Preview

1
Changing Societies

• Preview
• Main Idea / Reading Focus
• North America
• Faces of History Martin Luther King Jr.
• Western Europe
• Quick Facts Contrasting Economic Systems
• Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union
• Faces of History Mikhail Gorbachev

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Changing Societies
Main Idea The Cold War brought tremendous
economic and social change to North America,
Western Europe, Eastern Europe and the Soviet
Union.

• Reading Focus
• What were the major social changes taking place
  in North America after World War II?
• How did Western Europe recover economically in
  the postwar era?
• How did Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union
  change after World War II?

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North America
The postwar United States was a land of
tremendous prosperity. At the same time, the
country was undergoing rapid social change.
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Industry and Technology

• Postwar decades brought major structural changes
  to economy
• Nations heavy industry suffered during 1970s,
  1980s
• American shipbuilders, automakers, steel
  companies found it more difficult to compete with
  companies in other countries
• Many Americans lost jobs when U.S. companies
  closed factories
• Other American industries still proved successful
  
• New jobs created in advanced technology
• Also new jobs in service industries like banking,
  health care, sales

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Social Changes
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• Civil Rights
• 1954, U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board
  of Education segregation of public schools had to
  end
• Next came civil rights campaign led by Martin
  Luther King Jr., James Farmer, Malcolm X, other
  activists, organizations

• Groundwork for Future
• Civil rights movement achieved some major reforms
• 1964, Congress passed Civil Rights Voting Act,
  followed by Voting Rights Act the next year
• Laws knocked down longstanding barriers for
  equality for African Americans
• Did not end racism, laid groundwork for future
  progress

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Other Social Changes

• Womens Rights Movement
• Civil rights movement helped inspire renewed
  womens rights movement in 1960s, 1970s
• Core belief women, men should be socially,
  politically, economically equal

• Changing Traditional Ideas
• Some wanted to change traditional ideas about
  womens rolesincluding idea that women happiest
  as wives, mothers, homemakers
• Idea met oppositionincluding women who believed
  in traditional roles

• Counterculture
• 1960s, counterculturerebellion of teens, young
  adults against mainstream American societyspread
  across country
• Unconventional values, clothing, behavior adopted
  by many young people
• Some questioned governments actions in Vietnam
  War

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Changes in Canada

• Similar Path
• Canada underwent many of same economic, social
  changes
• Government programs helped military veterans go
  to college, buy homes, start businesses

• Jobs, Births, Movements
• Economy provided jobs, birthrates rose
• Canada also had active civil rights, womens
  counterculture movements

• Other Events
• Canada sheltered many American men who fled
  military draft in U.S. during Vietnam war
• Quebec experienced Quiet Revolution, 1960s

• Quiet Revolution
• Movement featured growing nationalism among
  French-speaking residents of Quebec
• Called for separation of Quebec from rest of
  Canada

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Summarize What postwar changes took place in
North America?
Answer(s) economic boom veterans bought homes
and consumer goods, went to college the civil
rights, feminist, and counterculture movements
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Western Europe

• Western Europe faced challenging future after
  World War II
• At end of war, much of Western Europe lay in
  ruins
• Property, farmland destroyed national economies
  collapsed millions displaced from homes seemed
  on brink of chaos
• Chaos did not come, thanks in large part to
  Marshall Plan

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Alliances and Economic Unity
World War II had changed Europes place in the
world. The continent was no longer the center of
world power instead, the United States and the
Soviet Union were centers of power.
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The Common Market

• European Economic Community
• 1957, six European nations founded European
  Economic Community also known as Common Market
• 1960, seven other European countries formed rival
  European Free Trade Association
• True economic unity in Europe still years in
  future

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Find the Main Idea Describe the economic
recovery in Western Europe after World War II.
Answer(s) uneven, some countries recovered
quickly with the Marshall Plan others lagged
generally high standard of living
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Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union
The challenges facing the Soviet Union and the
Eastern European nations under its control were
even more overwhelming than those facing Western
Europe. Like Western Europe, however, the region
soon began to recover.
Stalin-era economic and political restrictions
loosened, but country remained Communist.
Individual freedoms limited, still hostile stance
against the West.
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Revolts in Eastern Europe
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Glasnost and Perestroika

• Soviet Economy Faltered
• Soviet economy performed well after war, began to
  falter in 1960s
• By 1980s, Soviet Union faced crisis command
  economy system inefficient
• Production goals with little regard for wants,
  needs of marketplace

• Gorbachev
• Goals stressed heavy industry, neglecting needed
  consumer goods
• As result most sectors of Soviet economy ceased
  to grow
• 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power, saw need
  for change

• New Concepts
• Proposed two radical conceptsglasnost,
  perestroika
• Glasnost, openness, willingness to discuss
  Soviet problems openly
• Perestroika, restructuring, reform of Soviet
  economic, political system

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• Reforms
• Gorbachev pushed through number of major reforms
• Aggressively pursued arms control agreements with
  U.S.
• Also reduced central planning of Soviet economy,
  introduced some free market mechanisms

• Policy Reversal
• Gorbachev knew Soviet Union could not afford to
  prop up Communist governments of Eastern Europe
• Began to pull Soviet troops out of region, urged
  local leaders to adopt reforms
• Reversed decades of Soviet policy in Eastern
  Europe

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Revolutions in Eastern Europe

• Eastern Europeans longed for freedom, did not
  wait for reform
• 1989, revolution spread citizens overthrew
  Soviet-backed leaders
• Gorbachev, no longer wanting to control Eastern
  Europe, did not interfere
• Most revolutions were peaceful
• Solidarity forced elections in Poland Lech
  Walesa elected president

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Summarize What changes took place in the Soviet
Union and Eastern Europe after World War II?
Answer(s) Khrushchev tried to "de-Stalinize" and
loosen political restrictions, revolts after
Stalin's death, Solidarity, Gorbachev introduced
reforms, glasnost and perestroika