The History Book

310

See also: The Berlin Airlift 296–97 ■ The Cuban Missile Crisis 308–09 ■

The fall of the Berlin Wall 322–23 ■ The launch of the first website 328–29

O

n October 4, 1957, the USSR

launched the world’s first

artificial satellite, Sputnik 1.

Carrying a simple radio transmitter

to relay information about conditions

in space, the satellite remained in

orbit until January 4, 1958, when

it re-entered and burned up in

Earth’s atmosphere.

Sputnik symbolized far more

than a scientific breakthrough.

It was a sensational coup for the

Soviets during the Cold War with

the West. No shots were fired,

but the military and political

ramifications were immense.

Americans felt more vulnerable

to a nuclear attack. The USSR was

now a Superpower, stunning the

US and initiating the “space race,”

a frantic competition between

nations for technological superiority.

The US catches up

Sputnik was a mass-media event

that ushered in the “Space Age,”

capturing the world’s collective

imagination. There was a boom

in science-fiction books, films, and

TV dramas set in space. By 1958,

the US had created NASA, the

National Aeronautics and Space

Administration, but they could only

watch in envy as the Soviets sent

Yuri Gagarin into orbit in 1961, the

first human to go to outer space.

The US caught up by sending

John Glenn into orbit in 1962, and

by 1967 they had built a rocket,

Saturn V, that was powerful enough

to reach the moon. In 1969, 12 years

after the launch of Sputnik 1, the

American astronaut Neil Armstrong

left Apol lo 11 and became the first

man to walk on the moon. ■

PEOPLE OF THE

WHOLE WORLD

ARE POINTING TO

THE SATELLITE

THE LAUNCH OF SPUTNIK (1957)

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

Space race

BEFORE

1926 Robert Goddard

launches the world’s first

liquid-fueled rocket.

1942 Germany successfully

launches the first ballistic

missile, the A4, or V-2.

AFTER

1961 Alan Shepard commands

Freedom 7 on the first Mercury

mission, becoming the first

American in space.

July 20, 1969 American Neil

Armstrong becomes the first

man to set foot on the moon.

1971 Russia’s Salyut 1, the

world’s first space station,

is launched.

1997 A US rover named

Sojourner wheels on to the

surface of Mars to explore

the surface.

2015 Mars Reconnaissance

Orbiter finds water on Mars.

That’s one small step

for [a] man, one giant

leap for mankind.

Neil Armstrong

US_310-311_Sputnik-Washington.indd 310 04/03/2016 16:07

311

See also: The formation of Royal African Company 176–79 ■ The Slave Trade

Abolition Act 226–27 ■ The Gettysburg Address 244–47 ■ The release of

Nelson Mandela 325

T

he March on Washington

on August 28, 1963 brought

roughly 250,000 people—

mostly African-Americans—to

the nation’s capital. They were

calling for equality, an end to racial

segregation, and for all Americans

to have access to a good education,

decent housing, and jobs that paid

a living wage.

One of the speakers was the

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King,

who had been arrested that April

during anti-segregation protests in

Alabama. “I have a dream,” King

cried, starting his famous speech.

Calls for equality

The abolishment of slavery after

the American Civil War of 1861–65

led to emancipated slaves seeking

American citizenship. However,

while they were no longer slaves,

they were not equal with whites,

and they endured discrimination,

segregation, and violent racist

attacks. In the 1950s, a number of

African-American groups fought

back against discrimination with a

policy of non-violence. In the 1960s,

civil rights marches in Birmingham,

Alabama, led by King were central

to the campaign. Some extremists,

especially in the South, reacted

with gruesome acts of violence.

After the March on Washington,

US Congress passed the Civil

Rights Acts of 1964, outlawing

discrimination, and the Voting

Rights Act of 1965. More than half

a century later, however, many of

the goals set on that day are still

out of reach to black Americans. ■

THE MODERN WORLD

I HAVE

A DREAM

THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON (1963)

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

Civil rights movement

BEFORE

1909 National Association for

the Advancement of Colored

People (NAACP) is founded.

1955 Rosa Parks refuses to

give up her bus seat to a white

man and, in doing so, ignites

the civil rights movement.

1960 Four students at a

whites-only restaurant counter

are refused food, leading to

sit-ins across the US.

AFTER

1965 Malcolm X, founder

of the Organization of Afro-

American Unity, is shot dead.

1966 Stokely Carmichael

introduces the idea of “Black

Power,” turning away from

non-violent protests.

1968 Martin Luther King

is assassinated, leading to

rioting across US cities.

There are those who say

to you, we are rushing this

issue of civil rights. I say

we are 172 years too late!

Hubert Humphrey

Mayor of Minneapolis (1948)

US_310-311_Sputnik-Washington.indd 311 15/02/2016 16:45