HIST 106 TAMU Dr. Stranges Exam 3 CH 11-15 vocab list

Huey Long

Governor and then Senator of Louisiana; known as "The Kingfish"

Critic of FDR's New Deal, believing it didn't do enough to redistribute wealth

Promoted radical wealth redistribution programs and populist rhetoric

Assassinated in 1935

"Share Our Wealth"

Huey Long's national program aimed at ending poverty during the Depression

Proposed limits on personal fortunes and guaranteed minimum income

Threatened to challenge FDR in 1936 election before his death

New Deal

FDR's program to combat the Great Depression, launched in 1933

Focused on relief, recovery, and reform

Created Social Security, FDIC, SEC, and various work and farm programs

Major shift toward government intervention in the economy

Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 (not 1913)

Paid farmers to reduce production to raise crop prices

Aimed at restoring parity with pre-WWI prices

Controversial for destroying crops and livestock while people starved

Stock Market Crash of October 1929

Triggered by speculation and margin buying; Dow dropped drastically

Signaled the end of the 1920s boom and start of Great Depression

Losses totaled $75 billion; it took 25 years to recover

Marked by Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929

Great Depression

Severe economic downturn in the 1930s

High unemployment (over 12 million), bank failures, deflation

Caused by uneven wealth distribution, overproduction, and trade collapse

Led to major reforms under the New Deal

Wagner Act

Passed in 1935 to protect labor unions

Guaranteed collective bargaining and prohibited unfair labor practices

Strengthened labor's position during the New Deal era

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

Created in 1933 to restore trust in banks

Guaranteed deposits up to a certain amount

Helped stabilize the banking system after massive failures

Lend-Lease Act of 1941

Allowed U.S. to supply arms and materials to Allies before entering WWII

Signaled the end of neutrality and deepened involvement in global conflict

Helped Britain and USSR resist Axis powers

World War II

U.S. entered after Pearl Harbor in 1941

Led to full industrial mobilization and end of Depression

Resulted in U.S. becoming a global superpower

Concluded with the dropping of atomic bombs in 1945

Pearl Harbor

Surprise Japanese attack on U.S. naval base, December 7, 1941

Killed over 2,400 Americans; destroyed much of Pacific fleet

Prompted U.S. entry into WWII

The Manhattan Project

Secret U.S. project to develop nuclear weapons

Led by scientists like Oppenheimer and funded by the government

Resulted in creation of atomic bombs used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Atomic Bomb

First used in warfare in 1945 against Japan

Ended WWII but killed tens of thousands instantly

Mark

Marshall Plan

Officially launched in 1948 to rebuild Western Europe after WWII.

Provided $13.3 billion in loans and grants to 16 nations.

Aimed to contain communism by stabilizing capitalist economies.

Dramatically boosted European recovery; industrial output rose 40% by 1951.

Security Council of the United Nations

Created after WWII as the UN's primary peacekeeping body.

Includes 5 permanent members (U.S., USSR/Russia, Britain, France, China) with veto power.

Tasked with maintaining international peace and security.

Reflects postwar balance of power and Cold War tensions.

John Hersey's Hiroshima

Published in 1946; nonfiction account of atomic bombing's effects on six survivors.

Humanized the horror of nuclear warfare for American readers.

Critically acclaimed; changed public understanding of atomic bomb aftermath.

Became essential reading on the consequences of nuclear weapons.

Hibakusha

Japanese word for survivors of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Many suffered lifelong physical and psychological effects, including radiation illness and stigma.

Became symbols of anti-nuclear advocacy and postwar trauma.

Featured in Hersey's Hiroshima.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Formed in April 1949 by the U.S., Canada, and Western European nations.

Mutual defense alliance against the Soviet Union and communism.

Marked U.S. commitment to European security during the Cold War.

Greece and Turkey joined in 1951; West Germany in 1955.

JFK's "New Frontier" Program

President John F. Kennedy's domestic reform initiative (1961).

Aimed to expand civil rights, reduce poverty, fund education, and put a man on the moon.

Promoted medical care for the elderly and federal support for urban renewal.

Many proposals stalled in Congress due to conservative opposition.

Peace Corps

Created in 1961 under JFK's executive order.

Sent American volunteers abroad to assist with education, agriculture, health, and infrastructure.

Promoted goodwill and development in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Reflected Cold War soft power strategy through idealistic service.

Mass Consumerism

Rose dramatically in the post-WWII 1950s and 1960s.

Fueled by rising incomes, suburban living, and advertising culture.

Defined by the purchase of cars, televisions, and household appliances.

Criticized for promoting conformity and materialism, especially in literature and culture.

Johnson's "Great Society"

President Lyndon B. Johnson's wide-ranging domestic agenda (1964-1965).

Focused on eliminating poverty and racial injustice.

Major legislation included Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start, and education aid.

Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act were key parts of the program.

Strom Thurmond

U.S. Senator from South Carolina and staunch segregationist.

Ran for president in 1948 on the Dixiecrat (States' Rights) ticket opposing civil rights.

Longest-serving senator in U.S. history; later switched to Republican Party.

Opposed civil rights legislation throughout his career.

George Wallace

Governor of Alabama; symbol of resistance to desegregation.

Famously declared, "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."

Blocked integration at the University of Alabama in 1963.

Ran for president multiple times, appealing to Southern and working-class whites.

Senator Robert Taft

Ohio Republican known as "Mr. Republican"; son of President William Howard Taft.

Advocate of limited government and opponent of the New Deal.

Criticized U.S. internationalism post-WWII, including NATO.

Supported the Taft-Hartley Act (1947), which limited union power.

Rosa Parks

Civil rights activist who refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama (1955).

Her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal event in the civil rights movement.

Worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and the NAACP.

Became a national symbol of quiet, dignified protest.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Baptist minister and the leading voice of the civil rights movement.

Advocated nonviolent civil disobedience inspired by Gandhi.

Led major events like the Montgomery Bus Boycott and March on Washington (1963).

Assassinated in 1968; awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Landmark Supreme Court case that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson's "separate but equal" doctrine.

Ordered school desegregation "with all deliberate speed."

Sparked massive resistance in the South and galvanized the civil rights movement.

"The Death of a Salesman"

1949 play by Arthur Miller.

Critiqued the American Dream and postwar capitalism through the story of Willy Loman.

Highlighted psychological pressure, failure, and alienation in consumer culture.

Became a staple of American literature and theater.

Civil Rights and Voting Rights Act

Civil Rights Act (1964): Outlawed segregation in public spaces and banned job discrimination.

Voting Rights Act (1965): Banned literacy tests and provided federal oversight of elections in discriminatory states.

Represented the legal peak of the civil rights movement.

Enforced under Johnson's Great Society programs.

The Feminine Mystique

Influential 1963 book by Betty Friedan.

Criticized the limited roles of women as housewives and mothers.

Identified "the problem that has no name" — dissatisfaction among suburban women.

Sparked the second-wave feminist movement and led to the founding of NOW.

Carson's "Silent Spring"

1962 environmental science book by Rachel Carson.

Exposed dangers of pesticides like DDT to wildlife and human health.

Triggered national concern and led to the modern environmental movement.

Contributed to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970.

Cold War

Prolonged ideological and geopolitical conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union (1945-1991).

Defined by nuclear arms race, espionage, proxy wars (Korea, Vietnam), and political rivalry.

Characterized by mutual suspicion, containment strategy, and efforts to spread democracy vs. communism.

Ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Domino Theory

Belief that if one country fell to communism, neighboring countries would follow.

Used to justify U.S. intervention in Vietnam and other parts of Asia.

Part of the broader Cold War containment strategy.

Popularized by Eisenhower in the 1950s.

Vietnam War

Conflict between communist North Vietnam and U.S.-backed South Vietnam (1955-1975).

U.S. involvement escalated in 1964 after the Gulf of Tonkin incident.

Over 58,000 Americans died; war deeply divided U.S. public opinion.

Ended with U.S. withdrawal (1973) and North Vietnamese victory (1975).

Gulf of Tonkin

1964 incident where U.S. claimed North Vietnamese boats attacked U.S. destroyers.

Led to Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving President Johnson broad war powers.

Marked the official escalation of U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.

Tet Offensive

Major 1968 surprise attack by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces on over 100 cities in South Vietnam.

Militarily repelled, but shocked the American public and media.

Shattered the belief that the U.S. was winning the war.

Turning point in U.S. public opinion against the Vietnam War.

Kent State Massacre

Occurred on May 4, 1970, during protests of U.S. expansion of war into Cambodia.

National Guard opened fire on students at Kent State University in Ohio.

Four students were killed, nine wounded.

Intensified nationwide antiwar protests and opposition to Nixon's policies.

Korean War

Fought from 1950 to 1953 between communist North Korea and U.S.-backed South Korea.

North invaded the South; UN forces, led by the U.S., intervened under Truman.

Ended in stalemate and armistice; Korea remains divided at the 38th parallel.

First major military test of the Cold War and the U.S. containment strategy.

Joseph McCarthy

U.S. senator who led aggressive anti-communist investigations in the early 1950s.

Claimed (without evidence) that communists had infiltrated the government.

Created a climate of fear and suspicion known as McCarthyism.

Discredited after televised Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954.

Julius & Ethel Rosenberg

American couple accused of passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union.

Convicted of espionage and executed in 1953.

First civilians executed for espionage in U.S. history.

Trial and execution were controversial; Ethel's involvement remains debated.

Fidel Castro

Revolutionary leader who overthrew Cuban dictator Batista in 1959.

Established a communist regime in Cuba aligned with the Soviet Union.

Central figure in U.S.-Cuban tensions, including the Bay of Pigs and Missile Crisis.

Target of numerous U.S. assassination attempts and long-standing embargo.

Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962

13-day standoff between the U.S. and USSR over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba.

Closest the world came to nuclear war.

Resolved when Soviets agreed to remove missiles in exchange for U.S. pledge not to invade Cuba and secret removal of U.S. missiles from Turkey.

Boosted Kennedy's global standing and highlighted dangers of Cold War escalation.

Mao Zedong

Communist leader who founded the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Defeated U.S.-backed Nationalists in Chinese Civil War.

Initially aligned with the Soviet Union but later split ideologically.

Major Cold War player in Asia, especially during Korean War.

Nikita S. Khrushchev

Soviet leader after Stalin (1953-1964).

Known for de-Stalinization and volatile Cold War diplomacy.

Ordered Berlin Wall construction and participated in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Ultimately ousted due to perceived instability and failures.

Soviet Union

Communist superpower; U.S.'s main Cold War rival.

Controlled Eastern Europe via the Warsaw Pact.

Engaged in arms race, space race, and proxy wars with the U.S.

Collapsed in 1991 after internal reform, economic decline, and loss of control over satellite states.

Berlin Wall

Constructed by East Germany (with Soviet support) in 1961.

Prevented East Germans from fleeing to West Berlin.

Became the most visible symbol of the Cold War.

Fell in 1989 as communist regimes across Eastern Europe collapsed.

Watergate Scandal

Political scandal stemming from a 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee HQ.

Nixon's administration engaged in cover-up, illegal surveillance, and obstruction of justice.

Led to televised hearings, resignation of officials, and Nixon's resignation in August 1974.

Deepened public distrust in government.