Stephanie Leotsakos
AP U.S. History II
Mrs. Scott
Due by: 9/10/10
SECTION #1:
1. Did JFK fulfill his promise to “get America moving again”? Why or why not?
John F. Kennedy did fulfill his promise to “get American moving again” through several
stimulating actions during his presidency and through the ideals he emphasized, which were
further carried out by his successor Lyndon B. Johnson, after Kennedy’s assassination. As
economic stimulation he tried curb inflation, cutting taxes, even up to 50% to promote trade with
Common market countries, and putting more money directly into private hands. For societal
amendment he achieved convincing Congress to provide millions of dollars in aid to areas of the
country suffering from severe unemployment; to provided money for housing for the elderly,
poor, and college students; to extend social security benefits to more Americans; and to provide
federally supported day-care programs, continuing-education programs for women, and an end to
the sex-bias in social security and unemployment benefits. A minimum-wage-legislation also
helped increase the average annual income of families. For environmental as well as societal
conditions he had antipollution laws passed. To improve America’s worldly status he established
the Peace Corps, improved America’s nuclear and military preparation, and established NASA,
along with a multibillion-dollar plan to land an American on the moon. Lastly, in support of
social change and the Civil Rights Movement, Kennedy proposed a civil rights bill that
guaranteed equal access to all public accommodations and outlawing discrimination in voting
and employment. Although Kennedy himself was assassinated before he could win its approval,
the task was carried out by his presidential successor Lyndon B. Johnson in Kennedy’s memory.
Sources: http://apnotes.net/ch39.html
United States History; Globe Fearon Foundation Series; Pgs. 548-562
2. What was JFK’s role in the nonviolent Civil Rights Movement? Did he help or hinder its
progress? Explain.
President John F. Kennedy aided the progress of the nonviolent Civil Rights movement.
Although hesitant at first to fully engage in the civil rights movement he still supported the
passage of the Twenty-third Amendment, which allowed residents of the District of Columbia,
largely African Americans, to vote in presidential elections; he tried outlawing the poll tax in
federal elections; and he appointed several African Americans to important government
positions. And later, after more violence broke out, he became very active in the movement and
proposed a civil rights bill that guaranteed equal access to all public accommodations and
outlawing discrimination in voting and employment, although unfortunately the task to win its
approval was left to Johnson after Kennedy’s assassination.
Source: United States History; Globe Fearon Foundation Series; Pgs. 550-551
3. List and discuss 3 reasons for US involvement in the Vietnam War.
U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War initially began because Vietnam was split in two—
a communist north and democratic south. In fear of communism, the political ideology of USSR,
taking over democracy, the U.S. felt it needed to help. This was especially because of
Eisenhower’s belief, called the Domino Theory, that if Communism conquered South Vietnam it
would soon and quickly spread to other countries in Southeast Asia and then could potentially
become a threat to the United States. The U.S. slowly became more and more involved. The final
stimulus for full engagement in war was when the U.S. received a naval attack in the Gulf of
Tonkin off Vietnam’s coast. President Johnson used this as a reason to gain congressional
authorization to engage into combat.
Source: United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination by John J.
Newman and John M. Schmalbach; Pgs. 606-607
4. To what extent were the sexual revolution and the student revolts of the 1960s inevitable
results of affluence and the baby boom?
It was a time of utter revolution. Baby boomers from the 1960s wanted to break away
from the conformism they grew up with and were tempted by the revolutions that began to creep
forward in their time. When the 1960’s hit, it seemed revolution was inevitable, and more went
for it. Times were changing—there was a lot more monetary comfort in families, allowing more
students to attend college, and in parallel to the times, they revolted against the strict rules by
demanding more personal freedom. But drugs and a hippie, non conformist mindset caused the
revolts to eventually get out of hand and violent. New drug discoveries, such as the birth control
pill, were also discovered that led to another type of social revolt—a sexual one. Sex became
another consumer product and in correlation to the common defiant nature of the times,
seemingly risk-free irresponsible sexual behavior soon became a sexual revolution. The new,
attractive idea of non-conformism, and therefore a result of revolts and revolution was an
unavoidable result of a more comfortable wealth and a bored and stifled people.
Source: United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination by John J.
Newman and John M. Schmalbach; Pgs. 603-605
5. What were the major provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Why was it such an
important piece of legislation?
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited race-based discrimination in public places such
as hotels, restaurants, department stores, and other general public facilities. It prohibited racial
discrimination in schools, giving the attorney general the power to file a law suit in court to
speed up desegregation. It also extended the power of the federal government to protect the
voting rights of African Americans. All these provisions made in the most sweeping piece of
civil rights legislation in U.S. history. Along with the fact that America finally rid, officially, at
least, of its hypocritical way of being and came into full accordance with the equality stated in
the Declaration of Independence, this is why it was such an important piece of legislation.
Source: United States History; Globe Fearon Foundation Series; Pgs. 561-562
6. List and briefly describe 4 components of LBJ’s Great Society. Also evaluate their positive
or negative impact on the country and, more specifically, on poverty?
Four of the main components of Johnson’s Great Society were Medicare, Medicaid,
reform in immigration, and reform in voting rights. Medicare provided low-cost health insurance
for people over 65, for things such as hospital bills and doctors’ care. Medicaid, on the other
hand, provided federal and state monetary assistance to low-income and disabled Americans. It
paid doctors, treatment in clinics, prescriptions, and some nursing-home care, dental care, and
eyeglasses. Both these needed components provided monetary assistance to those in need, and
helped the country’s poverty situation. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 provided
reform in the area of immigration. It established guidelines fore entry based on skill or need of
protection from oppression by homeland rulers and it allowed the entry of many more
immigrants from Latin America, Asia, and eastern Europe. This was a positive change for the
country because it altered the previous quota of the immigration system that favored immigrants
from countries allowing it to become a true melting pot. It also must have helped America’s
worldly esteem because it emphasized how much America cared its people and others. The last
main provision of the Great Society was the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This Act banned literary
tests and it was passed as a safeguard for African Americans who were somehow restricted form
registering to vote in some places in the South. This had a positive influence on the country
because it aided in a social step forward for further integration by allowing a wider variety of
people to vote, therefore shifting the civil hand of influence, as well as allowing more African
Americans to gain local and state offices.
Source: United States History; Globe Fearon Foundation Series; Pgs. 564
7. What was the difference between de facto segregation and de jure segregation? How did the
Kerner Commission Report illustrate that difference?
De jure segregation is segregation of public places that is mandated by law. De facto
segregation is an informal segregation that results from prejudices and stereotypes of society’s
white people. The Kerner Commission, or the National Advisory Commission on Civil
Disorders, established in 1967, determined that besides de jure segregation established by the
Jim Crow laws, it was white racial prejudice and discrimination, or de facto segregation, shown
in poverty, segregated schools, and poor housing that was leading our nation “towards two
societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal.”
Sources: http://www.pbs.org/jefferson/enlight/brown.htm
United States History; Globe Fearon Foundation Series; Pgs. 576
8. What was the “Domino Theory” first espoused in the Eisenhower Administration? How did
it apply to LBJ’s view of the world?
The “Domino Theory” was a belief that if Communism conquered South Vietnam it
would soon and quickly spread to other countries in Southeast Asia. Since Lyndon Johnson
became president just as things began to fall apart in South Vietnam he was left with a difficult
situation and difficult decision of how to approach the circumstances—pull out and be seen as
weak and lose public support, or stay in and engage, despite the looming criticism of making it
into an American war? Being a firm believer in the Domino Theory, he decided to further
engage, because he felt he had not much of a choice. Although he wishes he didn’t had to
Johnson obviously believed that the world needed America to be the world’s godfather country
and fix everyone else’s problems because , if we didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to, and then the
would fall apart, just like predicted in the Domino Theory he so firmly believed in.
Source: United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination by John J.
Newman and John M. Schmalbach; Pgs. 605-607
9. What factors let do low morale among US troops by the late 1960s?
Low moral among US troops by the late 1960s was due the hardships of a long, hard, and
dreary war. U.S soldiers were worn down by small, quick clashes instead of actual battles
because they had to constantly be on the defense. It was guerrilla warfare, so it was like fighting
an invisible enemy with confusion as to who is to be killed. This caused many civilian casualties,
because U.S. troops could not tell who was who. They were also fighting in foreign, unknown
land to U.S. troops with hot, rainforest climates, muggy soil, and unknown waterways. All these
things led to low moral and home-sickness among troops .
Source: United States History; Globe Fearon Foundation Series; Pgs. 599-600
10. What were the goals of the National Organization for Women [NOW]? How did NOW and
the women’s movement evolve?
The basic goals of the National Organization for Women were “true equality for all
women” and “a fully equal partnership of the sexes.” It fought for these goals in economic,
social, learning, and home environments. NOW was created by Betty Friedan and other feminists
in 1966 as an organization to structure and unify the movement for the cause. It evolved and
grew very quickly. In the first year alone, the number of women who joined went from 300 to
1,200. The fight for women’s rights slowly evolved with small but valuable successes. Not only
did women finally gain the right to vote in 1919, but the Equal pay Act of 1963 required equal
pay for “equal work” on the basis of sex, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited private
employers from discriminating based on gender, calling for the establishment of the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Education Amendments Act of 1972
prohibited sex discrimination in educational programs that received government money, and the
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (1975) made it easier for women to borrow money, obtain credit
cards, and take out home mortgages in their own names.
Source: United States History; Globe Fearon Foundation Series; Pgs. 579
SECTION #2:
1) Find 5 quotes from 5 different prominent people living in the time period of 1960-1968.
Copy and paste them into Word, write a brief summary for each, and explain the significance
of each (why you included them in this project).
“We stand today on he edge of a New Frontier—the frontier of the 1960s. A frontier of unknown
opportunities and perils. A frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats… The New Frontier of which
I speak is not a set a promises. It is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the
American people, but what I intend to ask of them.”
- John F. Kennedy 1960
The “New Frontier” became the label for Kennedy’s vision of progress at home. He was
a seeker of peace, a firm defender of the weak against aggression and a dreamer of transforming
his country into one that would use power to improve for the better. He advocated for the
American people but also asked them to unite with great enthusiasm, pride, and motivation and
give back; give to their county such as their country has given them many goods. This is
important because it represents the great and optimistic leader of a very caring president of the
people, and the free-spirited nature and improving wealth of the time.
“We can no longer ignore that voice within women that says: ‘I want something more than my
husband and my children and my home.”
- Betty Friedan 1963
Betty Friedan, writer of the feminist book The Feminine Mystique, encouraged and
advocated for women’s rights. Many women admired and followed her advice, and began to seek
fulfillment in professional careers and work outside the home. This quote from her book sums up
the mindset of many women from the 1960s that were fed up with the traditional inferior worth
to the man—confined to home duties, unfair treatment, sexism, and minimal worth.
"We must have our freedom now. We must have the right to vote. We must have equal protection
of the law."
- Martin Luther King, Jr. 1965
This is what civil-rights activist and leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was tirelessly
advocating on behalf of all unfairly-treated blacks of the time. He fought for equality between
races, an end to segregation, especially for ridding of the unjust Jim Crow laws, fair voting
rights, without inhibiting factors such as literacy tests, and all other race-based cruelties. This
was one of the largest, most significant movements of the 1960s.
"..you just get stoned, get the ideas in your head and then do 'em. And don't bullshit. I mean
that's the thing about doin' that guerrilla theatre. You be prepared to die to prove your point. "
- Abbie Hoffman
American social and political activist Abbie Hoffman basically says that the 1960s are all
about feeling good, with the help of drugs, doing whatever you want, and going to extreme
measures for anything (extreme revolution). This was what the 1960s were about in general. The
non-conformism that boomed in this time period was extreme on all levels and seemingly about
everything. Times were changing; flipping upside down; turning inside out. This quote
summarizes the time period well.
“We are not about to send American boys nine or ten thousand miles away from home to do
what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.”
- Lyndon Johnson 1964
This quote from President Lyndon Johnson, although he ends up doing otherwise, well
summarizes the general feeling of the public towards the war in Vietnam—that we should not
have gotten involved or be involved in the Vietnam War. Americans opposed the war because
of its costliness—in both lives and money. I’m sure Johnson wishes he could have meant
what he said, but being a firm believer in the Domino theory, in the end he believed he had no
other choice but to engage.
2) Find 2 newspaper articles from the time period (1960-1968), attach them as hyperlinks,
summarize them, and explain their significance to the time period (a one paragraph
explanation will suffice for each).
Tomorrow’s Minority: Dropouts – By: Sylvia Porter
This article published on January 3rd, 1966, reports that the U.S. job market was in the
midst of a huge labor shortage and was in need of any skilled or semi-skilled worker. This was
good news for teenagers because they had job and work experience opportunities. The teenage
unemployment rate was likely to reach its lowest level in eight years and everyone, even the
school dropouts could be “winners.” It then goes on to assert that the highly heated economy will
not last forever. The author goes on to quote Lucius F. Cervantes who states that the minority of
tomorrow—high school drop outs—will have a harder time getting out of poverty than ever
before. Despite the improving teenage job pattern, the over-all teenage unemployment rate is still
triple the over-all unemployment rate. Through statistical evidence of poverty the author
indirectly encourages teenagers to stay in school and not drop out. The author states that “Family
income for half of U.S. families headed by a breadwinner who failed to get a high school
diploma is $5,300 a year—against $10,600 for families headed by a college graduate.” Lastly,
the author encourages the need to improve education to better train and educate youngsters to fill
tomorrow’s jobs.
This is a significant topic and issue of the 1960s. There were so many people because of
free-spiritedness, rebellion, and irresponsible behavior seen so clearly everywhere in the
turbulent sixties that many kids were dropping out of school and never going on to obtain a
college degree for the likelihood of a more prosperous life. Education is necessary for a society
to progress, and if people are not getting properly educated and getting involved in unruly
functions such as the explosion of drug use, hippies, and extreme revolutionary movements, it is
actually a detriment to the entire country and country’s progress. Even if there was a labor
shortage, a skilled worker is obviously better than a semi-skilled or unskilled worker. Companies
hiring just lowered their standards because they needed people to fill the jobs, but that doesn’t
mean that they would have liked to. They did it to survive. Unfortunately, ignorance and non-
conformism plagued the 60s.
Source: Porter, Sylvia. "Tomorrow’s Minority: Dropouts." Red Bank Daily Register 3 Jan. 1966:
pg. 6. Print.
(http://209.212.22.88/1966.htm)
Party Leaders' Crash Disrupts Convention Air of Bipartisanship – By: William Henderson
A clash between Democratic and Republican delegates to the Constitutional Convention
yesterday marked the beginning of the end of bipartisanship. The dispute was over who would
redistrict the reapportioned legislature, how the nine committees would operate, and the dangers
of “gerrymandering.” Republican floor leader, C. Robert Sarcone argued that Republicans
favored assigning the task of district lines to the convention rather than leaving the job to the
Democratic-controlled legislature. Senator Crabiel deemed that plan unrealistic and unpractical,
and he argued that the legislature should draw the district lines. Crabiel even suggested ‘that a
bipartisan, commission appointed by the convention could draft the lines, instead of turning the
work over to the legislature.’ After debate between Sarcone and Crabiel, the GOP leader struck
hard and stated: “Both houses of the interim Legislature are controlled by one party. This affords
an opportunity for partisan gerrymandering which is unacceptable to this bipartisan convention
and the People.” Crabiel resented the implication that the legislature would be irresponsible.
Politics was a significant issue of the 1960s, just like that of any other time period. The
article exemplifies and even larger scale national concern: that redistricting and carving
populations could manipulate and affect the outcome of legislation and the balance of voting
power in each party. In the sixties there were so many important issues that needed to be
properly and justly dealt with and resolved that there was a constant worry that this could
happen.
Source: Henderson, William . "Party Leaders' Crash Disrupts Convention Air of Bipartisanship."
Red Bank Daily Register 8 May 1966: pg. 1. Print.
(http://209.212.22.88/1966.htm)
3) Find 5 pictures/paintings from the time period (with focus on context), attach them, and
write a caption that explains why you included them in this project.
This is a picture that shows how much President John F. Kennedy actually cared for all blacks,
Africans and African Americans alike, and how heartbroken he was to hear or see them harmed.
Although this feeling had to evolve over time, he finally reached that point of compassion,
enough to advocate for them by presenting Congress with a civil rights bill for our country.
http://www.orwelltoday.com/jfkcongo.shtml
Martin Luther King, Jr. leading a protest for race equality and civil rights. The poster the young
female protester is holding says: “We want to sit down like everyone else.”
http://pinkmanhattan.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html
This is a picture of how Americans felt about our involvement in the Vietnam War. Basically:
We. Want. Out.
http://redhatrob.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/vietnam_protest_rs.jpg
This is an advertisement advocating for the feminist movement and women’s rights. It makes it
clear that women knew they could, and were willing, to work outside the household and leave
the lifestyle of a simple housewife. It shows that women are just as strong as men and should be
treated equally and have the same opportunities.
http://www.alamo.edu/pac/faculty/pmyers/hist1302/feminism.jpg
Free-spirited hippies of the 1960s leading non-conformist lives.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1kplyMtNoYY/Sw2tP8kuAUI/AAAAAAAAACQ/Gs61LPUdEC8/s1
600/hippies.jpg
4) Find one contemporary (within the last 10 years) news article that discusses some aspect of
the Vietnam war and our role in it. Attach it, summarize it, and then explain in one paragraph
why it is relevant to you as a student-historian.
This article written by Julian E. Zelizer and published February 6, 2007, argues that in
order to know how to deal with the Iraq war, the history of the Vietnam war must not be
forgotten. It goes into a very detailed outline of what went on to prove the point that, like
legislators were the voices of skepticism, criticism, and opposition back then, recently, in regards
to the Iraq war, legislators must do the same today and draw on their resources no matter the
political risk. Otherwise, the real failure would be to not act on its disagreements with the
administration. Because of the unpopularity of the war, if legislators do not act on their beliefs
now, it could potentially result in a large electoral cost.
This is relevant to me as a student historian because if further proves the importance on
being well educated in history, because history is to learn from, and this can apply to many
aspects of life, not only the subject of war. If one learns from history, one can gain greater
wisdom. This article I will really take to heart. You never know when the past will be handy for
the future.
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=12438
5) Find one contemporary (within the last 10 years) news article that discusses one of the
social movements of the 1960s: hippie and drug counter culture, student revolt, feminism and
the women’s movement, sexual revolution, conservative backlash, etc. You don’t have to
choose one of these, they are just suggestions. Attach it, summarize it, and then explain in one
paragraph why it is relevant to you as a student-historian.
This article, by Julia Baird, discusses the misinterpretation of women’s feelings during
the feminist movement—how in the 1960s “women’s anger, or rebellion, was frequently
misdiagnosed as sickness” and that this “’problem that had no name’” as Betty Friedan put it,
“was often treated with drugs, alcohol, psychotherapy, and, at its extreme, electroconvulsive
therapy.” The author criticizes and questions why, in the 1960s, “men’s rebellious or indulgent
behavior may have been destructive and odd, but it was seen as normal, or at least explicable,
while women’s was stigmatized or pathologized.” The article focuses on the show Mad Men, set
in 1965—its sexism, abuse, and the unnoticed signals that come form the women that are
misinterpreted on the show. It also questions why the show isn’t therefore called Mad Women. It
then emphasizes why this is so worth remembering: “Today feminism is scapegoated for many
ills and depicted as anti-mother. We forget how much, in fact, it helped keep our own mothers—
all of us—sane.”
This article is relevant to me as a student-historian because it makes me recognize what
women in the 1960s went through, as well as all the things they fought for, in order for I, as a
woman today, to have the privileged, free, and protected life I have. It stimulates appreciation for
the possibilities of change, and it emphasizes the ends that strong-will for a good cause can
achieve. Therefore, in a subtle way, this article encourages involvement of every generation to
keep trying to make the world a better place—to strive for a good cause and strive for the ideal
and just.
Source: Baird, Julia. "Mad Women, Not Mad Men: On TV, the Seeds of a Revolution. ."
Newsweek. 30 Aug. 2010: 26. Print.