Professional Documents
Culture Documents
History Final Project
History Final Project
History Final Project
Lila S. Huff
Most Significant Events 2
There have been many events, in my view, that has had and continues to have a
significant impact on the social climate of its era as well as today; The Brown versus Board of
Education’s 1957 decision that overturned the doctrine of “separate but equal, The Civil Rights
Movement of the 1960’s, The Watergate Scandal of the 70’s, Reaganomics of the 1980’s, and
the change in political party sides of the 90’s. This composition will give an account of the
significant events of these eras, and the impacts that all Americans endured during these pivotal
The event of the 50’s which had a powerful impact on the American people in my view,
was the Brown versus Board of Education’s 1954 ruling, which overturned the “separate but
equal” doctrine of the1896 case of Plessy versus Fergurson. In light of the Brown versus Board
of Education’s 1954 decision, moods of the American people changed dramatically. While
Americans that believed in the “separate but equal” doctrine was outraged at such a ruling; while
African Americans tried to rejoice in the ruling, expected things to change in regard to equal
Federally enforced desegregation would now end a Southern and American way of life
(Woods, 2004). Upon the 1957 desegregation of Little Rock Central high school in Little Rock,
Arkansas, white southerners became offended by the appearances and aggressiveness of what
could change their way of living. The event sparked nationwide attention, while both white and
black Americans opposed the other’s views on how their futures should become.
The concerns of many white southerners in the 1950’s generally floated around the idea
that Southern segregationist and anti-communist were legally pursuing to expose and eliminate
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integrationist enemies. This led to what has been referred to as the Southern Red Scare, where
historian Ulrich B. Phillips wrote in his book, The Decadence of the Plantation System; “White
people’s resolve to keep the south a white’s man’s country, was the “central theme of Southern
American history has to include the African American; especially in the history of
America’s south. Slavery alone allows that right—point blank! Southern public schools
continued its plight in racial discrimination long after the Brown versus Board of Education’s
1957 ruling. Significantly enough, a six-year-old African American girl by the name of Ruby
Bridges, was the first to desegregate an all white public school in New Orleans, LA, in the year
Seeing the amount of racial inequality forced towards a young six-year-old child, led
many whites to begin to see just how humiliating racial discrimination truly was. This lead to
some white southerners taking steps towards seeing racial discrimination come to an end, as
noted by author Jason, Sokol, in his highly published book; There Goes My Everything: White
Southerners in the Age of Civil Rights (Sokol, 2006). With both black and white activist
fighting for equal rights of all citizens of America, we then began to move into what became
The Civil Rights era can be known as the times when racial hatred alone just was not
enough. The beatings, assassinations, lynching’s, and almost any horrible thing one could muster
up was being permitted under the law; most of the times by politicians, lawmakers, policemen,
sheriffs, and everyday people whom hated African Americans or any other group considered in
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the minority. Many while Americans that carried out such atrocities many times never went
This was the time of the Civil Rights Movement led by a young preacher, prominent
leader in the civil rights movement, and clergyman, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Civil Rights
movement was met with much opposition on the political side of the spectrum. Then President
Hoover suggested that the movement was a threat to American democracy (Simkin, 1988).
established himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. History. Through civil disobedience,
and non-violent means, the Civil Rights Movement began slowly to make progress. In December
1961, King and several other civil rights activists planned a movement in Albany, Alabama.
Thousands turned out for a broad-front non-violent attack on every aspect of racial segregation
The Civil Rights Movement’s march on Washington may be one of the more memorable
moments of the movement. There were specific demands to end racial segregation and
discrimination in public schools; employment, protection of civil rights workers from police
brutality as well as civil rights legislature. Dr. King’s legacy for equal rights for all citizens has
Many things changed after the Civil Rights movement hit its milestone. Politics,
education, and counterculture movements forced a new way of seeing things in America. All this
may have even put a damper on the political arena. Scandals such as Watergate gained
significant attention in the 70’s. At a time when things seemed to have been changing for the
better, these movements brought in a new light in regard to the political arena. We began to see
If the 60’s was a time of positive change in America’s social and political makeup, the
70’s and Watergate changed that notion tremendously. Nixon and many senior officers involved
in Watergate were all lawyers, which severely tarnished the public’s image of the legal
profession. Watergate is only a general term for a series of political scandals. Watergate began
with the arrest of five men who broke into the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters in
Washington D.C., in 1972, and stole pertinent information that the Democrats were using in their
campaign against Nixon. Nixon would not acknowledge his having any involvement in such a
federal crime.
were not ideal to how Americans thought a president should behave. This was also the first time
an American President, “in fact” resigned from office; although, the resignation came from
forces within the political arena that were planning to impeach Nixon. Nixon and his abuses of
In the 70’s before Congress first passed (FOIA), laws did not include investigatory files
for the purpose of law enforcement; therefore a scandal such as Watergate could slip through the
cracks, unnoticed and untouched. Until the Watergate scandal, the public had admirable respect
for government agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA). After Watergate, Americans a sense of distrust influenced citizens to
begin having an increasingly prevalent attitude towards those in these respectable positions.
The Watergate scandal was enough to begin greatly broadening access to federal files—
including those of law enforcement, intelligence, and security agencies. FOIA became known as
Freedom of Information-Privacy Act (FOIPA) which requested that all agencies respond to any
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request for information; on the federal or state level. Government became scrutinized on all
levels. The 80’s were sure to bring in new change from old corrupt politics. Only this time with
a twist of what was old and what was soon to become the new American order--Reaganomics.
Reagan, True Conservatism, and the American People: Decade of Corporate Greed
America had come such a long way in making equal rights, a promise for all its citizens;
and diversifying a nation in which everyone could call home. Not since slavery had America
witnessed such corporate greed as it would, during the conservative years of Ronald Reagan’s
presidency. In the 1980’s American’s, for the first time, had began to move towards economic,
social, and hopeful promise, within its political sector. No one could have even imagined how far
back Reaganomics would put a nation, until Reaganomics came in with full steam ahead.
Many Americans lost their jobs, were unable to find new work, and social welfare
programs were now unavailable; especially to the poor. Swift tax cuts for the rich, and less
productivity in poor communities, left Americans in shingles. Reagan’s plan worked for the
richest and most proficient Americans, not minorities who, in fact, helped to build this nation.
Reagan reduced income taxes, with the largest rate reductions on the higher incomes. He raised
deficit spending to its highest level since WWII. Name it, Reaganomics was its main cause.
America’s social makeup was in disarray, and the left winger’s despised him for these
difficult times, which his economic policies put before the people. Social welfare was surely
under capitalist rule, as was the American unemployment rate. Reaganomics did more to destroy
There was one thing Reaganomics did for Americans: taught them what some politician’s
may say and what he or she will do is not always the same thing. Reaganomics was about getting
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gains for those whom already reaped many benefits before. Reaganomics was about keeping the
prosperous content, at the expense of the poor. Reagan and his Reaganomics were devoted to
putting and keeping a happy and smiling face while taking away from the poor. His policies left
a climate in concern. After George Bush Sr. served his first term, he lost the second election to a
In his first year in office, Clinton won passage of a national service program and of tax
increases and spending cuts to reduce the federal deficit. His proposals brought major changes to
the United States health-care system which before, did not provide health-care coverage to many
Americans. Although Clinton was unable to overcome the widespread opposition to his new
plan, his wife; then first lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, played a more prominent role in re-
vamping the health-care system (Pearson Education, 2008). Many times, radically conservative
Republicans often pointed out Clinton’s faults for wavering on issues; as they normally differed
In 1995 and 1996, Clinton’s budget and deficit-reduction priorities collided with
congressional Republicans, causing a shut down between the two parties. Clinton, perceiving
himself the winner of those conflicts, was still favored heavily with the American public.
Although there were setbacks in the late 1990’s on foreign policies, Clinton continued to push
for peace in the Middle East, as he benefited from a strong economy for most of his entire two
terms.
setbacks (Encyclopedia, 2003). He had a natural ability to connect with the public through his
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intelligence and wit. His abilities as a rhetorical device in reference to the media went without a
doubt. Even though he went through several legal battles during the end of his term, and unlikely
impeachment, he fought against every odd to continue the United States respective place as an
America holds a status quo in the world as an economic powerhouse. With the recent
changes we see in American politics, the next 10 years should be matched with social, economic,
and political excellence. We can only wish this to be true, as in past decades we have witnessed
what corruption in politics leads to. Leadership, in my view, is what makes change effective.
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References
Bridges, R. (2003) Through My Eyes: Desegregation in the U.S. Public School System.
Pearson Education (2008) Clinton and the 90’s. Retrieved December 12, 2008 from
website: http://www.pearsoned.com/pr_2008/index.htm
Sokol, J (2006) There Goes My Everything: White Southerner’s in the Age of Civil
Simpkin, J (1988) The Vietnam War: Turbulent times. Retrieved December 10, 2008
Ulrich, U. B. (1910) the Decadence of the Plantation System: Life and Labor in the Old
South. (pp. 219-223) Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press Books.
Woods, J. (2004). Black Struggle, Red Scare: Segregation and Anti-Communism in the