Franklin D. Roosevelt – 1933-1945 Political Party – Democrat Longest serving President in U.S. History

Domestic Policy FDR an optimist, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” “Brain Trust” “New Deal” 1st New Deal-1933-1935 2nd New Deal-1935-1938 March-June 1933 – “100 Days” – attempts to stabilize the financial system

New Deal March 6 – Bank Holiday Reorganization of banks upon federal inspection May 1933 – Securities Act – release accurate information about stock June 1933 – Glass-Steagall Act – created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 1934 – SEC created

New Deal Federal Emergency Relief Administration – direct cash payments for states to use as unemployment relief Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) – put men to work in national parks, forests Civil Works Administration (CWA) – public works Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) – cash incentives to farmers to cut production Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) – dams and power plants to reduce electric costs in the Tennessee Valley

New Deal National Industrial Recovery Act – national economic planning Created Public Works Administration – large scale public works projects – Golden Gate bridge, Triborough bridge Created National Recovery Administration – regulate competition and wages amongst business, guaranteed collective bargaining

Critics of the New Deal Senator Huey Long – “share our wealth” Father Charles Coughlin – “free silver” Dr. Francis Townsend – early advocate of insurance for the elderly, becomes the basis for the Social Security Act of 1935 Supreme Court decisions – invalidated AAA

2nd New Deal Works Progress Administration (WPA) – provide jobs for Americans Wagner Act – right for labor to organize and bargain collectively Social Security Act – insurance for elderly, medical care – money raised from taxes on workers 1936 Election – Roosevelt vs. Alf Landon, Roosevelt wins, African-Americans vote for Democrats as opposed to Republicans

Court-Packing Plan Would expand the membership of the Court, adding a new justice for every sitting justice over the age of seventy-five. This maneuver would have put six new Roosevelt-appointed justices on the Court, giving FDR a comfortable majority that could be expected to validate the New Deal. Criticism of FDR in the press Court begins to uphold state and federal legislation, plan never materializes

Economic Issues “Roosevelt Recession” of 1937 Industrial production fell 33% Industrial stock prices decline 50% Reduction in government spending $5 billion relief program issued in 1938 1939 – 19% unemployment Economy still had not recovered from 1929 crash Economy will not fully recover until the Second World War

3rd Term Campaign Election of 1940 FDR allows himself to be “drafted” by the Democratic party to run for a 3rd term This goes against presidential precedent Henry Wallace chosen as running mate Runs against businessman Wendall Willkie FDR wins 55% of the popular vote, 449 electoral votes Becomes the first president elected to more than 2 terms

Foreign Affairs Hitler takes the Rhineland in 1936 1938 – Czechoslovakia, Austria Munich Conference – 1938 “Appeasement” 1939 – Hitler invades Poland 1939 – Non-aggression pact with USSR 1940 – Germany attacks Denmark, Norway, France May 16, 1940 – FDR asks Congress for $1 billion for defense U.S. increases financial assistance to the British Fear of German threat to the U.S.

Lend-Lease Program In October of 1941, after the United States had committed itself to aiding the Allies through Lend-Lease, Roosevelt gradually sought to repeal certain portions of the Act. On October 17, 1941, the House of Representatives revoked section VI, which forbade the arming of U.S. merchant ships, by a wide margin. Following a series of deadly U-boat attacks against U.S. Navy and merchant ships, the Senate passed another bill in November that also repealed legislation banning American ships from entering belligerent ports or “combat zones.”

Pearl Harbor 1940 – Tripartite Pact FDR freezes Japanese assets in the U.S., creates a trade embargo Japan searches for raw materials, supplies December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 2,000 killed & 1,000 injured “Date which will live in infamy” 12/8 – U.S. Declares War on Japan 12/11 – U.S. Declares War on Germany and Italy

Harry S Truman – 1945-1953 Political Party – Democrat Assumes the office of President following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in April of 1945

Domestic Policy Truman calls for full employment, higher minimum wage, larger Social Security system, national health insurance – program not passed by Congress Labor issues – strikes in steel, coal, iron, and auto industries – Truman threatens to draft striking workers, upset labor unions Problems with economic conversion to peacetime economy – scarcity, price issues Taft-Hartley Bill of 1947 – limited power of labor unions – Truman vetoes, Congress overrides 1947 – 1st President to address NAACP Conflicts with Republican controlled Congress

1948 Election Democrat – Harry Truman Republican - Thomas Dewey – Governor of NY Dixiecrat – Strom Thurmond – Senator of South Carolina Whistle Stop Tour of U.S. - Truman critical of Republican Congress Truman wins election in what is considered the greatest election upset in American History

Fair Deal Proposals of Truman following election of 1948 Repeal Taft-Hartley Increase minimum wage, Social Security Housing assistance, national health insurance, civil rights Some achievements from program, not all of his proposals are passed

Anti-Communism House Un-American Committee Alger Hiss Rosenberg case Rise of McCarthyism

Foreign Affairs Decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan ushers in the Cold War 1947 – Truman Doctrine – military assistance to those nations resisting communist forces (Greece and Turkey) Marshall Plan – economic aid to Western Europe for the purpose of rebuilding following World War Two Berlin Airlift of 1948 Recognition of Israel – 1948 China becomes Communist – October 1949 Korean War – 1950-1953 – attempt by North Korea to unify Korea under a communist government; first true test of the Truman Doctrine

Dwight D. Eisenhower – 1953-1961 Political Party - Republican Supreme Allied Commander during the Second World War

Domestic Policy Moderate Republicanism Expanded Social Security, increased minimum wage, created Departments of Health, Welfare, and Education Creation of the Interstate Highway System McCarthyism Suburbanization of America

Civil Rights 1954 – Brown vs. the Board of Education – overturns segregation – Eisenhower refused to endorse 1957 – orders National Guard to Little Rock, Arkansas to protect African-American students attending school 1957 Civil Rights Act – federal protection of voting rights Urged slow desegregation

Farewell Address In his Farewell Address, Eisenhower concentrated not on the threats he had confronted abroad but on the dangers of the Cold War at home. He told his fellow citizens to be wary of the "military-industrial complex," which he described as the powerful combination of "an immense military establishment and a large arms industry." Defense was a means to an end, and the American people had to be careful that they did not allow special interests to absorb an ever-increasing share of national wealth or to "endanger our liberties or democratic processes."

Foreign Affairs Meeting with Khrushchev – Geneva 1955 U-2 Incident – May 1960 – U.S. spy plan crashes over Soviet airspace CIA covert actions in Latin America – Guatemala Suez Canal Crisis in Egypt – 1956 Military aid to the French in Vietnam, supported Ngo Dinh Diem in South Vietnam

John F. Kennedy – 1961-1963 Political Party – Democrat Youngest elected president in U.S. history Brings in the Era of Camelot

Domestic Policy Domestic program referred to as the “New Frontier” Series of efforts designed to lower taxes, protect the unemployed, increase the minimum wage, and to focus on the business and housing sectors to stimulate the economy Federal aid to education, medical care for the elderly, urban mass transit, a Department of Urban Affairs, and regional development in Appalachia Kennedy's programs encountered tough legislative sledding. He did manage an increase in the minimum wage, but a major medical program for the elderly was shot down. Attempts to cut taxes and broaden civil rights were watered down on Capitol Hill

Civil Rights In September 1962, a long-running effort by James Meredith, a black Mississippian and veteran of eight years in the U.S. Air Force, to enroll at the traditionally white University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) came to head. When the governor of Mississippi, Ross Barnett, defied federal court rulings allowing Meredith to enroll at the university, Kennedy, through his brother Robert, the attorney general, federalized the Mississippi National Guard and ordered an escort of federal marshals to accompany Meredith to the campus. Meredith finally enrolled on October 1, 1962, but not without a violent riot that took thousands of guardsmen and armed soldiers fifteen hours to quell. Hundreds were injured and two died.

Civil Rights During 1963, the civil rights struggle grew increasingly vocal and faced increasing violence. Led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., African-American activists had proclaimed their impatience with "tokenism and gradualism . . . We can't wait any longer." The persistence of the Freedom Riders seeking to desegregate buses in the South—in the face of personal peril—and a huge "March on Washington" in June 1963 at which King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech to an audience of a quarter of a million people, provided potent indications that the civil rights movement was not going to fade away and was, in fact, galvanizing.

Civil Rights Toward the end of 1963, Kennedy finally submitted a civil rights bill, which became law after his death. In a televised speech announcing his decision, he observed that the grandchildren of the slaves freed by Lincoln "are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice.“ Basis for the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Foreign Affairs Space Race between U.S. and U.S.S.R. Peace Corps created Latin America – Alliance for Progress – plan to improve regions social and economic programs Increased military presence in Vietnam

Foreign Affairs – Bay of Pigs In the early hours of April 17, 1961, approximately 1,500 Cuban refugees landed at Bahia de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs) on Cuba's southern coast. A series of crucial assumptions built into the plan proved false and Castro's forces quickly overwhelmed the refugee force. Moreover, the Kennedy administration's cover story collapsed immediately. It soon became clear that despite the President's denial of U.S. involvement in the attempted coup, Washington was indeed behind it.

Foreign Affairs – Cuban Missile Crisis In an effort to neutralize the massive American advantage in nuclear weapons, Khrushchev ordered a secret deployment of long-range nuclear missiles to Cuba along with a force of 42,000 Soviet troops and other associated weaponry. For months, despite close American scrutiny, the Soviets managed to keep hidden the full extent of the buildup. But in mid-October, U.S. aerial reconnaissance detected the deployment of Soviet ballistic nuclear missiles in Cuba which could reach most of the continental United States within a matter of minutes.

Cuban Missile Crisis After several days of action and reaction, each seeming to bring the world closer to the brink of nuclear war, the two sides reached a deal. Khrushchev would order the withdrawal of offensive missiles and Kennedy would promise not to invade Cuba Kennedy also promised to withdraw American ballistic nuclear missiles based in Turkey targeting the Soviet Union. Difficult negotiations aimed at finalizing the deal dragged on for several weeks but, on November 20, 1962, Kennedy finally ordered the lifting of the naval blockade of Cuba.

Lyndon Johnson – 1963-1969 Political Party – Democrat Assumes office upon the assassination of President Kennedy – November 22, 1963

Domestic Policy – Great Society There were environmental protection laws, landmark land conservation measures, the profoundly influential Immigration Act, bills establishing a National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, a Highway Safety Act, the Public Broadcasting Act, and a bill to provide consumers with some protection against shoddy goods and dangerous products. To address issues of inequality in education, vast amounts of money were poured into colleges to fund certain students and projects and into federal aid for elementary and secondary education, especially to provide remedial services for poorer districts, a program that no President had been able to pass because of the disputes over aid to parochial schools

Domestic Policy – Great Society Johnson won passage of a bill establishing a Department of Housing and Urban Development and appointed Robert Weaver, the first African American in the cabinet, to head it. For the elderly, Johnson won passage of Medicare, a program providing federal funding of many health care expenses for senior citizens. The "medically indigent" of any age who could not afford access to health care would be covered under a related "Medicaid" program funded in part by the national government and run by states under their welfare programs.

War on Poverty These include the Head Start program of early education for poor children; the Legal Services Corporation, providing legal aid to poor families; and various health care programs run out of neighborhood clinics and hospitals. The billions of dollars spent to aid the poor did have effective results, especially in job training and job placement programs. Partly as a result of these initiatives—and also due to a booming economy—the rate of poverty in America declined significantly during the Johnson years. Millions of Americans raised themselves above the "poverty line," and the percentage under it declined from 20 to 12 percent between 1964 and 1974.

Civil Rights Civil Rights Act of 1964 – ending segregation in public facilities Voting Rights Act of 1965 - This piece of legislation provided for a suspension of literacy tests in counties where voting rates were below a certain threshold, which in practice covered most of the South. It also provided for federal registrars and marshals to enroll African American voters. The law was passed by Congress, and the results were immediate and significant. Black voter turnout tripled within four years, coming very close to white turnouts throughout the South. Meanwhile, white conservatives tended to leave the Democratic Party, due to their opposition to Johnson's civil rights legislation and liberal programs.

Civil Rights Between 1964 and 1968, race riots shattered many American cities, with federal troops deployed in the Watts Riots in Los Angeles as well as in the Detroit and Washington, D.C., riots. In Memphis in the summer of 1968, Martin Luther King Jr., one of the leaders of the civil rights movement, was gunned down by a lone assassin. There were new civil disturbances in many cities, but some immediate good came from this tragedy: A bill outlawing racial discrimination in housing had been languishing in Congress, and King's murder renewed momentum for the measure. The resulting law began to open up the suburbs to minority residents, though it would be several decades before segregated housing patterns would be noticeably dented.

Foreign Affairs Dominant issue of Johnson’s foreign policy is the U.S. involvement in Vietnam In August 1964, after reports that U.S. naval vessels had been attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin, Johnson asked Congress for a resolution of support. By a vote of 98 to 2 in the Senate and a unanimous vote in the House, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing the President to take all measures necessary to protect the armed forces.

Vietnam On February 13, 1965, Johnson authorized Rolling Thunder, the sustained bombing of North Vietnam. On March 8, 1965, two Marine battalions, 3,500 troops, went ashore near Da Nang to protect the airfields, with orders to shoot only if shot at—this was the first time U.S. combat forces had been sent to mainland Asia since the Korean War. On April 3, Johnson authorized two additional Marine battalions, one Marine air squadron, and an increase in logistical support units of 20,000 men. He also authorized troops to go on active "search and destroy" missions. By mid-April, Marines had moved to full-scale offensive operations

Vietnam Tensions increase within the United States regarding involvement in Vietnam College protests Military draft protests Government protests Public support for the war declines with the increase in use of T.V. coverage January 1968 – Tet Offensive Turns tide of public opinion within the United States against the war Johnson does not run for re-election in 1968

Richard Nixon – 1969-1974 Political Party – Republican Only President in United States history to resign from office

Domestic Policy “Stagflation” – high inflation and unemployment Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Amendments to the 1967 Clean Air Act calling for reductions in automobile emissions and the national testing of air quality. Other significant environmental legislation enacted during Nixon's presidency included the 1972 Noise Control Act, the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act, the 1973 Endangered Species Act, and the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act.

Watergate June 1972 – break-in at the Watergate Hotel, home to the Democratic headquarters Suspicions arise regarding whether Nixon was involved, or at the very least, knew about the plan to break-in Several close Nixon aides connected to break-in Threat of impeachment leads Nixon to resigning on August 8 1974 Gerald Ford becomes president, pardons Nixon in September 1974

Foreign Affairs Nixon’s visit to China in February 1972 “opens” China to the United States Agreement to SALT I Treaty with the U.S.S.R. “Vietnamization” of the Vietnam War Invasion of Cambodia Paris Peace Accords were signed on January 23, 1973, bringing an end to the participation of U.S. ground forces in the Vietnam War. Yom Kippur War of 1973 – Egypt and Syria attack Israel, U.S. pledges support for Israel, threat to U.S. energy supply in the Middle East