Transcript Contemporary US History - Suffolk Public Schools Blog

Contemporary US History
Mrs. Saunders
Contemporary US History
American society has undergone
important changes during the last fifty
years. Three causes of these social
and cultural changes have been:
1) the expanded role of women in
the workplace;
2) the influence of new immigrant
groups, particularly Asians and Latin
Americans; and
3) the impact of the technology
revolution.
Role of Women
In 1963 Betty Friedan
published The Feminine
Mystique. This book examined
the isolation, boredom, and
lack of fulfillment felt by many
American housewives. Friedan
argued that women required
opportunities for personal
achievement in addition to
those provided by marriage and
motherhood. Many women
began to seek such personal
satisfaction in the workplace.
Role of Women
In 1966 Friedan helped found the National
Organization for Women (NOW), an
organization dedicated to gaining equality
for women in American society. The
modern women’s movement had begun.
Role of Women
As a result of the modern women’s movement,
women have made up an increasingly large
percentage of America’s labor force.
1960 = 32% of the American work force.
1994 = 46%.
1960 = 35% working outside the home.
1990 = 60%
By the end of the 1970s many American women
were working in nontraditional jobs. Of course,
women in the workplace have faced discrimination,
because of their sex. Since the 1964 Civil Rights
Act prohibited sex discrimination by employers,
American women could seek relief from job
discrimination in federal court. The federal courts
have consistently protected employment
opportunities for American women by citing not
only the 1964 Civil Rights Act, but also the equal
protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
Two outstanding examples of
Women taking non-traditional
roles were Sandra Day
O’Connor and Sally Ride. In
1981 President Ronald Reagan
appointed Sandra Day O’Connor
the first woman to the Supreme
Court.
Two years later Sally
Ride, who was the first
female astronaut in the
United States, became
the first American
woman in space.
Role of Women
Nevertheless, American women still
suffer discrimination because of their
sex. Four problems with which
American women must deal are:
1)the need for affordable day care;
2)equitable (fair, equal) pay;
3)the “pink collar” ghetto;
4)the “glass ceiling.”
Role of Women
The term “pink collar” ghetto refers to how
American women often receive only low prestige,
low paying jobs. For example, clerical jobs, which
are almost exclusively held by women, remain
relatively low paying.
The phrase “glass ceiling” refers to the perception
that career advancement for women is not equal to
that for men. For example, corporations often
promote women to middle management positions,
but few American women are CEOs (chief executive
officer) of major corporations.
Immigrants
New immigrant groups are a second
factor causing social and cultural
change in the United States in recent
decades. Since 1970 new and
increasing immigration to the United
States has been taking place from many
diverse (different) countries, especially
Asian and Latin American nations.
These contemporary immigrant groups
have increased American diversity and
redefined American identity.
Immigrants
Recent immigrants have come to America for the
same reasons as many of their predecessors.
Political Asylum: When Fidel Castro led his
successful communist revolution in Cuba in 1959,
thousands of Cubans fled to south Florida in search
of both political freedom and economic opportunity.
As the South Vietnamese government crumbled in
the mid-1970s, tens of thousands of Asian
immigrants also fled to the United States to gain
political freedom and economic opportunity.
Economic opportunity has served as the primary
reason why hundreds of thousands of Latin
Americans, especially Mexicans, have flocked to the
United States during the last thirty-five years.
Immigrants
This contemporary immigration has had several
important effects on American society and culture.
1. Bilingual education has become a major
issue in the public education systems of several
states. Many states’ public schools now offer
English as a Second Language (ESL) courses.
2. Contemporary immigration has sometimes
influenced American public policy. For example,
following Castro’s revolution in Cuba, the United
States government placed an embargo on trade
with Cuba. An embargo is an order by a
government prohibiting trade with another country.
Because the Cuban-American community in south
Florida opposes any improvement in American
relations with Castro’s government, the United
States continues its trade embargo on Cuba and
refuses to recognize formally the Castro regime.
Immigrants
3. Recent trends in immigration have also affected
American politics and voting patterns in states with large
immigrant communities. For example, because Cuban-Americans
have believed the Republican party has followed a harder line on
Castro, most Floridians of Cuban descent consistently vote
Republican in both national and state elections. In California
Mexican-American voters have become a key ingredient in the
recent election victories of Democratic candidates for the United
States Senate, governor, and other statewide offices. As a
Republican candidate for governor of Texas in 1994 and 1998 and
as a presidential candidate in 2000, President George W. Bush
worked hard to attract Hispanic voters away from the Democratic
Party.
4. Contemporary immigrants have already made lasting
contributions to American culture. Mexican food aisles have
appeared in supermarkets throughout the nation, and Salsa music
has become increasingly popular among American youth. In
addition, contemporary immigrants often fill necessary but low
paying jobs in the economy, which most native-born Americans
find unappealing. For example, many Mexican immigrants work on
American farms, harvesting crops by hand.
Technology
The technology
revolution of the late
twentieth century has
forever changed
American culture and
society. The American
space program was a
triumph of American
technological prowess
(ability).
 In the early 1960s,
President John F.
Kennedy pledged
increased support for
the American space
program. The race to
the moon continued

Technology


United States
astronaut John Glenn
was the first American
to orbit the Earth.
In 1969, American
astronaut Neil
Armstrong was the
first person to step
onto the moon’s
surface. Armstrong
proclaimed, “That’s
one small step for
man, one giant leap
for mankind”.
Technology
Dramatic advances in technology in the
closing years of the twentieth century have
affected life in America in many significant
areas.
Over the past three decades improved
technology and media have brought about
better access to communication and
information for rural areas, businesses, and
individual consumers.
As a result, many more Americans have
access to global information and
viewpoints.
Technology
Recent technological advances include cable
television with such twenty-four hour news
channels as CNN, personal computers, cellular
telephones, and the World Wide Web. Such
advances have brought changes in work, school,
and health care:
1. Telecommuting through the Internet has
allowed workers to do their jobs from home.
2. The Internet has also opened up
educational possibilities through distance learning.
3. Rapid growth of the technology field has
created an entire new category of white-collar
careers in the American economy.
4. Technological advances in the second half
of the twentieth century have resulted in important
breakthroughs in medical research.
Technology
For example, Dr.
Jonas Salk, a
microbiologist from
New York City,
developed a
lifesaving vaccine for
polio in the mid1950s.
Reagan Revolution
Ronald Reagan’s policies
had an impact on the
relationship between the
federal and state
governments.
The conservative
political philosophy of
President Reagan
prompted a re-evaluation
of the size and role of
government in the
economy and society of
contemporary America.
President Reagan and Conservative
Republicans advocated for:





Tax cuts – Reaganomics or
Trickledown Economics
Transfer of responsibilities to
state governments
Appointment of
judges/justices who
exercised “judicial restraint”
Reduction in the number and
scope of government
programs and regulations
Strengthening of the
American military
The “Reagan Revolution” extended
beyond his tenure in office with:




The election of Reagan’s vice
president, George H. W. Bush
The election of centrist
(moderate or in the political
center) Democrat William
Clinton
The republican sweep of
congressional elections and
statehouses in the 1990s with
the “Contract for America”
The election of George W.
Bush (son of George H. W.
Bush)
Presidents since 1988
With the end of the Cold War, the
United States changed its goals and
policies.
 Involvement in conflicts in other
areas of the world has been an
integral part of the United States
foreign policy in the modern era.

George H. W. Bush 1989-1993
Fall of Communism in
Eastern Europe
• Reunification of
Germany
• Collapse of Yugoslavia
• Break-up of the soviet
state
 Persian Gulf War 1990-1991
• First war in which American women served in a
combat role
• Operation Desert Storm

William J. Clinton 1993-2001

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North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
• trade agreement between United States,
Canada, and Mexico
Full diplomatic relations with Vietnam
Lifting of Economic sanctions against South Africa
when its government
ended the policy of
apartheid
NATO action in
former Yugoslavia “Bosnian Conflict”
George W. Bush 2001-2009

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
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Terrorists attacks on United States soil
9/11/2001 (New York at the World Trade
Center and Virginia at the Pentagon)
The “Bush Doctrine”
War in Afghanistan
War in Iraq
International Terrorism
The United States has confronted the
increase in international terrorism by
formulating domestic and international
policies aimed at stopping terrorism.
 The United States responded to
terrorism with heightened security at
home including the new cabinet level
Department of Homeland Security,
the Patriot Act, and diplomatic and
military initiatives.

International Terrorism

Patriot Act – An act
signed into law in 2001
after 9-11 by George
W. Bush expanding the
authority of United
States law
enforcement agencies
for the purpose of
fighting terrorism in
the United States and
abroad.
Supreme Court minorities

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Thurgood Marshall (1967 – 1991) First
African American
Clarence Thomas (1991 – active)
Sandra Day O'Connor (1981 - 2006, retired)
First Woman
Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1993 - active)
Sonia Sotomayor
(2009 - active)
First Latino
Elena Kagan
(2010 - active
Technological advances

Space Exploration
• Mars rover
• Voyager missions
• Hubble telescope

Communications
• Satellite
• Global Positioning System (GPS)
• Personal communication devises

Robotics
Government and the Economy

The Federal Government has the ability to
influence the United States economy. It
bases its decisions on economic indicators
such as Gross Domestic Product (total
market value of all the goods and services
produced by workers and capital during a
specified period – usually a year- within a
region – usually a country), exchange
rates, inflation, and unemployment
rates.
Government and the Economy

Government promotes a healthy
economy characterized by full
employment and low inflation
through the actions of the Federal
Reserve and The President and
Congress
Government and the Economy
Federal Reserve (the central
banking system of the United States)
– monetary policy decisions control
the supply of money and credit to
expand or contract economic growth.
 Presidents and Congress - fiscal
policy decisions determine levels of
government taxation and spending;
and government regulation of the
economy

Changes in work place

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Growth of service industries –production of
goods in not as large a part of the US
economy as it used to be
Outsourcing – subcontracting or giving part
or all of the work to another company to
complete
Offshoring – taking the work to another
country – usually to save money. The
difference between offshoring and
outsourcing is that a company can own that
work unit as well (ex. GE has offshored work
to India in a place that it owns.