American History Part 2, Chapter 7

A continuing state of political and military tension between the Western world (led by USA & NATO) and the communist world (led by the Soviet Union and its satellite countries.) No direct military actions, since both sides possessed nuclear weapons – threat of “mutual assured destruction.” Cycles of relative calm followed by high tension. Cold War (~1945 – 1991)

Berlin Blockade ( ) Korean War ( ) Berlin Crisis of 1961 Vietnam War ( ) Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) Soviet War in Afghanistan (1979 – 1989) Cold War (~1945 – 1991)

Persistent high inflation combined with high unemployment and stagnant 1 demand in a country's economy. Stagnation + Inflation = Stagflation 1 stagnant (adj.) showing no activity; dull and sluggish Stagflation

Manufacturing jobs involve making things, while service jobs have a much broader function. Health care employees, educators, restaurant employees, hairstylists, musicians, and actors – to name a few. In the mid-1980’s, the total number of manufacturing and service jobs was about equal. By 1999, however, the service industry employed about twice as many workers as the manufacturing industry. Service Jobs in America

Truman Doctrine (1947) – the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere. Historians often consider it as the start of the Cold War. Eisenhower Doctrine (1957) – a country could request American economic assistance and/or aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression from another country. Miscellaneous “Doctrines”

The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was a war between the Republic of Korea supported primarily by the USA, with contributions from allied nations under the United Nations and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea supported by the People's Republic of China, with military and material aid from the Soviet Union. The Korean War

The Korean War was primarily the result of the political division of Korea by an agreement of the victorious Allies at the conclusion of the Pacific War at the end of World War II. The Korean War

The Korean peninsula was ruled by the Empire of Japan from 1910 until the end of World War II. Following the surrender of the Empire of Japan in September 1945, American administrators divided the peninsula along the 38th parallel, with U.S. military forces occupying the southern half and Soviet military forces occupying the northern half. The Korean War

The failure to hold free elections throughout the Korean Peninsula in 1948 deepened the division between the two sides. The North established a communist government, while the South established a capitalist one. The Korean War

The 38th parallel increasingly became a political border between the two Korean states. Although reunification negotiations continued in the months preceding the war, tension intensified. The Korean War

Cross-border skirmishes and raids at the 38 th Parallel persisted. The situation escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces invaded South Korea on 25 June It was the first significant armed conflict of the Cold War. The Korean War

The History of Music / Video playing / recording in America.

Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorders Introduced by the Germans in the 1930’s.

LP – Long Playing Record Album The 33⅓ rpm 1 vinyl 2 LP was introduced in 1948 by Columbia Records (an American company). The 12-inch diameter (30 cm) LP could play for more than 20 minutes. An album could easily get scratched, resulting in “skipping” and poor sound quality. 1 revolutions per minute 2 Vinyl – a type of plastic

Record Player

8-Track Tape Cartridges Popular in the USA and UK from the mid-1960’s to the early 1980’s.

Cassette Tapes The first cassette tape (5” x 7”) was produced in 1958 by RCA Victor (American company). However it never gained popularity. The cassette tape was invented mainly because it offered an easier, more compact way than reel-to-reel tapes. It was most popular between the early 1970’s and late 1990’s. The actual product of the Compact Cassette arrived in 1964 by Phillips (Dutch company).

Compact Disc (CD) CD’s are optical discs, available since They were originally used for music, but later also for data storage. When they were introduced, they could store more information than a typical computer hard-drive.

VHS / VCR

VHS (Video Home System) – the precursor was developed in the late 1950’s in Japan. However, VHS was not introduced to the public until It was popular for about 20 years, until the DVD came out.

DVD DVD’s (original meaning – Digital Video Disk) are optical discs similar to CD’s, but with much more storage capacity. They have been available since 1995.

MP3 MP3 – Patented in 1996 (in America) by German inventors.

For next week, please read Part 2 History, Ch. 8, pages 133 to 146