美国历史-英美国家概况

American

HistoryThe

Post

WWⅡ

Period

And

ModernTimes高昌PB09005061The

Cold

War

PeriodDiplomacy、Politics

And

WarThe

Containment

PolicyThe

Korean

WarThe

Red

Scare

and

McCarthyism(麦卡锡主义）John

Kennedy

and

the

Cuban

missile

CrisisThe

Vietnam

WarRichard

Nixon

and

DetenteThe

Cold

War

PeriodDomestic

IssuesThe

Civil

Rights

MovementWomen’s

RightsYouth

CultureProgressives

in

the

White

HouseThe

Watergate

ScandalStagflationThe

Reagan

RevolutionModern

TimesBill

Clinton(1992-2000)George

W.

Bush(2001-2009)Barack

Hussein

Obama(2009-

)The

Begin

of

The

Cold

War

The

Cold

War,

a

term

popularized

by

WinstonChurchill

in

1946,means

alternative

forms

of

warfarethat

rely

on

limited

violence

and

ideological,

economand

political

methods.

Course:

The

Soviet

Union

‘s

avowed

purpose

was

aworld

socialist

revolution

while

the

USA

tried

tomaintain

existing

government.The

Soviet

Union

was

determined

to

create

abuffer

zone

by

establishing

friendly

neighbors

inorder

to

invasion

from

the

West

and

concentrate

oninternal

economic

development.

On

the

contrary,

theUSA

insisted

national

self-determination

and

an“open

door”

policy

in

these

buffer

countries.The

Containment

Policy

With

the

fear

of

Communistcontrol

in

Western

Europe

andothers

parts

of

the

worldgrowing

daily,

the

US

decided

toprevent

the

expansion

ofCommunism

with

a

policy

known

as

the

“Containment

Policy”The

purpose

of

containment

wasto

block

of

the

Soviet

effort

toflow

into

“every

nook

andcranny

avaibleto

it

in

the

basinof

the

world.

A

corollary

tothe

containmentpolicy

was

the

“DominoTheory”.

In

1947,

President

Harry

Trumanrequested

and

received

$

400

millionfrom

Congress

for

military

aid

forGreece

and

Turkey.

This

policybecame

known

as

the

“TrumanDoctrine”,

a

form

of

containment.

In

1947,

Secretary

of

State,

GeorgeMarshall,

proposed

a

plan

for

theeconomic

rehabilitation

of

Europe.

In1948,

Truman

proposed

his

PointFour

Program,

which

extended

theaid

and

technical

assistance

to

theworld’s

developing

nations.Truman’s

program

was

an

attemptto

persuade

developing

nations

toside

with

the

US

rather

than

theSoviet

Union.The

Korean

WarAfter

WWⅡ，Korea

was

divided

at

the

38thparallel

into

the

Soviet-supported

north

andAmerica-supported

south.

When

the

Korean

Warbroke

out

in

1950,

Truman

sent

American

troopsto

reinforce

the

south.

Then

China

dispatchedChinese

People’s

Volunteers

to

North

Korea

tprotect

itself

from

invasion.Negotiation

between

the

opposing

forcesbegan

at

Panmunjom(板门店)in

July

1951,

butthe

talks

and

war

dragged

on

until

1953.

In

thsame

year,

prisoners

were

exchanged,

and

anarmistice

was

signed,

which

confirmed

the

38thparallel

as

the

Korea’s

dividing

line

betweeNorth

and

South

Korea.The

Red

ScareThe

fear

of

communism

was

demonstratedinside

America

during

the

post-war

era.

Based

on

the

belief

that

communism

wasbeing

advocated

by

Americans

inpostions

of

influence

and

leadership,

in1947,

Truman

signed

a

executive

orderwhich

required

federal

employee

to

takea

loyalty

oath

to

the

US.

In

1947,

the

House

Committee

on

Un-America

Activities

began

searching

screenwriters,

directors

and

actors.

The

mostprominent

people,

known

as

the“Hollywood

Ten”,

went

to

jail.

A

largenumber

of

people

who

was

suspected

ofdisloyalty

were

blacklisted.

In

part,

Truman’s

action

were

intend

to

deprive

tRepublicans

of

the

political

issue

of

communism

inAmerica.

Also

Truman

sought

public

support

for

hisanti-Soviet

foreign

policy

by

over-dramatizing

thdomestic

menace.

In

1950,

Congress

pass

the

McCarran

InternalSecurity

Act.

Communists

and

communist-frontorganizations

had

to

register

with

the

US

Attorney-General(司法部).

By

1951,

some

2500

alleged

security

risks

weredismissed

from

federal

employment

without

dueprocess,

but

no

espionage

was

uncovered.McCarthyism

The

Red

Scare

became

ahunt

for

communists

,known

as“McCarthyism”

named

forJoseph

McCarthyism,

a

juniorsenator.

He

began

his

crusade

in1950

with

a

list

of

205

people

hebelieved

were

communists.

Theelection

of

1954

endedMcCarthyism.

Unfortunately,

thecost

was

high.

Section

of

thegovernment

had

beendemoralized,

and

individual

livesand

careers

had

been

destroyed.John

Kennedy

and

the

Cuban

missileCrisis

John

Kennedy

was

elected

president

in1961.With

the

hope

to

increase

America’sinfluence

in

the

world.

He

continued

thecontainment

policy

and

the

foreign

aidprogram.

In

April,

1961

Kennedy

launched

an

abortiveinvasion

of

Cuba

to

overthrow

the

pro-Communist

Field

Castro

by

Cuba

forces

thathad

been

secretly

trained

and

supplied

bythe

US.

In

1962,

the

Soviet

installed

ballistic

missile(弹道导弹)in

Cuba,

which

was

capable

ofattacking

America.

At

once,

Kennedy

ordered

anaval

quarantine(海军封锁)of

Cuba

toprevent

the

Soviet’s

delivering

additionalmissile.

Finally

the

Soviet

agreed

to

dismantleits

missile

bases

and

to

withdraw

its

troopsfrom

Cuba.The

Vietnam

War

In

1954,

the

French

colonist

weredefeated

by

the

Vietnam

communistforces

despite

the

substantial

andeconomic

aid

from

America.

Encouraged

by

the

containment

policyand

domino

theory,

Kennedy

covertlyand

overtly

increased

the

Americanmilitary

presence

in

Vietnam.

AfterKennedy’s

assassination,

presidentJohnson

sent

more

than

500,000soldiers

to

Vietnam

and

orderedsustained

US

bombing

of

North

Vietnam,which

destroyed

much

of

thetransportation

system

and

industrialcapacity

of

North

Vietnam.

When

Richard

Nixon

became

president,

he

decided

to

end

the

war

through

a

policy

called“Vietnamization”.

It

meant

the

gradual

replacemeof

American

troops

by

Vietnamese

troops.

By

1972,the

American

ground

forces

reduced

to

fewer

than70,000.

The

consequence

of

the

war

were

not

only

thedomestic

economy.

It

had

adverse

effects

for

theUS

as

well.

While

the

US

devoted

billions

of

dollarannually

to

military,

the

Japanese

economy,

basedon

a

small

military

investment,

developed

at

anunprecedented

rate、invaded

the

US

domesticmarkets

and

undercut

US

abroad.Richard

Nixon

and

Detente

After

getting

out

of

theVietnam

War,

Nixonsearched

a

better-focusedforeign

policy,

a

balance-of-power

diplomacy

byreducing

tensions

betweenthe

US

and

the

two

majorcommunist

nations:

Chinaand

the

Soviet.

In

February

1972,

Nixonvisited

China

and

met

withMao

Zedong

and

PremierZhou

Enlai,

which

led

to

theestablishment

of

diplomaticrelations

between

China

andthe

Soviet

in

1979.

Also

in

May

1972,

Nixon

visited

the

Soviet

toconsult

with

Soviet

leaders

in

Moscow

abouttrade,

cooperative

space

programs,

culturalexchanges

and

other

areas

of

mutual

intertes

Nixon’s

actions

were

significant

because

thworld

had

changed

since

WWⅡ.

Heacknowledge

the

existence

of

several

powerof

blocks,

the

limits

of

America

power,

andthe

need

for

America

to

find

ways

to

coexistwithin

these

political

realities.The

Cold

War

PeriodDomestic

IssuesThe

Civil

Rights

MovementWomen’s

RightsYouth

CultureProgressives

in

the

White

HouseThe

Watergate

ScandalStagflationThe

Reagan

RevolutionDomestic

IssuesThe

Civil

Rights

MovementFor

many

years,

white

people

usedthe

doctrine

of

“separate

but

equal”to

justify

racial

segregation.

But

thesocial

device

of

Blacks

were

poorlyfund

supported.

Black

Americans

developed

newstrategies

in

their

fight

for

equality,such

as

legal

challenges

to

existinglaws

and

organized

protest.

In

1955,

the

Montgomery

bus

boycott,which

caused

by

a

black

woman’srefusing

to

yield

seats

to

whitepassengers,

marked

the

beginning

ofthe

Civil

Rights

Movement,

whichdominated

domestic

politics.

SNCC(The

Student

Non-violentCoordinating

Committee)cooperatedwith

Martin

Luther

King’sSCLC(Southern

Christian

LeadershipConference)

in

kinds

of

non-violentdisobedience

activities.

Theiractivities

gained

widespread

publicacceptance.

On

August

28

1963,

Martin

LutherKing

led

250,000

people,

both

Blacks

and

Whites,

gathered

downthe

Mall

in

Washington.

Standing

infront

of

Abraham

Lincoln’s

statue,King

delivered

one

of

thememorable

speeches

of

thecentury

entitled,

“I

Have

ADream”.

In

1964,

Congress

passed

the

first

series

of

CivilRights

Acts(民权法案),which

marked

the

success

ofthe

movement.

The

law

protested

the

voting

rights

and

increasedthe

educational

opportunities

of

minority

people.also

stated

that

no

federal

money

would

be

givento

any

business,

employers

or

labor

union,

whichdiscriminated

against

people

because

of

their

raceethnicity,

religion,

gender,

age,

disability

or

natorigin.

The

Equal

Employment

Opportunity

Commissionwas

established

to

enforce

fair

labor

practice.

In

general,

the

economic

gap

between

many

Blacksand

Whites

decreased

but

persisted,

and

cityghettoes

remained

intact.Woman’s

Rights

The

success

ofthe

BlackMovement

encouraged

activitiesto

renew

the

struggle

forequality

for

woman.

Thegroundwork

had

been

laid

duringWWⅡ

when

woman

worked

inthe

factories

while

man

foughtoversea.

They

were

united

by

aset

of

demands

,

particularly

foran

end

to

job

and

wagediscrimination,

liberalization

ofabortion

laws,

and

state

supportfor

child-care

centers.

The

Civil

Rights

Acts

prohibited

genderdiscrimination,and

these

laws

were

upheby

the

US

Supreme

Court.Under

TitleⅣothe

Educational

Amendment

Act(教育修正

案)colleges

were

required

to

ensure

equopportunities

for

woman.

Woman’s

growing

presence

in

labor

forceassured

them

of

a

greater

share

ofeconomic

political

influence.

During

the1970’s

over

half

the

married

woman

and90%of

the

female

college

graduates

wereemployed

outside

the

home.Youth

Culture

Alienated

by

the

Vietnam

War,

racism,politics

and

technologies,

young

peoplegrew

disillusioned

with

the

government

and

other

institutions

representing

thestatus

quo.

A

growing

feeling

emergedthat

something

was

fundamentally

wrong,not

just

with

the

political

system,

but

theentire

structure

of

American

life

andvalue.

By

the

mid

1960’s

there

was

a

fullfledged

youth

revolt

on

collage

campusesacross

the

country.

The

movement

wasknown

as

“the

New

Life”,

and

someparticipants

were

called“Hippies”.(嬉皮士)

Students

for

a

Democratic

pursued

the

ideal

ofparticipatory

democracy

and

inspired

manycollage

students

to

take

political

action.

Theygained

national

attention

when

theydemonstrated

in

support

of

the

Civil

RightsMovement

and

against

the

Vietnam

War.

After

the

assassination

of

Martin

Luther

King

,strike

led

by

the

SDS

forced

the

temporaryclosing

of

Columbia

University.

In

1969,

Black

youths

with

guns

intimidated

theCornell

University

administration

into

makingconcession.

Other

young

people

,

especiallydisillusioned,

affluent

Whites,

adoptedthe

life

style

of

the

Counterculturefor

non-political

reasons.

Long

hair,blue

jeans,

tied-

dyed

shirts,

sandals,mind-altering

drugs,

rock

music,

andcooperative

living

arrangement,

whichshocked

their

parents

were

moreimportant

than

revolutionary

ideology.But

the

majority

of

the

Youth

wereas

traditional

as

their

parents.

Even

onthe

most

politicalized

campuses

theNew

Left

and

the

Countercultureappealed

to

a

minority

of

students.These

two

students

movements

hada

lasting

impact

on

American

attitudetowards

sex,

marriage,

work,

leisure,education,

and

war.Progressive

in

the

White

HouseJohn

Kennedy

When

John

Kennedybecame

president,

hebecame

a

symbol

of

youth,vigor,

intelligence,

wit,

andreform.

He

gave

hope

tothe

young

and

thedisadvantaged

as

he

boldlyspoke

of

the

moving

thecountry

forward.

He

supported

civil

rightsand

a

substantial

cut

infederal

income

taxes.o

He

advocated

medical

for

theaged,

federal

aid

to

education,and

the

creation

of

theDepartment

of

Urban

Affairs

timprove

life.

Unfortunately

,

he

wasassassinated

before

he

couldcomplete

his

agenda.

And

hewas

regarded

by

manyAmerican

as

a

martyr

and

asaint.Lyndon

Johnson

After

Kennedy’s

assassination,

VicePresident

Lyndon

Johnson

becamepresident.

He

was

a

very

cleverpolitician

who

had

spent

yeas

inCongress

and

know

how

to

winvotes

forhis

program.

He

called

his

administration

“theGreat

Society”

and

the

result

was

aflood

of

new

laws,

such

as:

the

CivilRights

Act,

tax

reduction,

a

foodstamp

for

needy

families

etc.

Despite

his

remarked

domesticrecord,

Johnson

were

stymied

by

theVietnam

War.

Since

that

he

decidednot

to

run

for

a

second

term,

andRichard

Nixon

was

elected

president.The

Watergate

Scandal

In

1972,

Nixon

approved

of

aplan

to

burglarized

theDNC’s

office(民主党全国委员会总部)in

order

to

find

out

ifTed

Kennedy,

the

youngestbrother

of

John

Kennedy,would

un

for

presidency,

aswell

as

other

campaign.

Later,

it

was

fond

that

the

fiveburglars

who

had

been

caughthad

connection

with

Nixon.

From

the

start,

Nixon

used

his

presidentialpowers

to

block

the

Watergate

investment.Most

alarmingly,

it

was

discovered

that

theburglary

was

only

one

small

part

of

a

largepattern

of

corrupt

and

criminality

sanctioneby

Nixon.

When

it

was

apparent

that

Congress

would

use

its

constitutional

impeachment

powers

toremove

him

from

office

for

“high

crimes

andmisdemeanors”,

Nixon

resigned

in

1974.

The

scandal

demonstrated

that

no

citizen

isabove

the

Constitution,

including

the

presideAlso

the

American

became

interested

in

thepersonal

life

of

the

president.

No

Americanpresident

or

his

family

could

escape

thescrutiny

of

the

mass

media

and

the

public.The

Stagflation

Because

of

the

Vietnam

Warand

the

America’s

loss

oftechnological

superiority,American

economy

underwenta

unorthodox

combination

ofstagflation,

recession

andinflation

between

the

late1960’s

and

the

early1970’s.

In

1973,

the

sharp

rise

ofpetroleum

price

executed

byOPEC

aggravated

the

economyrecession.

In

1970,

the

GNP

declined,

and

in

1971American

imports

exceeded

exports.

Inflation

increased

in

1973-1974,

aggravby

the

large

deficit

in

foreign

trade

caby

importing

petroleum.

By

1979,

annual

inflation

was

more

than13%,

and

unemployment

hovered

over

7%.

Although

Presidents

Nixon,

Ford

and

Carttried

various

ways

to

remediate

stagflatnone

of

them

was

successful.The

Reagan

RevolutionEconomy

Reagan

presided

a

peaceful

America.

He

possessed

a

traditional

of

the

roleof

the

government,

as

PresidentJefferson

said:

“The

government

thatgoverns

best

governs

least.”

He

limited

the

sized

of

thegovernment

and,

by

reducing

incometax,

allowed

people

to

spend

andinvest

more

of

their

money.

To

compensate

for

this

loss

ofrevenue,

Reagan

government

reducedfunding

for

education,

social

service,and

scientific

research.

Since

the

military

spendingincreased

sharply,

thegovernment

still

did

not

haveenough

money

and

borrowedheavily.

Under

Reagan,

the

Americannational

debt

increased

from907.7

billion

dollars

in

1980

to2,857

billion

dollars

in

1989.Reagan’s

Foreign

PolicyReagan’s

foreign

policy

,based

on

his

monolithic

woview,

brought

the

US

into

a

new

Cold

War

era.

TheReagan

administration

centered

its

anti-communistcrusade

in

Latin

America

because

the

US

fearedrevolutionary

anarchy

in

the

region.

During

the

end

of

his

presidency,

Reagan

abruptlychanged

his

foreign

policy

and

move

toward

détente.In

1987,

the

Reagan

government

signed

a

major

arms-control

treaty

with

the

Soviet

Union

aiming

to

reducethe

number

of

their

intermediate-range

missile

force•This

thaw

was

a

result

of

many

factors.

Both

countrieneeded

to

solve

urgent

domestic

problem.Moreover,they

acknowledged

the

world

was

not

bipolar

withthe

Pacific

Rim

areas(环太平洋地区)and

the

EuropeanUnion.The

Cold

War

was

over.The

Persian

Gulf

War

In

1990,

Iraqi

forces

occupied

andannexed

Kuwait.

Nearly

the

entireglobal

community

moved

to

drivethe

Iraqi

from

Kuwait.

Out

of

vital

interest

of

the

US

inthe

Middle

East,

President

GeorgeBush

forged

an

internationalcoalition

under

the

auspices

of

theUN

to

force

Iraqi

force

to

withdrawfrom

Kuwait.

The

involvement

in

the

turbulentpolitics

of

the

Middle

East

after

theCold

War

is

a

example

to

showthat

America

will

continue

to

useits

activities

not

to

fight

communismbut

to

defend

its

economic

interest.Modern

TimesBill

Clinton(1992-2000)George

W.

Bush(2001-2009)Barack

Hussein

Obama(2009-

)Bill

Clinton(1992-2000)

In

the

early

1990’s,

the

US

nationaldebt

was

the

highest

in

the

Americanhistory

due

to

a

combination

offactors

including

the

“War

onPoverty”,

the

Reagan

tax

cut,

and

theCold

War

containment

policy.

To

payfor

the

debt,

the

US

issued

bonds

andborrowed

from

commercial

bank,foreign

investor

and

the

Social

Security

.

When

George

Bush

run

for

a

secondpresidential

term

in1992,

based

on

hispopularity

generated

by

the

victory

inthe

Gulf

War,

he

was

opposed

by

BillClinton,

a

democrat

which

focused

onthe

domestic

economy

rather

thanforeign

policy.

Clinton

capitalized

on

the

voters’dissatisfaction

and

promised

to

balancebudget.

Inupsetvictoryhebecamepresident

and

was

elected

for

a

secondterm

in

1996.

Economy:

During

his

presidency,

both

thenational

unemployment

and

the

inflationwere

low,

which

was

contrary

to

a

historibelief

that

when

unemployment

was

high,inflation

was

low,

andwhenunemploymentwaslow,

inflation

was

high.

The

strong

economy

was

a

result

of

manyfactors.

The

Federal

Reserve(美联储)closelycontrolled

interest

rates.

Clinton’sSecretaryoftheTreasury(财长),Robert

Rubin,was

a

Wall

Streetfinancier

who

had

excellent

business

ski

The

Congress

passed

legislation

whichempowered

thestatestoassumeresponsibilities,

including

welfare

forbelow

thepovertylevel.

Additionally,

foreign

and

domestic

invespoured

large

sums

of

moneyintoAmerican

business.

Basically,

Clinton

agreed

with

Congress“The

era

of

big

government

was

over”.

Another

reason

was

the

expending

globaleconomy,

which

offered

lots

ofopportunities

for

American

business.American

business

often

invested

indeveloping

countries

where

labor

wascheaper

and

tax

was

lower.

As

a

result,

tUS

became

the

largest

producer

and

selleof

goods

in

the

world

market.

The

Foreign

Policy:

The

foreignpolicy

of

Clinton

government

wascaution

and

tentative,

partly

due

tothe

rapidly

changing

character

ofthe

world

order.

Clinton

presided

over

a

historicagreement

between

Israel

andPalestinian

Liberation

Organizationto

end

their

long

struggle

overlands.

Clinton

government

reached

anagreement

with

Ukraine

for

anelimination

of

the

nuclear

weapons.

In

1994,

he

agreed

to

NATO

airstrikes

and

other

military

actionsagainst

the

aggressors

in

Yugoslavia.George

W.

Bush(2001-2009)

In

2000,

Bush

received

thesupport

of

the

Christian

rightand

won

the

election

becausehe

had

more

electoral

collegevotes

than

his

opponent

Al

Gore.

Bush

kept

his

promises

to

theChristian

right.

He

supported

the

Faith-Basedand

Community

Initiative.

He

opposed

scientific

researchwith

embyro

stem

cells(胚胎干细胞）.

He

cut

off

the

aid

to

the

United

NationsPopulation

Fund

because

it

support

birthcontrol

andabortion.

He

also

refused

to

abide

by

theInternational

Kyoto

Protocol

and

theNuclear

limitation

Treaty.

He

sponsored

major

tax

cuts

that

favoredthe

wealthy

He

did

sponsor

the

No

Child

left

Behindattempt

improve

elementary

andsecondary

education.9-11yn

On

September

11,

2001

Al-Qaeda

terrorists

seizedcontrol

four

airplanes.

Thecrashed

the

World

tradecenter

towers

and

thePentagon.

3,000

people

waskilled.

Bush

responded

by

declaringwar

on

terrorism.

After

theAfghan

refused

to

arrest

to