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Courtney Engels! Sarah Abera May 3, 2013 Period 3

North America ! ! As soon as World War II ended, the United Sates had become one of the worldʼs two superpowers with the privilege of becoming the worldʼs foremost military power. The “New Dealʼ was thought of by President Franklin Roosevelt. This New Deal had the intentions of dramatically increasing the role of power in the federal government. Other transformations of the American society included “the rise of organized labor as a significant force in the economy and politics, commitment to welfare state, a forced acceptance of ethnic minorities, and experimenting with deficit spending.” This New Deal was originally created in the 1930ʼs and was reinforced by the elections of Democratic presidents. Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and even Republican Dwight Eisenhower. ! After the war, the United States had become engulfed in itʼs own confidence after World War II. Durning the war, there was a shortage of consumer goods because we had helped ally countries by offering them resources. Due to the lack of goods, Americans had soon been left with a surplus of income as well as a longing for the goods they had a shortage of. Once the war was over, they had a strong desire to purchase the goods. There was a growth in the domestic market once the development of organized labor was established. Wages had grew an average of three percent per year and was the most prolonged advance in U.S. history. ! November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was assassinated at the age of forty-three. He had become the United States youngest president and the first one to be born in the twentieth century. His administration focused primarily on foreign affairs. Lyndon B. Johnson had taken over as the new president. He then began to pursue the growth of the welfare state begun in the New Deal. Johnsonʼs programs included health care for the elderly and the War on Poverty. ! Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister as well as a leader of a movement for racial equality. One of Johnsonʼs domestic passion was achieving equal rights for African Americans. He had lead the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom movement that fought for the desire to be treated with the same respect as a white man or woman. Americans were hugely affected by these marches and President Johnson continued to fight for civil equality between African Americans and Caucasians. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was established. It had ended segregation and discrimination in the work place and in public accommodations. The following year the Voting Rights act had been created. It was meant to eliminate obstacles to black participation in elections in

southern states. Unfortunately, laws alone could not promise a “Great Society” that President Johnson envisioned. !

! ! Patterns of segregation in the North and the West had an outcome of high unemployment rates for blacks and Hispanics. This left the black population to be forced into urban ghettos. Malcolm X, a black Muslim, was a leader for African American equality. The ghettos had called for militant action by radical black nationalist leaders such as Malcolm X. When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, riots broke out in over one hundred cities including Washington. A racial division in America and a “white backlash” was soon created after the combination of riots and extremist comments made by racial black leaders. ! Antiwar protests had sprung up in America once President Johnson sent troops to Vietnam. At Kent State University in 1970, four student protesters were killed by Ohio National guard shocked both activists and ordinary Americans. Due to the violence around the country, there was a call for “law and order,” that President Nixon used. Nixon had eventually withdrew American troops out of Vietnam. He had come up with a strategy to bus