Unit 8, 12/13/12
History 1700-073
Describe the
Truman Administrations approach to containing communism. How did
this approach result in American involvement in Vietnam?
During
the Cold War, which lasted 45 years, 2 competing ideas were fighting
for control and influence over the world. Capitalism with North
America at the forefront, is an
economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry
are controlled by private
owners
for profit.
Communism, largely cultivated by the Soviet Union is a totalitarian
government in which it controls the economy, social systems and land.
It is led by a single political party, not tolerable towards
differing views.
Around 1947 there was a fear that communism would spread like a
contagion and that Nuclear weaponry (successfully tested by Soviets
in 1949) would get in the wrong hands. The Truman Administration
asks congress for 400 million in aid. The money was distributed
between Greece and Turkey to help them build a capitalist structure.
Truman expressed that it is the United States responsibility to
protect the freedom of all people and countries who can't defend
themselves.
The United States, an ally to South Vietnam, became involved as it
was fighting communism in Northern Vietnam. This was part of the
United States strategy towards containing communism. They feared
that if communism took Vietnam then many other countries (Laos,
Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines)would be doomed as well.
(Film-The Cold War: Truman & Vietnam)
Identify and
explain some of the “acts of personal courage” by African
Americans in their struggle for “civil rights”. Did these acts
accomplish anything? Discuss with support/evidence from all of the
film segments shown.
In rural Money,
Mississippi, a teenage, African American boy was visiting family from
out of town. Being unfamiliar with the South's customs towards
segregation, a small breach would cause a great rumble.
This breach
occurred when Emmett spoke to a white women who served him in a
convenient store. As he left the store he said to the woman “Bye,
baby”. In a short moment, men who were relatives of the woman
Emmett spoke to were knocking on his Uncle Mose Wright's door, asking
for the boy who “talked fresh” the white women. Later on
Emmett's body was found in a river almost unidentifiable due to the
severe beating he had taken.
The boy's Uncle
Mose Wright and his mother from Chicago chose to press charges
against the 2 men who killed him. They knew that winning would be
unlikely due to their color but decided to stir up a storm anyhow.
The men were charged with the murder and would stand trial and it
became a great danger for Emmett Till's family in the months to come
as there was great opposition towards them. They mostly stayed in
hiding under witness protection programs through the government.
Even though
Emmett's Murder had national recognition and support and made the
cover of Time Magazine, his family was not able to convict the two
men accused of his murder. They were found innocent and later payed
off to tell the story of the murder that they indeed did commit.
The acts of
personal courage shown in Emmett’s family when they chose to go
against the white men in trial. They felt that the trial would not
be in their favor due to the nature but pushed forward with it
anyhow. Their experience spoke to many people in the country and
showed proof that Civil Rights still did not exist for the black man
in the South by extreme segregation and violent outbursts of white
citizens against African Americans. It challenged government
superiors in giving a fair trial to African Americans (even though
the outcome of Emmett's murder trial was still unfavorable). The
trial would give courage to other Black people to pursue trials
against the White. (Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years.
The Murder of Emmett Till).
Another instance
that showed personal courage among African Americans took place in
Little Rock, Arkansas and was a rather historic moment in U.S.
History. In 1957, the first African Americans would attend a white
school in the south. They were the Little Rock Nine.
The first day that
the Nine teens set out for school they would be met by a crowd in the
hundreds to thousands. Only a minority of this crowd may have
supported this movement. People screamed profane words, chucked
objects, spit, and threatened the lives of the teens if they went
inside that school. Mobs and fights broke out and the atmosphere
became too unstable for the safety of the nine teens. They would have
to retreat and try again another day. During this time, many people
spoke out that the governor of Little Rock was not doing enough to
protect these children. President Eisenhower was blamed for his lack
of support for Civil Rights. Eisenhower did respond with support by
send paratroopers who could protect the Little Rock Nine. Each teen
would have their own personal body guard through out their attendance
at the school. With much harm and harassment they succeeded and
reached graduation. (Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years.
The Little Rock Nine).
In the 1960's in
Nashville, Tennessee Activist Jim Lawson organized with students,
mostly black and some white supporters who he would teach philosophy,
techniques and resilience for challenging the publics support of
racism and segregation. He was mostly known for his organized
Sit-ins. The nature of the Sit-ins would be peaceful, quiet and
non-violent even if provoked, even if it meant going to jail and
receiving fines.
The Sit-ins would
usually occur in the section of a 'whites only' side of the bus, a
diner where only whites could stay and eat or a whites only theater-
anywhere segregated really. The point was to rile up the opposers
and spark new thought and action in observers. Most often these
silent protests would turn violent. It was most shocking to see an
enraged white man beating a non-reacting and docile black man and
that's what really hit home for a lot of folks.
While many Sit-ins
were occurring in over 69 cities in just over 2 months boycotting
also became an impactful tactic towards Equal rights. The national
boycott movement wherein black people were encouraged to stop
supporting local merchants, completely stop purchasing all goods,
attending movies, riding buses, etc., to put pressure on their local
government and merchants who supported segregation. This movement
showed that black customers did in fact impact the economy and did
contribute a great amount of money towards it's success, just as much
as a white person. This pressured many changes to end segregation.
(Ain't Scared of Your Jails).
