Chapter 30 The Confident Years, 1953-1964

Chapter 30
The Confident Years, 1953-1964
Chapter Summary
Chapter 30 examines the American transition from conservatism to liberalism during the late
1950s and early 1960s. Topics considered in this chapter include the social history of the
affluent fifties, the continuation of Cold War policy, the mystique and mistakes of the John F.
Kennedy administration, the birth of the modern American Civil Rights movement, and Lyndon
B. Johnson’s rise to the presidency.
I. A Decade of Affluence
A. What’s Good for General Motors
1. Dwight Eisenhower and political moderation
2. The impact of a booming economy
B. Reshaping Urban America
1. Urban renewal
2. The Federal Highway Act of 1956
C. Comfort on Credit
1. The rise in consumer debt
2. Large-scale suburban shopping malls
3. The servants of America’s car culture
4. The emergence of the high-intensity entertainment environment
D. The New Fifties Family
1. The social pressure for family life
2. Television and the Youth Culture
E. Turning to Religion
1. The link between the government and God
2. Radio and television preachers
3. The resurgence of evangelical Christianity
4. Growth in African American churches
F. The Gospel of Prosperity
1. Scholarly assessment of American prosperity
2. American identity with affluence
G. The Underside of Affluence
1. Michael Harrington’s The Other America (1962)
2. C. Wright Mills’ The Power Elite (1956)
3. David Riesman
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4. Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (1963)
5. The Beats
II. Facing Off with the Soviet Union
A. Why We Liked Ike
1. A foreign policy president
2. The “hidden-hand” presidency
B. A Balance of Terror
1. The doctrine of massive retaliation
2. The intensification of public fear of nuclear war
C. Containment in Action
1. John Foster Dulles and “brinksmanship”
2. The role of the third world
D. Global Standoff
1. The U-2 affair of 1960
2. Unresolved issues from the Eisenhower administration
E. John F. Kennedy and the Cold War
F. The Kennedy Mystique
1. The presidential election of 1960
2. The Kennedy charisma
G. Kennedy’s Mistakes
1. The Bay of Pigs incident
2. The Berlin Wall
3. Increased American involvement in South Vietnam
H. Missile Crisis: A Line Drawn in the Sand
1. The events surrounding the crisis
2. The reasons for Khrushchev’s actions
I. Science and Foreign Affairs
1. Areas of technological competition
2. The Limited Test Ban Treaty
III. Righteousness like a Mighty Stream: The Struggle for Civil Rights
A. Getting to the Supreme Court
1. Charles Hamilton Houston and the NAACP Legal Defense
and Education Fund
2. Brown v. the Board of Education
3. Cases granting rights to Latinos
B. Deliberate Speed
1. The Southern Manifesto
2. Problems with enforcement
C. Public Accommodations
1. The Montgomery bus boycott
2. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership
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Conference (SCLC)
3. The lunch counter sit-in in Greensboro, North Carolina
4. Freedom rides
D. March on Washington, 1963
1. Continued struggle in Alabama
3. The march on Washington
IV. “Let Us Continue”
A. Dallas, 1963
1. The assassination of Kennedy
2. The conspiracy theories
B. War on Poverty
1. Lyndon B. Johnson
2. The issue of poverty
C. Civil Rights, 1964-1965
1. The Civil Rights Act of 1964
2. SNCC and Freedom Summer
3. The march from Selma to Montgomery
4. The Voting Rights Act of 1965
D. War, Peace, and the Landslide of 1964
1. The presidential election of 1964
2. The Great Society
VI. Conclusion
Learning Objectives
After a careful examination of Chapter 30, students should be able to:
1. Identify the candidates and outcome of the presidential election of 1952.
2. Explain the meaning of the term New Republicanism.
3. Discuss the growth of the American economy during the 1950s and explain its impact
on America’s national image and the way in which the nation identified and characterized itself.
4. Comment on the impact of economic growth on African Americans and Native
Americans.
5. Define the term urban renewal and describe how it transformed American cities.
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6. Outline the provisions of the Federal Highway Act of 1956 and explain the impact of
massive road construction on American society and culture.
7. Define the term teenager and explain the importance of the emerging youth culture in
America.
8. Discuss the connection between government and God during the 1950s and how this
impacted the popularity of religion.
9. Identify the major writers who challenged American affluence by revealing the limitations
and dangers of national economic abundance.
10. Explain Eisenhower’s doctrine of massive retaliation in terms of its impact on
American foreign relations during the 1950s as well as in terms of its impact on increasing
American fear of nuclear war.
11. Identify the significance of the Soviet launch of the Sputnik and indicate the American
response to that event.
12. List the major examples of American intervention in third world political affairs during
the 1950s.
13. Explain the historical context for the future Vietnam conflict.
14. Discuss the misunderstandings typical of Soviet-American relations during the 1950s
focusing on the U-2 affair of 1960.
15. List the failures of the Kennedy administration’s initial forays into foreign affairs in Cuba,
Germany and Vietnam.
16. Describe the events surrounding the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. Explain the reasons
why Khrushchev was willing to take a risk in Cuba.
17. Explain why the Limited Test Ban Treaty is considered one of Kennedy’s greatest
achievements.
18. Explain the historical significance of the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of
Education of Topeka.
19. Explain the intent of the Southern Manifesto.
20. List the crises occurring between 1954 and 1963 which indicated the difficulty of
carrying out the Brown decision “with all deliberate speed.”
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21. Explain the historical significance of the Montgomery bus boycott.
22. Discuss the role of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the American civil rights movement.
23. Identify the term freedom rides and explain their relevance to the civil rights movement.
24. Identify Bull Connor and explain his role in the civil rights movement in Alabama.
25. Explain the historical significance of the 1963 March on Washington.
26. Discuss the controversies surrounding John Kennedy’s assassination in 1963.
27. Outline the major components of Lyndon Johnson’s “war on poverty.”
28. Outline the major provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
29. List the major events and efforts associated with Freedom Summer.
30. Describe the events leading up to, as well as the provisions of, the Voting Rights Act of
1965.
31. Explain the significance of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in escalating the American
involvement in Vietnam.
32. Identify Barry Goldwater and describe his political philosophy during the 1960s.
33. List the major pieces of legislation enacted by Congress in the early phase of Johnson’s
Great Society.
Topics for Classroom Lecture
1. Prepare a lecture on the emergence of a youth culture during the 1950s. One option is
to focus on trends in popular music, particularly rock-and-roll. Connect the origins of
rock-and-roll to the southern musical traditions of rhythm and blues, country, and gospel.
Examine why early rock-and-roll was referred to as “race music” and why the white community
responded with white “cover records.” Supplement the lecture with recordings of early
rock-and-roll performers such as Little Richard and Chuck Berry as well as examples of cover
records by performers like Pat Boone. How does Elvis Presley fit into the picture? Presley
recorded cover records, but was he distinct from Pat Boone? How so?
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2. Examine the status of American women in the 1950s. How was the condition of middle
class American women in the 1950s significantly different from earlier decades in the twentieth
century? To what extent was the status of women in the 1950s defined by World War II?
How did television and journalism impact the American middle-class woman’s self-image?
How does the status of women in the 1950s and 1960s predict the need for a women’s
liberation movement?
3. Examine the political ideology of Lyndon Johnson. Focus on the political paradox of a
southern politician who eventually played a pivotal role in realizing a liberal reform agenda
including the most significant civil rights legislation since Reconstruction and one of the most
ambitious programs addressing economic inequity in America since the New Deal. What
factors in Johnson’s political background prepared him for this role? To what extent did interest
in and loyalty to the Democratic party define his role? Ask students to comment on Johnson’s
significance to southern politics and to national politics.
Topics for Class Discussion and Essays
1. As mentioned in Chapter 29, historians have characterized the 1950s as a decade of
conservatism, consensus, and conformity. Yet, the 1950s preceded the 1960s which is
characterized as one of the most radical and turbulent decades in modern American history.
Have students discuss the fifties as the breeding ground for the sixties. Consider some of the
following issues:
a. The 1960s counterculture. Have students consider the baby boom and the
emergence of the American teenager as predictors of this sixties phenomenon. Did the
emergence of rock-and-roll, the Beat generation, and fifties affluence play a role in the
emergence of a counterculture? Did the conservatism, consensus, and conformity of the fifties
play a role?
b. The Vietnam War. Connect the American involvement in Vietnam to
post-World War II foreign policy. Were there indications in the fifties that Americans might feel
some ambivalence about military intervention in Vietnam? Why would the strongest protest
come from youth?
c. The Civil Rights movement. Connect the Civil Rights movement to the
African-American role in World War II. Remind students that some of the major events of the
movement including the Brown decision and the Montgomery bus boycott occurred as early as
the mid-fifties.
2. The Civil Rights movement is often referred to as the Second Reconstruction. Hold a
discussion in which students consider the following:
a. To what extent was the federal agenda in the Civil Rights movement similar to
the federal agenda in the Civil War? To what extent was the southern agenda during the Civil
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Rights movement similar to the southern agenda in the Civil War? Consider the national
attention to federal authority and racial justice in both cases and the southern commitment to
states’ rights and racial control in both cases.
b. Connect the Civil Rights movement to other historical conflicts regarding states’
rights. Take students back not only to the Civil War but also to the Virginia and Kentucky
resolutions and the Nullification Crisis. Review the meanings of nullification and interposition.
What examples of these principles are seen in the events of the Civil Rights movement?
c. Have students consider the issue of civil disobedience. Review again the
recurring theme in American history involving Americans’ willingness to break the law for a
higher good. What similarities exist between the role of African Americans in the Civil Rights
movement and the earlier roles of Patriots in the American Revolution or abolitionists who
defied the Fugitive Slave Law?
d. Compare and contrast the strides made in civil rights during Reconstruction and
during the Civil Rights movement. Why was the Civil Rights movement needed when the
Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were in the Constitution? Were the civil rights laws
passed during the sixties as vulnerable to violation as the Reconstruction laws?
3. Have students compare and contrast 1950s and 1960s Cold War foreign policy with
late nineteenth century imperialism. Consider specifically issues related to the need for
expanding economic markets, fear of powers that were considered threatening, the need to
expand American global military presence, and lingering issues connected with racism. Is there
an element of moral diplomacy as well? How important was it in determining policy?
Topics for Class Projects and Term Papers
1. Have students write a review of a book written by one of the 1950s authors mentioned
in the chapter. In addition to providing a brief summary and assessment of the work, have
students place the work within its historical context. How accurate was the author in assessing
his own times? How well did he predict future developments in American society?
2. Choose one of the lesser figures in the Civil Rights movement and write a paper
evaluating that person’s role and unique contribution to the movement. Some individuals to
consider include Fannie Lou Hamer, Anne Moody and Mose Wright.
3. Have students assess the impact of 1950s situation comedies on American society in the
late twentieth century. Divide the class into several groups and have each group choose one
program to study. The members of the group should watch 3-5 episodes of the program and
consider the following questions:
a. What does the American family look like in this program? Have students
consider such issues as race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and level of education.
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. How are women portrayed in the program? What is the message being sent to
American women of the 1950s regarding their appropriate role in society?
c. How are children portrayed in the program? What message does this send
American parents about child rearing and the expectations placed on children?
d. Place the program in its historical context. Is there any indication in the program
of the real issues facing Americans during the late 1950s?
e. Do the images in these programs (which students will have no problems gaining
access to because they still draw a large audience in syndication) impact the self-image of
Americans today?
Resources for Lectures and Research Projects
Eric Barnouw, Tube of Plenty: The Evolution of American Television (1982).
Carl Belz, The History of Rock, (1972).
Taylor Branch, Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-1963, (1988).
Wini Breines, Young, White, and Female: Growing Up Female in the 1950s (1992).
David Halberstam, The Fifties (1993).
Michael Harrington, The Other America, (1962).
Ella Taylor, Prime-Time Families: Television Culture in Postwar America (1989).
Audio-Visual Resources
America’s War on Poverty, Blackside, Inc., 1995, 300 minutes.
Henry Hampton examines government’s role in addressing poverty in this 5-part series from the
same people who produced Eyes on the Prize.
The Bay of Pigs, Oregon Public Broadcasting, 1997, 60 minutes.
A look at Kennedy’s fiasco in Cuba.
David Halberstam’s The Fifties, A&E Video, 400 minutes.
This is the A&E documentary based on Halberstam’s 1993 volume on the decade.
Eisenhower: The American Experience, Austin Hoyt/Adriana Bosch, 1993, 150 minutes.
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This video offers a 2-part look at the life and presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Eyes on the Prize: Parts I & II, Blackside, Inc., 1987, 1990.
This is the critically acclaimed 14-part documentary history of the American Civil Rights
movement.
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Biography, A&E Video, 50 minutes.
This Biography episode examines the life of the Civil Rights movement leader.
That Rhythm, Those Blues: The American Experience, George T. Nierenberg, 1988, 60
minutes.
This video examines the origins of rock and roll with a look at rhythm and blues.
Thurgood Marshall: Portrait of an American Hero, Columbia Video Productions, 1985,
30 minutes.
This video presents a brief look at the life of America’s first African-American Supreme Court
justice.
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