And we know that the subsequent international crisis, which was especially intense during the summer and autumn of 1961, threatened the world with the risk of a military conflict, one that seemed as if it could escalate at any time into nuclear confrontation between the U.S. And the Soviet Union" (p. 44). Over the next 25 years, the Berlin Wall grew both in terms of its physical dimensions as well as in its increasingly clear message to the world that the Soviet Union was going to do everything possible to contain its citizens in East Berlin in what was tantamount to an enormous prison. In this regard, Tijus and Santolini (1996) report that, "The main purpose of the wall that enclosed West Berlin was to prevent East Germans from crossing into West Berlin (and therefore into West Germany). The wall was 167.7 kilometers long. Concrete slabs, other walls, buildings, and houses accounted for 107.5 kilometers; wire fencing accounted for another 55.4 kilometers; and the remaining 4.8 kilometers were constructed of barbed wire" (p. 402). Things finally came to a boil when, in a poignant speech in West Berlin in June 1987, then-President Ronald Reagan challenged the Soviet premier to "tear down this wall," and by 1989, the wall came down, thereby signaling an end to the Cold War (Young, 2004, p. 19).
1990s: The First Persian Gulf War
Today, the United States has become inextricably involved in ground wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq, but these conflicts are due in large part to American's response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the succeeding global war on terrorism (Weiner, 2006). By contrast, the First Persian Gulf War in 1991 was fought to help expel Iraq's military forces from their invasion of Kuwait. When Saddam Hussein ordered his forces into Kuwait, it was based on his assertions that Kuwait was part of Iraq and his efforts were tantamount to a "liberation" of the Kuwaiti people. The Kuwaitis, of course, felt otherwise and requested assistance from then President George Bush. Following a brief but costly conflict, at least for the Iraqi forces, more than 700,000 American military forces succeeded in expelling the Iraqi invaders and chased them all the way back to their borders (Nelson, 2008). The Iraqi forces torched Kuwaiti oil fields on their way home, though, creating an environmental and economic fiasco that required an enormous effort on the part of the international community, but primarily the United States, to remedy (Boyle, 2004).
Conclusion
The research showed that there were a number of fateful events that took place during the second half of the 20th century and identifying the most important is a subjective analysis to be sure. The five events reviewed above, the Korean War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, the Berlin Wall coming down and the First Persian Gulf War, represent some of the more obvious choices, but there are arguments to be made for events such as...
20th Century Art History's Response To New Technology While Norman Rockwell's 1949 magazine cover "The New Television Set" suggests both delight and humor to the viewer, in portraying the confusion of middle-class Americans faced with new technological innovations, Edward Hopper's 1940 oil on canvas work "The Office at Night" and "The Family-Industry and Agriculture" oil of printmaker Harry Sternberg (1939) suggest a much darker version of human beings' collective response to
American History: The aftermath of the World War II from 1945 to 1965 was a period of intense change in the United States that changed socially, politically, and economically. This period was characterized by the rebuilding of various aspects in the country since the war was destructive on political, social, and economic fronts. Socially, there was the need to return to normalcy in the United States as the dislocations that resulted
Eugene O'Neill's play, "The Emperor Jones (1921)," is the horrifying story of Rufus Jones, the monarch of a West Indian island, presented in a single act of eight scenes of violence and disturbing images. O'Neill's sense of tragedy comes out undiluted in this surreal and nightmarish study of Jones' character in a mighty struggle and tension between black Christianity and black paganism (IMBD). Jones is an unforgettable character in his
Attitudes Towards Work in Progressive America The Progressive Age in the United States was a time of redefinition in American thought and politics. During a time of global restructuring in which European imperialism was entering the first phase of its death throes, American imperialism was beginning to rise. This imperialism took a different form, at least outwardly, from that which typified the preceding centuries. Instead of colonies with rigidly enforced governments
In this regard, Frye notes that, "The social changes appeared most profoundly to the majority of citizens not in the statistics of gross national product or the growth of technological inventions but in the dramatic occupational changes that faced fathers and sons and mothers and daughters" (1999, p. 4). The innovations in technology that followed the Industrial Revolution also served to shift the emphasis on education for agricultural jobs to
African-American Studies Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance is a cultural movement that began during the second decade of the 20th century, also known as the "New Negro Movement." The Harlem Renaissance came about as a result of a series of changes in American society during the time. One major turning point during this period of American history was the significant changes in the American population. Reconstruction was over; the country began its
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now