Teacher's Guide Produced and Distributed By

Teacher’s Guide

Produced and Distributed by:

www.MediaRichLearning.com AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE POST-WAR YEARS

TEACHER’S GUIDE TABLE OF CONTENTS

Materials in Unit ...... 3

Introduction to the Series ...... 3

Introduction to the Program ...... 3

Standards ...... 3

Instructional Notes ...... 6

Suggested Instructional Procedures ...... 6

Student Objectives ...... 6

Follow-Up Activities ...... 7

Internet Resources ...... 8

Answer Key ...... 8

Script of Video Narration ...... 13

Blackline Masters Index ...... 23

Pre-Test ...... 24

Video Quiz ...... 25

Post-Test ...... 26

Discussion Questions ...... 30

Vocabulary Terms ...... 31

Turning Points ...... 32

Eyewitness to History ...... 33

The Final Decision ...... 34

Thank You Note ...... 35

Persuasion ...... 36

Media Rich Learning ...... 37

PAGE 2 OF 68 MEDIA RICH LEARNING AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE POST-WAR YEARS

Materials in the Unit • The video program The Post-War Years

• Teachers Guide

This teacher's guide has been prepared to aid the teacher in utilizing materials contained within this program. In addition to this introductory material, the guide contains suggested instructional procedures for the lesson, answer keys for the activity sheets, and follow-up activities and projects for the lesson.

• Blackline Masters

Included in this program are ten blackline masters for duplication and distribution. They consist of, classroom activities, information sheets, take-home activities, Pre-Test, Post-Test, and the text to the Video Quiz. The blackline masters are provided as the follow-up activities for each lesson. They will help you determine focal points for class discussion based on the objectives for the lesson.

The blackline masters have a three-fold purpose: to reinforce the program; to provide an opportunity for the students to apply and analyze what they have learned from the program; for use as diagnostic tools to assess areas in which individual students need help.

Introduction and Summary of Series America in the 20th Century is a comprehensive series designed to provide a clear overview of the people and events that distinguished the 20th century. Rare archival footage and photographs, authentic recordings, and other primary source documents, bring history to life, while stunning graphics and engaging narration lend context and clarity to the subject.

The series has been developed speciﬁcally for classroom use. It is organized around established standards and thoughtfully divided into chapters, with each volume functioning well as a full- length program or as focused support for speciﬁc study areas.

Introduction and Summary of Program “The Post-War Years” is part of the U.S. history series “America in the 20th Century.” It explores the ﬁfteen years following World War II (1945—1960) with an emphasis on the domestic policies

PAGE 3 OF 68 MEDIA RICH LEARNING AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE POST-WAR YEARS and presidential administrations of Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower and the sweeping social and cultural changes of the 1950s.

The program is organized into three video chapters.

• Chapter 1 - “Truman”

• Chapter 2 - “I Like Ike”

• Chapter 3: “Boom Times”

Viewed in its entirety, “The Post-War Years” will provide an excellent overview of the period. Individually, the chapters can be used to facilitate more focused study of their subjects. It is important to remember that this was a politically charged, exuberant era and much of its history was inﬂuenced by partisan politics, the Cold War and its accompanying threat of nuclear annihilation, McCarthyism and the rapidly changing social and cultural views of the time. Indeed, the Cold War set the framework for global politics for 45 years after the end of World War II and strongly inﬂuenced many facets of American life including, domestic politics, foreign affairs, the role of government in the economy, science, education, religion and many others. Several other “America in the 20th Century” programs will provide additional context for “The Post-War Years.” These include “World War II,” “Vietnam,” “The Cold War,” and “The Civil Rights Movement.

Standards Era 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970s)

STANDARD 1:

The economic boom and social transformation of postwar United States.

Standard 1A

The student understands the extent and impact of economic changes in the postwar period.

Benchmarks: Grade level: 7-12 Analyze the debate over demobilization and economic reconversion and its effects on the economy. [Marshal evidence of antecedent circumstances]

Grade level: 5-12 Explain the reasons for the sustained growth of the postwar consumer economy. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]

Grade level: 7-12

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Explain the growth of the service, white collar, and professional sectors of the economy that led to the enlargement of the middle class. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]

Grade level: 9-12 Analyze the impact of the Cold War on the economy. [Identify issues and problems in the past]

Grade level: 9-12 Analyze the continued gap between poverty and the rising afﬂuence of the middle class. [Consider multiple perspectives]

Standard 1B The student understands how the social changes of the postwar period affected various Americans.

Benchmarks: Grade level: 5-12 Evaluate the effects of the GI Bill on American society. [Hypothesize the inﬂuence of the past on the present] Grade level: 9-12 Examine the rapid growth of secondary and collegiate education and the role of new governmental spending on educational programs. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]

Grade level: 9-12 Explain the expansion of suburbanization and analyze how the “crabgrass frontier” affected American society. [Explain historical continuity and change]

Grade level: 7-12 Explain the reasons for the “return to domesticity” and how it affected family life and women’s careers. [Consider multiple perspectives]

Grade level: 9-12 Examine the place of religion in postwar American life. [Examine the inﬂuence of ideas]

Grade level: 5-12 Explore the inﬂuence of popular culture and analyze the role of the mass media in homogenizing American culture. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]

Standard 1C The student understands how postwar science augmented the nation’s economic strength, transformed daily life, and inﬂuenced the world economy.

Benchmarks: Grade level: 9-12

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Explore how the new relationship between science and government after World War II created a new system of scientiﬁc research and development. [Explain historical continuity and change]

Grade level: 5-12 Identify various pioneers in modern scientiﬁc research and explain how their work has changed contemporary society. [Assess the importance of the individual in history]

Grade level: 5-12 Assess the significance of research and scientific breakthroughs in promoting the U.S. space program. [Examine the influence of ideas] Grade level: 9-12 Explain the advances in medical science and assess how they improved the standard of living and changed demographic patterns. [Interrogate historical data]

Grade level: 7-12 Describe agricultural innovation and consolidation in the postwar period and assess their impact on the world economy. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]

Grade level: 9-12 Examine how American technology ushered in the communications revolution and assess its global inﬂuence. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]

STANDARD 3:

Domestic policies after World War II.

Standard 3A

The student understands the political debates of the post-World War II era.

Benchmarks: Grade level: 9-12 Evaluate Truman’s continuation of New Deal policies in labor relations, housing, education, and health. [Formulate a position or course of action on an issue]

Grade level: 5-12 Evaluate Truman’s civil rights policies and their effect on splintering the Democratic party. [Assess the importance of the individual in history]

Grade level: 7-12 Explain the relationship between post-war Soviet espionage and the emergence of internal security and loyalty programs under Truman and Eisenhower. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]

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Grade level: 7-12 Analyze the rise and fall of McCarthyism, its effects on civil liberties, and its repercussions. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships] Grade level: 7-12 Evaluate Eisenhower’s “Modern Republicanism” in relation to the economy and other domestic issues. [Formulate a position or course of action on an issue]

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Instructional Notes It is suggested that you preview the program and read the related Suggested Instructional Procedures before involving your students in the lesson activities. By doing so, you will become familiar with the materials and be better prepared to adapt the program to the needs of your class.

You will probably ﬁnd it best to follow the program and lesson activities in the order in which they are presented in this teacher's guide, but this is not necessary.

It is also suggested that the program presentation take place before the entire class and under your direction. The lesson activities focus on the content of the programs.

As you review the instructional program outlined in the Teacher's Guide, you may find it necessary to make some changes, deletions, or additions to fit the specific needs of your students.

Read the descriptions of the Blackline Masters and duplicate any of those you intend to use.

Suggested Instructional Procedures To maximize the learning experience, teachers should:

• Preview the video The Post-War Years

• Read the descriptions of the blackline masters.

• Duplicate any blackline masters you intend to use.

Students should be supplied with the necessary copies of blackline masters required to complete the activities. By keeping students informed of current events, teachers can extend any of the lessons on the program.

Student Objectives After viewing the program The Post-War Years and participating in the follow-up activities, students will be able to:

• Describe the effects of World War II on the United States home front for war preparations

• Explain the war hysteria after the attack on Pearl Harbor and its effect on Japanese- Americans

• Identify the changes made to everyday life for United States citizens at home during the war

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• Compare and contrast the turning points and military campaigns utilized throughout the war in Europe and the Paciﬁc, including the atomic bomb

• Outline the consequences and responsibilities established following World War II.

Follow-Up Activities

Blackline Master #1: Pre-Test is an assessment tool intended to gauge student comprehension of the Objectives prior to the launching of The Post-War Years lesson, which includes the video and the ensuing activities. The results of the Pre-Test may be contrasted with the results of the Post-Test to assess the efﬁcacy of the lesson in achieving the Student Objectives.

Blackline Master #2: Video Quiz is a printed copy of the questions that appear at the end of the video presentation. The Video Quiz is intended to reinforce the salient points of the video immediately following its completion and may be used for assessment or as a catalyst for discussion.

Blackline Master #3a-d: Post-Test is an assessment tool to be administered after the lesson (Pre- Test, video and follow-up activities) has been completed.

Blackline Master #4: Discussion Questions offers questions to spur conversation and to identify student comprehension and misunderstanding.

Blackline Master #5a-5c: Vocabulary Terms is a list of pertinent terms and deﬁnitions

Blackline Master #6a-6b: Party Platforms Divide the students into and provide each pair with a copy of either the Republican or Democratic party platforms for both 1948 and 2008. You can access the documents online here:

• 1948 Democratic Party Platform

• 1948 Republican Party Platform

• 2008 Democratic Party Platform

• 2008 Republican Party Platform Provide each student or group a set of instructions/guideline sheet to use when evaluating the documents.

Instruct students to ﬁrst evaluate the documents to determine the “planks” in each platform. Then ask students to compare the platforms to identify which planks are the same or similar and which are not. Ask students to explain why they think these issues were included in the platform, and which voters might be most likely to support them. Finally,with the class, evaluate the differences in the Democratic and Republican platforms for 1948 and 2008. Are

PAGE 9 OF 68 MEDIA RICH LEARNING AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE POST-WAR YEARS there any issues that were consistent in both years? Are there any 1948 Democratic planks that became 2008 Republican planks (or vice-versa)?

Blackline Master #7: Biography This activity is intended to demonstrate an understanding of how an author’s background and point of view can inﬂuence their appraisal of historical events and how this bias might impact public opinion. Provide to students access to the following three biographies of President Truman.

• Harry Truman comic book

• Harry Truman biographical sketch for 1948 campaign

• President Harry S. Truman biography from whitehouse.gov

Once students have completed the chart, convene the class and discuss the answers.

Blackline Master #8a-8b: Critical Listening/Reading In this activity, students will analyze President Truman’s acceptance speech at the 1948 Democratic National Convention answer follow-up questions, and then compose the Republican Party’s ofﬁcial response.

The audio of the address can be found here: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/mp3clips/politicalspeeches/harrytruman1948dnc.mp3

The text of the document can be found here: http://www.mediarichlearning.com/pg/pw/tg/down/hst_1948-0715_dnc.pdf

Blackline Master #9: Little Boxes Note Students will consider an individual or group of individuals whose contribution to the war effort positively affects the way we live today and write a thank you note to them.

This lesson was adapted, in part, from the excellent lesson: “Post-War Suburbanization: Homogenization or the American Dream?” by Bruce Lesh, Franklin County High School, which can be found in its entirety here: http://asp1.umbc.edu/newmedia/sites/chetah/pdf/PDF-Version.pdf

Blackline Master #10: POV: Little Rock Central High School Students will analyze and evaluate the desegregation crisis at Little Rock Central High School in 1957 from several points- of-view.

Internet Resources For Teachers http://history.acusd.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/start.html World War II Timeline

PAGE 10 OF 68 MEDIA RICH LEARNING AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE POST-WAR YEARS http://www.candles-museum.com/ Holocaust Museum http://www.lifeinterrupted.org/html/ Life Interrupted, Japanese-American Experience in WWII http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bulge/timeline/ PBS: Battle of the Bulge http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dday/ PBS: D-Day http://www.u.arizona.edu/~kari/rosie.htm Rosie the Riveter

For Students

Note: Teachers should preview all sites to ensure they are age-appropriate for their students. http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215466 Thinkquest: Battle With No Boundaries http://library.thinkquest.org/15511/ Thinkquest: Home Front http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/wwii/hiroshima/index.htm Hiroshima: A Survivor’s Story

Answer Key Blackline Master #1: Pre-Test

1. true 2. true 3. false 4. false 5. true 6. true 7. false 8. true 9. false 10. true

Blackline Master #2: Video Quiz

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1. false 2. true 3. true 4. false 5. false 6. false 7. false 8. false 9. true 10. false 11. true 12. true 13. false 14. false 15. true

Blackline Master #3: Post-Test

1. D 2. B 3. D 4. A 5. C 6. C 7. C 8. A 9. B 10. A

The following answers may vary.

11. Civilian factories began switching production to war needs; production increased due to new technology; women and minorities stepped into take the place of drafted men 12. New defense industries in California attracted rural workers; 1/3 of women in the work force manufacturing planes, ships, tanks, and other typical male jobs; Brotherhood of Sleeping Cars Porters protested exclusion of African-American from jobs; FDR issued executive order barring discrimination in hiring in defense industries 13. The attack of Pearl Harbor set off anti-Japanese hysteria; FDR issued executive order to remove civilians from military areas; Japanese-Americans rounded up from homes in the

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West and sent to relocation camps and leaving belongings behind; in 1988 Congress apologized for treatment and provided restitution 14. Office of Price Administration kept inflation down with frozen prices; income-tax rates raised and extend to new groups- reduced consumer demand; civilians urged to spend extra money on war bonds 15. First defeat Hitler, then defeat Japan, and finally only accept unconditional surrender 16. Invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa and Italy; allies defeated Germans by 1943; Italians tired of war; king stripped Mussolini of power, but Hitler had him reinstated; fierce fighting drove out German troops with aid of Italian partisans; victory the allies needed to bolster spirits for the battles to come 17. Soviets first to discover concentration camps; a thousand starving “living corpses” and German soldiers trying to bury and burn evidence; a death camp where prisoners were murdered then cremated; the “Final Solution” for those Hitler thought to be “sub-human” to his “master race” 18. After battles in Iwo Jima and Okinawa, both fierce deadly fighting, Allied worried the final assault on Japan’s home islands would kill a million Americans and half a million British; Truman waited for unconditional surrender before concluding the war

Essays should contain the following main points along with an explanation.

19. Rationing established for civilians; materials needed for war effort such as gas, heating oil, metals; essential food rationed such as meat, butter, cheese, vegetables, sugar, coffee; people made victory gardens to grow their own food; “use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without”; children helped with drives to collect scrap iron, tin cans, paper, rags; travel limited with car-pools and riding bicycles; fashion changed due to shortage of wool, rayon; War Production Board banned rufﬂes, pleats, and any excess use of material; women’s skirts shortened, men’s suit now single-breasted and without vests; women and minorities joined workforce taking on new jobs now typical before war; frozen prices, income-tax raised and extend to new groups; civilians urged to spend any money on war bonds

20. Europe and North Africa: Battle of the Atlantic- German U-Boats destroyed Allied ships, allies respond with convoys, radar use, and crash shipbuilding program; Battle of Stalingrad- ﬁrst turning point on land, Germans hoping to cut off military supplies, but Soviets counter-attack and Germans surrendered and Soviets in route to Germany; Operation Torch- Allies invade Italy and North Africa with aid from Italian partisans; D- Day- Normandy, France, heavy casualties, Paris liberated, and Allies move toward Germany; Battle of the Bulge- Americans capture ﬁrst German town, Aachen, Germans now in retreat; Liberation of Concentration Camps- evidence of Nazi terror; V-E Day- Soviets attack Berlin, Hitler committed suicide, May 8, 1945, unconditional surrender of Germany.

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Pacific: Doolittle Raid- 16 B-25 bombers raided Tokyo and other cities, surprise attack successful and lifted American morale; Battle of Coral Sea- battle of carrier-based airplanes, U.S. and Australia prevented Japanese from attacking Australia, first time Japanese invasion prevented, but more U.S. ships lost than Japanese; Battle of Midway- Japanese invasion of more than 110 ships into Midway, U.S. managed surprise attack, resulting in Japanese loss and turning point in war; Island-Hopping Strategy- Gen. Douglas MacArthur, seizing weakly defended islands where airfields were built and airpower used to cut Japanese supplies, saved time and lives for U.S; Guadalcanal- U.S. attacked and after six months Japan abandoned island, first turning point on land; Battle of Leyte Gulf- Allied troops invaded Leyte island, Japanese used kamikaze attacks, Japanese lost and their navy no longer a factor; Iwo Jima and Okinawa- U.S. took two islands after fierce combat, allies worried what to come on home land islands, Truman assess situation and made decision to drop secret weapon, the atomic bomb; Hiroshima and Nagasaki- Hiroshima, the military center, bombed, but Japan still did not surrender, after Nagasaki and over 200,000 dead, Japan surrendered.

Blackline Master #4: Discussion Questions Answers will vary. Possible answers follow.

1. Five million Americans volunteered for war; ten million Americans drafted for war; War Production Board established to supervise the production of planes, ships, and other war materials; civilian factories began switching production to war needs; production increased with new technology and assembly lines similar to Henry Ford’s assembly line; unemployment disappeared as civilians were asked to take the job previously held by men in the war and in producing war supplies. 2. Office of Scientific Research and Development helped improve radar, sonar, encouraged the use of pesticides to fight insects, pushed the development of drugs such as penicillin, and the atomic bomb. Henry Kaiser revolutionized the way America built ships with new techniques such as those used by Henry Ford. 3. The attack of Pearl Harbor set off anti-Japanese hysteria; FDR issued executive order to remove civilians from military areas; Japanese-Americans rounded up from homes in the West and sent to relocation camps and leaving belongings behind; in 1988 Congress apologized for treatment and provided restitution 4. Rationing established for civilians; materials needed for war effort such as gas, heating oil, metals; essential food rationed such as meat, butter, cheese, vegetables, sugar, coffee; people made victory gardens to grow their own food; “use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without”; children helped with drives to collect scrap iron, tin cans, paper, rags; travel limited with car-pools and riding bicycles; fashion changed due to shortage of wool, rayon;

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War Production Board banned ruffles, pleats, and any excess use of material; women’s skirts shortened, men’s suit now single-breasted and without vests; women and minorities joined workforce taking on new jobs now typical before war; frozen prices, income-tax raised and extend to new groups; civilians urged to spend any money on war bonds 5. Europe and North Africa: Battle of Stalingrad- first turning point on land, Germans hoping to cut off military supplies, but Soviets counter-attack and Germans surrendered and Soviets in route to Germany; D-Day- Normandy, France, heavy casualties, Paris liberated, and Allies move toward Germany; Battle of the Bulge- Americans capture first German town, Aachen, Germans now in retreat; Liberation of Concentration Camps- evidence of Nazi terror; V-E Day- Soviets attack Berlin, Hitler committed suicide, May 8, 1945, unconditional surrender of Germany. 6. Pacific: Battle of Coral Sea- battle of carrier-based airplanes, U.S. and Australia prevented Japanese from attacking Australia, first time Japanese invasion prevented, but more U.S. ships lost than Japanese; Battle of Midway- Japanese invasion of more than 110 ships into Midway, U.S. managed surprise attack, resulting in Japanese loss and turning point in war; Guadalcanal- U.S. attacked and after six months Japan abandoned island, first turning point on land; Battle of Leyte Gulf- Allied troops invaded Leyte island, Japanese used kamikaze attacks, Japanese lost and their navy no longer a factor; Hiroshima and Nagasaki- Hiroshima, the military center, bombed, but Japan still did not surrender, after Nagasaki and over 200,000 dead, Japan surrendered. 7. Battle of the Atlantic- German U-Boats destroyed Allied ships, allies respond with convoys, radar use, and crash shipbuilding program; Doolittle Raid- 16 B-25 bombers raided Tokyo and other cities, surprise attack successful and lifted American morale; Island-Hopping Strategy- Gen. Douglas MacArthur, seizing weakly defended islands where airfields were built and airpower used to cut Japanese supplies, saved time and lives for U.S; Iwo Jima and Okinawa- U.S. took two islands after fierce combat, allies worried what to come on home land islands, Truman assess situation and made decision to drop secret weapon, the atomic bomb; Hiroshima and Nagasaki- Hiroshima, the military center, bombed, but Japan still did not surrender, after Nagasaki and over 200,000 dead, Japan surrendered; U.S. surrounded axis powers and gained weak water and land territory until prepared to move towards home land; also see answers to number 5 8. Harry Truman made the decision to use the secret weapon, the atomic bomb; U.S. took Iwo Jima and Okinawa- after fierce combat, allies worried what to come on home land islands, Truman assess situation and made decision to drop the atomic bomb; Hiroshima and Nagasaki- Hiroshima, the military center, bombed, but Japan still did not surrender, after Nagasaki and over 200,000 dead, Japan surrendered; Truman needed to wait for unconditional surrender; some scientists who worked on the project, military and civilian leaders had doubts about whether to use it, morality of decision, but concern for saving U.S. lives; had the U.S. entered Japan’s home land islands, there may have been over one and a

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half million American and British soldiers alone killed, not counting the additional deaths of the Japanese. 9. Yalta Conference established the United Nations, a successor to the League of Nations- peacekeeping organization based on principles established in Atlantic Charter, contained 50 representatives, and ﬁve main allies; United States, Britain, Soviet Union, France, and China 10. Stalin, Truman, and Churchill met in Potsdam Conference, July 1945; decided on plan for disarming Germany, eliminating Nazi regime; as consequence, Germany divided into four zones, each administered by the four powers, U.S. Britain, France, and Soviet Union; Berlin similarly divided; decided on trails for Nazi leaders; international tribunal of 23 nations tried Nazi war criminals in Nuremburg, Germany- ﬁrst time in history, a nation’s leaders held accountable for war crimes 11. U.S. takes on occupation of Japan; trials held in Japan as in Germany; MacArthur reformed Japanese economy and political systems, including guaranteeing female suffrage and basic civil freedoms; U.S lost proportionately less lives than other nations, although more than any other U.S. war; U.S. emerged as strongest economy and power in the world after WWII; the damage from the war left Europe weak and the growing threat of the Soviet Union

Blackline Master #6: Turning Points Answers may vary somewhat from the following: • Battle of Stalingrad-first great turning point on land • D-Day or June 6, 1944- heavy casualties, but successful in securing beaches • Battle of the Bulge- Americans captured first German town • April 25, 1945 (almost V-E Day)- Soviets attack Berlin, Germany • Battle of the Coral Sea- First time Japanese invasion prevented (Australia) • Battle of Midway- Japanese lost strategic island due to surprise attack • Guadalcanal in Solomon Islands- Japan abandons island, first time defeated on land • Battle of Leyte Gulf- Japanese lost and their navy is no longer a factor in the war

Blackline Master #7: Eyewitness to History Answers will vary. Summary can be assessed on execution, creativity, accuracy, and content.

Blackline Master #8: The Final Decision Explanations will vary and can be assessed on execution, creativity, accuracy, and content.

Blackline Master #9: Thank You Note Letters will vary and can be assessed on execution, creativity, and content.

Blackline Master #10: Persuasion Answers will vary and can be assessed on execution, creativity, accuracy, and content.

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THE POST-WARS YEARS—SCRIPT OF PROGRAM NARRATION

1.1 - POST-WAR YEARS INTRODUCTION

World War II was over. And after nearly four years of sacriﬁce and uncertainty, Americans happily greeted victory and looked forward to the freedoms of a new era.

In these postwar years the spirit of the war effort shifted to support American industry. But peace at home did not come easily or quickly.

PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN:

“The strength of our Nation must continue to be used in the interest of all our people rather than a privileged few.”

New, cataclysmic threats were rising from afar and at home struggles for social discontent were met with anger .

PRESIDENT DWIGHT EISENHOWER: “The President and the executive branch of government will support and ensure the carrying out of the decisions of the federal court.”

In this era of unparalleled growth and dynamic change the foundation of modern day America was formed. These were the Post-War Years.

CHAPTER 1 - TRUMAN

1.2 - PRESIDENT TRUMAN

When the military band played for Harry S. Truman‚’s Vice Presidential inauguration, it seemed to show more enthusiasm than he did. Truman had no desire to be vice president. He had been pushed into the position by the Democratic party. Many assumed that Truman would be another forgettable Vice President, quietly fulﬁlling his duties in the shadow of the popular and charismatic president Franklin Delanor Roosevelt. But history changed course.

CBS NEWS RADIO ANNOUNCEMENT: “A news agency has just reported that President Roosevelt is dead. The President died of a massive coronary...”

Roosevelt’s death left the nation stunned and uncertain. For Truman, the news was both a shock and a burden.

In his previous eighty-two days as Vice President, he had only met with Roosevelt twice. He hadn’t even been told that America had developed an atomic bomb. Now, as president, his political mettle would be severely tested.

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Truman had spent ten years in the senate and had made a name for himself by aggressively investigating corruption in the defense industry. He was well versed in domestic issues, but knew very little about foreign policy.

Many thought him too stubborn, and plain spoken to govern the United States. But Harry S. Truman rose to the challenges of the presidency. His legendary honesty and determination gained him respect. He was willing to make hard decisions and and take responsibility for them. His motto: “The buck stops here.”

That was never more true than in his order to use atomic weapons against the Japanese. His decision brought an immediate end to World War II.

PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN:

“I deem this full acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration, which speciﬁes the unconditional surrender of Japan.”

1.3 - DEMOBILIZATION

Japan’s surrender was cheered in the streets. But it didn’t mean everyone was coming home. Some troops were ordered to stay overseas to rebuild shattered nations and protect against communism. Public reaction was so swift and negative, Truman reversed his order and called for rapid demobilization. Relieved soldiers were sent home only to ﬁnd a struggling postwar economy.

Ten days after Japan’s surrender, one-million defense workers were laid-off. With no war, the Pentagon rushed to cancel billions of dollars in war contracts. Scores of eager GIs arrived home ready to work, but the jobs at factories and shipyards were already gone.

One bright light for returning military men and was the Serviceman‚’s Readjustment Act -also known as the Montgomery GI Bill. It provided low-interest loans, granted veterans unemployment beneﬁts and subsidized educational expenses. The GI bill made a college education available to millions who otherwise couldn’t afford one. The assistance dramatically expanded the middle class and served a catalyst for tremendous social change.

1.4 - DOMESTIC TURBULENCE

Making good on his pledge to carry on the New Deal policies of Franklin Roosevelt, Truman sent a liberal domestic agenda to congress. He called for greater unemployment insurance, a higher minimum wage, a larger social security system, housing assistance, and, for the ﬁrst time in the nation's history, a bill for national medical health insurance.

But Congress had no interest in social welfare. They shut-down the President’s domestic initiatives almost completely--and the economy continued its slide. By the spring of 1946, inﬂation was soaring and three million Americans were out of work. Those on the job, demanded pay increases to keep pace.

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Unhappy with their situation, workers hit the picket lines. In 1946 alone, over 4.5 million Americans went on strike. Their demonstrations were often ugly and violent.

In May of that year, union boss John L. Lewis called a nationwide coal strike to secure a wage increase; a month later the railways struck. With limited transportation, the nation's economy ground to a halt.

The president was a friend of labor, but in this instance he felt railroad unions had gone too far. He took action and made a bold appeal to congress.

PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN:

“I request to Congress immediately...to authorize the President to draft into the armed forces of the United States...all workers who are on strike against their government.”

Returning to military duty was a chilling prospect. Before the president could ﬁnish his speech, he was handed a note.

PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN:

“Word has just been received that the rail strike has been settled on terms proposed by the President.”

Truman’s victory was little consolation to Americans forced to stand in long lines for the most basic necessities. Inﬂation was out of control and goods were often scarce. In the 1946 mid-term elections, Republicans saw an opportunity and squarely laid the blame for the country’s woes on the democrats and especially President Truman.

Republicans won control of both the House and the Senate as Americans voted overwhelmingly in favor of change.

1.5 - TAFT-HARLEY AND CIVIL RIGHTS

The new Republican congress was eager to roll-back New Deal policies. Republican Senator Robert Taft of Ohio led a conservative backlash against labor in 1947. He co-sponsored the Taft-Hartley Act which slashed the power of unions. Truman called it an oppressive law and refused to sign it.

PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN:

“I vetoed the Taft-Hartley Bill because I’m convinced it is a bad bill. It is bad for labor, bad for management and bad for the country.”

But Republicans had enough votes to override the President’s veto. The Taft-Hartley Act took away much of the inﬂuence unions had won under the New Deal.

In 1947, Truman became the ﬁrst president since Abraham Lincoln to make Civil Rights a national issue. The president was disgusted by the treatment of African American veterans of World War II. As soldiers and seamen, they had been willing to ﬁght and die for their country; now they were asking for fair treatment and Truman thought they were entitled to it. He believed that the government had:

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"...an obligation to see that the civil rights of every citizen are fully and equally protected."

In 1946 Truman appointed the President's Committee on Civil Rights to study the race issue. Shortly afterward, his panel issued its report conﬁrming that segregation, lynching, and discrimination at the polls had to be ended.

And, in 1947, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Truman became the ﬁrst president ever to address the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples, the NAACP.

PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN (JUNE 29, 1947):

"...but we cannot any longer await the growth of a will to action in the slowest state or the most backward community. Our national government must show the way."

In 1948, after Congress refused to sign a bill to end segregation in the armed forces, President Truman took matters into his own hands. He signed an executive orders to desegregate both the federal workforce and the military as quickly as possible. The orders would take years to complete.

1.6 - GIVE ‘EM HELL HARRY

At the 1948 Democratic National Convention, southern delegations were outraged by Truman’s stand on civil rights and rose-up against him.

GEORGIA DELEGATE CHARLES J. BLOCH: You shall not crucify the south on this cross of civil rights.

A group of Southern Democrats walked-out of the convention to protest the party's inclusion of Civil Rights. They formed the States' Rights Party, whose members were known as Dixiecrats. They nominated Governor Strom Thurmond of South Carolina as their presidential candidate.

STROM THURMOND:

“...these uncalled for and these damnable proposals he has recommended under the guise of so-called civil rights.”

In the end, Truman‚’s supporters rallied and the President won the Democratic nomination.

PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN:

“My duty as president requires that I use every means within my power to get the laws the people need on maters of such importance and urgency”

Almost no one expected the president to win re-election. Opinion polls predicted Republican Governor Thomas Dewey of New York would win by a landslide.

This only seemed to energize Truman. He boarded trains and covered 30,000-miles on his whistle-stop tour to get his message to the people. And they loved it.

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Large crowds turned out and cheered the campaign slogan, “Give ‘em Hell, Harry.” As Americans cast their ballots on election day, polls still predicted a Dewey victory.

Early returns looked disastrous for Truman. The Chicago Tribune rushed to print its early edition proclaiming Dewey the winner. But they were wrong. Later, when all the votes were in, a victorious Harry Truman proudly held up a copy and his smile said it all. He had pulled-off the greatest upset in political history.

1.7 - A SECOND TERM

At the 1949 State of the Union address, Truman spoke of the United States growing prosperity. With strong conﬁdence and optimism, he reinforced his ambitious domestic agenda, a continuation of New Deal policies, that called for a “Fair Deal” for all Americans

PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN:

“The strength of our Nation must continue to be used in the interest of all our people rather than a privileged few. It must continue to be used unselﬁshly in the struggle for world peace and the betterment of mankind the world over.”

Once again, Congress was unmoved by his grand vision and the president had to ﬁght for even limited support of his fair deal proposals.

Truman was, however, able to successfully work with Congress to deﬁne America’s shifting role as the major player on the world stage. The founding of the United Nations, the Truman Doctrine to contain communism, and the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after the war were all outstanding achievements.

But issues remained. The Korean war, was at a stalemate. And charges that his administration was “soft on communism” made matters worse. The President’s approval rating sank to new lows.

Then, in 1952 he made a surprise announcement.

PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN:

“I shall not be a candidate for re-election. I have served my country long and I think effectively. I do not feel it is my duty to spend another four years in the White House.”

Truman’s decision to leave politics came as a shock to many but it was time to go.

Managing the growing boom in American business and the dramatic change in its social fabric would be left to another president.

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CHAPTER 2 - I LIKE IKE 2.1 - IKE FOR PRESIDENT

JINGLE:

“Ike for president, Ike for president. You like Ike. We like Ike, everybody likes Ike. Bring out the banners, beat the drums, lets take Ike to Washington.”

In the 1951 presidential election, Americans certainly did like Dwight D. Eisenhower. A larger-than-life ﬁgure, Ike was a handsome celebrity who exuded charisma, and a self-assured conﬁdence. His military victories in WWII earned him the reputation of a strategic leader. But Ike was also a kidder who could stay in tune with his troops, and, he proved, the voters.

ARCHIVAL NEWSREEL:

“People speak and their verdict: a landslide victory for Dwight D. Eisenhower elected president with the greatest popular vote ever given a White House candidate.”

Ike and his running mate, Richard Nixon. easily defeated Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois. After the celebrations, Ike would face complex national and foreign issues. But he was clear in his purpose and ready for the job.

PRESIDENT DWIGHT EISENHOWER:

“And I can assure you in my service in Washington give short weight to those responsibilities.”

2.2 - A MODERN REPUBLICAN

Eisenhower immediately brought a new style to the oval ofﬁce. He sought cooperation instead of confrontation. He wanted to reduce the size and inﬂuence of the federal government and leaned heavily toward reliance on the private sector. In fact, virtually every member of his cabinet came big business. Though some were unsure if he knew enough to run the country, Ike brought an eager curiosity to his job and was a tireless student. He challenged himself and others saying: “I always put everything I have got into what I do."

Ike was a new breed of conservative - a “modern republican.” In his words, he was:

"...conservative when it comes to money and liberal when it comes to human beings."

He was no fan of social welfare, but he had no intention of dismantling the New Deal either.

Steps were taken to trim ineffective programs, while continuing to provide assistance to those who needed it most. Under Eisenhower, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare was created.

To lead the agency, Ike appointed Oveta Culp Hobby, the second woman ever to serve on a President’s cabinet. Hobby oversaw a budget that was third in size only to the Defense and Treasury departments.

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With a mandate from Eisenhower, the agency added over ten million Americans to Social Security. It was the single greatest expansion of the program in history.

2.3 - ON THE WORLD STAGE

While keeping his domestic agenda moving, Eisenhower also juggled challenges on the world stage. Making good on a campaign promise, Eisenhower successfully negotiated a truce in the 3 year old Korean War, but he warned that the cold war was far from over.

PRESIDENT DWIGHT EISENHOWER:

“We have won armistice on a single battle ground. Not peace in the world. We and our united Nation allies must be vigilant against the possibility of untoward developments.”

Eisenhower believed that the spread of Soviet communism threatened everything Americans held dear.

With the announcement in 1953 that the Soviet Union had tested a hydrogen bomb, fear and paranoia swept across the United States. Americans engaged in extensive civil defense training to learn, what are now known to be, naive precautions against nuclear attacks.

Americans had no concept of how truly dangerous the arms race had become. But the president did. He knew that the arms race with the Soviets could lead to cataclysmic events. In a speech to the United Nations called, “Atoms for Peace”

He outlined a cooperative plan, moving toward the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

PRESIDENT DWIGHT EISENHOWER:

“The United States pledges before you, and therefore before the world, its determination to help solve the fearful atomic dilemma, to devote its entire heart and mind to ﬁnd the way by which the miraculous inventiveness of man shall not be dedicated to his death but consecrated to his life.”

The United Nations unanimously adopted Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” plan. But its goals were in conﬂict with the strategies of the cold war. Eisenhower hedged his bets. As he called for peace, the United States continued building its nuclear arsenal.

2.4 - PUBLIC WORKS INITIATIVES

Eisenhower also had grand visions that moved America forward. He brought to life a waterway idea from the 1800s that helped modernize the country.

The St. Lawrence Seaway project, in partnership with Canada, was a marvel of engineering. It opened up the great lakes to ocean-going ships and improved industrial and agricultural business in America’s heartland.

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Eisenhower’s administration looked to the skies. It created NASA. A civilian agency to conduct space ﬂight and research programs. Closer to the ground, the Federal Aviation Administration , or FAA improved safety for all aircraft. But most importantly, Eisenhower’s vision led to the Federal Highway Act of 1956.

This effort changed the face of America, turning farmland to suburbia and paving the way America’s car culture. The $25 billion dollar plan to construct 41,000 miles of roads was the largest public works project in the nation’s history.

Not all Americans welcomed the Interstate. Traveling journalist Charles Kuralt spoke for many when he wrote: "The Interstate Highway System is a wonderful thing. It makes it possible to go from coast to coast without seeing anything or meeting anybody.”

2.5 - THE HIDDEN HAND

Eisenhower accomplished his goals by being a savvy politician.

He often worked discreetly, pulling strings, rather than confronting issues directly. One reporter characterized it as the “hidden hand" presidency.

UNIVERSAL NEWSREEL:

“President Dwight D. Eisenhower is re-elected to the highest ofﬁce in the land. In a time of stress a great soldier and statesman again receives the vote of conﬁdence of his nation.”

Ike sailed into his second term in ofﬁce.

2.6 - CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957

That same year, Eisenhower presented Congress with Civil Rights Legislation to assure voting rights for African Americans. Political resistance watered down his proposal, but ultimately, it became the basis of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

The Act was important because it was overdue. America had not passed civil rights legislation since the days of Reconstruction. Segregation between races was practiced across the country. Some states claimed that by providing white only and black only public services and facilities, citizens were given “separate but equal rights.”

2.7 - BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF TOPEKA, KS

The claim masked in-born prejudices, especially in the South where often the facilities for African Americans were substandard In 1951 the practice was challenged. The NAACP asked for a court order forbidding segregation in the public schools of Topeka, Kansas.

The case, Brown versus the Board of Education rose through the judicial system and was argued before the Supreme Court beginning in 1952.

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When Chief Justice Warren read the decision decision, it shocked the nation. “In the ﬁeld of public education, the doctrine of separate but equal has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”

One year later the Court ordered public schools to integrate with, “...all deliberate speed.”

Eisenhower felt the decision went too far and later commented he regretted appointing Warren to the court.

Now he feared the ruling might encourage southern states to privatize education but he did not speak out publicly. A constitutional crisis would soon test his character and his commitment to defend the court’s decision.

2.8 - LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL HIGH

Five years after the decision, in September 1957, nine African American students enrolled at Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas.

In deﬁance of the Supreme Court’s desegregation order, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus directed Arkansas National Guard troops to keep the students out. President Eisenhower made it clear: he was legally compelled to uphold the Court’s directive.

PRESIDENT DWIGHT EISENHOWER:

“The President and the executive branch of government will support and ensure the carrying out of the decisions of the federal court, even when necessary, with all the means at the President’s command.”

Eisenhower ordered federal troops to disperse the angry mob and escort the nine African American students in to the school.

But Eisenhower’s actions did not resolve the conﬂict. Students continued to suffer physical and emotional abuse. The Little Rock School Board made repeated legal attempts to block system wide desegregation. Complete integration was not achieved until 1959.

While some commended Eisenhower’s accomplishments on Civil Rights, others maintain that the enormously popular president, at the height of his power, could have done much more by speaking out publicly in support of the cause.

2.9 - THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

In the ﬁnal days of his presidency, Eisenhower chose to reﬂect on what he saw as an unfortunate and dangerous consequence of the Cold War. In his farewell address to the nation, he warned of tthe interdependence America had developed on the defense industry.

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PRESIDENT DWIGHT EISENHOWER:

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted inﬂuence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”

Eisenhower’s warnings would go unheeded in the decades ahead as the US war machine readied itself for armed conﬂict. If Americans were worried about nuclear attack, their concerns were calmed by the beneﬁts of a booming postwar economy.

3.1 - THE FABULOUS FIFTIES

It was called the Atomic Age and the fabulous ﬁfties. Swept away was the gray mood of the war years. This was an era when Americans had fun.

This joyful mood came, in part, from the robust postwar economy. Factories were churning out products to satisfy the growing consumer appetite in America and to meet the needs of a postwar Europe. The defense industry kept military supplies ﬂowing in reaction to the cold war. And the nation was building - straight up in the cities and far out into the country.

America’s economy was the biggest in the world. With job security, a good paycheck, and no military responsibilities, for many, the time was right to settle down and get married. Millions rushed to the alter sending marriage rates to an all time high.

3.2 - THE SUBURBS

Home builders anticipated the needs of newlyweds and young families. They built new suburbs that appealed to countless ﬁrst time home buyers. Eager families left urban areas in droves to enjoy modern homes with the latest time saving conveniences.

Among the most famous housing developments were the Levittown communities. Navy builder William Levitt took what he had learned about efﬁcient military construction and applied it to the mass production of homes.

To keep down costs and maintain uniformity, Levitt bought his own forest, sawmill and railroad line, then standardized production and built thousands of factory style homes. It was exactly what many young families wanted: a neat, affordable place to live. Ninety dollars down and ﬁfty-eight dollars a month, could buy a two bedroom, one bath house with modern amenities, well within the reach of the new ‚”middle class.”

3.3 - A RETURN TO DOMESTICITY AND THE BABY BOOM

The 19’50s home was the focal point of family life. There, women devoted their time to being good wives and mothers. The role of cheerful homemaker was strongly encouraged, even idealized in media images.

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More than any other decade, motherhood was embraced. Between 1945 and 1964 roughly 76 million babies were born in the United States. Collectively known as Baby Boomers.” It was the largest generation in the nation’s history.

Unlike earlier generations, this one came with a guidebook: Dr. Benjamin Spock’s Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. In it, Dr. Spock suggested parents relax and have fun with their kids. His inﬂuence made children the center of the 19’50s household.

In the suburbs, families could live a seemingly idyllic life. Well manicured lawns, safety for children, fun leisure activities and good neighbors that all ﬁt right in. With their own post ofﬁce, schools, shopping centers, and places of worship. There was no need, or desire, to return to the crowds and complexities of cities.

3.4 - EMBRACING CONFORMITY

Not everyone was pleased with the growth. Urban planners warned against unchecked sprawl and wasting natural resources.

And in the cities, as whites took their economic clout out of urban areas, funding for civic improvements left, too. Many inner cities became blighted. Those outside of the ﬁnancial boom of the 19’50s remained in declining urban areas with growing poverty and crime.

But few in the new middle class took notice of such things. They were busy chasing the new American dream inﬂuenced by consumerism.

Shopping malls made it easy and quick to get just the right item. Feel good advertisements promised a better life -- if you bought their product.

GENERAL ELECTRIC BLENDER - TELEVISION ADVERTISEMENT: “Completely new from base to lid, take it apart and see what they did...the General Electric blender is best for you.”

Americans ﬁlled their homes with everything they could want or need. If you couldn’t afford it, you could charge it to your new credit card. “Buy now and pay later,” was the mantra. Shopping on credit took off in the ‘’50s.

How people earned a living changed in the postwar years. For the ﬁrst time, white collar service workers outnumbered those who made products.

This change was reﬂected in city skylines. Sleek, but impersonal towers of concrete, glass and steel, were built to house rapidly growing corporations and their employees. Workers who were often referred to as‚ “company men.”

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For this group, conformity meant success. A proper suit and a starched white shirt was the look that signaled executive. Employees learned teamwork, loyalty, and conformity. Business leaders took their cues from their military experience. It was efﬁciency and productivity , not individuality, that counted.

3.5 - THE CAR CULTURE

Away from work, one way Americans showed their personality and status was in the cars they drove. The newer the car, the better.

SOT CAR COMMERCIALS

“There’s a new era in automobiles - it’s the new Motoramic Cheverolet. What’s new? Everything. A revolutionary new ride and new power.”

“And from the side the airfoil-shaped fender lines and wide double molding are all new to accent the length and of the Fisher body. And don’t you feel luxurious in that roomy interior.”

“It seems to have just everything you could ever ask for.”

This was the beginning of America’s car culture. The growing suburbs had little public transportation. People drove everywhere and business changed to accommodate the trend. Shopping malls offered acres of parking, drive-in movies showed front seat entertainment, motels catered to travelers on road trips, and drive in, fast food restaurants, complete with car hops, sprang-up to meet the needs of an increasingly mobile population.

3.6 - A VAST WASTELAND

Next to the family car, the most prized possession was the television set. In 1941 there were fewer than 10,000 televisions in the country. By 1959, over 65 million TVs had been sold. Television quickly replaced radio as the leading mass medium entertainment.

Wholesome, family fare drew viewers and sponsors. Conservative programming reﬂected the values the era.

Few questioned the images of a nearly all-white, idealized America. When families gathered to watch feel good shows they knew exactly what to expect and liked it that way.

TV had its critics. In 1961, the Chairman of the Federal Communication Commission, Newton Minnow called television: “...a vast wasteland.”

But in 1954, viewers were riveted by the medium at its best. The unlikely event was the ﬁrst televised congressional hearings.

ARMY-MCCARTHY HEARINGS:

“The committee will please come to order...”

“...so we can get the answers to some questions...”

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Millions tuned in to watch the Army-McCarthy hearings explode with human drama as accusations of political favors and communism ﬂew.

JOSEPH WELCH ESQ.

“Have you no sense of decency sir? At long last have you no sense of decency?”

3.7 - LIVING UNDER THE ATOMIC CLOUD

The hearings were compelling, in large part, because of the nation’s preoccupation with the Cold War. The threat of nuclear attack was always present.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:

“Once upon a time your hometown was safe. But not now. It is possible for a rocket to strike your home. Right now. Today. Right Now.”

Many believed that a strong religious faith would shield the nation from the menace of so called godless communists. Participation in religions surged. In 1957, Congress voted to add “In God We Trust,” to paper currency a year after the words ”Under God,” were inserted into the Pledge of Allegiance.

But citizens wanted physical protection. They dug bomb shelters into back yards, they purchased concrete, reinforced, blast proof homes and fussed over radiation suits for their children.

UNITED NEWSREEL:

“A new housing development near Denver, Colorado shows the nation’s ﬁrst model homes with built-in fallout shelters. The homes are designed with a nuclear war in mind.”

The government provided what reassurances it could, instructing citizens to Duck and Cover in case of nuclear attack.

SOT DUCK AND COVER:

“Please duck and cover, please duck and cover...”

“Sundays, holidays, vacation time... We must be ready everyday--all the time--to do the right thing if the atomic bomb explodes. We DUCK and COVER! This family knows what to do, just as your own family should: you DUCK and then COVER.

Over time, The Civil Defense program faded from public practice as it became clear that, in the event of nuclear attack, there was simply no escaping the deadly effects of radiation.

SOT DUCK AND COVER:

“What are you supposed to do when you see the ﬂash? DUCK and COVER...”

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3.8 - ROCK-N-ROLL, THE KING, THE BEATS

In the prosperous ‘50s, people discovered they had more leisure time and dreamt up more ways to ﬁll it.

And for the ﬁrst time, large numbers of young people could stay in school instead of getting jobs to help support their families. This group was newly identiﬁed as teenagers.

Their allowances made them targets for marketers. And Their leisure time gave them the freedom to explore a new craze that would become a major force in American music and culture: rock-n-roll.

Airwaves beamed this new musical sensation into millions of American homes.

ELVIS PRESLEY: “I’m gonna stick like glue because I’m stuck on you.

Hide in the kitchen, hide in the hall

Ain't gonna do you no good at all

'Cause once I catch ya and the kissin' starts

A team o' wild horses couldn't tear us apart.

And when Elvis Presley, hit the scene, parents met their match. The tuxedo wasn‚’t enough to cover what looked like trouble. Presley’s gyrating hips were thought so suggestive most TV programs only showed his performances from the waist up. Parents were worried about the effects of his loose music on their teenage kids.

But Rock and Roll could not be stopped. It grew out of African American Rhythm & Blues and quickly became a large part of the teen experience, along with slicked back hair styles, and poodle skirts and a growing sense of rebellion.

This feeling was most passionately expressed by deﬁant artists, poets, writers and other non- conformists labeled, the “Beat Generation.” Over time, the group would evolve and emerge in the 1960s as “yippies” and “hippies.” Their inﬂuence would have a dramatic effect on the culture and politics of America.

Looking back on the postwar years, we are reminded of magniﬁcent civic achievements and stunning technological advances. But the period’s complex history also reveals a time of rampant fear, narrow vision and entrenched prejudice. Enduring icons speak to the strengths and struggles of an era that remains one of the most memorable in America's twentieth century.

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Blackline Masters • Blackline Master #1: Pre-Test • Blackline Master #2: Video Quiz • Blackline Masters #3a-3d: Post-Test • Blackline Master #4: Discussion Questions • Blackline Master #5: Vocabulary • Blackline Master #6: Turning Points • Blackline Master #7: Eyewitness to History • Blackline Masters #8: The Final Decision • Blackline Master #9: Thank You Note • Blackline Master #10: Persuasion

PAGE 31 OF 68 MEDIA RICH LEARNING AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE POST-WAR YEARS

Activity: Pre-Test (1) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

DIRECTIONS: Read the questions carefully and circle the correct answer.

1. The United States emerged from World War II as the world’s dominant economic power.

A. true B. false

2. During the post-war years, the growth of the suburbs led many to move from urban areas.

A. true B. false

3. The Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson paved the way for public schools desegregation.

A. true B. false 4. During the post-war years, the U.S. and U.S.S.R. were rivals in the Seven-Years war.

A. true B. false 5. President Truman sought to continue the New Deal policies of President Roosevelt.

A. true B. false 6. During the 1950s, mass media was criticized for “homogenizing” American culture.

A. true B. false 7. “McCarthyism” refers to the discrimination against Irish Americans during the 1950s.

A. true B. false 8. The Montgomery G.I. Bill provided many beneﬁts to veterans following World War II.

A. true B. false 9. After World War II, cooperation between labor and business led to a prosperous economy.

A. true B. false 10. For the U.S., the post-war period of 1945-1960 was generally one of economic prosperity.

A. true B. false

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Activity: Quiz (2a) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

DIRECTIONS: Read the following statements, and circle whether they are true or false.

1. President Eisenhower presided over the end of the Cold War.

A. true B. false

2. In his 1949 State of the Union message, President Truman called for a “Fair Deal” for all Americans.

A. true B. false

3. The FCC Chairman Newton Minnow said that television, at its worst, is a “vast wasteland.”

A. true B. false 4. During the “fabulous ﬁfties” all Americans shared in the economic prosperity.

A. true B. false 5. The 76 million babies born between 1945-1964 are know collectively as the “baby bounce.”

A. true B. false 6. In the 1948 presidential election, Thomas Dewey defeated Harry Truman.

A. true B. false 7. President Eisenhower said he was, “liberal when it comes to money, conservative when it comes to human beings.”

A. true B. false 8. One of President Truman’s favorite mottos was, “the bus stops here.”

A. true B. false 9. President Eisenhower appointed a woman, Oveta Culp Hobby, to his cabinet of advisors.

A. true B. false

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Activity: Quiz (2a) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

10. During the 1950s, white collar employment declined while blue collar jobs increased.

A. true B. false 11. To bring an end to disruptive work stoppages President Truman threatened to draft into the armed forces striking workers.

A. true B. false 12. In his farewell address, President Eisenhower warned of a growing “military-industrial complex” within the United States.

A. true B. false 13. President Truman was an enthusiastic supporter of the Taft-Hartley bill.

A. true B. false 14. A well-known parenting motto of the 1950s was “speak softly and carry a big stick.”

A. true B. false 15. President Truman faced many challenges during his time in ofﬁce, including World War II troop demobilization, reconversion of the U.S. economy, widespread labor strikes and the Cold War.

A. true B. false

PAGE 34 OF 68 MEDIA RICH LEARNING AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE POST-WAR YEARS

Activity: Post-Test (3a) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

Multiple Choice DIRECTIONS: Read each of the following statements. Then circle the best answer.

1. Which of the following American ethnic groups took part in the military effort during World War II? a. Mexican Americans b. American Indians c. African Americans d. All of the Above 2. Which of the following organizations supervised the production of planes, ships, and other war materials during the war? a. DDT b. WPB c. OPA d. All of the above 3. Which of the following was a result of the Office of Scientific Research and Development? a. Improved radar and sonar detection b. Development of pesticides and penicillin c. Development of the atomic bomb d. All of the above 4. Which of the following events took place during the Battle of the Atlantic? a. German U-boats destroyed Allied Ships b. First turning point on land c. The surprise attacks lifted American morale d. Both A and C 5. Which of the following statements are not true of D-Day? a. Coast of Normandy, Germany b. Paris liberated and troops move towards Germany c. Americans captured first German town d. Both A and C 6. Which of the following are true of the Battle of Midway? a. A battle of carrier-based airplanes b. U.S. and Australian forces lost more ships than Japan c. 110 Japanese ships sailed toward strategic islands d. First time Japanese invasion was prevented

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Activity: Post-Test (3b) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

7. Which strategy did General Douglas MacArthur conceive? a. Atomic bomb b. Kamikaze attacks c. Island hopping d. Convoys 8. Which of the following events led to the final decision to drop the atomic bomb? a. The fierce combat at Iwo Jima and Okinawa b. The 1.5 million British and American troops killed on Japan’s home islands c. Japanese was no longer a factor in war d. Both A and B 9. Which of the following were not included in the post-war decisions? a. Free and open elections in Eastern Europe b. Establish the League of Nations as a successor to the United Nations c. Establish the five allies: U.S., Britain, Soviet Union, France and China d. International tribunal of 23 nations tried Nazi war criminals 10. Which of the following does not describe the post-war role of the United States? a. Reform Germany’s economy and political system b. Strongest economy and world power c. Soviet Union was growing as a threat to the U.S. d. War trials were held in Germany

Short Answer Questions Directions: Read each of the following statements and answer in one or two sentences.

11. List three reasons for the disappearance of unemployment in the United States. ______

12. Briefly describe the role of women and minorities in the work force once men were gone. ______

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Activity: Post-Test (3c) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

13. Explain the events leading up to relocation of Japanese-Americans in the U.S. ______

14. List three economic controls placed by the government for citizens. ______

15. What were the three general strategies decided upon by Churchill and Roosevelt after the attack on Pearl Harbor? ______

16. Describe the purpose of the invasion of Operation Torch in North Africa and Italy. ______

17. Briefly describe the first concentration camp found by Soviet soldiers. ______

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Activity: Post-Test (3d) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

18. Identify the reasons the United States decided to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. ______

Essay Questions

Directions: Write a short essay in response to each statement on separate piece of paper.

19. Describe in detail the effects of World War II on everyday life at home in the United States, such as rationing, economic controls, and employment.

20. Highlight three major turning points of war or military campaigns of each, Europe and the Pacific region.

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Activity: Discussion Questions (4) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

1. When Harry S. Truman became president in April 1945, what immediate challenges did he face?

2. Harry Truman liked to say, "The buck stops here." Discuss the meaning of this aphorisms as it applied to the President.

3. Discuss the affect of World War II on the economic depression that preceded it and the postwar economic expansion that followed.

4. President Truman threatened to draft into the armed services striking rail and mine workers. Do you think this was a legitimate use of executive power? Explain.

5. When he left ofﬁce in 1953, President Truman had the lowest approval rating of any president to date. Discuss the reasons for his unpoularity and why historians now rank Truman among the best Presidents.

6. Compare and contrast how Presidents Truman and Eisenhower responded to the civil rights issue.

7. Compare and contrast the relationship between the legislative and executive branches of government during the Truman and Eisenhower administrations.

8. President Eisenhower remarked that naming Earl Warren to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was, "The biggest damn fool thing I ever did." Why do you think he felt this way?

9. Why is Eisenhower’s presidency characterized as “the hidden hand.” Provide examples from the program.

10. What were some of the reasons for the unprecedented economic expansion that occurred during the post-war years.

11. Discuss the ways in which the Cold War affected America during the post-war years. How did it affect American politics, society and culture?

12. The 1950s are often remembered as frivolous and carefree, even though the country faced many challenges during this period. Why do you think this is the case?

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13. The 1950s were boom times for technology. The secrets of DNA were unlocked, artiﬁcial organs were introduced, the transistor replaced the vacuum tube, and the list goes on. What factors contributed to this golden era?

14. Discuss the "homogenization" of America that took place during the post-war years. Examine it from both a positive and negative perspective.

15. Who were the critics of American culture during the post-war years. What was the focus of the criticisms. Do you think they were valid or invalid?

16. Discuss changing role of American women during the post-war years.

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Activity: Vocabulary Terms (5) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

BABY BOOM Deﬁnition: The term generally refers to the dramatic increase in birthrate between 1945 and 1964 in which more than 77 babies were born. Context: In May 1951, Sylvia Porter, a columnist for the New York Post, used the term "boom" to refer to the phenomenon of increased births in post-war America. She wrote: “Take the 3,548,000 babies born in 1950. Bundle them into a batch, bounce them all over the bountiful land that is America. What do you get? Boom. The biggest, boomiest boom ever known in history.”

BEAT GENERATION Deﬁnition: This refers to both the group of American writers who came to prominence in the late 1950s and early 1960s and the cultural phenomena that they wrote about and inspired. Their movement was characterized by the rejection of mainstream American values, experimentation with drugs and alternate forms of sexuality, and an interest in Eastern spirituality. Prominent “Beatniks” included Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac. Context: In the 1960s, elements of the expanding Beat movement were incorporated into the Hippie counterculture.

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957 Deﬁnition: The ﬁrst civil rights legislation enacted by Congress in the United States since Reconstruction, it was designed to ensure that all African Americans could exercise their right to vote. Because of opposition and amendment the Act was largely ineffective in its enforcement and its scope.

Context: After it was proposed to Congress by Republican President Dwight Eisenhower, Southern Democratic senator James Strom Thurmond sustained the longest one-person ﬁlibuster in history in an attempt to keep it from becoming law.

COLD WAR Deﬁnition: The decades long geo-political standoff, primarily between the United States and the Soviet Union. Although it was characterized by a dangerous nuclear arms race, “proxy wars, ” and several dangerous confrontations, the Cold War never escalated into a “hot” war between the two superpowers.

Context: The post-war era is often referred to as the “atomic age” because of the pioneering research into nuclear energy for both peaceful and military applications.

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BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION Deﬁnition: A landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court, which overturned earlier rulings going back to Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, by declaring segregated public schools to be unconstitutional. The decision declared that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." This victory paved the way for integration and the civil rights movement.

Context: Following the Brown decision, President Eisenhower, who felt decision was moving too quickly on the issue of civil rights, called his appointment of Chief Justice Earl Warren, “the biggest damn fool mistake I ever made.”

COMMITTEE ON CIVIL RIGHTS Deﬁnition: A committee established in 1946 by executive order of President Truman to investigate the status of civil rights in the United States and propose measures to strengthen and protect the civil rights of American citizens.

Context: President Truman’s support for civil rights splintered the Democratic Party. Southern states, which traditionally voted Democrat, would henceforth become overwhelmingly Republican.

DEMOBILIZATION Deﬁnition: The process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. The opposite of demobilization is mobilization.

Context: Under President Truman, the armed forces of the United States were reduced from over 10,000,000 at the end of World War II to roughly 1.5 million service members a year-and-a- half later.

DYNAMIC CONSERVATISM Deﬁnition: Throughout his presidency, Dwight Eisenhower preached a doctrine of “Dynamic Conservatism.” This was monicker for his middle-of-the-road politics. Similarly he called himself a “modern Republican,” saying he was: “conservative when it comes to money, liberal when it comes to human beings.”

Context: Supporting this claim, President Eisenhower continued all the major New Deal programs still in operation, especially Social Security. He expanded its programs and rolled them into a new cabinet-level agency, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, while extending beneﬁts to an additional ten million workers. His cabinet, consisting of several corporate executives and one labor leader, was dubbed by one journalist, "Eight millionaires and a plumber."

FAIR DEAL Deﬁnition: The Fair Deal was U.S. President Harry S. Truman's catchphrase for a series of social and economic reforms outlined in his 1949 State of the Union Address to Congress. The

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President stated that "Every segment of our population, and every individual, has a right to expect from his government a fair deal."

Context: Congress resisted most of Truman’s agenda, but the Fair Deal remains significant in establishing a call for universal health care as a rallying cry for the Democratic Party. Lyndon Johnson credited Truman's unfulfilled program as influencing Great Society measures such as Medicare that were successfully enacted during the 1960s.

FEDERAL HIGHWAY ACT OF 1956 Deﬁnition: Popularly known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, the legislation appropriated $25 billion for the construction of 41,000 miles of interstate highways over a 20-year period, it was the largest public works project in American history to that point.

Context: The Federal Highway Act was enacted on June 29, 1956, when Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law.

GI BILL Deﬁnition: The Montgomery G.I. Bill, ofﬁcially titled Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, provided for college or vocational education for returning World War II veterans as well as one year of unemployment compensation. It also provided many different types of loans for returning veterans to buy homes and start businesses.

Context: The affects of the G.I. Bill were so far-reaching that it has been called the single most important piece of legislation enacted during the twentieth century.

SEPARATE BUT EQUAL Deﬁnition: A set phrase that systems of segregation giving different "colored only" facilities or services with the declaration that the quality of each group's public facilities remain equal.

Context: As it applies to segregated educational facilities, “separate but equal” was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court decision in the case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

TAFT-HARTLEY ACT Deﬁnition: The Labor–Management Relations Act, informally the Taft–Hartley Act, is a United States federal law greatly restricting the activities and power of labor unions. The Act, still effective, was sponsored by Senator Robert Taft and Representative Fred A. Hartley, Jr. and became law on June 23, 1947.

Context: President Truman refused to sign the Taft-Hartley Act, calling it the “slave labor” act. Nonetheless, Congress overruled the President’s veto and it became law.

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Activity: Party Platforms (6) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

DIRECTIONS: First, evaluate the documents provided by your teacher (or accessed at the following website) which describe the party “planks” for the 1948 and 2008 presidential campaigns. Using the worksheet, compare the platforms and then answer the following questions. Use a separate sheet of paper for your answers.

1948 Democratic Party platform: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29599&st=&st1=

1948 Republican Party platform: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25836&st=&st1=

2008 Democratic Party platform: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=78283&st=&st1=

2008 Republican Party platform: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=78545&st=&st1=

1. Why do you think the more recent documents are so much larger than the older ones?

2. What issues were important in 1948 that were not even addressed in 2004/08? Why do you think this changed?

3. Are there new issues in 2004/08 that were not even considered in 1948? What brought about this change?

4. What are the issues that appear in both documents? Why are they still problems? Who do you think had/has the best solution for them?

5. Does it surprise you to ﬁnd some of the same issues in both documents?

6. Which issues old or new would you consider in YOUR party platform if you were running for president? Why? How would you resolve them?

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Activity: Party Platforms (6b) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

Key Issue 1948 2008 Both Platform Platform Platforms

PAGE 45 OF 68 MEDIA RICH LEARNING AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE POST-WAR YEARS

Activity: Biography (7) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

DIRECTIONS: Read and analyze the three biographies of Harry Truman and complete the chart below:

Harry Truman 1948 Campaign Ofﬁcial White comic book Biography House Biography

Who is the intended audience?

What is the point of view of the writer?

Do you think the writer has a biased point of view?

Do you think the author’s bias affects the objectivity of his or her writing?

PAGE 46 OF 68 MEDIA RICH LEARNING AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE POST-WAR YEARS

Activity: Critical Listening/Reading (8a) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

DIRECTIONS: In this activity, you will listen to or read President Truman’s acceptance speech at the 1948 Democratic National Convention. Then, answer the follow-up questions and compose the Republican Party’s ofﬁcial response.

The audio of the address can be found here:

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/mp3clips/politicalspeeches/ harrytruman1948dnc.mp3

The text of the document can be found here:

http://www.mediarichlearning.com/pg/pw/tg/down/hst_1948-0715_dnc.pdf

1. To whom do you think President Truman is directing his message?

______

2. President Truman state what major differences between Democrats and Republicans?

______

3. President Truman states that farmers and city workers have beneﬁted under democratic administrations since 1933. How does he support this statement?

______

4. In our foreign relations with other nations, President Truman believes that Republicans and Democrats should do what?

______

5. President Truman labels the 80th Congress as being the worst in U.S. history.

A. True B. False

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Activity: Critical Listening/Reading (8b) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

6. President Truman refers to the Republican 1948 platform as “______”. A. about as good as a tissue in a Texas rainstorm B. poppycock C. didley squat D. good for nothing

7. President Truman closes his speech by calling Congress back into session.

A. True B. False

8. The President wants Congress to tackle what major concerns?

A. rising prices B. housing crisis C. national healthcare D. civil rights E. all of the above

9. As the Republican Party’s most outspoken young Senator you have been selected to deliver your party’s ofﬁcial reply to the President’s speech. Draft a short radio address to be delivered to the American people. Compose your speech on a separate piece of paper.

PAGE 48 OF 68 MEDIA RICH LEARNING AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE POST-WAR YEARS

Activity: Little Boxes (9a) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

DIRECTIONS: Folksinger Malvina Reynolds made up the song, “Little Boxes” in 1961 when she was driving past Dale City, California, a suburb of San Francisco. When she looked up at a hill-side covered with neat rows of houses she said to her husband, “Bud, take the wheel. I feel a song coming on." A short while later, she had the song ready to sing.

Read the lyrics to “Little Boxes” on Blackline Master 9b and complete the chart on Blackline Master 9c. Analyze your answers and then answer the following questions.

1. What is the subject of “Little Boxes”?

2. What is the author’s attitude about post-war suburbanization?

3. What do you think the term homogenization means?

4. Do you think the “sameness” that Ms. Reynolds refers to is a good thing or a bad thing? Explain your answer.

5. As an historical source, is there any reason to question the reliability of Malvina Reynold’s view of suburbanization?

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Activity: Little Boxes (9b) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

“Little Boxes” by Malvina Reynolds

Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of ticky tacky Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes all the same There's a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same. And the people in the houses all went to the university Where they were put in boxes and they came out all the same, And there's doctors and there's lawyers, and business executives And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same. And they all play on the golf course and drink their martinis dry, And they all have pretty children and the children go to school And the children go to summer camp and then to the university Where they are put in boxes and they come out all the same. And the boys go into business and marry and raise a family In boxes made of ticky tacky and they all look just the same. There's a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.

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Activity: Little Boxes (9a) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

DIRECTIONS: Complete the following chart. Interpret the view expressed by Malvina Reynolds in “Little Boxes” as well as a contrary opinion on each subject.

“Little Boxes” View Contrary View

the suburbs

suburban social life

white collar jobs

higher education

family life

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PAGE 52 OF 68 MEDIA RICH LEARNING AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE POST-WAR YEARS

Activity: POV Little Rock CHS (10) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

DIRECTIONS: Read the article or articles relating to the desegregation crisis at Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Then answer the following questions. Use a separate sheet of paper if necessary.

Discuss the viewpoint of the writer(s) about events at Little Rock Central High:

Name of Author or Interviewee ______

1. What is the individual’s background?

2. Discuss speciﬁc references from the article(s) that demonstrate the individual's viewpoint

3. Use information from the article(s) to discuss and evaluate how the individual’s point of view might have had an impact on public opinion about events in Little Rock

PAGE 53 OF 68 MEDIA RICH LEARNING AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE POST-WAR YEARS

Activity: POV Little Rock CHS (10) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

A Student Leader Gives His Opinion from the Arkansas Gazette, September 17, 1957

This is an interview by Mike Wallace with Ralph Brodie, president of the student body of Little

Rock Central High School. Mr. Wallace wrote an interview column, "Mike Wallace Asks," for the New York Post from which this is reprinted.

Q. Ralph, as president of the student body of Central High School in Little Rock how do you feel about the situation down there? Are you alarmed about it? A. I'm not.

Q. Why has all this tension been brought to bear down there? A. I think you can read the papers and ﬁnd that out.

Q. Are the people in your town upset about troops being called in? Did this upset you? A. I didn't care for it . . . . I'll put it that way.

Q. Do you think there will be any violence? A. No, I don't. We're praying there won't. Q. How long do you think this tension is going to last? A. It's up to Governor Faubus.

Q. If you had your say, speaking personally, the Negro students could come to school tomorrow? A. Sir, it's the law. We are going to have to face it sometime. Q. Do you think the day is going to come when your school is going to be integrated? A. Yes.

Q. Are you opposed to integration yourself? A. If it's a court order, we have to follow it and abide by the law.

Q. Would you mind sitting next to a Negro in school? A. No. Q. How does the student body feel? A. Pro and con. Q. Have there been any meetings among the students? A. No there haven't. It hasn't been felt there was any need of such. Q. Would you say the sentiment is mostly towards integration or segregation? A. I really don't know just how to answer that.

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Q. You can't . . . . A. We are going to have to have integration sometime, so we might as well have it now. Q. Do you think there will be much resistance among students when this day comes around? A. I don't believe there'll be any at all. Q. That's interesting--then there's a big difference in the way your age group feel about the race problem and the way your parents feel? A. I don't know just how to answer that question. I think we just better skip that. Q. Do you have any Negro friends? A. No, sir. Q. Have you done any soul searching at all about the segregation problem as a whole? A. Not particularly. Q. Would it make a big difference to you if you saw a white girl dating a Negro boy? A. I believe it would. Q. It would? A. Yes, sir Q. Why? A. I don't know. I just was brought up that way. Q. Do you think Negroes are equal in intelligence, and physically, to white people? A. That is just a matter of opinion. Q. What's yours? You are a person of some signiﬁcance. You are president of the student body. A. If they have had the same beneﬁts and advantages I think they're equally as smart. Q. Do you respect the Supreme Court? A. I certainly do. Q. Do you believe all Southerners should live by the law of the land? A. I don't see why we shouldn't. We've been living under it all our lives.

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Activity: POV Little Rock CHS (10) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

“Mob Rule Cannot Be Allowed to Override the Decisions of Our Courts”: President Dwight D. Eisenhower"s 1957 Address on Little Rock, Arkansas

Good Evening, My Fellow Citizens: For a few minutes this evening I want to speak to you about the serious situation that has arisen in Little Rock. To make this talk I have come to the President’s ofﬁce in the White House. I could have spoken from Rhode Island, where I have been staying recently, but I felt that, in speaking from the house of Lincoln, of Jackson and of Wilson, my words would better convey both the sadness I feel in the action I was compelled today to take and the ﬁrmness with which I intend to pursue this course until the orders of the Federal Court at Little Rock can be executed without unlawful interference. In that city, under the leadership of demagogic extremists, disorderly mobs have deliberately prevented the carrying out of proper orders from a Federal Court. Local authorities have not eliminated that violent opposition and, under the law, I yesterday issued a Proclamation calling upon the mob to disperse. This morning the mob again gathered in front of the Central High School of Little Rock, obviously for the purpose of again preventing the carrying out of the Court’s order relating to the admission of Negro children to that school. Whenever normal agencies prove inadequate to the task and it becomes necessary for the Executive Branch of the Federal Government to use its powers and authority to uphold Federal Courts, the President’s responsibility is inescapable. In accordance with that responsibility, I have today issued an Executive Order directing the use of troops under Federal authority to aid in the execution of Federal law at Little Rock, Arkansas. This became necessary when my Proclamation of yesterday was not observed, and the obstruction of justice still continues.

It is important that the reasons for my action be understood by all our citizens. As you know, the Supreme Court of the United States has decided that separate public educational facilities for the races are inherently unequal and therefore compulsory school segregation laws are unconstitutional.

Our personal opinions about the decision have no bearing on the matter of enforcement; the responsibility and authority of the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution are very clear. Local Federal Courts were instructed by the Supreme Court to issue such orders and decrees as might be necessary to achieve admission to public schools without regard to race—and with all deliberate speed.

During the past several years, many communities in our Southern States have instituted public school plans for gradual progress in the enrollment and attendance of school children of all races in order to bring themselves into compliance with the law of the land.

They thus demonstrated to the world that we are a nation in which laws, not men, are supreme. I regret to say that this truth—the cornerstone of our liberties—was not observed in this instance. It was my hope that this localized situation would be brought under control by city and State authorities. If the use of local police powers had been sufﬁcient, our traditional method of leaving the problems in those hands would have been pursued. But when large gatherings of obstructionists made it impossible

PAGE 56 OF 68 MEDIA RICH LEARNING AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE POST-WAR YEARS for the decrees of the Court to be carried out, both the law and the national interest demanded that the President take action. Here is the sequence of events in the development of the Little Rock school case. In May of 1955, the Little Rock School Board approved a moderate plan for the gradual desegregation of the public schools in that city. It provided that a start toward integration would be made at the present term in the high school, and that the plan would be in full operation by 1963. Here I might say that in a number of communities in Arkansas integration in the schools has already started and without violence of any kind. Now this Little Rock plan was challenged in the courts by some who believed that the period of time as proposed in the plan was too long. The United States Court at Little Rock, which has supervisory responsibility under the law for the plan of desegregation in the public schools, dismissed the challenge, thus approving a gradual rather than an abrupt change from the existing system. The court found that the school board had acted in good faith in planning for a public school system free from racial discrimination. Since that time, the court has on three separate occasions issued orders directing that the plan be carried out. All persons were instructed to refrain from interfering with the efforts of the school board to comply with the law. Proper and sensible observance of the law then demanded the respectful obedience which the nation has a right to expect from all its people. This, unfortunately, has not been the case at Little Rock. Certain misguided persons, many of them imported into Little Rock by agitators, have insisted upon defying the law and have sought to bring it into disrepute. The orders of the court have thus been frustrated. The very basis of our individual rights and freedoms rests upon the certainty that the President and the Executive Branch of Government will support and insure the carrying out of the decisions of the Federal Courts, even, when necessary with all the means at the President’s command. Unless the President did so, anarchy would result. There would be no security for any except that which each one of us could provide for himself.

The interest of the nation in the proper fulﬁllment of the law’s requirements cannot yield to opposition and demonstrations by some few persons. Mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of our courts.

Now, let me make it very clear that Federal troops are not being used to relieve local and state authorities of their primary duty to preserve the peace and order of the community. Nor are the troops there for the purpose of taking over the responsibility of the School Board and the other responsible local ofﬁcials in running Central High School. The running of our school system and the maintenance of peace and order in each of our States are strictly local affairs and the Federal Government does not interfere except in a very few special cases and when requested by one of the several States. In the present case the troops are there, pursuant to law, solely for the purpose of preventing interference with the orders of the Court.

The proper use of the powers of the Executive Branch to enforce the orders of a Federal Court is limited to extraordinary and compelling circumstances. Manifestly, such an extreme situation has been created in Little Rock. This challenge must be met and with such measures as will preserve to the people as a whole their lawfully-protected rights in a climate permitting their free and fair exercise. The overwhelming majority of our people in every section of the country are united in their respect for observance of the law —even in those cases where they may disagree with that law.

PAGE 57 OF 68 MEDIA RICH LEARNING AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE POST-WAR YEARS

They deplore the call of extremists to violence.

The decision of the Supreme Court concerning school integration, of course, affects the South more seriously than it does other sections of the country. In that region I have many warm friends, some of them in the city of Little Rock. I have deemed it a great personal privilege to spend in our Southland tours of duty while in the military service and enjoyable recreational periods since that time.

So from intimate personal knowledge, I know that the overwhelming majority of the people in the South —including those of Arkansas and of Little Rock—are of good will, united in their efforts to preserve and respect the law even when they disagree with it.

They do not sympathize with mob rule. They, like the rest of our nation, have proved in two great wars their readiness to sacriﬁce for America. A foundation of our American way of life is our national respect for law.

In the South, as elsewhere, citizens are keenly aware of the tremendous disservice that has been done to the people of Arkansas in the eyes of the nation, and that has been done to the nation in the eyes of the world. At a time when we face grave situations abroad because of the hatred that Communism bears toward a system of government based on human rights, it would be difficult to exaggerate the harm that is being done to the prestige and influence, and indeed to the safety, of our nation and the world. Our enemies are gloating over this incident and using it everywhere to misrepresent our whole nation. We are portrayed as a violator of those standards of conduct which the peoples of the world united to proclaim in the Charter of the United Nations. There they affirmed “faith in fundamental human rights” and “in the dignity and worth of the human person” and they did so “without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.” And so, with deep confidence, I call upon the citizens of the State of Arkansas to assist in bringing to an immediate end all interference with the law and its processes. If resistance to the Federal Court orders ceases at once, the further presence of Federal troops will be unnecessary and the City of Little Rock will return to its normal habits of peace and order and a blot upon the fair name and high honor of our nation in the world will be removed. Thus will be restored the image of America and of all its parts as one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Good night, and thank you very much. September 24, 1957

President Dwight D. Eisenhower Source: Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Radio and Television Address to the American People on the Situation in Little Rock

PAGE 58 OF 68 MEDIA RICH LEARNING AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE POST-WAR YEARS

Activity: POV Little Rock CHS (10) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

“The South: What Orval Hath Wrought” from Time Magazine September 23, 1957

Orval Faubus entered his second-ﬂoor study bent double, hands clutching his abdomen. He greeted a visitor perfunctorily, collapsed into a contour chair, groaning in the agony of too much sweet corn and too many sweet potatoes the night before. His wife popped anxiously into the room, carrying a tray; Faubus peered distastefully at the stewed chicken and rice. "Put that rice in a bowl," snapped he, "so I can put some milk on it." But this, protested Alta Faubus, was what the doctor had ordered. "I don't care!" cried Faubus. "I won't eat it! If you won't get me a bowl of rice and milk, I'll go get it myself." Alta Faubus shrugged, left, returned with the rice and milk. Faubus wolfed it down, milk dribbling down his chin. Then Orval Eugene Faubus, 36th governor of Arkansas, turned to his guest and belched gustily.

At that moment, one day last week, the governor of Arkansas had good reason to be suffering from, as he put it, a "sore stomach." Arkansas National Guardsmen were deployed around his salmon-pink executive mansion, warding off all. Other militiamen surrounded Little Rock's Central High School, ready to defend it to the death against Negro children trying to attend classes. And even as Governor Faubus deﬁed his doctor's orders, the shock waves of his deﬁance of the U.S. Government crashed through the South, the nation and the world.

By calling out the National Guard against school integration in Little Rock (TIME, Sept. 16), Faubus meant only to further his personal political ambitions. But the slightly sophisticated hillbilly from near Greasy Creek had, in fact, set off a chain reaction that quickly went beyond his control; his manufactured crisis in Little Rock brought the reality of crisis to other Southern cities, aroused the North as rarely before, turned askew the nation's political picture, and placed the U.S. on the moral defensive.

Worse Than Cancer. In Faubus' own state, the impact of his defiance was immediate and sharp. At North Little Rock (pop. 50,000), officials had been so confident of peaceful school integration that they were going ahead without even a court order. With Faubus whipping up emotions across the muddy Arkansas River, the North Little Rock people realized that they were in trouble. Integration was suspended (said a school board member: "We don't want the Guard over here"), and responsible Negro leaders joined with white in asking Negro parents to keep their children away.

Other Negroes, angered to recklessness by the Faubus action, egged the parents on. Result: six Negro pupils tried to go to school. They ran up against a pack of pool-hall bums led by a beefy, red-faced man who stood with arms folded across his chest and grandly proclaimed: "They shall not pass." Pushed and shoved away, the Negroes did not pass.

One hundred miles to the northwest, little Ozark (pop. 1,757), where racial conﬂict was unknown, had integrated its high school without a hint of protest. But the sparks from Little Rock soon landed and ﬂared: a Negro girl was hit with a clothes hanger; a boy was struck in the back with a book—and a white motorist tried to run down two Negro children as they walked home from school. Integration was

PAGE 59 OF 68 MEDIA RICH LEARNING AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE POST-WAR YEARS suspended, and Miss Elizabeth Burrow, half owner of the weekly Ozark Spectator, dying of throat cancer, wrote to her townspeople: "Here's a malignancy worse than my cancer, and I wouldn't swap with you."

Spreading Tension. What Orval Faubus wrought for Arkansas, he wrought for the South. Said the Knoxville, Tenn. News-Sentinel of Orval's stand: "This official act has lent an air of respectability and social approval to mob action." Violence exploded in Nashville (see below), and responsible officials attributed it directly to the impact of the news from Little Rock. In Charlotte, N.C., Dorothy Counts, Negro high school girl who had faced the jeers of a crowd with dignity and courage the week before, finally surrendered to heightened passion, withdrew from school.

In Louisville, a segregationist composed a battle hymn: "Stand ﬁrmly by your cannon/Let ball and grapeshot ﬂy/And trust in God and Faubus/But keep your powder dry." In Alabama four potential candidates for governor set a political pattern for the South, each desperately trying to outdo the others in praise of Faubus. One wired Faubus his congratulations. Another promised to back Faubus "at all costs." A third offered to go to jail to prevent integration. The fourth topped them all: he was willing to die for segregation.

Fury in the North. The North, which has its own segregation faults, watched and smoldered with resentment. A Long Island summer-theater audience heard South Paciﬁc Heroine Nellie Forbush say she was from Little Rock, stopped the performance with three minutes of furious boos and hisses. A drugstore clerk in Philadelphia admitted to human dilemma: "I don't like Negroes and God knows I'd hate to have to live with them—but I can't help thinking how awful it would be if my little girls had to go through a mob to be cursed and spit upon." Said a Negro bartender in Dynamite Jackson's Los Angeles saloon: "A lot of whites I know never got excited about this segregation thing in the past. Now they're red-hot under the collar."

Politically, Orval Faubus stabbed at the heart of his own Democratic Party. During the 85th Congress, Texans Lyndon Johnson and Sam Rayburn had labored tirelessly, skillfully and successfully to avoid a ruinous party blowup over civil rights. They had even contrived to put a Democratic stamp of sorts on civil rights legislation. Now Faubus had undone them—and Democratic politicians, in their acute embarrassment, could only pretend that Faubus did not exist. Lyndon Johnson became unavailable for comment. Grunted old Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives longer than any other man in history: "I'm not making any comment about segregation at all, my friend, one way or another. It's not my problem."

Sojourning in London, Arkansas' Democratic Senator J. William Fulbright, a segregationist by the record in spite of a long career as a self-described liberal, said he just didn'i know enough about the Arkansas situation to comment. Iowa's Democratic Governor Herschel Loveless drew a formal N.A.A.C.P. protest for his evasion ("I have enough troubles of my own without getting mixed up in this"). Democratic National Chairman Paul Butler of Indiana refused to "pass judgment" on Faubus. At week's end the Democratic Advisory Committee, including Members Harry Truman and Adlai Stevenson, ﬁnally got around to issuing a statement blaming Republican Dwight Eisenhower for the whole Arkansas mess.

Assaying the political effects, the New York Times said that Orval Faubus had knotted the "civil rights albatross ﬁrmly around the neck of the entire Democratic Party." In San Francisco, William Stratton. executive director of the Booker T. Washington Community Center, recalled that Faubus, as a Democratic

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"liberal," had been elected with Negro support. "Because of that," said Stratton, "we must act to analyze the attitudes of those running for ofﬁce. We must do as much as we can to make sure that a Faubus doesn't exist in this area. It's foolish to be blindly tied to a party which has no concern for your welfare."

Joy in Budapest. In Little Rock, Nashville and Charlotte, the racist crowds branded those who opposed them as proCommunist. But it was, in fact, Orval Faubus and his followers who gave aid and comfort to Communism. Headlined Beirut's Communist daily AL-Shara: AMERICA VERGES ON CIVIL REBELLION. Sneered Italy's Communist L'Unità: "It is hard to imagine a country where the new scholastic year opens in an atmosphere other than serene, where the thought of desks, notebooks and blackboards is mingled with visions of riﬂes, tear gas, spring knives and clubs . . . Such a country does, however, exist, and it bears the high-sounding name of 'United States of America.' " In Budapest, Hungary's ruthless Premier Janos Kadar fairly kicked his heels in joy. Cried he: "Those who tolerate that a people should be persecuted because of the color of their skin have no right to preach human liberty and human rights." In the United Nations, after a dark-skinned Ceylonese delegate denounced Soviet intervention in Hungary, Bulgaria's Peter Voutov retorted: "Something worse could happen to you if you go to Little Rock."

In neutral and non-Communist countries (most of them with their own race problems), the U.N. debate on the sacking of Hungary was drowned out by the news from Little Rock. Said the Times of Indonesia: "Americans must ask themselves if a Faubus is not a greater traitor to their country than a small fry caught selling atomic data to foreign powers, and whether Governor Faubus should not be hauled before the Un-American Activities Committee for alienating half the world from the U.S." In Japan, a conservative-minded citizen asked quietly: "If Americans regard Negroes as inferior, how do they really regard Asians?" Millions of brown-skinned Asians, unaware of great U.S. constitutional issues, saw only dark-skinned American children being held away from school by the riﬂes of white American soldiers.

Hell for Sartain. All this—trouble in his own state, trouble in the South, trouble in the U.S. and trouble in the world—Orval Faubus had wrought. Why? The answers lie deep within a politician who fought his way out of a peckerwood background and a backwoods wilderness—and never wants to return.

Arkansas, part delta and part mountain, part magnolia and part moonshine, where a horse is a "critter" and a heifer is a "cow brute," is given to such place names as Loafer's Glory, Bug Tussle, Hell for Sartain, Hog Scald, Nellie's Apron—and, perhaps most remote of them all, Greasy Creek in the Ozark forests of the northwest, where Orval Faubus was born 47 years ago in a candlelighted cabin.

There the night fog wisps early along the creek valley, and the silence is broken only by the howl of timber wolves. There Orval Faubus, prematurely born and weighing only 4 Ibs., "growed like a weed" in the hardest of all soil. There Orval learned about politics from his father, "Uncle Sam" Faubus, a sort of mountain Populist. Last week in the Ozark woods, Uncle Sam, crippled from arthritis but still scratching a living from his hillside farm, mused on his son's fame. "Little Orval," said J. Sam Faubus, "he was different to most boys. Kids like to get into mischief, but all he ever did was read books. He never done anything if he couldn't do it perfectly. You'd never ﬁnd a weed in his row of corn."

One Thing He Hated. Orval Faubus did not learn about segregation in the Ozarks. "He never saw a Negro until he was a grown lad," said Uncle Sam. "Then he went away North to follow the strawberry crop when he was about 18. We only had one Negro family in Madison County in those days, and they

PAGE 61 OF 68 MEDIA RICH LEARNING AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE POST-WAR YEARS lived way down on the crick where nobody ever saw 'em. I told Orval not to hate anybody of any race. I told him people would think he was narrow-minded and would look down on him." Then Old Sam provided a key to the understanding of Orval Faubus: "That's one thing Orval always hated—to be looked down on."

Orval spent a lifetime clawing his way up so that he would not be looked down on. He found what he wanted in politics. For years he bounced from one meager job to another: country schoolteacher, itinerant farm hand, lumberjack. He ran for local ofﬁces (circuit clerk and recorder) and won, later wangled an appointment as postmaster. In 1948 he helped throw Madison County to liberal Sid McMath, who was elected governor. McMath named him to the nonsalary state highway commission, later responded to a Faubus plea ("I'm broke. I need a payin' job") by making him an administrative assistant at $5,000 a year. Orval Faubus moved to Little Rock—and (to him) the big time.

A Scheme for Security. Elected governor on a ﬂuke in 1954, re-elected last year, Orval Faubus was right where he wanted to be. He was the chief executive of a sovereign state; he hobnobbed with political bigwigs; he was, at last, looked up to. Orval Faubus planned to stay in Little Rock. Politics had given him position and respectability; he had nothing to go back to. But how would he hang on? Arkansas has a strong tradition against a third term for a governor. Moreover, his popularity was slipping: he had raised taxes, alienated his liberal followers by granting rate increases to railroads and utilities. He needed new support and he needed it badly. His solution: to win votes in conservative eastern Arkansas by setting himself up as a segregationist hero.

Last Aug. 20, Orval Faubus set his plan in motion: he called Deputy Attorney General William Rogers in Washington, asked what the U.S. Government would do to prevent violence in Little Rock. Rogers said that it was primarily a matter for local law enforcement, but volunteered to send Arthur Caldwell, head of the Justice Department's civil rights section, to Little Rock. Caldwell, a native Arkansan, explained the law, outlined federal injunctive powers, asked Faubus why he thought there might be violence in Little Rock. Faubus replied that his evidence was "too vague and indeﬁnite to be of any use to a law- enforcement agency." Caldwell returned to Washington convinced that Orval Faubus meant to play politics with Little Rock integration.

"I'm Already Committed." Faubus lost no time playing politics: the very next day he went into a state court, testiﬁed that integration would mean bloodshed in Little Rock, won an injunction against it— which was promptly overruled by U.S. District Judge Ronald Davies. Then, the Sunday before Little Rock schools were to open, word came to adopted Arkansan Winthrop Rockefeller, chairman of the highly successful Arkansas Industrial Development Commission, that Faubus was going to call out the National Guard to stop integration.

Rockefeller rushed to the executive mansion, pleaded against the move for more than two hours, argued that it would give the state a bad name with industry. It was no use. A close Rockefeller associate quotes Faubus as saying: "I'm sorry, but I'm already committed. I'm going to run for a third term, and if I don't do this, Jim Johnson and Bruce Bennett [segregationists who are his probable opponents for governor next year] will tear me to shreds." That was it: at 9 o'clock on the eve of school opening, Arkansas National Guard troops clanked into Little Rock. An hour later Orval Faubus appeared on television, explained that he had called out the militia to prevent violence.

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Neither then nor thereafter did Governor Faubus consult with the man charged by the Arkansas constitution with keeping law and order in Little Rock: Mayor Woodrow Wilson Mann."There was no indication of unrest whatever," says Mann. "We had no reason to believe there would be violence." For one thing, Little Rock had worked out for itself a seven-year integration plan, carefully picking and choosing among the Negro students most likely to do well, so as to minimize the possibility of trouble in a city with better-than-average race relationships. Even so, to be on the safe side, Mann and his 175-man police force had made carefully detailed plans to keep order. Orval Faubus never gave the mayor's plans a chance—and Woodrow Wilson Mann, who had twice supported Faubus for governor, is eloquent in his anger. Says he of Faubus: "His words spell sedition, his deﬁance rebellion. His words and actions echo another tragic period in our history when irresponsible men plunged this nation into a Civil War."

Order from the Court. Orval Faubus claimed to be unworried by Mayor Mann's criticism. He was holed up in his executive mansion, protected from intrusion by the National Guard, enjoying congratulatory telegrams, listening to piped music, watching Kinescopes of himself on television (he liked them), preparing to reap new publicity beneﬁts.

Even as Orval was basking in his new fame, pressures against him were building up. Across town from the executive mansion, U.S. District Judge Davies was reading a 400-page report prepared for him by the FBI, which had 50 agents comb the Little Rock situation. The report showed not a shred of evidence supporting Faubus' claim that Little Rock had been ripe for violence. Example: where Faubus had said Little Rock stores were selling out of knives and pistols ("mostly to Negro youths"), the FBI agents checked 100 shops, found that weapon sales had actually been below normal. The report read, Judge Davies issued a summons commanding Faubus to appear in his court this week to show cause why an injunction should not be issued against him.

U.S. Marshal Beal Kidd, an old friend of Faubus, passed through the National Guard lines and handed Faubus the summons on the executive lawn. The summons genuinely worried Faubus: the man who hated to be looked down upon began to fret about the trouble his new prominence might bring him.

More Than He Could Handle. Faubus had other qualms. The political effect of his stand was not quite what he had expected. His old boss, Sid McMath, was busy rounding up liberals to denounce what Orval had wrought. Little Rock's respected Congressman Brooks Hays, top Baptist layman (president of the Southern Baptist Convention), checked with the city's leading citizens, found them shocked and ashamed.

Hays started to move: ﬁrst he called the White House, talked to his old congressional friend, Presidential Assistant Sherman Adams. He suggested that Governor Faubus and President Eisenhower meet. Hays himself set forth three conditions: 1) the request for a meeting would have to come from Faubus, 2) Faubus would have to be assured that his bid would not be rebuffed, and 3) there must be a real possibility that the meeting would result in something "constructive." Adams asked the President what he thought of Hays's plan. The answer was emphatic: yes, let him come.

Then Hays went to Faubus, spent a quiet hour talking in the book-lined second-ﬂoor study of the executive mansion. By this time Faubus was worn thin under the increasing pressures. He agreed to cooperate fully (but not to capitulate). Brooks Hays called Adams and said that a telegram was on its way from Faubus to the President at Newport, R.I.

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The telegram was delivered to President Eisenhower just as he holed out on the 435-yd. ﬁrst hole at the Newport Country Club. The President read it slowly. Press Secretary James Hagerty scratched an answer in pencil on the back of the telegram, handed it to the President. Ike changed a word or two, initialed the bottom: "DDE." The historic confrontation was arranged between the President of the U.S. and a governor of Arkansas who had wrought a lot more than he could handle.

Weeds in the Corn. Back in the Ozark hills Uncle Sam Faubus unknowingly told, in just a few words, why Orval had done all he had done. In the little house near Greasy Creek, he turned to his wife and exclaimed: "Why, Orval is the second-most thing in the papers these days." Replied she: "Firstmost thing." "Yep," agreed Uncle Sam. "Well, that's the way Orval always wanted it."

But now there were weeds in Orval's row of corn. They reached out of the ﬁeld and out of the hills and around the world. They had created ugly patches on good ground, and before they stopped growing, they might well kill the very ambitions that Orval Faubus had cultivated with all his might.

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Activity: POV Little Rock CHS (10) Name

Subject: The Post-War Years Date

“EISENHOWER VERSUS FAUBUS IN THE 1957 CRISIS” By David Pitts, USIA Staff Writer

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., (Sept. 21) On one level, the Little Rock crisis of 1957 is a story about racial intolerance and the struggle to overcome it. But it also is a story about federal-state relations under the Constitution. The key constitutional principle, according to experts, was whether federal law, as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court, is paramount.

In an interview, Roy Reed, a former New York Times reporter and the author of a new book on Orval Faubus, Arkansas governor in 1957, said Faubus knew "federal law superseded state law under the Constitution, but he emphasized the primacy of states' rights," in order to placate the segregationists.

Senator Dale Bumpers (Democrat), the state's senior representative in the U.S. Senate, said the events in Little Rock four decades ago precipitated "the gravest constitutional crisis since the Civil War." The issue was clear, he said, whether the law of the land, as stated by the Supreme Court, would be enforced by the president and obeyed by the state. Reed explained that Faubus had been "a racial moderate, ironically, perhaps more so than Eisenhower." Faubus "acted rashly out of political opportunism," in deploying the state national guard outside Central High School to prevent black students from entering because he was fearful of losing the segregationist vote and thus the next election.

By contrast, he said, Eisenhower at first displayed caution, hoping the crisis would be resolved locally. But the significant point, both Reed and Bumpers stated, is that Eisenhower ultimately acted to enforce the federal court orders to integrate, whatever his private views or doubts may have been. "It reaffirmed the important constitutional principle that we are a nation of laws and not of men," said Bumpers.

Three weeks after the crisis developed in September 1957, Eisenhower made clear the constitutional principles involved. He announced his executive order dispatching federal troops to Little Rock and the federalizing of the Arkansas national guard in a major address to the American people. He had already stated his position privately to Faubus.

The president's speech was televised in prime time exactly 40 years ago on the evening of September 24. Concerning the Supreme Court decision outlawing segregation, Eisenhower said, "Our personal opinions about this decision have no bearing on the matter of enforcement; the responsibility and authority of the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution are very clear." "The very basis of our individual rights and freedoms rests upon the certainty that the President

PAGE 65 OF 68 MEDIA RICH LEARNING AMERICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE POST-WAR YEARS and the Executive Branch of government will support and insure the carrying out of the decisions of the Federal courts, even, when necessary, with all the means at the president's command," Eisenhower said. He added: "Mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of our courts."

Near the end of the speech, the president clariﬁed the circumstances, as he saw them, under which federal intervention is appropriate. "The proper use of the powers of the Executive Branch to enforce the orders of a Federal court is limited to extraordinary and compelling circumstances. Manifestly, such an extreme situation has been created in Little Rock." Faubus "knew that Eisenhower was on ﬁrm, constitutional ground and that this was a struggle he could not win," Reed said. "But there was enormous pressure to do what he did, and he simply caved in."

"I think he'll be remembered as a ﬂawed and tragic ﬁgure who betrayed his promise," Reed said. Unlike some other southern governors who had supported segregation, such as Alabama's George Wallace, Faubus "never said he was wrong and, as recently as three or four months before he died, still claimed that what he did was right."

The most important aspect of the 1957 crisis, Reed and Bumpers agreed, was not the clash between Faubus and Eisenhower: It was the fact that the law of the land, as interpreted by the courts, ultimately prevailed and was enforced.

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