The WAr in the Pacific

Following Pearl Harbor, the Japanese set up an empire that stretched from mainland China to deep in the Pacific Ocean. When the Japaneses invaded the Philippines in 1941, General Douglas MacArthur was in command of 80,000 Allied troops battling the Japanese for control of the islands. The Allied forces were soon overrun however and had to retreat, but not without Gen. MacArthur pledging to return. It took until spring 1942 for the Allies to finally turn the tide against the Japanese, and they succeeded in stopping the Japanese drive to Australia in the five day Battle of the Coral Sea. The fighting in the battle was done exclusively by airplanes that took off from enormous carriers, and not a single shot was fired by the surface ships. It was the first time a Japanese invasion had been stopped and turned back however since Pearl Harbor.
The Japanese's next move was toward Midway, a strategic island northwest of Hawaii. American codebreakers had already cracked the Japanese code however and were prepared for the attack, Admiral Chester Nimitz led his forces to defend the island. On June 3rd, 1942, Allied scouts found the Japanese fleet with their planes still on the decks of their carriers and sent torpedo planes and dive bombers to attack. The result was devastating and in the words of a Japanese offical, the Americans had "avenged Pearl Harbor." The Battle of Midway proved to be a turning point the in Pacific War, and soon Allies began island hopping and regaining each territory lost to the Japanese.
In the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Japanese sent their entire fleet into battle and also tested a new tactic, the kamikaze or suicide-plane. 424 Kamikaze pilots set off on suicide missions in the Philippines, sinking 16 ships and damaging 80 more. Despite this damage the battle was diasterous for Japan, losing almost its entire Imperial Navy ( 3 battleships, 4 aircraft carriers, 13 cruisers and 500 planes.) After retaking much of the PhilippineProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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2C the Allies set off towards Iwo Jima, a critical strategic outpost guarded by more than 20,700 Japanese troops. 6,000 Marines died taking the little island, the greatest number lost in the Pacific to that point, while only 200 Japanese survived. Only one island now stood in between the Allies and a final assault on the Japanese mainland, the island of Okinawa. In April 1945, U.S. Marines invaded the island, while the Japanese fired more than 1,900 kamikaze attacks, sinking 30 ships while damaging 300 more. By the end of the battle more than 7,600 Americans had died, but the Japanese paid a much worse price, losing more than 110,000. It was the last battle in the Pacific war due to the decision instead to drop the Atomic Bomb on Japan.

By Matt M and Paris

Liberty in 1955

The Civil Rights movement was from 1955 to 1968 where the U.S charged to outlaw racial discrimination against the African Americans. In this society rules were changed for public areas, and transportation but the right to vote was still restricted. African Americans felt that they didn’t receive that much. Soon Congress passed Johnson’s voting Rights of Act in 1965. In this act the literacy test was disqualified. Another movement during the Civil Rights Movement was in 1966. The Black Power Movement aimed to have freedom from oppression by white Americans. Organizations also took place for social equality like the NAACP, SNCC, CORE, and ,SCLC. These groups were called “Southern Freedom Movement. Issues like freedom, respect, dignity, and economic and social equality were worked on. These groups had some protests that were held by this crisis. Boycotts were held and a successful protest was the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 to 1956. This broadened the protests which included “sit-ins” and marches. These protests were also popular because it was protesting in nonviolence.
The Civil Rights Act began when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Then President Lyndon B. Johnson pledged to follow the footsteps of JFK. On July 2, 1964 Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This banned discrimination on race, religion, and gender. Mother acts that restored rights were the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965, and Fair Housing Act of 1968. All of these acts banned discrimination on voting, immigrants, and rental of housing on people of color. African Americans soon got their freedom on the rights that they deserve in the Civil Rights Movement. This was the starting point of equality and the change in view points that many people had. It gave liberty to many African Americans.

Mother's Day

Need an Academic Gift Certificate? Here is an easy way to earn one and do someone nice for that special woman in your life. For Mother's Day, write your mom, aunt, or grandma a poem. How about fixing breakfast for her? Burn her a CD full of her kind of music. You don't need to spend any money. Be creative! Ask your mom to send me an email message to tell me what you did for her on Mother's Day. Send the email to msanderson@pausd.org.

Eisenhower's Presidency

As Truman’s approval rating sank lower and lower toward the end of his presidency, the Republican and Democratic parties sought a new candidate to run in the 1952 election. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, a WWII General who had become the Supreme Commander of NATO, was a prospective candidate for both parties. Although initially reluctant to pursue the presidency, Eisenhower eventually favored the Republican Party, since he believed the Democrats were placing too much emphasis on a centralized government. Eisenhower ran with Nixon as his vice-president, and won the popular vote.

As Coldwar tensions increased, Eisenhower’s foreign policy continued to put pressure on the Soviet Union. John Foster Dulles, Eisenhower’s secretary of state, developed a policy of brinkmanship – threatening to use nuclear force against the Soviet Union and any other aggressor nations who continued to spread communism. In addition, Eisenhower also began using the CIA to carry out covert operations against the Soviet Union, such as helping the pro-American Shah of Iran return to power, and toppling the suspected communist government of Guatemala. In 1957, Eisenhower issued the Eisenhower Doctrine, stating that the United States would defend the Middle East against attack from the Soviet Union. This was intended to counter the Soviet Union’s influence in the Middle East, since they had defended Egypt during the Suez War, and had gained popularity with Middle Eastern countries.

In spite of this, after Stalin’s death in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev, the new leader of the Soviet Union, favored a more peaceful policy where the United States and Soviet Union remained on generally fair terms with each other. Still, since 1955, the CIA had been spying by sending flights over Soviet territory, and the U-2 plane was used during these missions. By 1960, although Eisenhower wanted these flights discontinued, one last flight took place on May 1, the plane was shot down, and pilot Francis Powers was captured. When confronted by Khrushchev, Eisenhower denied the U-2 had been spying, but eventually he was forced to admit it. However, Eisenhower refused to apologize, and Khruschev called off a summit that would have been held between the United States and the Soviet Union, souring relations between the two powers.



written by: Derek O'Connor

McCarthyism

The communism influence of the Soviet Union caused Americans to believe that there are security concerns to their country. At the height of WWII, many Americans joined the communist party, in fact, 100,000 did and it caused people to fear that American loyalty was to the Soviet Union.
Everywhere in the country, communist influence in spreading and subtle propagandas is believed to be incorporated to that American society. In entertainment movies are believed to inclined communist ideals and many movie stars and directors are suspected to be parrot of the spreading infiltration. Many were turned down for jobs and even tried for nonexistent crimes because they were believe to be for the communism.
President Truman was against the McCarran internal security act which made it unlawful to plan any action that may lead to dictatorship. He said that “in a free country we punish men for the crimes they commit but never for the opinions the have.” However congress passed the law over Truman’s veto.
On the other hand Senator Joseph McCarthy took advantage of the growing concern over communism and he started to make unsupported accusations about communism. The attacks on suspected communists gained the name McCarthyism in the 1950’s. The questions of loyalty were more targeted and he even went as fast as accusing the state department saying he has 67, 81 and 205 names of the communists in the state department.
Even though they knew of the unlawful actins of McCarthy republican did little to stop him. This made sure that the public saw them purging the nation of communists.
McCarthy gained public support for bullying witnesses and even accused the US Army for being communists.
The senate finally stops him by saying that he has “brought the senate into dishonor and disrepute.”
Some of the causes that happened due to McCarthyism was the Soviets developed the atomic bomb much quicker than expected. Also the soviets successfully establish communist regimes in Eastern Europe after World War II. In addition the Korean War ends in a stalemate and the Republicans gain politically by accusing Truman and Democrats of being soft on communism.
Effects to these causes were that millions of Americans were forced to take loyalty oaths and undergo loyalty investigations. Also activism by labor unions goes into decline. Lastly many people were afraid to speak out on public issues and Anti-communism continues to drive U.S. foreign policy.

An Unfair Relocation

When World War II came about, it brought tragic results for the Japanese-Americans. At the time, there were approximately 120,000 Japanese-Americans living in the US, mostly concentrated on the West Coast. The attack on Pearl Harbor stunned the US, and the Americans believed that the Japanese would strike again. Shortly thereafter, rumors of sabotage surfaced concerning the Japanese and how they were supposedly poisoning vegetables. Feelings of prejudice swept the nation until, in 1942, the War Department called for the evacuation of all the Japanese-Americans. The internment, or confinement, of 110 thousand Japanese-Americans soon followed and they were shipped to 10 hastily-made relocation centers in California, Washington, Oregon, and Arizona. 1,444 Hawiian Japanese were sent to camps, approximately 1% of the Japanese population in Hawaii. Two thirds of the people that had been relocated were Nisei, or people who were born in the United States but their parents had immigrated from Japan. Thousands of Nisei were already in the army.

The Japanese-Americans were relocated even though there were no charges against them, no evidence of wrong-doing, and people were forced to sell their homes, businesses, and belongings for less than they were worth. In the 1944 case of Korematsu v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that the relocation was justified. "Military necessity" was the reasoning behind the declaration. After the war ended, the Japanese-American Citizens League (JACL) pushed the government to compensate for lost property. In 1965, Congress gave $38 million to Japanese who had been interned. However, that was less than 10 percent of the actual loss that they suffered. The JACL didn't give up. In 1978, they called for reparations for each individual who was affected by the relocation. It wouldn't be until a decade later that President Ronald Reagan signed a bill that granted 20 thousand dollars to each Japanese-American who was sent to an internment camp. These checks were sent out in 1990 along with a letter of apology from President George Bush. The United States had finally recognized their wrongdoings and had apologized for them.

By Becky and Liane

The Kennedy Administration

John F. Kennedy won the 1960’s presidential election against the republican vice president Richard M. Nixon. During this election, the first ever television debate was held. This opened the world to television-influenced campaigns. Kennedy’s appearance and great public speaking abilities won over the hearts of the television viewers, but Nixon’s expertise in foreign policy won over the radio audience. Ultimately Kennedy charisma won him the election in one of the closest votes since 1884.
Kennedy surrounded himself with the best and smartest administration, as well as some of the youngest minds ever to join the White House team. This inspired younger generations to become more proactive in the political era. He hired Robert McNamara, president of the Ford Motor Company, to be his secretary of defense and McGeorge Bundy, a Harvard University dean, as his national security advisor. Although Kennedy hired many successful men for his team, his most trusted advisor was his brother Robert Kennedy, whom he appointed his attorney general.
Family played a crucial role in his administration. His family life made it to the public and won over the people. Jacqueline Kennedy influenced women as a fashion and mother icon. His children Caroline and John shed light on the fact that the president was a father to two young children.
Kennedy believed in a flexible response policy in order to avoid a major conflict with nuclear equipped countries. He boosted military spending to form the Special Forces (the Green Berets) to strengthen non-nuclear artillery.
The most important set of changes came in the New Frontier, bringing his goal to explore the uncharted areas in science and space. He began the Space Race in order to get an American to the moon, by boosting research with NASA. He addressed economic issues with poverty and reached out to foreign countries founding the Peace Corps and Alliance for Progress.
Unfortunately, before many of his plans could be fully carried out, he was assassinated. On November 22, 1963, while traveling through Dallas, TX, John F. Kennedy was shot in the head. This ended his reign in the White House, leaving many Americans devastated and in desperate need of a new leader.

By: Noel and Liz