Period 1-8 Anchor list

Harry S. Truman

The 33rd President of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953, known for implementing the Truman Doctrine and leading the country during the early Cold War.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

The 34th President of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961, known for his leadership during the Cold War and the establishment of the Eisenhower Doctrine.

John F. Kennedy

The 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963, known for the Cuban Missile Crisis and the New Frontier domestic program.

Lyndon B. Johnson

The 36th President of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969, known for his Great Society programs and escalation of the Vietnam War.

Richard Nixon

The 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974, known for the Watergate scandal and his policy of détente with the Soviet Union.

Jimmy Carter

The 39th President of the United States, serving from 1977 to 1981, known for his focus on human rights and the Camp David Accords.

Ronald Reagan

The 40th President of the United States, serving from 1981 to 1989, known for his economic policies known as Reaganomics and the end of the Cold War.

Bill Clinton

The 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001, known for economic prosperity and the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

George W. Bush

The 43rd President of the United States, serving from 2001 to 2009, known for his response to the September 11 attacks and the initiation of the War on Terror.

Barack Obama

The 44th President of the United States, serving from 2009 to 2017, known for the Affordable Care Act and efforts to combat climate change.

Fidel Castro

The Cuban revolutionary leader who served as Prime Minister and later President of Cuba, known for establishing a one-party socialist state.

Nikita Khrushchev

The leader of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, known for his role in the Cuban Missile Crisis and de-Stalinization policies.

Mikhail Gorbachev

The last leader of the Soviet Union, known for his policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) that contributed to the end of the Cold War.

Martin Luther King Jr.

An American civil rights leader known for his nonviolent activism and his role in advancing civil rights using civil disobedience.

Malcolm X

An African American Muslim minister and human rights activist known for his advocacy for the rights of blacks and his critique of the civil rights movement.

Stokely Carmichael

A civil rights activist known for his role in the Black Power movement and his leadership in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Betty Friedan

An American feminist writer and activist, best known for her book 'The Feminine Mystique' and her role in the women's movement.

Phyllis Schlafly

An American conservative activist known for her opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment and her advocacy for traditional gender roles.

The Truman Doctrine

A U.S. foreign policy established in 1947 to counter Soviet geopolitical expansion during the Cold War by providing political, military, and economic assistance to countries threatened by communism.

The Marshall Plan

A U.S. program initiated in 1948 to provide economic assistance to European countries to help rebuild their economies after World War II.

NATO vs. Warsaw Pact

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is a military alliance of Western countries formed in 1949, while the Warsaw Pact was a military alliance of Eastern Bloc countries formed in 1955 in response.

The Berlin Airlift

A military operation in 1948-1949 where the U.S. and its allies supplied West Berlin by air after the Soviet Union blocked ground access.

The U2 incident

The 1960 incident in which an American U2 spy plane was shot down over Soviet airspace, leading to increased tensions during the Cold War.

The Korean War

A conflict between North Korea (with support from China and the Soviet Union) and South Korea (with support from the United Nations, primarily the U.S.) from 1950 to 1953.

The Bay of Pigs invasion

A failed military invasion of Cuba in 1961 by a CIA-sponsored paramilitary group, aiming to overthrow Fidel Castro.

The Cuban Missile Crisis

A 13-day confrontation in October 1962 between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba.

Détente

A period of relaxed tensions and improved relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, particularly in the 1970s.

The Vietnam War

A conflict in Vietnam from 1955 to 1975, involving North Vietnam and its communist allies against South Vietnam and the United States.

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

A 1964 congressional resolution that authorized military action in Vietnam following alleged attacks on U.S. naval vessels.

The TET Offensive

A major offensive launched by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces in January 1968, marking a turning point in public opinion regarding the Vietnam War.

Vietnamization

A U.S. policy during the Vietnam War aimed at transferring the responsibility of war efforts from American troops to the South Vietnamese forces.

The Fall of Saigon

The capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnamese forces on April 30, 1975, marking the end of the Vietnam War.

Glasnost and Perestroika

Policies introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s aimed at increasing openness and restructuring the Soviet economy.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

The event on November 9, 1989, when the Berlin Wall was opened, symbolizing the end of the Cold War and the division of East and West Germany.

The Fall of the Soviet Union

The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, leading to the independence of its republics and the end of the Cold War.

The New Frontier

A term used by President John F. Kennedy to describe his domestic and foreign policy agenda aimed at addressing social issues and advancing civil rights.

The Great Society

A set of domestic programs launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s aimed at eliminating poverty and racial injustice.

The Civil Rights Movement

A social movement in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s aimed at ending racial discrimination and securing equal rights for African Americans.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

A landmark piece of civil rights legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

The Immigration Act of 1965

A significant change in U.S. immigration policy that abolished the national origins quota system and aimed to reunite immigrant families.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965

A landmark piece of federal legislation that prohibited racial discrimination in voting, aimed at enforcing the voting rights guaranteed by the 14th and 15th Amendments.

Watergate

A political scandal involving a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters and the subsequent cover-up by President Nixon, leading to his resignation.

Reaganomics

The economic policies promoted by President Ronald Reagan, focusing on tax cuts, deregulation, and reducing government spending to stimulate economic growth.

The War on Terror

An international military campaign launched by the United States after the September 11 attacks in 2001, aimed at combating terrorism.

The Cold War

A period of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States and their respective allies from 1945 to 1991.

Kennedy Election

The presidential election of 1960 in which John F. Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon, becoming the youngest elected president in U.S. history.

The election of Reagan

The presidential election of 1980 in which Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter, marking a significant shift in U.S. politics.

FDR

Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, who served from 1933 to 1945 and led the country during the Great Depression and World War II.

Huey Long

A prominent American politician and governor of Louisiana known for his populist policies and as a critic of the New Deal.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

The 34th President of the United States (1953-1961) and a five-star general in the U.S. Army during World War II, known for his leadership in the D-Day invasion.

Harry Truman

The 33rd President of the United States (1945-1953) who succeeded FDR and is known for making the decision to use atomic bombs on Japan.

FDR elected: 1932

The year Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected as President of the United States, marking the beginning of the New Deal era.

Pearl Harbor: Dec. 7, 1941

The date of the surprise military attack by the Japanese on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, which led to the United States' entry into World War II.

WWII: 1939-1945

The global conflict known as World War II, involving most of the world's nations, which lasted from 1939 to 1945.

The Dust Bowl

A severe drought in the 1930s that affected the Great Plains of the United States, leading to agricultural devastation and mass migration.

The Great Depression

A severe worldwide economic downturn that lasted from 1929 to the late 1930s, characterized by high unemployment and widespread poverty.

The New Deal

A series of programs and policies implemented by FDR in response to the Great Depression aimed at economic recovery and social reform.

FDIC

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a U.S. government agency that provides deposit insurance to depositors in American commercial banks.

CCC

Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal program that employed young men in environmental conservation projects during the Great Depression.

AAA

Agricultural Adjustment Act, a New Deal legislation aimed at boosting agricultural prices by reducing surpluses.

WPA

Works Progress Administration, a New Deal agency that provided jobs for millions of unemployed Americans through public works projects.

TVA

Tennessee Valley Authority, a New Deal agency created to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley.

SEC

Securities and Exchange Commission, a U.S. government agency responsible for regulating the securities industry and protecting investors.

Social Security

A federal program that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to eligible Americans.

Isolationism

A foreign policy approach that emphasizes avoiding involvement in international conflicts and alliances.

Fascism

A far-right authoritarian ultranationalist political ideology characterized by dictatorial power and strong centralized control.

Communism

A political and economic ideology advocating for a classless society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.

Totalitarianism

A political system in which the state recognizes no limits to its authority and seeks to regulate every aspect of public and private life.

Pearl Harbor

The U.S. naval base in Hawaii that was attacked by Japan on December 7, 1941, leading to the U.S. entering World War II.

Japanese internment

The forced relocation and incarceration of Japanese Americans in camps during World War II, justified by wartime fears.

Korematsu vs. US

A landmark Supreme Court case in 1944 that upheld the government's decision to intern Japanese Americans during World War II.

Holocaust

The genocide of six million Jews and millions of others by the Nazi regime during World War II.

Atlantic Charter

A joint declaration by FDR and Winston Churchill in 1941 outlining the goals for the post-war world, including self-determination and economic cooperation.

D-Day

The Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, which marked a significant turning point in World War II.

Midway

A crucial naval battle in June 1942 that resulted in a decisive victory for the United States against Japan.

Island Hopping

A military strategy used by the Allies in the Pacific Theater during World War II to capture strategic islands and bypass others.

Manhattan Project

A secret U.S. government research project during World War II that developed the atomic bomb.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Japanese cities where the United States dropped atomic bombs in August 1945, leading to Japan's surrender and the end of World War II.

Tuskegee Airmen

A group of African American military pilots who fought in World War II, known for their exemplary service and contributions to the war effort.

Alfred Thayer Mahan

A United States naval officer and historian, known for his influential book 'The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783', which argued for a strong navy as essential for national greatness.

Emilio Aguinaldo

A Filipino revolutionary leader who played a crucial role in the Philippine Revolution against Spanish colonial rule and later against American occupation.

Teddy Roosevelt

The 26th President of the United States (1901-1909), known for his progressive policies, the construction of the Panama Canal, and his role in the conservation movement.

Woodrow Wilson

The 28th President of the United States (1913-1921), known for leading the country during World War I and advocating for the League of Nations.

Henry Cabot Lodge

A prominent American Republican senator and historian who opposed the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations.

Louis Armstrong

An influential American jazz trumpeter, composer, and vocalist, known for his charismatic stage presence and innovative approach to music.

Langston Hughes

An American poet, social activist, novelist, and playwright, known for his contributions to the Harlem Renaissance and his exploration of African American culture.

Sacco and Vanzetti

Two Italian immigrants and anarchists who were controversially convicted of murder in the 1920s, symbolizing the era's anti-immigrant sentiment.

Spanish American War

A conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, resulting in the U.S. acquiring territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

WWI

World War I, a global conflict from 1914 to 1918, primarily involving the Allies and Central Powers, marked by trench warfare and significant loss of life.

Great Stock Market Crash

The stock market crash on October 29, 1929, which marked the beginning of the Great Depression, leading to widespread economic hardship.

Imperialism

A policy or ideology where a country extends its power and influence through colonization, military force, or other means.

Jingoism

An extreme form of nationalism characterized by aggressive foreign policy and the belief that one's country is superior to others.

Social Darwinism

A belief that applies the concept of 'survival of the fittest' to human societies, often used to justify imperialism and social inequality.

White Man's Burden

A phrase used to justify imperialism, suggesting that it was the duty of Western nations to civilize and uplift non-Western peoples.

Seward's Folly

A term used to describe the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867, initially criticized but later recognized for its value.

Hawaiian Acquisition

The annexation of Hawaii by the United States in 1898, which was driven by economic interests and strategic military considerations.

Rough Riders

A volunteer cavalry regiment led by Teddy Roosevelt during the Spanish-American War, known for their charge up San Juan Hill.

Open Door Policy

A U.S. policy established in 1899 that aimed to ensure equal trading rights for all nations in China.

Great Migration

The movement of over six million African Americans from the rural South to urban areas in the North and West from 1916 to 1970.

Selective Service Act

A law passed in 1917 that authorized the U.S. federal government to raise a national army for service in World War I through conscription.