The Twentieth CenturyPart II

© North Carolina Community College System

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World War II ends in 1945. The Allies win.

America is a world superpower!

For the next 40 years, America and the Soviet Union are in a standoff called the Cold War.

The U.S. does not want the Soviet Union’s economic and political system to spread.

That system is Communism. USSR flag from http://www.clker.com/clipart-7303.html

• In a Communist economy, government controls the nation’s resources and industries.

• Government sets prices. $$$$

• Government decides the homes, jobs, healthcare, and other opportunities each person has.

The U.S. has a capitalist (or a market) economy.

• Price is set by the marketplace.

• People own private property.

• People pick the kind of work they do. They may succeed (or fail) at whatever they do.

• Government gets its power from the people. People can change their leaders through elections.

But right now, American soldiers are not thinking about Communism. They

are home from war and starting families.

The Baby Boom is underway!

In 1950, Communist North Korea invades non-Communist South Korea. The U.S.A. fights for South Korea.

The Korean War ends in 1953 with Korea still divided.

In 1959, Communist North Vietnam fights non-Communist South Vietnam.

The U.S. enters the war to prevent a Communist takeover of South Vietnam.

In 1975, after Congress prohibits more U.S. military intervention, the Communists win The Vietnam War.

The Baby Boomers are teens and young adults during the Vietnam War.

In the 1960s:

• College campuses are centers of protest against the Vietnam War.

• Martin Luther King, Jr. works for civil rights.

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• The Civil Rights Movement tries toend racial discrimination.

• Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon (1969).

Scientific and technical advances change the late Twentieth Century.

• The floppy disk is new in 1970.

• In the 1980s, scientific research includes the human genome project.

• The World Wide Web is in its early stages in 1991. By the end of the decade, nearly a billion people are connected.

• The Stealth bomber helps the U.S. and her allies stop Iraq and free Kuwait in The Gulf War, 1990-91.

The decade, the century, and the millennium end with the year 2000.