https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp en-us 2017-03-09 19:57:16 UTC 2026-02-12 16:20:23 UTC hello@padlet.com beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/159114839 Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976. Enlai was successful in organizing large numbers of Chinese intellectuals and artists to promote resistance against the Japanese. Like Mao Zedong, he was a colossal figure in the Communist Party.]]> 2017-03-09 19:58:56 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/159114839 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/159116051 With the 1957 launch of Sputnik 1, the world's first manmade satellite, the Russians took an early lead in the space race. The next step was to send a human off the planet. The American plan to send a man into space by 1961 created a deadline that the Russian team worked hard to beat. The development of the Vostok spacecraft became paramount. Prior to Gagarin’s historic flight, the Soviets sent a prototype of his spaceship, along with a life-size dummy called Ivan Ivanovich and a dog called Zvezdochka. With these successes, the vessel was considered ready to take a living, breathing human into space. ]]> 2017-03-09 20:02:21 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/159116051 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/159117152 During the Vietnam War (1954-75), as part of the strategic bombing campaign known as Operation Rolling Thunder, U.S. military aircraft attacked targets throughout North Vietnam from March 1965 to October 1968. This massive bombardment was intended to put military pressure on North Vietnam’s Communist leaders and reduce their capacity to wage war against the U.S.-supported government of South Vietnam. Operation Rolling Thunder marked the first sustained American assault on North Vietnamese territory and thus represented a major expansion of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Historians differ in their assessments of the strategic value of Operation Rolling Thunder. Some claim that the bombing campaign came close to crippling North Vietnam’s capacity to wage war, while others contend the campaign’s effectiveness was limited.]]> 2017-03-09 20:04:40 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/159117152 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/159117238 William Childs Westmoreland was a United States Army general, who most notably commanded U.S. forces during the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968. His strategy of attrition aimed to inflict heavy losses on North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces using superior U.S. firepower, but resulted in a costly stalemate by late 1967. Back in the United States, Westmoreland fought off criticisms of his conduct of the war (including a libel lawsuit against CBS News) and became a dedicated supporter of Vietnam veterans.]]> 2017-03-09 20:04:58 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/159117238 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/159118783 The Vietcong, also known as the National Liberation Front, was a political organization with its own army that fought the United States and South Vietnamese governments, eventually emerging on the winning side. It had both guerrilla and regular army units, as well as a network of cadres who organized peasants in the territory it controlled. The NLF called for southern Vietnamese to "overthrow the camouflaged colonial regime of the American imperialists" and to make "efforts toward the peaceful unification".]]> 2017-03-09 20:09:14 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/159118783 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/159121442 After World War II the efficiency and productivity of the US economy improved markedly. From 1945 to 1975 output per hour of labor increased 120 percent while output per standard unit of energy increased 23 percent. Work hours in agriculture fell from 19.2 to 7.5 percent also during this time.During the 1960s the United States experienced its longest uninterrupted period of economic expansion in history.Big business dominated the domestic economy during this time. In 1962 the five largest industrial corporations accounted for over 12 percent of all assets in manufacturing.]]> 2017-03-09 20:17:06 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/159121442 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/159123218 The Tet Offensive was one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War, launched on January 30, 1968, by forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam gainst the forces of the South Vietnamese Army of the Republic of Vietnam, the United States Armed Forces, and their allies. It was a campaign of surprise attacks against military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam. Their first and most ambitious goal, producing a general uprising, had ended in a dismal failure. In total, about 85,000–100,000 communist troops had participated in the initial onslaught and in the follow-up phases. Overall, during the "Border Battles" of 1967 and the nine-month winter-spring campaign, 45,267 communist troops had been killed in action.]]> 2017-03-09 20:22:47 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/159123218 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161938309 The purpose of the organization was to prevent communism from gaining ground in the region. Although called the “Southeast Asia Treaty Organization,” only two Southeast Asian countries became members. The Philippines joined in part because of its close ties with the United States and in part out of concern over the nascent communist insurgency threatening its own government. Thailand, similarly, joined after learning of a newly established “Thai Autonomous Region” in Yunnan Province in South China, expressing concern about the potential for Chinese communist subversion on its own soil. The rest of the region was far less concerned about the threat of communism to internal stability. ]]> 2017-03-22 18:47:04 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161938309 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161938748 Reconciliation was the first goal set by President Richard M. Nixon. The Nation was painfully divided, with turbulence in the cities and war overseas. During his Presidency, Nixon succeeded in ending American fighting in Viet Nam and improving relations with the U.S.S.R. and China. But the Watergate scandal brought fresh divisions to the country and ultimately led to his resignation. His election in 1968 had climaxed a career unusual on two counts: his early success and his comeback after being defeated for President in 1960 and for Governor of California in 1962.]]> 2017-03-22 18:48:39 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161938748 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161938817 So said President Lyndon Johnson at the signing of the Hart-Celler Immigration Bill thirty years ago next month, on Oct. 3, 1965. The legislation, which phased out the national origins quota system first instituted in 1921, created the foundation of today's immigration law. And, contrary to the president's assertions, it inaugurated a new era of mass immigration which has affected the lives of millions. Despite modifications, the framework established by the 1965 act remains intact today. And, while the reform proposals now being discussed in Congress, the administration, and the Commission on Immigration Reform would reduce the total number of legal immigrants, they would maintain the fundamentals of the 1965 act — family reunification and employment preferences. So it behooves us on this 30th anniversary to look at the act and the expectations its sponsors had for it. Under the old system, admission largely depended upon an immigrant's country of birth. Seventy percent of all immigrant slots were allotted to natives of just three countries — United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany — and went mostly unused, while there were long waiting lists for the small number of visas available to those born in Italy, Greece, Poland, Portugal, and elsewhere in eastern and southern Europe.]]> 2017-03-22 18:48:57 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161938817 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161939019 The Peace Corps is a volunteer program run by the United States government. The stated mission of the Peace Corps includes providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand American culture, and helping Americans to understand the cultures of other countries. The work is generally related to social and economic development. Each program participant, a Peace Corps Volunteer, is an American citizen, typically with a college degree, who works abroad for a period of two years after three months of training.]]> 2017-03-22 18:49:46 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161939019 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161939071 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, more commonly known by its acronym OSHA, is responsible for protecting worker health and safety in the United States. Congress created OSHA in 1971 following its passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to ensure safe and healthy working conditions for workers by enforcing workplace laws and standards and also by providing training, outreach, education and assistance.  Congress enacted the OSH Act in response to annual workplace accidents that resulted in 14,000 worker deaths and 2.5 million disabled workers annually. Since its inception, OSHA has cut the work-fatality rate by more than half, and it has significantly reduced the overall injury and illness rates in industries where OSHA has concentrated its attention, such as textiles and excavation. The administrator for OSHA is the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health; the position answers to the Secretary of Labor, a member of the Cabinet of the United States.]]> 2017-03-22 18:49:58 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161939071 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161939374 Kennedy continued in the tradition of liberal Democrats Roosevelt and Truman to some extent. He signed legislation raising the minimum wage and increasing Social Security benefits. He raised money for research into mental illness and allocated funds to develop impoverished rural areas. He showed approval for the civil rights movement by supporting James Meredith's attempt to enroll at the University of Mississippi and by ordering his Attorney General, brother Robert Kennedy, to protect the freedom riders in the South.]]> 2017-03-22 18:51:03 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161939374 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161939484 Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that helps with medical costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, like nursing home care and personal care services. Medocarw insurance is available for people age 65 or older, younger people with disabilities and people with End Stage Renal Disease.]]> 2017-03-22 18:51:21 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161939484 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161939632 In the 1960 campaign, Lyndon B. Johnson was elected Vice President as John F. Kennedy's running mate. On November 22, 1963, when Kennedy was assassinated, Johnson was sworn in as the 36th United States President, with a vision to build "A Great Society" for the American people. In his first years of office he obtained passage of one of the most extensive legislative programs in the Nation's history. Maintaining collective security, he carried on the rapidly growing struggle to restrain Communist encroachment in Vietnam.]]> 2017-03-22 18:51:49 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161939632 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161939892 In May 1970, students protesting the bombing of Cambodia by United States military forces, clashed with Ohio National Guardsmen on the Kent State University campus. When the Guardsmen shot and killed four students on May 4, the Kent State Shootings became the focal point of a nation deeply divided by the Vietnam War. These shootings helped convince the U.S. public that the anti-war protesters were not just hippies, drug addicts, or promoters of free love. They also included middle and upper-class people, as well as educated people. ]]> 2017-03-22 18:52:36 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161939892 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161940040 John F. Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States (1961-1963), the youngest man elected to the office. On November 22, 1963, when he was hardly past his first thousand days in office, JFK was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, becoming also the youngest President to die.Shortly after his inauguration, Kennedy permitted a band of Cuban exiles, already armed and trained, to invade their homeland. The attempt to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro was a failure. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union renewed its campaign against West Berlin. Kennedy replied by reinforcing the Berlin garrison and increasing the Nation's military strength, including new efforts in outer space.]]> 2017-03-22 18:53:07 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161940040 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161940355 The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Celler Act, abolished an earlier quota system based on national origin and established a new immigration policy based on reuniting immigrant families and attracting skilled labor to the United States. Over the next four decades, the policies put into effect in 1965 would greatly change the demographic makeup of the American population, as immigrants entering the United States under the new legislation came increasingly from countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, as opposed to Europe.]]> 2017-03-22 18:54:07 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161940355 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161940553 He helped found the Indochinese Communist Party in 1930 and the League for the Independence of Vietnam, or Viet Minh, in 1941. At World War II’s end, Viet Minh forces seized the northern Vietnamese city of Hanoi and declared a Democratic State of Vietnam (or North Vietnam) with Ho as president. Known as “Uncle Ho,” he would serve in that position for the next 25 years, becoming a symbol of Vietnam’s struggle for unification during a long and costly conflict with the strongly anti-Communist regime in South Vietnam and its powerful ally, the United States.]]> 2017-03-22 18:54:45 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161940553 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161940737 When John Gardner became the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, he was joining President Lyndon Johnson not just as a cabinet member, but as the engineer of his ambitious agenda of social reform known as the "Great Society." In the wake of President Kennedy's assassination in 1963, a wave of sympathy and public support enabled President Johnson to pass a number of Kennedy Administration proposals including the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Building on this momentum, Johnson introduced his own vision for America: "the Great Society" -in which America ended poverty, promoted equality, improved education, rejuvenated cities, and protected the environment. This became the blueprint for the most far-reaching agenda of domestic legislation since the New Deal - legislation that has had a profound effect on American society. ]]> 2017-03-22 18:55:16 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161940737 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161940938 Flexible Response was a defense strategy implemented by John F. Kennedy in 1961 to address the Kennedy administration's skepticism of Dwight Eisenhower's New Look and its policy of massive retaliation. Flexible Response was realistic in that nuclear weapons couldn't be used. It tried to provide credible means to match non-nuclear escalation. The word "flexible" stressed the value of having "multiple options" available should a crises arise. Having multiple options during a crisis appeared to be better than reference to a few preset war scenarios. At the same time, however, flexibility made it also improbable that the U.S. would want or need nuclear attack.]]> 2017-03-22 18:55:58 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161940938 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161941040 The Equal Pay Act of 1963 is a United States labor law amending the Fair Labor Standards Act, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on gender. It was signed into law on June 10, 1963, by John F. Kennedy as part of his New Frontier Program. The Equal Pay Act requires that men and women be given equal pay for equal work in the same establishment. The jobs do not need to be identical, but they must be substantially equal.]]> 2017-03-22 18:56:20 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161941040 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161941155 In 1962, Michael Harrington published The Other America, a shocking expose of poverty and want in the United States. The book had an immediate impact. More than 70,000 people bought the first edition, including President John F. Kennedy. Described as shocking but necessary reading, the book drew a curious and telling response. After all, poverty was hardly new. Many of the people and regions so powerfully described by Harrington were not recently impoverished.]]> 2017-03-22 18:56:45 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161941155 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161941243 In October 1962, an American U-2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba. President Kennedy did not want the Soviet Union and Cuba to know that he had discovered the missiles. He met in secret with his advisors for several days to discuss the problem. After many long and difficult meetings, Kennedy decided to place a naval blockade, or a ring of ships, around Cuba. The aim of this "quarantine," as he called it, was to prevent the Soviets from bringing in more military supplies. He demanded the removal of the missiles already there and the destruction of the sites. On October 22, President Kennedy spoke to the nation about the crisis in a televised address. Although the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba, they escalated the building of their military arsenal; the missile crisis was over, the arms race was not.]]> 2017-03-22 18:57:07 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161941243 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161941391 Before his inauguration, John F. Kennedy was briefed on a plan by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) developed during the Eisenhower administration to train Cuban exiles for an invasion of their homeland. The plan anticipated that the Cuban people and elements of the Cuban military would support the invasion.The ultimate goal was the overthrow of Castro and the establishment of a non-communist government friendly to the United States. On April 17, the Cuban-exile invasion force, known as Brigade 2506, landed at beaches along the Bay of Pigs and immediately came under heavy fire. Cuban planes strafed the invaders, sank two escort ships, and destroyed half of the exile's air support. Bad weather hampered the ground force, which had to work with soggy equipment and insufficient ammunition.  The disaster at the Bay of Pigs had a lasting impact on the Kennedy administration. Determined to make up for the failed invasion, the administration initiated Operation Mongoose—a plan to sabotage and destabilize the Cuban government and economy.]]> 2017-03-22 18:57:25 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161941391 beckie7475 https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161941476 The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was a military component of the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). On October 26, 1956, the military was reorganized by the administration of President Ngo Dinh Diem, who then established the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Early on, the focus of the army was the Communist guerrillas of the Viet Cong, a shadow government formed to oppose the Diem administration. The United States, under President John F. Kennedy, sent advisors and a great deal of financial support to aid ARVN in combating the Communist insurgents.]]> 2017-03-22 18:57:40 UTC https://padlet.com/beckie7475/l0v2xamooivp/wish/161941476