All periods in history can be said to undergo change, yet what made the last half of the 20th century in the United States significant was the rapid acceleration of technological and scientific advancement. These advances inevitably affected American society, culture, and politics as the nation confronted a new world. Advances in biomedicine, computers, electronics, materials engineering, energy resources, and other scientific fields promised to transform the way Americans lived, how long and how well they lived.
These new scientific and technological advances promised life’s betterment. Yet this scientific and technological revolution that promised so much also enlarged the capacity for destruction. The application of new technology changed the conduct of war. Missiles could now be targeted to pinpoint locations; missiles with multiple nuclear warheads could be launched to wipe out entire cities; biological warfare created the means to spread disease throughout civilian populations.
The political and social consequences of this new age were not only fully apparent in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, but even before. Socially the United States became a more diversified nation ethnically and culturally. While the native birthrate dropped, the population of America grew through immigration, both legal and illegal, from Mexico, Central and Latin America, Asia, and, to a lesser extent, Europe. These waves of immigration changed the United States culturally and politically. Americans now spoke more languages, while English was transformed as new words entered into the vocabulary. While Christianity continued to have the largest religious following, other religions, such as Islam and Buddhism, grew in membership. Even the kinds of foods Americans ate changed, as new cuisines from Mexico, Latin America, and Asia were introduced.
While the United States experienced cultural and political changes created by its increasingly diversified population, Americans extended their political and legal rights, in what became known as the “Rights Revolution.” Eighteen-year-olds earned the right to vote through a new constitutional amendment. Legislation was passed in the 1960s that outlawed discrimination based on race, sex, national origins, and religion, and subsequent legislation and enforcement of the law ensured that equal opportunity, and at times, preferences, be given to ethnic minorities and women. As a consequence, African-American men and women found new opportunities economically and politically. More African Americans went to college; home ownership among African Americans Increased; and more African Americans entered into the middle class. The number of African-American elected officials on the local, state, and national levels increased.
Similarly, women found new opportunities as well. By the 21st century, more women worked outside the home. The number of women in middle management and higher management increased. A woman running for public office no longer was a novelty. The Supreme Court ruled that women had a constitutional right to abortion. At the same time, other groups sought to extend their political and legal rights as well, including the physically challenged, gays, and First Nation people. Furthermore, new legal rights were extended to children, the aged, spouses, and other segments of the population. While some saw freedom and rights being extended and ethnic and cultural diversity being recognized, others feared that the national identity had been replaced by group identities.
While the United States had become the most powerful nation in the world militarily and enjoyed the affluence that came with having the largest economy in the world, problems of poverty among many segments of the population remained. The “inner city” of many of the nation’s largest urban centers had experienced physical deterioration and remained places where poverty and crime prevailed. Other challenges confronted the nation as well. The traditional two-parent family structure had changed. Changes in industry and business brought about by new technologies meant that those without the educational skills could not find employment in this changing economy.
Internationally, the United States confronted problems created in part by the collapse of the Soviet Union, as ethnic and religious conflicts erupted. The threat of nuclear war with Russia had been lessened, but other nations had developed nuclear, as well as biological, warfare capabilities. The terrorist attacks on September 11, tragically revealed that Americans confronted a far different world than during the era of the cold war.
The entries in this volume, which cover the period from 1969 to the present, offer to the reader a knowledge of the momentous political, cultural, social, and technological changes that occurred in these years and, in doing so, provide an opportunity to engage the future.
—Donald T. Critchlow Saint Louis University
ENTRIES A TO Z
Aaron, Henry L. (Hank) (1934- ) baseball player Because of his tremendous accomplishments during his 23 seasons in major league baseball, many consider Henry Aaron the best baseball player in history. He hit more home runs, 755, than any player in major league history, surpassing Babe Ruth’s mark of 714 on April 8, 1974, in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also holds the record for runs batted in with 2,297; he led the National League in home runs in 1957, 1963, 1966, and 1967; and he won the league batting title twice. He also won the Gold Glove for his defensive play in right field in 1958, 1959, and 1960, but it was the power of his bat that earned him the nickname “Hammerin’ Hank.”
Henry Louis Aaron was born the third of eight children on February 5, 1934, in Mobile, Alabama, to Estella and Herbert Aaron. His professional baseball career began in the Negro Leagues playing with the Pritchett Athletics, the Mobile Black Bears, and the Indianapolis Clowns. His experience in the major leagues began as a shortstop in the Milwaukee Braves farm system in 1952, and he made his major league debut in 1954 with the Milwaukee Braves (now the Atlanta Braves). At the end of the 1974 season, Aaron was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers of the American League and retired as a player after the 1976 season.
After retiring as a player, Aaron took the position of vice president for player development for the Atlanta Braves and was promoted to senior vice president in 1989. Currently Aaron is corporate vice president of community relations for Turner Broadcasting Systems and is a member of the Sterling Committee of Morehouse College. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, where he stands alongside Babe Ruth as the only other player to have an exclusive room dedicated to his singular contributions to the game of baseball.
See also African Americans; sports.
Further reading: Tom Stanton, Hank Aaron and the Home Run That Changed America (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 2004).
—William L. Glankler
World History
