Annie Daley

Contemporary US History
4-24-15
Final Mini-Essay:
The seventy years between 1945 and 2015 have seen some of the most dramatic

changes in the history of the United States as the nation has attempted to transition from

the hero of World War II into a Cold War superpower and finally into the technological,

economic, and military leader of the post Cold War world. Along the way, the US saw

several important movements whose achievements and effects changed society people

knew it: the civil rights, women’s rights, and gay rights movements helped transform the

United States into a more tolerant, diverse, and enriched society. Militarily, nuclear

weapons, hardly a blip on most American’s radars at the beginning of 1945, destroyed

two enemy cities and launched the US into a decades-long arms race with the rival

superpower, the communist Soviet Union, forming the basis of the Cold War. The 70

period from 1945 to 2015 also saw the information technology boom where the

computer, in all its many, often miniaturized forms, connected the nation and connected

the world, providing vast quantities of information at the click of a button.

US society, so unified during World War II, fragmented as different groups vied

for power—or, in some cases, basic rights. The civil rights movement gained momentum

and made tremendous achievements, particularly in the 1950s and the 1960s. Schools

desegregated, so black and white children could learn side by side, the black child no

longer subjected to an inferior education because of the color of their skin. The voting

rights of legally enfranchised but frequently excluded African Americans were protected

by President Lyndon Johnson. A Constitutional amendment prohibited one of the most

frequent disenfranchising tactics white southerners liked to employ: poll taxes. Between

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the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Freedom Rides, the Albany, Montgomery, and Selma

Campaigns, and so many other protests, for the first time African Americans managed to

organize to demand rights, and for the first time, whites were standing along side them.

African Americans—and many whites who stood along side them—suffered for their

protests, but they held firm and nonviolent, proving through peaceful protest that they

were not going to let a fire hose, a violent dog, or even layer after layer of racist white

politicians and community layers keep them from their goal of racial equality. The

struggle was no longer one for the opposed group to fight alone: people not directly

affected were risking their lives to help their fellow citizens. Today allies stand alongside

the LGBTQ community. Lots of men promote women’s rights. Whites fight to help and

protect the black population. That transition was a turning point in American history.

The woman’s rights movement was next to take hold, and as advocates fought for

access to contraception and abortion, equal pay, fairer hiring, and a social trend that

would allow women to explore traditionally male-dominated fields of study, traditional

gender roles, while still unfortunately present in today’s society, began to diminish. The

Supreme Court case of Roe vs. Wade was a huge milestone, as was Griswold vs.

Connecticut. The former protected a woman’s right to an abortion; the latter allowed her

access to contraceptive materials. Nine men voted to allow women control over their

bodies, and suddenly so much more became possible. With women in control of their

bodies and sexuality, the goal of gender equality seemed much more reachable. The goal

is yet to be obtained, but as many woman bored with their roles as stay-at-home wives

and mothers, they entered (or re-entered, for those who worked during WWII) the

workforce, and more and more women began working traditionally male jobs, while men

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began venturing into traditionally female jobs, such as nursing. The wage gap closed,

though it, too, remains today. Women began taking more high-profile government and

management jobs.

The Stonewall Riots in 1969 ignited the gay rights movement, which would

remain high profile through the AIDS epidemic and into the present day. Before,

homosexuality—or, in fact, any other sexuality or identification that heterosexual and

cisgender—was discouraged, feared, and even attacked. While those issues still remain,

the movement brought about a huge social change as more and more of the nation

became accepting and tolerant of people who were different from themselves. Straight

allies marched alongside the LBGTQ community, another instance of members of the

majority taking a stand to support the minority. Laws changed, too. The military, once

completely hostile to all forms of homosexuality and bisexuality adopted the

controversial 1994 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law, by which closeted gays and bisexuals

could serve in the military, but would be discharged if their sexuality was discovered.

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was a repressive law that kept gays in the closet upon penalty of

job loss but could still be seen as a step in the right direction, allowing gay people to

serve in the military. America still had a long way to go towards tolerance, however, but

took one more step closer by repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and allowing openly gay

and bisexual men and women to serve their country without having to hide their

identities.

These movements demonstrate society’s shifting towards tolerance and

acceptance. White, straight men were no longer the only valued members of society.

Over time, these movements have allowed African Americans, women, and members of

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the LBGTQ community to make their own mark on history by doing more than fighting

for basic rights but by making valuable contributions to the nation. These movements

allowed formerly marginalized people to have a voice.

On January 1st, 1945, most Americans were unaware that such a thing as a nuclear

bomb was possible, but by the end of the year, the US had dropped atomic bombs on the

Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki and thrown the world into an atmosphere of

terror as the Soviet Union raced the US to developing more powerful weapons and the

possibility of nuclear war—and nuclear destruction—seemed all too realistic. For thirty

years after the US first dropped an atomic bomb, the Cold War terrified the world. First

the US and Soviet Union raced to develop the most dangerous weapons possible

proportional to size. Then, realizing the enormity of the dangerous situation, many groups

worked to restrict nuclear arms. Development bans were imposed, and both US and the

Soviet Union began destroying some of their weapons. Unfortunately, as the US and

USSR were cutting back on their nuclear arms, other nations were building them. Today,

nine nations have nuclear weapons, five of which are recognized: the US, Russia (the

Soviet Union dissolved in 1991), the UK, French, and China. India, Israel, Pakistan, and

North Korea are not recognized by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear

Weapons. The weapons are not kept as securely as they ought to be, and it is possible that

they could fall into the wrong hands; terrorists could steal the weapons or other nations

could steal the information and make their own. From a world in which nuclear weaponry

was only thought of by a very few people, the US has shifted to one in which the entire

world knows that nine nations have the potential to wipeout entire countries or,

potentially, human kind.

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 The computer was in the earliest stages of its life in 1945, but today it is one of

the pillars of American life. From a huge, bulky machine that filled an entire room,

computers now exist in countless forms, only some of which people realize are

computers: in addition to desktops and laptops, cellphones, calculators, and anything else

electronic that does not require a cord is equipped with a miniature computer. Computers

have connected the nation, but on a larger scale, the world. They have also aided military

operations and businesses. Militaries use computers for communications, among their

other countless uses. Many retail stores allow costumers to place orders online to be

delivered to their door. Today, almost every adult owns a cell phone, which people use to

keep in touch on the go. Social media allows people to stay connected with those they no

longer see on a regular basis, and has been the breeding ground for hundreds of social

movements. The computer has increased convenience a hundredfold in American life.