3: World War II through the 1970s - Assignment Example

The first significant historical turning point after the Second World War was the Showdown in Birmingham that started in 1963 (Kennedy & Bailey, 2010). During this time, African Americans were segregated in the political and economic matters especially in public transport and restaurants (Kennedy & Bailey, 2010). Birmingham was the epicenter of KKK Klan and historians describe it as the city that had the worst racism. In September, 1963, the KKK Klan threw a bomb in 16th Street Baptism Church and killed young African American girls leading to several murders that shocked the entire President Kennedy Administration (Kennedy & Bailey, 2010).

Martin Luther King started leading demonstration in Birmingham and issuing speeches that were geared at uniting African Americans towards demand for equality and end of segregation in public affairs. Though Martin Luther King advocated for non-violent demonstrations, the demonstrators were met with police brutality and thus leading to a series of public protests that strengthened the black movements (Kennedy & Bailey, 2010). . Another turning point in American history is the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill that adversely affected the environment.

The oil spill continued for several days and received a lot of media coverage thus forcing President Nixon to visit the site and join the clean up exercise. The US did not have the necessary technology to combat the spill and relied on the efforts of volunteers. The oil spill had severe effects on the environment since thousands of marine wildlife including birds, seals and fish died due to water pollution. In addition, the oil spill caused a huge fire in Cuyahoga in Ohio. The oil spill also halted all commercial fishing activities and damaged properties along the coastline (Kennedy & Bailey, 2010).

The disaster led to legislation that would ensure a clean environment and reduce pollution. The US Environmental Protection Agency was established and the Clean Water Act was also enacted. Accordingly, the disaster unified American public towards combating pollution and disaster countrywide (Kennedy & Bailey, 2010). Reasons why Americans wanted to stay away out of European conflict in 1930s America desired to stay away from European conflicts of the 1930s that ultimately sparked the onset of World War II for various reasons.

First, American economy was just recovering from the adverse effects of Great Depression and was committed to tightening economic ties with the Latin American countries. American had suffered severe economic consequences from the First World War and the subsequent Great Depression and could not risk to intervene in another conflict whose costs could not easily be estimated (Kennedy & Bailey, 2010). Secondly, America advocated for the principle of sovereignty and self-determination of the nations since it desired to remain