals to protect them.
Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, citing the 1955 landmark ICC ruling in Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach
Company and the U.S. Supreme Court's 1960 decision in Boynton v. Virginia, petitions the ICC to enforce
desegregation in interstate travel.

This was on May 29. From June to August, the U.S. Department of Justice initiated talks with civil rights groups and
foundations on beginning Voter Education Project. The SCLC started citizenship classes by July. Andrew J. Young
hired to direct the program. Bob Moses begins voter registration in McComb, Mississippi. On September, James
Forman was the SNCC Executive Secretary. The Interstate Commerce Commission, at RFK's insistence, issues
new rules ending discrimination in interstate travel, effective November 1, 1961, six years after the ICC's own ruling
in Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company. Voter registration activist Herbert Lee killed in McComb, Mississippi on
September 25.

On November 1, all interstate buses required to display a certificate that reads: "Seating aboard this vehicle is
without regard to race, color, creed, or national origin, by order of the Interstate Commerce Commission." SNCC
workers Charles Sherrod and Cordell Reagon and nine Chatmon Youth Council members test new ICC rules at
Trailways bus station in Albany, Georgia. On November 17, 1961, SNCC workers help encourage and coordinate
black activism in Albany, Georgia, culminating in the founding of the Albany Movement as a formal coalition. Three
high school students from Chatmon's Youth Council arrested after using "positive actions" by walking into white
sections of the Albany bus station on November 22. Albany State College students Bertha Gober and Blanton Hall
were arrested after entering the white waiting room of the Albany Trailways station. On December 10, Freedom
Riders from Atlanta, SNCC leader Charles Jones, and Albany State student Bertha Gober are arrested at Albany
Union Railway Terminal, sparking mass demonstrations, with hundreds of protesters arrested over the next five
days. From December 11-15, 500 protesters were arrested in Albany Georgia. Dr. King came into Albany, Georgia
on December 15, 1961. Dr. W. G. Anderson call him. Anderson was the leader of the Albany Movement to
desegregate public schools. Dr. King is arrested at an Albany, Georgia demonstration. He is charged with
obstructing the sidewalk and parading without a permit on December 16.

2 days later, there was the Albany truce, including a 60-day postponement of King's trial; King leaves town. In that
same month, Whitney Young is appointed executive director of the National Urban League. Black Like Me written by
John Howard Griffin, a white southerner who deliberately tanned and dyed his skin to allow him to directly
experience the life of the Negro in the Deep South, is published, displaying the brutality of "Jim Crow" segregation to
a national audience. From January 18-20, 1962 students protest over sit-in leaders’ expulsions at Baton Rouge's
Southern University, the nation's largest black school, close it down. Representatives of SNCC, CORE, and the
NAACP form the Council of Federated Organizations(COFO). A grant request to fund COFO voter registration
activities is submitted to the Voter Education Project (VEP) on February. Segregated transportation facilities, both
interstate and intrastate, ruled unconstitutional by U.S. Supreme Court on February 26, 1962.

March was when SNCC workers sit-in at U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy's office to protest the jailing of
civil rights leaders in Baton Rouge. The FBI installed wiretaps on NAACP activist Stanley Levison’s office. Defense
Department ordered full racial integration of military reserve units, except the National Guard on April 3. April 9 was
when Corporal Roman Duckworth shot by a police officer in Taylorsville, Mississippi. June was when Leroy Willis
becomes first black graduate of the University of Virginia College of Arts and Sciences. SNCC workers established
voter registration projects in rural southwest Georgia in the same month. From July 10 – August 28, SCLC renews
protests in Albany; King in jail on July 10–12 and on July 27 – August 10. Fannie Lou Hamer attempted to register to
vote in Indianola, Mississippi on August 31, 1962. Two black churches used by SNCC for voter registration
meetings are burned in Sasser, Georgia on September 9, 1962. September 20, 1962 was when James Meredith is
barred from becoming the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. From September 30-October
1, the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black orders James Meredith admitted to Ole Miss.; he enrolls and a riot
ensues. French photographer Paul Guihard and Oxford resident Ray Gunter are killed. Leflore County, Mississippi,
supervisors cut off surplus food distribution in retaliation against voter drive by October. The time of October 23,
1962 was when the FBI begins Communist Infiltration (COMINFIL) investigation of SCLC. In early November,
Edward Brooke selected Massachusetts Attorney General, Leroy Johnson elected Georgia State Senator, Hawkins
elected first black from California in Congress. November 20 was when Attorney General Kennedy authorized the
FBI wiretap on Stanley Levison's home telephone. President Kennedy upholds 1960 presidential campaign promise
to eliminate housing segregation by signing Executive Order 11063 banning segregation in Federally funded
housing (on November 20, 1962).
 The Defining Moments of the Civil Rights Movement

Emmett Till was Robert F. Williams and his Vivian Malone Jones and Here Dr. Martin Luther
from Chicago and wife fought for self-defense James A. Hood were the first King Jr. and Malcolm
was lynched by heroically in Monroe, North African Americans who X meet each other at
white racists on Carolina. His wife was a civil integrated the University of March 26, 1964.
August 28, 1955. rights activist named Mabel Alabama in 1963. Vivian Malcolm X left the NOI
He was just 14 Ola Robinson. Williams was Malone Jones was the first in 1964 and became
years old and was in the Marines and joined the black graduate of the more progressive by
on a summer NAACP. He created the Black University of Alabama in advocating for pan-
vacation. So many Armed Guard to protect his 1965. African unity, opposing
civil rights leaders community from racists. the Vietnam War,
fought for change defending the rights of
because of what women, and
happened to the questioning capitalism
innocent child by his own words in
Emmett Till. 1965.

January 18 was when incoming Alabama governor George Wallace calls for "segregation now, segregation
tomorrow, segregation forever" in his inaugural address. From April 3 to May 10, 1963, there was the Birmingham
campaign, organized by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Alabama Christian
Movement for Human Rights challenged city leaders and business owners in Birmingham, Alabama, with daily mass
demonstrations. On April 1963, Mary Lucille Hamilton, Field Secretary for the Congress of Racial Equality, refused
to answer a judge in Gadsden, Alabama, until she is addressed by the honorific "Miss." It was the custom of the time
to address white people by honorifics and people of color by their first names. Hamilton is jailed for contempt of
court and refuses to pay bail. The case Hamilton v. Alabama is filed by the NAACP. It was appealed to the U.S.
Supreme Court, which ruled in 1964 that courts must address persons of color with the same courtesy extended to
whites. Ministers John Thomas Porter, Nelson H. Smith and A.D. King lead a group of 2,000 marchers to protest the
jailing of movement leaders in Birmingham on April 7. Dr. King was arrested again in Birmingham for “parading
without a permit” on April 12, 1963. He letter wrote his famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” in April 16, 1963.
CORE activist William L. Moore was murdered in Gadsden, Alabama on April 23, 1963. Birmingham's juvenile court
is inundated with African-American children and teenagers arrested after James Bevel, SCLC's Director of Direct
Action and Director of Nonviolent Education, launches his "D-Day" youth march. The actions spans three days to
become the Birmingham Children's Crusade. This started in May 2. From May 9-10, 1963, after images of fire hoses
and police dogs turned on protesters are televised, the Children's Crusade lays the groundwork for the terms of a
negotiated truce on Thursday, May 9 puts an end to mass demonstrations in return for rolling back oppressive
segregation laws and practices.
Dr. King and Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth announce the settlement terms on Friday, May 10 only after King holds
out to orchestrate the release of thousands of jailed demonstrators with bail money from Harry Belafonte and Robert
Kennedy. From May 11-12, 1963, there was the double bombing in Birmingham, probably conducted by the KKK in
cooperation with local police, precipitates rioting, police retaliation, intervention of state troopers, and finally
mobilization of federal troops. In United States of America and Interstate Commerce Commission v. the City of
Jackson, Mississippi et al., the United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit rules the city's attempt to circumvent
laws desegregating interstate transportation facilities by posting sidewalk signs outside Greyhound, Trailways and
Illinois Central terminals reading "Waiting Room for White Only — By Order Police Department" and "Waiting Room
for Colored Only – By Order Police Department" to be unlawful. This was on May 13. A group of black leaders
(assembled by James Baldwin) meets with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy to discuss race relations on May
24, 1963. Violence escalates at NAACP picket of Philadelphia construction site on May 29, 1963. The police
attacked Florida A&M anti-segregation demonstrators with tear gas; arrest 257 on May 30, 1963. Fannie Lou
Hamer is among several SNCC workers badly beaten by police in the Winona, Mississippi, jail after their bus stops
there on June 9. On June 11, "The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door": Alabama Governor George Wallace stands in
front of a schoolhouse door at the University of Alabama in an attempt to stop desegregation by the enrollment of
two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood. Wallace only stands aside after being confronted by federal
marshals, Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, and the Alabama National Guard. Later in life he
apologized for his opposition to racial integration back then. June 11, 1963 was when President Kennedy makes his
historic civil rights address, promising a bill to Congress the next week. In that speech, JFK said the following words
about civil rights for African American of desiring, "the kind of equality of treatment which we would want for
ourselves."
 NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers was assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi on June 12, 1963. (His murderer
was convicted in 1994). The summer of 1963 saw 80,000 black Americans quickly register to vote in Mississippi by
a test project to show their desire to participate. On June 19, 1963, President Kennedy sends Congress (H. Doc.
124, 88th Cong., 1st session.) his proposed Civil Rights Act. White leaders in business and philanthropy gather at
the Carlyle Hotel to raise initial funds for the Council on United Civil Rights Leadership. Gwynn Oak Amusement
Park in Northwest Baltimore, County, Maryland is desegregated on August 28. On August 28, 1963, the March on
Washington for Jobs and Freedom is held. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his I Have a Dream speech. Schools
were integrated by National Guardsmen under orders from President Kennedy on September 10. September 15,
1963 was when the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham kills four young girls. That same day, in
response to the killings, James Bevel and Nash begin the Alabama Project, which will later grow into the Selma
Voting Rights Movement. Malcolm X delivered "Message to the Grass Roots" speech, calling for unity against the
white power structure and criticizing the March on Washington. This was on November 10, 1963. November 22,
1963 was when President Kennedy was assassinated. The new President, Lyndon B. Johnson, decided that
accomplishing Kennedy's legislative agenda is his best strategy, which he pursued.

"...So let freedom ring from the
prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire;
let freedom ring from the mighty
mountains of New York; let freedom ring
from the heightening Alleghenies of
Pennsylvania; let freedom ring from the
snow-capped Rockies of Colorado; let
freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes
of California. But not only that. Let
freedom ring from Stone Mountain of
Georgia; let freedom ring from Lookout
Mountain of Tennessee; let freedom ring
from every hill and mole hill of
Mississippi. “From every mountainside,
let freedom ring.”
And when this happens, and when we
allow freedom to ring, when we let it
ring from every village and every hamlet,
from every state and every city, we will
be able to speed up that day when all of
God’s children, black men and white
men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and
Catholics, will be able to join hands and
sing in the words of the old Negro
spiritual: “Free at last. Free at last. Thank
God Almighty, we are free at last.”

-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963

I Have a Dream speech.

Throughout 1964, the Alabama Voting Rights Project continues organizing as Bevel, Nash, and James Orange
work without the support of SCLC, the group which Bevel represents as its Director of Direct Action and Director of
Nonviolent Education. The poll tax for federal elections was abolished by the 24th Amendment on January 23, 1964.
By the summer of 1964, there was Mississippi Freedom Summer – voter registration in the state. SNCC members
formed the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party as a way for them to elect an alternative slate of delegates for the
national convention, as black people were still officially disfranchised. April 13, 1964 was when Sidney Poitier wins
the Academy Award for Best Actor for role in Lilies of the Field. The murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner
took place on June 21, 1963. These 3 civil rights workers disappeared and their bodies were later found. Malcolm X
founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity on June 28, 1964. On July 2, 1964, one of the most important
events in history happened. It was when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed, banning discrimination based on "race,
color, religion, sex or national origin" in employment practices and public accommodations.

Appendix A: Honoring the Power of Motown

The illustrious cultural black American powerhouse of Motown exhibited excellent talent. Its history is extensive. Its
music has been iconic for decades and influences today’s music near 2020 as well. It started with Berry Gordy Jr.
He borrowed $800 from his family saving club (called Ber-Berry Co-op) to start Tamla Record Company in Detroit,
Michigan. This event took place in 1959. Berry Gordy was once a songwriter for local Detroit acts like Jackie Wilson
and the Matadors. Wilson’s single called “Lonely Teardrops” was written by Gordy. Later, the Motown record label
established itself on January 12, 1959. Motown had an important role in causing many artists to have success, and
it was the soundtrack (along with other music from Stax Records, and other record companies) of the Civil Rights
Movement. Motown showed the power of the universality of music and the great cultural excellence of African
Americans. Hitsville U.S.A. studio was the recording studio of early Motown artists. The Motown song was a style of
soul music that made people dance. Joy and excitement consumed crowds when individuals listened to Motown
music. The sound used tambourines to make the backbeat. It had melodic guitar lines and melodic plus chord
structure. Motown included a call and response singing style that started from gospel music. The Funk Brothers
helped with the cultivation of the Motown songs too.

During the 1960’s, Motown had 79 records in the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100 record chart between 1960 and
1969. Motown immediately grew fast. Its first hit was the song, "Money (That's What I Want)." which was sung by
Barrett Strong. Berry Gordy Jr. and Janie Bradford wrote the song. Motown signed the Matadors who became the
Miracles. Several of Gordy's family members, including his father Berry Sr., his brothers Robert and George, and
sister Esther, were given key roles in the company. By the middle of the decade, Gwen and Anna Gordy had joined
the label in administrative positions as well. Esther Gordy Edwards was the Senior Vice President in charge of
International Talent Management, Inc. This event took place in 1960. In the same year, the Marvelettes, Marvin
Gaye, and Mary Wells signed with Motown. Mary Wells recorded “Bye, Bye, Baby” on Motown label. Early Motown
artists included Mable John, Eddie Holland, and Mary Wells. The Miracles featuring Smokey Robinson, Bobby
Rogers, Ron White, Pete Moore, and Claudette Robinson recorded the first Motown record to sell one million
copies. The record was called “Shop Around.” Motown went to the Music Publishing Awards too where Jobete
received an honor.

In 1961, the Temptations signed with Motown. They were once called the Elgins. Stevie Wonder signed with
Motown in the same year too. Eddie Holland’s record “Jamie” is released on the Motown label written by Mickey
Stevenson and Barrett Strong. The style of Jackie Wilson influenced the song. The Marvelettes released, “Please
Mr. Postman,” by Brian Holland, Freddie Gorman, Robert Bateman, William Garrett, and Georgia Dobbins, on the
Tamla label. This song was the first Motown song to reach the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop
singles chart. The Vice President of Motown was Smokey Robinson in 1962. By 1962, The Motor town Revue left
Detroit to tour the East Coast and South. Groups included in the tour were: the Miracles, Martha and the Vandellas,
the Supremes, Mary Wells, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Contours, the Marvelettes, and the Choker Campbell
Band. The Contours released “Do You Love Me,” which was written for the Temptations in 1962. As Gordy was
unable to locate the group, Contours got the song. Mary Wells had a hit with “You Beat Me to the Punch,” written by
Smokey Robinson. It reached #1 on the R& B chart and #9 on Billboard’s Pop chart in 1962. By 1963, disc cutting
machines existed to cause demos to be on a record. Mary Wells was on American Bandstand with Dick Clark.
Martha & the Vandellas were nominated for “(Love Is Like) A Heatwave,” written by Brian Holland, Lamont
Dozier and Edward Holland, Jr. In 1963, Stevie Wonder performed at the Olympia Music Hall in Paris, France for a
two-week engagement. In 1964, Motown’s Artist Personal Development Department started. This program allowed
Motown artists to learn etiquette and other forms of presenting themselves to the wider public. Maurice King, Maxine
Powell, and Cholly Atkins worked with the artists. By 1965, Motown employed 125 people. Motown reached into
new heights by the mid-1960's.

Motown launched its international label, Tamla-Motown, in London, England back in 1965. The Temptations tape
“Ready, Steady, Go” television show in England, and Brenda Holloway performed with the Beatles on their North
American Tour in 1965. Temptations had its #1 hit with “My Girl,” written by William “Smokey” Robinson and Ronald
White of the Miracles back in 1965 too. The Temptations reached into new heights after that song existed. Motown
released its first eight-track tapes. Five Motown releases reached #1 on the top ten pop charts including “I Can’t
Help Myself” by the Four Tops and “Stop In The Name of Love” by the Supremes in the same year of 1965. Norman
Whitfield started to produce the Temptations in 1966. By 1966, Motown grossed $20 million. Gladys Knight and the
Pips, Tammi Terrell, and the Isley Brothers signed with Motown in 1966. Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson signed
with Motown as staff writers in 1966. Motown purchased another studio called Golden World Records (Studio B) and
acquired Edwin Starr in that acquisition. In 1967, Motown had five labels called Tamla, Motown, Gordy, Soul, and
V.I.P. Stevie Wonder toured Europe. Martha and the Vandellas recorded “Jimmy Mack” on the Gordy label back in
1967. Diana Ross & the Supremes performed at Expo 67, the group’s name changed to reflect Diana as lead.
In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., recorded the album “Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam” on Motown’s Black
Forum record label, and he spoke out against the war in New York. Dr. King advocated racial, economic, and social
justice without apology. In 1967, more than 150,000 people protested the war in Washington, D.C. A fifth label, Soul,
featured Jr. Walker & the All Stars, Jimmy Ruffin, Shorty Long, the Originals, and Gladys Knight & the Pips (who
had found success before joining Motown, as "The Pips" on Vee-Jay).

In 1968, Vice President, public relations, Mike Roshkind accompanied Stevie Wonder, the Temptations, and Martha
and the Vandellas on a Far East Tour. Motown moved its headquarters from West Grand Blvd. to a new downtown
office location at 2457 Woodward Avenue at the Fisher Freeway in the same year. In 1968, Marvin Gaye’s version
of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” hit #1 on the pop chart. Suzanne de Passe worked for Motown as Mr. Gordy’s
Creative Assistant. The Supremes met Queen Mother. Under Norman Whitfield’s production of more psychedelic-
based material, The Temptations released “Cloud Nine.” This record was known as part of “psychedelic soul."
Motown had 5 of the Top 10 records on the Billboard Magazine chart in 1968. Motown held the number 1, 2, & 3
positions for an entire month. The Jackson Five performed at the Daisy Disco in Los Angeles with an introduction by
Diana Ross in 1969. Michael Jackson was the lead singer of the group, and Michael Jackson later became an
international superstar in his own right. In the same year of 1969, The Temptations’ “I Can’t Get Next To You”
reached #1 on the pop chart. Motown senior vice president Esther Gordy Edwards met with Motown licensees in
Czechoslovakia, Romania, Finland, Austria, and also visited Russia. In 1970, Berry Gordy and entertainer and
recording artist Sammy Davis, Jr., started Ecology record label. Motown addressed the issues of the Vietnam War
with the release of “Guess Who’s Coming Home, Black Fighting Men Recorded Live in Vietnam", on Black Forum
label. Edwin Starr released “War”, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1970. Motown signed the rock
act Stoney and Meatloaf on the Rare Earth label. In 1971, Stevie Wonder turned 21 and signed a more
comprehensive and lucrative contract with Motown, and Michael Jackson appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone.

The new Supremes (Jean Terrell, Cindy Birdsong, and Mary Wilson) appeared on the David Frost Show in 1971. In
the same year of 1971, Sly and the Family Stone record “Family Affair.” Motown established branch offices in both
New York City and Los Angeles during the mid-1960's, and by 1969, Motown had begun gradually moving more of
its operations to Los Angeles. Gordy initially rejected several tracks that later became critical and commercial
favorites; the two most notable being the Marvin Gaye songs "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "What's Going
On.”
 THE STYLE, MUSIC, AND FASHION OF MOTOWN
The Hitsville, U.S.A. Motown
Building was the old Motown
headquarters from 1959 to 1968.
It is found at 2648 West Grand
Boulevard in Detroit. Today, it
is the Motown Historical
Museum since 1985.
In 1969, Michael Jackson
celebrated the power of music with
Diana Ross in the Sammy
Davis Jr. show. They became
very close friends.
The group of the Supremes broke
down barriers and made excellent
music at the same time. They
inspired future African
Americans musicians to pursue
their own dreams. Mary Wilson,
Diana Ross, and Florence Ballard
are shown here wearing gorgeous
dresses. Fashion and Motown go
hand in hand. The Supremes was
the most successful vocal group
of Motown. Betty McGlown
was part of the original Supremes
too.
Mary Wells was a great
musician, a humble woman,
and a gorgeous human
being inside and out. Mary
Wells had charismatic and
her gracious spirit lives on.
The Temptations made many
hits and wore suits on stage.
Otis Williams, Melvin
Franklin, Paul Williams, Eddie
Kendricks, and David Ruffin
were part of the Classic Five
era of the group. From hits like
My Girl, Since I Lost My Baby,
Get Ready, I Wish It Would
Rain, etc. their legacy is firmly
set in stone forever.
The genius Stevie Wonder
is giving his fan a great
show via playing the
piano. From Uptight to
his Key of Life album,
Stevie Wonder is one of
the greatest musicians in
history.
The
Sunday’s
Best
fashion
style was
part of
Gladys
Knight &
the Pips.
In 1972, Motown moved headquarters from Detroit to Hollywood, California, so they left branch office in Detroit at
Hitsville, U.S.A. The songwriting/production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland left over pay disputes, so this situation
of moving took place. By this time, Motown loosened its production rules, allowing some of its longtime artists the
opportunity to write and produce more of their material. More independence resulted in the recordings of successful
and critically acclaimed albums such as Marvin Gaye's What's Going On (1971) and Let's Get it On (1973), and
Stevie Wonder's Music of My Mind (1972), Talking Book (1972), and Innervisions (1973). Some artists, among them
Martha Reeves, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Motown's Funk Brothers studio band, either stayed
behind in Detroit or left the company for other reasons. By re-locating, Motown aimed chiefly to branch out into the
motion-picture industry, and Motown Productions got its start in film by turning out two hit-vehicles for Diana Ross:
the Billie Holiday biographical film Lady Sings the Blues (1972), and Mahogany (1975).

Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye had a great chemistry as musicians and as close
friends. Their songs from “You’re All I Need to get by” to “Aint No Mountain High
Enough” are timeless classics.
Other Motown films would include Scott Joplin (1977), Thank God It's Friday (1978), The Wiz (1978) and The Last
Dragon (1985). Ewart Abner, who allied with Motown since the 1960's, became its president in 1973. Despite losing
Holland–Dozier–Holland, Norman Whitfield, and some of its other hitmakers by 1975, Motown had many hit records.
In 1972, Suzanne DePasse became corporate director of Motown Productions, which produced “Lady Sings the
Blues,” a movie about the life of blues vocalist Billie Holiday starring Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, and Richard
Pryor. The Commodores signed with Motown and opened for the Jackson Five. The Four Tops released “(It’s The
Way) Nature Planned It." MCA Inc. controlled Motown later on. Motown still had many successful artists during the
1970's and 1980's, including Lionel Richie and the Commodores, Rick James, Teena Marie, the Dazz Band, Jose
Feliciano, and DeBarge. Motown started to lose money by the mid-1980’s. During the 1990's, Motown was home to
successful recording artists such as Boyz II Men and Johnny Gill. By 1998, Motown had added stars such as 702,
Brian McKnight, and Erykah Badu to its roster.

Motown was later sold to PolyGram in 1994, before being sold again to MCA Records' successor, Universal Music
Group, when it acquired PolyGram in 1999. Motown spent much of the 2000's headquartered in New York City as a
part of the Universal Music subsidiaries Universal Motown and Universal Motown Republic Group. From 2011 to
2014, Motown was a part of The Island Def Jam Music Group division of Universal Music. On April 1, 2014,
Universal Music Group announced the dissolution of Island Def Jam; subsequently Motown relocated back to Los
Angeles to operate under the Capitol Music Group. Motown now operates out of the landmark Capitol Tower. For
many decades, Motown was the highest-earning African American business in the United States. The Rhythm &
Blues Hall of Fame inducted Motown during the class of 2018 on June 3, 2018, at the Charles H. Wright Museum.
Motown legend Martha Reeves received the award for Motown Records. If anyone desires to know real music,
he or she ought to study Motown.

MOTOWN ICONS

THE MARVELETTES
The group ceased performing

T hese legends have a long

history. Their names are Gladys

Horton, Katherine Anderson (now
Schaffner), Georgeanna Tillman
(later Gordon), Juanita Cowart
(now Cowart Motley), and Georgia
Dobbins (who was replaced by
Wanda Young-Rogers prior to the
group signing their first deal).
Beginnings
They were an early group of all-
women vocalists and their 1961
number one single was “Please
Mr. Postman.” They came from
Inkster, Michigan. They made a
comeback song in 1966 called,
“Don’t Mess with Bill” and other
hits. Their songs motivated us on
being entertained and made us
think about relationships and love
in general.
together in 1969 and, following
the release of The Return of the
Marvelettes in 1970, featuring only
Wanda Rogers, disbanded for
good, with both Rogers and
Katherine Anderson leaving the
music business.
Legacy
The group has received several
honors
including
induction
into the
Vocal
Group Hall Bold, talented, and blessed
of Fame, as black women describe the
well as
receiving Marvelettes.
the Pioneer Award from the
Rhythm and Blues Foundation. On
August 17, 2013, in Cleveland,
Ohio, at Cleveland State University,
the Marvelettes were inducted into
the 1st class of the Official Rhythm
& Blues Music Hall of Fame.

By Timothy
 Remembering Freedom Summer after 55 Years
From June to August of 1964, heroes of many colors came into Mississippi. They wanted African Americans to
vote and to have educational opportunities. Decades later, we show a commemoration of heroes involved in the
Freedom Project like Robert Parris Moses (who directed the summer project) and other unsung human beings.
Many of them formed the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) to advance political power.

The project was created by all in one state. People against human beings. 37 educate many black people
COFO or the Council of planned the Freedom churches were bombed or on black history and
Federated Organizations Summer movement back burned. James Chaney, constitutional rights.
in February of 1964. Andrew Goodman, and Freedom Libraries in
Many Mississipp
volunteers “…As far as I am i allowed
Before this movement, came from many
only 5.3% of African Chicago, concerned, freedom African
Americans were
registered to vote in
New York
City,
summer never really Americans
to have
Mississippi in 1962. Detroit, ended.” access to
Cleveland, library
Los -Victoria Gray Adams, African American civil books in
Angeles, rights activist from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. about
Berkeley, Michael Schwerner (one 20,000
Portland, Seattle, and African American and two volumes. Freedom
other places of the Jewish Americans from Summer helped to expand
Before that time, many Union. Mississippi NYC) were murdered by the reach of the Civil
black Americans left and other states of Klansmen. Their bodies Rights Movement. It
Mississippi to industrial the South had poll were found on August 4, caused more people to stir
Northern cities as part of taxes, literacy taxes, up their minds to fight for
the Great Migration.
and other
restrictions
against
black
(which is made up of a voters. White
coalition of the Mississippi racists used
branches of the four major drive by
civil rights organizations of shootings,
SNCC, CORE, NAACP, Molotov
and SCLC). Mississippi is cocktails, and
one major epicenter of the other violence
civil rights movement with at homes. The 1964. Yet, fighters for the freedom of black
both some of the greatest police, the Klan, and the equality continued in their people plus all people.
black fighters for freedom White Citizens’ Council journey. Freedom Schools
and some of the most used harassment, arson, (with happy teachers like
racist whites in the world beatings, and murder Pam Parker) helped to
 THE FASHION OF THE EARLY 1960’S

Here is Mary Tyler Moore
wearing Capri pants in
November of 1962 (on the Dick
Van Dyke Show). The image is
from the CBS Photo
Archive/Getty Images.
The Supremes here are in Muhammad Ali is in New In 1962, Cicely Tyson
Europe to express their York City. He has used was the first African
talent. They wore dresses fashion and his activism to American to wear
with a tie. The photo is from give more confidence to cornrows on a TV show
Photo by Hulton black people and all freedom named East Side/West
Archive/Getty Images. loving people in general. Side. It changed fashion
and style forever. She is
a blessing in the
Universe.

A lot of men back in the early
1960’s used conservative suits
and ties like President John F.
Kennedy did throughout his
Presidency.
The late, great Sister Eartha
Kitt was not only a gorgeous
black woman. She was
trendsetter in culture, acting,
theater, and music. This is
her in 1962.
Dorothy Dandridge wore a Jackie Kennedy-Onassis
dress and spoke out here in wore this gown on
Los Angeles in favor of Inauguration Day on
national civil rights 1961. The gown was
legislation. Dorothy designed by Oleg
Dandridge and fashion go Cassini.
hand in hand.
The next part of this series is about the era from 1964-1980. This part
of American history is truly the most revolutionary period of American
history socially because so many changes existed from civil rights to the
sexual revolution. I will cover it all in uncompromising detail. There
will be no sugarcoating. Events from civil rights to disco will be outlined
here.

Peace and Blessings