Georgia and the American Experience
Chapter 12: Baby Boomers,
Rebellion, and Wars
Study Presentation
©2005 Clairmont Press
Georgia and the American Experience
Section 1: The Postwar PeriodSection 2: Georgia After WWIISection 3: The Civil Rights
MovementSection 4: A Period of Protests and
Challenges
©2005 Clairmont Press
Section 1: The Postwar Period
• ESSENTIAL QUESTION:– How was life in the U.S. different
after WWII?
Section 1: The Postwar Period
• What words do I need to know?– suburbs– baby boom– Cold War– Korean War
Television Changes America• Television use expanded in the 1950s• Frozen dinners were invented to heat
quickly and eat in front of the TV• More televisions were in homes and
people spent more time watching• ABC, CBS, NBC were major networks• Entertainment was important• People could now watch news events
almost as they happened
The Cold War• Relations between the US and USSR
became tense• Cold War: a war of words and diplomacy• US and USSR were world’s most powerful
countries• USSR kept eastern Europe in communism
behind the “iron curtain”• Containment of communism led to war in
Korea and Vietnam
The Korean War• Korea was divided after WWII• 38th parallel was line between communist North
and democratic South• June 25, 1950: North Korea invaded South
Korea• United Nations countries sent troops to assist
South Korea• 25,000 Americans killed; 500 Georgians• Peace declared in July 1953; no winner• Many businesses benefited from doing business
with the military bases and armed forcesClick to return to Table of Contents.
Section 2:Georgia After WWII
• ESSENTIAL QUESTION:–What events affected Georgians
after World War II?
Section 2:Georgia After WWII
• What words do I need to know?– National School Lunch Act– Georgia Minimum Foundation Program for
Education Act– one-person, one-vote concept– reapportionment
An Atlanta Tragedy
• December 7, 1946: Winecoff Hotel fire• Hotel was Atlanta’s tallest at 15 floors• There were nearly 300 guests; 119 killed• 1948: Georgia enacted stricter fire codes for
hotels and other businesses
Industries Move into Georgia
• Businesses continued to move into the state• Air conditioning began to be installed
making year round work more comfortable• Georgia’s low taxes were attractive to
workers and businesses• Lockheed became largest employer• CDC: Centers for Disease Control – Atlanta
headquarters established
The Three Governors Episode
• Newly re-elected governor Eugene Talmadge died before taking office
• The previous governor, Ellis Arnall, the Lieutenant Governor, and Talmadge’s son, Herman, fought over who would govern
• The Georgia Supreme Court ruled that a special election must be held
• Herman Talmadge was elected
Georgia Governors• Melvin Thomas: purchased Jekyll Island to
build a state-owned resort; established UGA Veterinary School
• Herman Talmadge: Minimum Foundation Program for Education Act – established 9-month school year raised standards for schools
• Marvin Griffin: began educational television; oversaw purchase of Stone Mountain for park
“One Person, One Vote”
• The concept that each citizen’s vote should equal every other citizen’s vote
• County-unit system was declared unconstitutional in 1962
• This change caused more representatives to come from urban areas
• General Assembly had to reapportion (redraw) voting districts to ensure districts of equal population size
Georgia Governors• Carl Sanders: elected in 1962; worked to
diffuse racial violence; increased spending on education; used television ads to campaign
• Lester Maddox: elected 1967; surprise winner; appointed more African Americans to state office than all other governors combined; integrated the State Patrol; “People’s Days” – any Georgian could visit and talk with the governor
Click to return to Table of Contents.
Section 3: The Civil Rights
Movement• ESSENTIAL QUESTION
– What advances were made in civil rights during the postwar period?
Section 3: The Civil Rights
Movement• What words do I need to know?
– Brown v. Board of Education– Southern Christian Leadership Conference– Sit-in– Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee– Civil Rights Act of 1964– Voting Rights Act of 1965
Section 3: The Civil Rights
Movement• What people do I need to know?
– Martin Luther King, Jr.– Charlayne Hunter & Hamilton Holmes– Ivan Allen– Andrew Young
The Supreme Court and Education
• 1948: racial integration ordered in armed forces
• 1950: Brown v. Board of Education – case struck down “separate but equal” concept; schools were to be integrated
• Sibley Commission: found that most Georgians would rather close schools than integrate
• More private schools opened• 1961: Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes
first African American students at UGA • 1971: All Georgia public schools integrated
Montgomery Bus Boycott
• Dec. 1, 1955: Rosa Parks, African American, refused to give up her bus seat to whites in Montgomery, AL
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the NAACP organized civic leaders and prepared marches
• Supreme court ruled segregation on public transportation unconstitutional
A Nonviolent Movement is Born
• Martin Luther King, Jr. of Atlanta • Developed a nonviolent approach to social
change• Four-prong approach:
– direct, nonviolent actions– legal remedies– ballots– economic boycotts
• SCLC: Southern Christian Leadership Conference – civil rights group led by Dr. King
• Sit-in: Dr. King’s strategy to people refuse to leave a public building until their demands are met
The Albany Movement• 1961: Albany, GA becomes center of civil
rights activity• SNCC: Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee – challenged segregated bus system in Albany
• Nearly 500 people jailed• Biracial committee formed to study
concerns of African Americans
Protests Move to Alabama• 1963: Martin Luther King, Jr. begins work to
integrate all aspects of public life in Birmingham, AL
• Over 3000 people arrested• Bomb killed 4 black children in their church• African Americans and whites from the
north and south began to join together to stop the violence
The Civil Rights Act• President Kennedy created new civil rights
laws• Kennedy was assassinated before the new
laws came into effect• Lyndon Johnson became president and
pushed for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• All public facilities had to be integrated• Discrimination was prohibited in business
and labor unions
The Voting Rights Act• 1964: Freedom Summer – Martin Luther
King, Jr. and SNCC worked to get African Americans registered to vote
• Selma-to-Montgomery, AL march led by Dr. King
• Nearly 30,000 marchers • Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of
1965 – one million African Americans were registered to vote
A Shift in Mood• Some people moved from the nonviolent
strategies to more aggressive ones• SNCC and “Black Panthers” confronted
police• Malcolm X preached black separatism• Race riots in Los Angeles, Detroit, and
Newark• April 1968: Dr. King assassinated in
Memphis, TN while working with striking sanitation workers
Atlanta: A Case Study in Change
• Integration in Atlanta was relatively peaceful• Church leaders get much credit for this peaceful
change• William Hartsfield: Atlanta mayor who expanded
Atlanta’s airport and worked with African American and white leaders; worked to integrate Atlanta’s schools
• Ivan Allen: Atlanta mayor ordered removal of “white” and “colored” segregation signs in the City Hall; integrated police and fire services and city government
• Troubled times followed but were overcome• The city became known as “the city too busy to
hate” Click to return to Table of Contents.
Section 4: A Period of Protests and Challenges
• ESSENTIAL QUESTION– What problems faced Americans
during the 1970s?
Section 4: A Period of Protests and Challenges• What words do I need to know?
– Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority– women’s rights movement– affirmative action program– National Organization for Women– National Women’s Political Caucus– Equal Rights Amendment– Title IX– Vietnam War– Watergate
Georgia in the 1970s• Ted Turner: TBS television network expanded
from one station to a national network• MARTA: Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit
Authority – began rapid rail service in Atlanta• James Earl Carter: 1970 – elected governor of
Georgia; 1977-1980 served as President of the United States– As president, negotiated peace between Israel and
Egypt– Problems as president: high energy costs, high interest
rates, high inflation, 52 American hostages held in Iran• Georgia cities began to lose population to the
suburbs• Cities have worked to attract residents
The Women’s Rights Movement
• Women’s Rights Movement: women gained confidence that they could do the same jobs as men and should have the same rights
• Women often could not get credit at banks • NOW: National Organization for Women –
promoted women’s rights issues• ERA: Equal Rights Amendment – never became
part of the Constitution• 1972: Title IX – President Nixon signed law which
prohibited discrimination in education (academics or athletics)
Vietnam Divides America• North Vietnam: communist• South Vietnam: democratic• USA began support South Vietnam against
the North• 1968: Over 500,000 Americans involved in
Vietnam War• Protests against the war increased• 1973: war ended with no clear victor –
Vietnam is now united and communist
Watergate
• 1972: Group of men arrested for breaking into the Watergate building in Washington, DC to “bug” Democratic National Committee offices
• Evidence supported that President Nixon knew of the burglary and tried to cover it up
• Nixon resigned and Vice-President Gerald Ford became president
The Energy Crisis
• 1973: US supports Israel in its war with Egypt
• Arab nations stop selling oil to the US• Price of gas went up and there were
shortages• Georgians began to drive less and purchase
fuel-efficient cars• Prudhoe Bay, Alaska: Alaskan Pipeline
brought oil to the “lower 48” statesClick to return to Table of Contents.
Click to return to Table of Contents.
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